Kael's body thrashed violently in the water, his limbs locked in the grip of an overwhelming force. The shard he had touched was far beyond anything he could have imagined, its energy too vast, too primal, for his mortal form to handle. It surged through his body like liquid fire, and for a brief moment, he thought he might drown in the sheer intensity of it.
His vision blurred and fragmented, reality itself seemed to warp and stretch, the ocean around him becoming an alien landscape. He couldn't focus—couldn't breathe—and yet, the shard's pull was irresistible, as though it was pulling him into itself, drawing his very soul into its essence.
He tried to scream, to force his body to move, but the words and actions dissolved into the water. The only thing that mattered was the shard, glowing brighter and brighter, pulling him deeper into the abyss.
And then, as quickly as it began, everything stopped.
The sensation of being overwhelmed by power vanished, leaving Kael in a profound silence. He opened his eyes—he could still see, though the ocean was far more distant than it had been moments ago. The water around him was calm, unnervingly still. His heart pounded in his chest, but the strain of the shard's energy had settled. He was floating now, weightless, his mind dazed but alert.
Kael turned slowly, his eyes scanning the murky depths. The shard was gone.
"Kael?"
The voice, distant at first, broke through the disorienting silence like a lifeline. Tess. He felt a jolt of recognition, but his mind couldn't quite grasp the urgency in her voice. Something was wrong, but what?
Kael's body felt sluggish, heavy with the lingering effects of the shard's power. He had no idea how long he had been under the water, but as he began to swim toward the surface, he noticed a strange shimmer in the water—almost like a mirage—but it wasn't a mirage. It was real. Something had changed beneath the waves.
His hand shot out toward the shimmering light, his fingers brushing against the cool surface of the water, and suddenly, the ocean around him rippled.
The air was filled with a thunderous crack—louder than any storm he had ever heard. A wave of energy, concentrated and pure, slammed into him, sending him reeling. His body convulsed, as though the very fabric of reality had been bent, stretched, and then torn. The shard had left its mark on him, but it had also left something else.
A door.
A tear.
The ocean around him was no longer just ocean. It was an endless expanse of shifting, dark shapes, stretching toward an impossible horizon. The world, the very universe, felt malleable now, like it was waiting for his will to shape it. He could feel the fabric of reality pulling, bending, and fraying at the edges, like a cloak that had been sewn too tight, and now the seams were breaking open.
Kael gasped, the sudden realization hitting him like a punch to the gut. He wasn't just drowning. He was standing on the brink of something far worse. The shard beneath the waves wasn't just a power source—it was a rift.
A rift in the very world itself.
On the Surface
Above the waves, Tess paced back and forth along the ship's deck, her hands clenched into fists as she looked out into the ocean. Aro had joined her, his face tight with worry.
"He's been gone too long," Tess muttered, unable to keep the concern from her voice. "Kael's in danger."
"I don't know if I should follow him," Aro said, his eyes narrowing at the churning water. "The ocean's unsettled. This isn't like anything I've ever seen."
Tess stopped, turning to look at him. "We can't just leave him out there. We'll go after him together."
Before Aro could respond, a sudden flash of light cut through the water, followed by an immense pulse of energy. It was like a shockwave, sending ripples across the sea that made the ship rock dangerously.
Tess's breath caught in her throat. "What the hell was that?"
"Kael," Aro said, his voice barely audible. "Something's happening."
In a blur of motion, Tess dove from the edge of the ship, slicing through the water with powerful strokes, heading in the direction of the pulse. Aro followed, his affinity with earth magic making it easier for him to navigate the turbulent currents. But despite their speed, the shockwave's impact was still lingering, and neither of them could quite shake the growing feeling that they were racing against something far more dangerous than they could comprehend.
Below the Waves
Kael's senses snapped back into focus as he felt the pressure on his chest ease. His hand trembled as he reached out toward the reality-bending tear in the ocean. It was like an eye in the fabric of the world, a gateway—an opening that stretched beyond what any shard could explain.
It wasn't just a shard that had pulled him here. It was a True Shard, and it was connected to something much larger than the world of shards he knew.
He had felt the power of the Earth shard, the connection to the land. He had felt the raw destruction of fire, the serenity of water, the protective strength of nature. But this… this was different. This wasn't just power—it was existence itself.
The rift was calling to him, beckoning him closer. With every passing second, Kael's mind teetered on the edge of a precipice. If he crossed that threshold, he knew he might never return. The pull was too strong. Too necessary.
And then he heard her voice.
"Kael!"
He spun around, barely able to focus his eyes in the disorienting storm of energies around him. Tess was swimming toward him, her dark hair streaming behind her, her expression a mixture of concern and urgency. Behind her, Aro surfaced, his face as grim as ever.
"Don't go near it!" Tess shouted, reaching out to him. "Kael, it's not what you think. It's—"
But Kael didn't hear her.
The shard was calling again. He could feel it, its promise of power, its promise of understanding. This was the answer. This was everything he had been looking for.
"Kael!" Tess screamed, her hand brushing his as she pulled him away from the rift's edge. "Don't do it!"
For a brief, agonizing moment, Kael hesitated. The rift was still there, still pulling at him, but Tess's hand was warmer than the cold grip of the shard. Her voice was a tether, a lifeline pulling him back from the brink.
"I…" Kael gasped, his body trembling, his thoughts a chaotic swirl. "I can't… I have to…"
"No, you don't," Tess said, her voice low but firm. "It's not worth it. You don't know what that thing is. It's a trap, Kael. It wants to control you."
But it was already too late.
The rift shuddered, sending a shockwave through the water that rocked them both. Tess's grip loosened, and before she could pull him away again, Kael felt himself slipping toward the tear.