Kael's breath came in ragged bursts as he sprinted through the labyrinthine corridors of the Library of Telmaris, his mind spinning with the weight of the Council's words. They had been hunting him. The True Shard—his shard—was not a simple artifact. It was the key to something far greater. And now, as the echoes of the battle behind him faded into the distance, he was left with more questions than answers.
Aro was ahead, weaving through the shelves with his usual grace, his connection to the earth granting him a swift and sure footing even in the chaos. Tess, a few steps behind Kael, kept glancing over her shoulder, her fiery aura still crackling, though dimmed as she pulled back from full combat.
"We need to find a way out," Tess panted, her voice sharp with urgency. "If the Council catches us—"
"We'll find another way," Kael interrupted, his eyes scanning the endless rows of books and scrolls around them. The library was a maze. He knew the Council wouldn't stop until they had him, and he had no intention of handing over the True Shard, even if they believed they were saving the world.
But the shard was no longer just an object of power—it was a riddle, a puzzle he didn't understand. The more he tried to control it, the more it pulled him, urging him to seek something, a deeper truth buried beneath layers of time.
"Aro, we're going in the wrong direction," Kael said suddenly, his feet grinding to a halt.
Aro paused, turning to look at him. "What do you mean? We're heading for the back exit."
"I know," Kael replied, glancing over his shoulder toward Tess. "But there's something... something deeper. I can feel it." He took a step toward a set of narrow staircases leading downward into the shadows. "The shard is pulling me there."
Tess hesitated for a moment, looking between Kael and Aro, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "This isn't the time for chasing ghosts, Kael. We need to get out before they catch up."
Kael was already moving, drawn toward the darkened stairwell. He could feel the shard's energy thrumming beneath his skin, urging him forward. "I can't explain it, Tess. But I have to go. We might find something down there—something that'll help us understand what the True Shard really is."
She sighed, but with a resigned nod, she followed him. "Just don't lead us into a trap, Kael. We don't have much time."
They descended into the lower levels of the library, the air growing colder as they ventured deeper into the bowels of the ancient structure. The walls were covered in fading murals and cryptic symbols—runes, Kael realized, some of which matched the ones he had seen on the ancient tablets earlier. These weren't just magical symbols. They were messages. Warnings.
"Look," Aro whispered, pointing toward a large stone door at the end of the hall. It was covered in intricate carvings, the patterns spiraling inward like a vortex, drawing the eye to its center. "This is it. The place I sensed... It's the heart of the library."
Kael nodded. He could feel the pull intensifying. The True Shard was humming inside him, as though recognizing something important beyond this door.
Tess stood to the side, eyeing the door with suspicion. "What do you think is behind it?"
"I don't know," Kael admitted, his voice tight with anticipation. "But we're about to find out."
He reached out and pushed the door. It opened with a low, grinding noise, revealing a circular chamber bathed in dim, golden light. The walls were lined with shelves of books, but the center of the room was what caught Kael's attention. At the heart of the chamber stood a large stone altar, carved with runes that seemed to shift and pulse as he approached. Above the altar, a single shard floated, suspended in mid-air, surrounded by a halo of light.
It was unlike any shard Kael had ever seen. It was a shimmering crystal, pale blue in color, with veins of pure energy running through its structure. At its core, a swirling vortex of light danced, pulsing with a rhythm Kael could almost hear in his bones. It was as if the shard itself were alive, waiting for something—or someone.
"The Heartstone..." Aro breathed, stepping forward. "I've read about it, but I thought it was just a legend."
Kael's eyes widened as the shard seemed to respond to his presence, its core flaring brightly. The True Shard in his chest pulsed again, and suddenly, everything clicked. This was the source. The Heartstone was the origin. The True Shard, the one he carried, was a fragment of this power.
"It's calling to me," Kael said, his voice hushed. He could feel his hands trembling. It was as if the shard recognized him, as if it knew he was the one destined to either wield it or destroy it.
Tess frowned, her gaze darting toward the door. "This is a trap, Kael. We need to leave. Now."
But Kael couldn't move. The shard inside him and the one before him were connected—he could feel the bond tightening, the energy surging through his body. It was too powerful to ignore.
He reached out toward the Heartstone.
The moment his fingers brushed against its surface, the chamber exploded with light, blinding him. Kael staggered back, a sharp pain searing through his chest as the True Shard surged in response. The walls seemed to tremble, the runes on the altar glowing with a ferocity Kael had never felt before. And then, as if time itself had fractured, the world shifted.
Visions flashed before Kael's eyes—flashes of ancient cities, glowing with magic; of beings, long gone, their forms made of pure light and energy; of stars being born and dying in the vastness of space. The Heartstone was not just a source of power—it was a window into something far greater, a glimpse of a world before the fall of the ancients.
And then, in a single moment of clarity, Kael understood.
This is what the True Shards are—fragments of a broken reality. Pieces of a world that was once whole, now shattered.
The shard inside him burned with the intensity of the revelation, as if it was both awakening and dying at the same time. Kael gasped, his body wracked with pain as the flood of knowledge surged through him.
The world around him blurred, and he fell to his knees, clutching his chest as the truth poured into him like a torrent.
He saw the future.
He saw the destruction that would come if the shards were used to "restore" the balance.
He saw the cost of wielding such power.
And he saw what had happened to Lyra.
She was not lost to the Council. She had become part of this very force, part of the True Shard's essence. She was the key.
"Kael…" Tess's voice broke through the haze of his vision, her hand on his shoulder. "Kael, we need to get out of here. Now!"
But Kael couldn't move. The revelation was too overwhelming.
He understood the shard's true purpose. But the question remained: Could he control it—or would it control him?