The vision faded as quickly as it had come, leaving Kael breathless and trembling on his knees, his hand still gripping the Heartstone. The chamber around him had stopped glowing, the blinding light now a distant memory. But the weight of what he had seen, of what had been revealed to him, pressed down on his shoulders like an invisible force, unrelenting.
"Kael..." Tess's voice was sharp, full of urgency. He could feel her shaking him, but it barely registered. All he could hear now were the whispers—the broken fragments of voices that echoed in his mind. The Truth. The cost.
"I saw it," Kael muttered, barely able to form words. His voice cracked under the strain. "I saw the past... and the future. This—this isn't just about power. It's about fixing something that was broken." His chest heaved as his breath caught. "But it will destroy everything."
Tess knelt beside him, her fiery presence grounding him somewhat, but even her hand on his arm didn't seem to be enough to pull him fully back to reality. Aro had stayed silent, but Kael could feel the healer's eyes on him, his worry palpable.
"What do you mean?" Tess asked, her voice low and intense. "What did you see, Kael? What happened?"
Kael closed his eyes, trying to steady himself. He could still feel the burn of the True Shard within him, its power thrumming in his veins. It was a volatile thing, shifting, changing—like a beast waking from a long slumber, desperate to break free. He had seen too much, too fast. The images in his mind were so vivid, so real.
"The True Shards," Kael said, his voice hoarse. "They're not just tools of power. They're pieces of something much bigger, something ancient. This library, this place—it was built to contain the remnants of a world that once existed. A world that was whole. A world that fell."
Tess exchanged a glance with Aro, who was looking at Kael with a mixture of concern and disbelief. "A world that fell? What are you talking about?"
Kael struggled to his feet, the weight of the shard making him feel like he was standing on the edge of a precipice. "I saw it. I saw the ancients—the beings who created the shards. They tried to stop the collapse. They tried to hold everything together with the power of the True Shards. But in the end, they failed." His eyes locked with Tess's, and he could see the confusion there, but also something more—something that made him hesitate. "And now… now the shards are like cracks in reality. Pieces of a broken world. We can't fix it without breaking something else."
Tess's face hardened, her eyes narrowing. "You're saying we can't use the True Shards? That we should just leave them alone?"
Kael shook his head, his breath shallow. "It's not that simple. If we leave them alone, they'll keep the world in its broken state, and that's… that's not a solution either. But if we try to restore it… If we try to put the pieces back together, we might not just shatter the world—we might erase everything. Everything. Including us."
He looked down at his chest, feeling the weight of the True Shard pressing against him. It pulsed with a strange rhythm, almost like a heartbeat of its own. And as it throbbed, a new sense of clarity settled over him, mixing with the dread.
"This shard… it's tied to me now. I can feel it. I think Lyra was part of this. She's... she's not just lost. She's part of the whole thing. I have to find her."
Tess was silent for a long moment. The fire around her flared up briefly, but then it dimmed, her expression becoming somber. "You've seen something that none of us can truly understand, Kael. I don't know if it's even possible to stop it. But one thing's for sure: If the Council gets their hands on you—or the shard—you won't be the one making the decisions anymore."
"I know," Kael whispered. He took a shaky breath. "They want to control it. They want to fix it on their terms. But that's not the answer. I have to stop them. We have to stop them."
Aro's voice broke through the silence, quiet but firm. "We will. But we can't do it alone."
Kael looked up at Aro, seeing the healer's unwavering determination. "How do you know that?" he asked, surprised by the quiet strength in his voice.
Aro's eyes softened, but there was a shadow behind them, something Kael hadn't noticed before. "Because," Aro said softly, "I'm not just a healer. I know things—things about the True Shards, about the ancient runes, about this world. I've seen what the Council is hiding. And I think I know where we can find answers—answers that will help us make sense of all of this."
Tess raised an eyebrow, her interest piqued. "What kind of answers?"
Aro hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I know of a place—an old temple, hidden deep within the Verdant Reach. It's a place that the Council has been trying to erase from history. But the truth is there. We might find something that can help us understand how to stop all this… before it's too late."
Kael felt the spark of hope flicker inside him, but it was quickly doused by the weight of his thoughts. "The Verdant Reach? That's where they keep the earth shards, right? It's controlled by the druids. Do you think they'll help us?"
Aro nodded slowly. "Not all druids are loyal to the Council. There are still some who remember the old ways—before the Shardborn were corrupted. I've spoken to them in the past. If we can find them, they may have the knowledge we need."
Tess crossed her arms, her fiery aura simmering beneath the surface. "And if we can't find them? If the Council gets there first?"
Kael swallowed, his mind already turning over the possibilities. "Then we'll have to make sure they don't get to it. Whatever we find, we need to protect it. We can't let the Council control this power."
Aro's eyes darkened as he turned toward the stairwell leading out of the chamber. "There's one more thing. The place I'm talking about—it's not just a temple. It's an ancient site, connected to the origin of the shards themselves. But if the Council knows we're going after it…"
Tess's eyes narrowed, her fire shards flickering in response. "Then they'll follow us."
Kael took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the decision settle on him. He had never been one to run from a fight, but the stakes were higher now. More than ever, it was clear that the Council would stop at nothing to control the True Shards. And if they succeeded, the world as they knew it would be lost.
"We need to move fast," Kael said, his voice firm. "The Council is closing in. Let's find the druids before they can stop us."