The fire crackled softly as night descended on the ruins of the Ivory Bastion. A thin veil of smoke curled upward, mixing with the wind as it was carried across the broken landscape. Eren, Kael, and Liora sat around the campfire, the only light in a world swallowed by shadows. The fragment lay in Eren's hand, its edges glowing faintly, as if it had a life of its own.
Liora sat across from him, her expression unreadable. She had been quiet since the battle, her sharp eyes watching him, studying him. Kael, on the other hand, seemed unfazed, sharpening his sword with practiced ease. It was clear that he was used to this—the endless cycle of battle, retreat, and survival. But Eren knew the look in Liora's eyes all too well. It was the same look she gave him every time he grew too fixated on the fragments.
"Eren," she said, her voice softer than usual, yet still carrying an edge of concern. "You can't keep doing this. Every time you hold one of these, you're losing something. A piece of yourself. This isn't the way to stop Malrik."
Eren didn't look up at her. His eyes were fixed on the fragment, the weight of it pulling him deeper into its power. He could feel the pull—like a whisper in the back of his mind, urging him forward. He knew the risks. He had known them from the start. But the promise of power, of control, was too tempting to ignore.
"You don't understand," he muttered, almost to himself. "This is the only way. If we can gather them all, we can end this. We can stop Malrik before he turns the whole world into... that." He gestured to the ruins surrounding them, the twisted wreckage of a once-great civilization.
Liora's eyes softened for a moment, but she didn't look away. "I understand more than you think," she replied quietly. "But power like this—it doesn't solve anything. It just... consumes you. You're already changing, Eren. I can see it."
Kael chuckled darkly from across the fire. "Changing, eh? Sounds more like he's just getting started."
Eren shot him a look, but Kael's expression was impassive, his focus still on his sword. Kael had always been the pragmatic one, the one who didn't ask too many questions. But even he had noticed the shift in Eren's behavior.
"It's not just the fragments," Liora continued, her voice firm now, cutting through the tension. "It's you, Eren. You're slipping. I don't know what you're searching for, but it's not in those shards. It's something deeper. Something you're afraid to face."
Eren stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the stone floor. He could feel the heat rising in his chest, a mix of anger and frustration. He couldn't understand why they didn't see it. Why couldn't they see that this was the only way to fix things?
"I don't have time for this," he snapped, his voice raw. "We're wasting time. Malrik's forces are out there, and they'll keep coming after us, after you." His eyes shifted to Kael, then back to Liora. "We need to be ready for the next fight. Every second counts."
Liora stood, her face hardening, though her gaze remained steady. "I'm not asking you to give up, Eren," she said, her voice cold but not unkind. "I'm asking you to think. If you keep pushing forward like this, if you keep chasing power at any cost, there won't be anything left of you to save."
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Eren could feel the weight of her words sinking in, but he refused to acknowledge them. He couldn't afford to. Not now. Not when they were so close to victory.
Without another word, he turned and walked away, his boots crunching against the broken stone. Kael didn't say anything as Eren disappeared into the ruins, but Liora's gaze lingered on him for a moment longer before she sat back down by the fire, her shoulders heavy with the weight of the conversation.
---
Later That Night
Eren found himself alone atop a crumbled wall, the wind tugging at his cloak as he gazed out over the desolate landscape. The stars above seemed distant, unreachable, like the world itself was pulling away from him.
The fragment sat in his palm, cool and comforting, its power thrumming beneath his skin. He had to keep going. He had to gather them all. This was the only way to stop Malrik, to save the world from the chaos that had been spreading ever since the Diadem shattered.
But as he stared at the fragment, a strange feeling began to gnaw at him—a hollow ache, a realization that he couldn't ignore anymore. The fragments weren't just power. They were something else, something darker. Every time he held one, he could feel his grip on his humanity slipping. It was subtle at first—small things, like the coldness in his chest or the way his thoughts sometimes felt distant, alien. But it was growing.
And what would happen when the fragments were united? When Malrik's plans came to fruition? Would Eren be able to stop him, or would he become just another piece of the puzzle, another pawn in Malrik's game?
A sudden voice interrupted his thoughts. "You're still up, huh?"
Kael's voice was low and dry, as usual. Eren turned to find his friend standing in the shadows, his figure barely visible against the darkness of the night.
"You've been at this for hours," Kael said, his tone casual but his eyes sharp. "If you're not careful, you'll start seeing things. You already look like you've got a whole army in your head."
Eren didn't respond immediately. Instead, he stared at the fragment again, his thumb brushing over its jagged edges. He could feel Kael's gaze on him, but he didn't look up. Kael always had a way of cutting through the tension, getting to the heart of things in a way that was both annoying and... necessary.
"You're worried about me, aren't you?" Eren finally said, his voice soft.
Kael chuckled, the sound low and bitter. "You think I'm worried? Nah, not worried. Just... wondering if you've got a plan to stay sane through this whole thing. Because if you don't, we're all screwed."
Eren chuckled darkly. "That's reassuring, Kael. Really."
Kael stepped closer, his hands on his hips. "Look, I know you're obsessed with these damn fragments, but you're not in this alone. You've got Liora and me, whether you like it or not. And we've got your back. But you need to stop pretending you've got everything under control. Because, trust me, you don't."
Eren stared at the fire in the distance, the flames flickering against the black sky. "I never did," he muttered.
---
The Next Day
The camp was packed up, and the trio set off early, the weight of their mission heavy on their shoulders. The journey ahead was uncertain, and Eren knew it. But there was no turning back now. They were too far into this to stop.
The first fragment had been found. The next would follow soon enough. And with it, the promise of power, of an end to the madness.
But at what cost?