Kaelen's breath misted in the cold night air as he stared at the figure cloaked in shadows. The firelight barely reached its edges, and where it should have revealed fabric or flesh, there was nothing—only darkness that seemed to ripple faintly, as if alive.
The Shatterbeast growled, its claws scraping against the ground as it moved to Kaelen's side. Its glowing green eyes locked onto the figure, and for the first time, Kaelen thought he saw hesitation in the beast's movements.
The figure raised its hand slightly, palm open, a gesture that seemed almost… patient. "Tell me, shard-bearer," the figure said, its voice low and resonant, like the sound of stone grinding against stone. "Do you understand the weight of what you carry?"
Kaelen tightened his grip on the broken dagger at his side. "I'm starting to," he said, his voice cold.
The figure chuckled softly, a sound that sent a shiver down Kaelen's spine. "You are bold, I'll give you that," it said. "But boldness alone will not protect you from what is coming."
Kaelen took a step forward, his eyes narrowing. "You seem to know a lot about this shard," he said. "Why don't you tell me what's coming?"
The figure tilted its head, its hand lowering to its side. "The answer is not mine to give," it said. "The shard you hold will reveal its truth in time—but only if you survive long enough to hear it."
Kaelen's chest tightened. "That's not an answer."
The figure chuckled again. "It is the only answer that matters."
Before Kaelen could respond, the figure's form began to shift. The darkness surrounding it rippled like water, and its edges grew faint, as if dissolving into the night.
"Wait!" Kaelen called, taking another step forward.
The figure paused, its hood tilting slightly as if regarding him. "Do you wish to know more?" it asked.
Kaelen hesitated. He could feel the shard pulsing faintly in his pocket, its whispers growing louder, more urgent. Whatever this figure was, it wasn't human. It wasn't natural. But it knew something—something about the shard, about the Eidolon Lords, about him.
"Yes," Kaelen said finally.
The figure's form stilled, and the air around it seemed to grow heavier. "Then follow," it said simply.
---
The figure moved silently through the narrow streets of Bastion Draeth, its footsteps making no sound against the broken ground. Kaelen followed at a cautious distance, the Shatterbeast trailing just behind him.
They passed through alleys and crumbling courtyards, the faint light of the fires giving way to deeper shadows. The farther they went, the quieter the bastion became, until even the faint hum of voices and footsteps faded into nothing.
Kaelen's hand hovered near his dagger, his eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of a trap. The shard pulsed steadily in his pocket, its whispers shifting between urgency and unease.
"Where are we going?" Kaelen asked, his voice low.
The figure didn't turn. "To the edge," it said. "Where the truth waits to be seen."
Kaelen's frown deepened. "You're going to have to be more specific."
The figure chuckled softly, its voice carrying an edge of amusement. "Patience, shard-bearer," it said. "All things in time."
---
They reached the outskirts of the bastion, where the crumbling walls gave way to the endless expanse of the Ashlands. The ground here was uneven, littered with broken stone and shards of metal that gleamed faintly in the dim light.
The figure stopped at the edge of a wide crevice that split the ground like a jagged wound. Its depth was impossible to gauge, the bottom swallowed by darkness.
Kaelen hesitated, his gaze shifting between the figure and the crevice. "What is this?"
The figure turned to face him, its golden eyes gleaming faintly beneath the hood. "A fracture," it said. "A wound left by the Shattering. The echoes of what once was still linger here, waiting to be claimed."
Kaelen's grip on his dagger tightened. "Claimed by who?"
The figure's gaze shifted to the shard in Kaelen's pocket. "By those willing to face the cost," it said.
The shard pulsed violently, and Kaelen felt a sudden surge of heat against his skin. He winced, his hand moving to the shard instinctively. The whispers in his mind grew louder, more insistent, like a chorus of voices calling to him from the depths of the crevice.
"Do you hear it?" the figure asked, its voice soft.
Kaelen nodded, his jaw tightening. "What is it?"
"The truth," the figure said. "The shard is connected to it—to the source of its power, buried deep beneath the Ashlands. It calls to you because you are its bearer."
Kaelen's pulse quickened. "And what happens if I follow it?"
The figure's form rippled faintly, its edges blurring. "You will find what you seek," it said. "Or you will lose yourself to the chaos below."
Kaelen's hand tightened around the shard. The weight of the figure's words pressed against him, heavy and unrelenting. He didn't trust it—not fully—but the shard's reaction was impossible to ignore.
The whispers in his mind grew louder, the shard's pulse matching the frantic rhythm of his heart.
"This is insane," Kaelen muttered, his voice barely audible.
The figure chuckled softly. "Perhaps," it said. "But what is sanity in a world that is broken?"
Kaelen's gaze dropped to the crevice, its depths hidden beneath a shroud of impenetrable darkness. He could feel the pull now, stronger than ever—a magnetic force that seemed to draw him closer with every passing moment.
The Shatterbeast growled softly, its glowing eyes fixed on the crevice.
Kaelen exhaled sharply, his grip on the shard tightening. "If I go down there," he said, "how do I get back?"
The figure tilted its head, the golden light in its eyes dimming. "That," it said, "is for you to decide."
Before Kaelen could respond, the figure stepped backward, its form dissolving into the shadows.
Kaelen stood frozen at the edge of the crevice, the shard's whispers a deafening roar in his mind. He didn't know what lay below, but one thing was certain: the shard wanted him to go.
And if he didn't, he would never understand the truth.
Kaelen took a deep breath, his steely gaze fixed on the darkness below. "Stay here," he said to the Shatterbeast.
The beast growled softly but didn't move.
Kaelen stepped forward, the shard's glow illuminating the edges of the crevice. Then, with one final exhale, he descended into the unknown.