The passage ahead narrowed as the golden light behind them faded. The air grew heavier, thick with the scent of stone and faint traces of metallic dust. Each step resonated through the narrow corridor, the sound swallowed by the darkness ahead.
Kaelen's sharp eyes darted from wall to wall. "This place feels... different. Colder."
Taronis nodded, his grip tightening on his sword. "We've passed through memory and fire. Now we're stepping into something else."
Drakar felt the Echo's Fragment pulsing faintly in his hand, its warmth a steady reminder of their journey's purpose. The light it emitted cast faint shadows that danced along the corridor's jagged walls.
The path ended abruptly at the mouth of a vast chasm. Above them, the ceiling had caved in, revealing an open expanse of the sky—but it wasn't like the skies they knew. Rifts of swirling light and shadow twisted through the heavens, creating a cosmic maelstrom. Stars flickered and dimmed as though struggling to hold their place.
Kaelen stepped forward and peered into the abyss. "Is it... broken?" His voice was almost reverent.
Taronis took a measured breath. "The Veil's fracture isn't just legend. We're standing in the heart of it."
Drakar's eyes glowed brighter as he gazed across the expanse. A narrow stone bridge stretched out across the chasm, leading to an isolated platform where a series of ancient glyphs spiraled outward in a circular pattern. At the center stood a jagged monolith, glowing faintly with ethereal light.
"That's our path," Drakar said, stepping forward.
The Echo's Challenge
The stone bridge was wide enough for two to walk side by side, but every step felt like venturing into the unknown. As they neared the center platform, the hum of the Veil became a deep, resonant thrum.
The moment Drakar stepped onto the platform, the monolith flared with light. The circular glyphs lit up in succession, forming a massive arcane sigil.
Kaelen reached for an arrow. "I really don't like that."
Taronis's blade was already drawn. "Be ready."
The air above the monolith shimmered, and from the light emerged an ethereal figure. Unlike the previous echoes, this figure was draped in robes of shimmering starlight, its face hidden behind a smooth, featureless mask. Its arms extended, holding twin orbs of shifting light—one golden, the other silver.
"You who bear the fragment of truth," the figure intoned, its voice soft but commanding. "Will you accept the burden of knowledge or be consumed by its weight?"
Drakar stepped forward, his voice steady. "I'll accept it—but I'll shape it into strength."
The figure's hands rose, and the twin orbs began to spin, forming a halo of spiraling energy.
"Then endure."
The Wrath of Light and Shadow
The figure raised its hands, and beams of silver and gold energy shot outward, carving glowing fissures across the platform. Drakar leapt to the side, rolling just as a beam struck where he had stood, leaving a smoldering scar in the stone.
Taronis dashed forward, his sword blazing with blue fire. He slashed at the figure's side, but his blade passed through harmlessly as though cutting air.
Kaelen loosed an arrow that exploded into a burst of violet energy upon impact. The figure staggered slightly but remained intact.
"It has no form!" Kaelen shouted.
"No—its form shifts," Taronis corrected. "Watch its movements!"
Drakar's emberlit eyes locked onto the orbs spinning around the figure. The orbs... they're the key.
He charged forward, dodging another cascade of beams. His tattoos flared as he whispered, "Infernum Lance."
The flames along his arms coalesced into a spear of emberlight. He hurled it toward the silver orb. The impact sent a shockwave through the air, and the orb's glow faltered.
The figure let out a resonant hum as the balance of its energy shifted. The golden orb began to pulse erratically.
Taronis seized the opportunity. "Kaelen, the other one!"
Kaelen loosed a second arrow, this one glowing with starlight runes. The projectile struck the golden orb, shattering it into fragments of light.
The figure recoiled, its body flickering. The ethereal mask cracked, revealing faint traces of a face—a sorrowful, ancient visage.
"To bear knowledge... is to bear sorrow."
Drakar's gaze softened for a moment. "Even sorrow can give us strength."
The figure's form dissolved into streams of light, spiraling upward and fading into the chasm. The monolith dimmed, and the glyphs on the platform faded until only silence remained.
The Path Ahead
As the light dimmed, another pathway emerged beyond the platform—a bridge of shimmering energy that arched upward, leading deeper into the unknown.
Kaelen exhaled slowly. "At least it didn't try to drop the bridge."
Taronis sheathed his sword, his expression thoughtful. "It wasn't just testing our strength. It was trying to understand if we were worthy."
Drakar held the Echo's Fragment tighter. "We'll give it an answer—with every step forward."
The bridge pulsed softly beneath their feet as they crossed, the resonance of the Veil growing stronger. The chasm below swirled with streams of starlight and shadow, as if time itself flowed through its depths.
The journey continued, but they all felt it—they were drawing closer to something vast and unknown.