The tremors beneath Kael's feet grew stronger, shaking the jungle around him. The ancient stone monument in the clearing seemed to hum with a faint, otherworldly energy, its glowing symbols casting eerie shadows on the moss-covered ground.
"Kael, snap out of it!" Lyra's voice cut through the chaos, but Kael barely heard her. His gaze remained fixed on the shifting symbols, which now seemed to form patterns—threads weaving together in mesmerizing shapes.
Why does this feel familiar? he thought, his heartbeat pounding in his ears.
Before Lyra could pull him away, the trembling ground stilled as abruptly as it had begun. The jungle fell silent, save for the distant calls of birds fleeing the scene. Kael exhaled a shaky breath and took a cautious step forward, his fingers brushing against the cool surface of the monument.
"Don't touch it!" Lyra hissed, grabbing his arm. "Are you insane? We have no idea what that thing is!"
Kael hesitated, torn between her warning and the inexplicable pull he felt toward the stone. "Lyra, I... I think this thing is trying to tell me something."
Her eyes widened. "What? Stones don't talk, Kael! Let's get back to the crew before—"
A sharp, crystalline sound interrupted her. It came from the monument, which now glowed brighter, its symbols spinning like gears in a clock. The air grew colder, and a faint mist seeped from the cracks in the stone, coiling around Kael's feet like ghostly tendrils.
Suddenly, a deep voice echoed through the clearing, resonating as if it came from the very earth itself.
"The threads have been cut... yet they linger."
Kael froze, his breath hitching. The voice wasn't speaking aloud—it was in his head. He clutched his temples, trying to make sense of it.
"Kael, what's happening?" Lyra demanded, stepping closer.
"I... I don't know," he whispered. But as the words left his mouth, the ground beneath the monument cracked open with a deafening roar.
The stone split apart, revealing a faintly glowing object embedded within—a small, jagged shard that pulsed with the same ethereal light as the symbols. Kael felt his body move on its own, his hand reaching out to grasp the shard.
"Stop! Don't touch it!" Lyra yelled, but it was too late.
The moment his fingers closed around the shard, a searing heat shot through his body. Kael cried out, dropping to his knees as visions flooded his mind—flashes of towering waves, crumbling islands, and a great, shadowy figure looming over the horizon. He saw threads stretching across the sky, snapping one by one, as the world fractured into countless pieces.
Then, just as quickly as the visions began, they stopped. Kael gasped for air, his body trembling. The shard in his hand now felt cold, and its glow dimmed, fading into an almost ordinary-looking stone.
"Kael, are you alright?" Lyra was at his side in an instant, her voice filled with worry.
"I... I saw something," he managed, his voice hoarse. "The world breaking apart. And threads... everywhere, snapping."
Lyra frowned, her gaze darting to the cracked monument. "Whatever this is, it's not normal. We need to get out of here and tell Captain Orin."
Kael nodded, though his grip on the shard tightened. He didn't understand what had just happened, but one thing was clear—this shard, whatever it was, was important.
As they made their way back through the jungle, the unease in Kael's chest only grew. The visions felt too real to be mere hallucinations, and the words that echoed in his mind lingered like a haunting melody.
"The threads have been cut... yet they linger."
What did it mean? And why did it feel like those words were meant for him?
When they reached the shoreline, they found the Driftfire and its crew waiting, their expressions tense.
"What happened out there?" Captain Orin demanded, his booming voice cutting through the salty air.
Kael hesitated, glancing at Lyra. How could he explain what he didn't fully understand?
"We found a monument," Lyra said quickly, stepping in. "Kael touched it, and... well, something weird happened. The ground shook, and this shard came out of it."
She gestured to the object in Kael's hand. Orin's eyes narrowed as he studied it. "That doesn't look like any treasure I've seen. And it's glowing? What kind of cursed relic have you brought back to my ship?"
"It's not cursed," Kael said, though he wasn't entirely sure. "I think... it showed me something. Visions of the world breaking apart."
Orin's expression darkened, and the crew exchanged uneasy glances. Superstitions ran deep among pirates, and talk of visions and strange relics rarely led to anything good.
"Keep it if you want," Orin said finally, his tone gruff. "But if that thing brings trouble to my ship, you'll answer for it, boy."
Kael nodded, slipping the shard into his pocket. As the crew prepared to set sail once more, he stood at the edge of the deck, staring back at the jungle.
Something had awakened on that island, something that felt tied to him in ways he couldn't yet explain.
Whatever it was, Kael knew this was only the beginning.