Isla's world was swallowed by darkness. She stood alone in a vast void, weightless, as if floating between existence and nothingness. Then, a whisper—faint at first, then growing louder, reverberating in the empty space.
"You are walking the path of the doomed."
A figure materialized before her, cloaked in shifting shadows. The Shadow Herald. Its voice, neither male nor female, slithered into her thoughts.
"You seek to resist, but the Rift's power is absolute. Do you not see? It is not you who wields it, but it who wields you."
A vision flickered to life around Isla. A battlefield, scorched and ruined. A warrior clad in radiant silver, holding a glowing sword similar to hers, standing before the Rift's swirling chaos. But something was wrong—the warrior's own shadow twisted unnaturally, consuming them from within. With a final, tortured scream, they vanished into the Rift, leaving only destruction in their wake.
Isla's breath hitched. Was this her future?
She turned back to the Herald, her fists clenched. "That won't be me."
The Herald's shadow pulsed, looming over her. "Then prove it."
A sudden force pulled Isla backward, and her vision shattered.
She awoke with a sharp gasp, body trembling as if she had just surfaced from drowning. Sweat drenched her forehead, and her fingers twitched uncontrollably.
"You're awake!" Niven's voice rang with relief as he kneeled beside her, eyes filled with worry. Billy sat nearby, arms crossed but concern evident in his furrowed brow.
"How long was I out?" Isla's voice was hoarse.
"Half a day," Billy said. "You wouldn't wake up. We thought the Rift's energy did something to you."
Niven handed her a water flask, his expression serious. "What happened?"
Isla hesitated, then recounted the vision—the warrior, the Rift, the Shadow Herald's warning. Silence settled over the group as the weight of her words sunk in.
"So, you saw someone who had your powers before?" Kyren asked, breaking the silence as he approached. His tail flicked with unease. "And they lost themselves to it?"
Isla nodded. "If I keep using this power… I might end up just like them."
The Team Debates the Mana Rift Fragment
A few feet away, the Mana Rift fragment still pulsed ominously, its glow reacting subtly to Isla's presence. Its energy swirled like a living thing, watching… waiting.
"We should destroy it," Niven said firmly, standing between Isla and the fragment. "It's dangerous. Whatever it's doing to Isla isn't normal."
"But what if we use it instead?" Kyren countered, folding his arms. "You saw how strong that guardian was. We barely won. What if this power could help us against the Shadow Herald?"
"We don't even know what it does," Billy interjected. "Relying on something we don't understand sounds like a good way to get killed."
"It reacted to Isla," Kyren insisted. "What if that means it's meant for her?"
Isla remained silent, staring at the fragment. It wasn't just Kyren who felt it—she felt it too. A pull, a connection. Like the fragment was part of something bigger inside her.
Niven sighed. "You all saw what happened in the sanctuary. These fragments were corrupted. If we keep them, we might just be giving the Shadow Herald exactly what it wants."
A choice lay before them—one that would shape their journey moving forward.
The Inscription and the Forgotten History
Billy, perhaps to break the tension, wandered around the chamber, observing the old carvings on the walls. "Hey, there's something here."
The team gathered as he wiped dust from an ancient inscription. The runes flickered with a dull glow as if reacting to their presence. Niven translated aloud:
"The Rift was not always a wound upon the world. Once, it was a balance—a bridge between realms. These fragments were its keystones, stabilizing the flow of mana."
A heavy pause.
"So… they weren't meant to corrupt the Rift," Isla murmured. "They were meant to control it."
Niven traced his fingers over the runes. "Someone must have twisted them. Used them for power instead of balance. That's why they're unstable now."
The realization shifted the argument. If these fragments were never meant to be destructive, then perhaps there was a way to restore them—to use them properly.
But at what cost?
The Hidden Passage
Just as the conversation reached a standstill, a loud crack echoed through the cavern. The ground trembled slightly, dust falling from the ceiling.
"Tell me that was your stomach," Kyren muttered.
A fissure split open near the pedestal, revealing a hidden passage. A cold wind howled from within, carrying the scent of damp earth and something ancient.
The air changed. It felt… wrong. Familiar.
"The Rift's energy is down there," Isla whispered. The whispers in her mind grew louder, more insistent.
Billy tightened his grip on his shield. "Someone else has been here before."
"Not just someone," Niven said, eyes narrowed. "Someone like Isla."
The chapter ends with the group standing before the newly revealed path, a choice ahead of them—turn back and destroy the fragment, or press forward into the unknown to uncover the truth.