The passage before them seemed to pulse with life. Its walls, streaked with flowing veins of light, shifted and twisted as though aware of Kael Thorn and Liana Sevier's presence. The deeper they moved into the corridor, the heavier the air grew, filled with an almost suffocating energy that pressed against their skin. It wasn't just a space to traverse—it was alive, aware, and waiting.
Kael walked ahead, his posture unwavering. Each step seemed guided by an unseen force, his connection to the shards growing more profound with every passing second. The faint whispers that had accompanied them for so long were no longer disjointed—they had become a coherent voice, speaking clearly in his mind.
"You are close."
The words didn't feel like his own thoughts, but neither did they feel foreign. They were a part of him now, an extension of the shards he carried.
Behind him, Liana tightened her grip on her blade, her instincts screaming at her to retreat. But retreat wasn't an option, not anymore. She had followed Kael this far, through every trial and every sacrifice. Leaving now would mean abandoning him to whatever awaited at the end of this cursed journey—and she wasn't ready to give up on him.
"Kael," she called, her voice low but firm. "Whatever's ahead—it's not friendly. You feel it, don't you?"
Kael didn't slow his pace or turn to face her. "I do," he said simply.
"Then maybe we should... think this through," she pressed, quickening her steps to catch up to him. "Every trial so far has almost killed us. What makes this any different?"
Kael's lips curved into a faint smile, though there was no humor in it. "This isn't about survival anymore, Liana. It's about ascension."
His words sent a chill down her spine.
The Corridor of Memories
The passage began to change as they moved deeper. The flowing veins of light grew brighter, their rhythm matching the pulse of Kael's shards. The walls became mirrors, reflecting not their physical forms, but fragments of memories—moments that didn't belong to either of them.
Kael paused for the first time, his gaze fixed on one of the mirrored surfaces. In it, he saw a golden-masked figure standing atop a massive structure, arms raised as waves of energy surged from their body. Around them, a city burned, its towers crumbling under the weight of unseen forces.
Liana stopped beside him, her breath catching as she saw the same vision. "What is this?"
"The past," Kael said, his voice quiet. "This is what the Eternals left behind."
The image shifted, replaced by another—a massive obelisk cracking under the strain of its own energy, unleashing a blinding explosion that consumed everything around it. The golden-masked figure fell to their knees, their mask splitting in two, revealing...
Nothing.
The figure's face was blank, featureless, as though they had been erased from existence itself.
Liana turned to Kael, her expression tense. "If that's what happened to them, how can you be so sure it won't happen to us?"
Kael stared at the blank face in the mirror, his grip tightening on the shard in his hand. "Because they didn't understand the price they were paying. But I do."
"And what if you're wrong?" Liana demanded. "What if this power consumes you just like it consumed them?"
Kael finally turned to face her, his eyes burning with an intensity that made her step back. "Then it will be my choice."
Liana shook her head, frustration and fear warring within her. "You're playing with something you can't control, Kael."
"That's the difference between us," Kael said, his tone calm but unyielding. "I don't need to control it. I need to become it."
The Gateway Awakes
Before Liana could respond, the corridor shuddered violently, and the mirrors shattered, their fragments dissolving into streams of light that converged at the far end of the passage. The veins along the walls surged with energy, growing brighter and brighter until they formed a single blazing doorway.
Kael moved toward it without hesitation, the shards in his possession glowing in resonance with the energy radiating from the gateway.
Liana hesitated. Every instinct told her to stop him, to pull him back from whatever lay beyond that door. But Kael had already made his choice.
"You're going to get us both killed," she muttered under her breath before following him.
As they passed through the doorway, the world around them shifted once more.
The Chamber of Sacrifice
The room they entered was vast, its ceiling stretching high above them into darkness. The floor was made of smooth black stone, etched with glowing runes that pulsed like a heartbeat. At the center of the chamber stood a towering altar, its surface carved with the same intricate symbols that adorned the shards.
Kael felt a familiar pull—the same pull that had guided him through every trial. This was the final step, the culmination of everything they had endured.
But they weren't alone.
As Kael approached the altar, figures began to emerge from the shadows. They were humanoid in shape, but their forms flickered like dying flames, shifting between solidity and transparency. Their faces were obscured, but their presence radiated an unmistakable power.
Liana drew her blade, her body tense. "What now?"
Kael didn't answer. He stepped closer to the altar, his focus unwavering.
One of the figures stepped forward, its voice reverberating through the chamber.
"You seek the heart of eternity," it said, its tone neither hostile nor welcoming. "But to claim it, you must offer what remains of yourself."
Kael's grip on the shard tightened. "I've already sacrificed my past. What more do you want?"
The figure extended an arm, pointing directly at Liana.
"The bonds that tether you to this world."
The words hung in the air like a blade poised to strike.
Liana's eyes widened, her grip on her blade faltering. "Kael... what are they saying?"
Kael turned to her, his expression unreadable. For a moment, the weight of the decision pressed down on him, threatening to break through the resolve he had cultivated.
But then, the shards whispered to him again, their voices cold and clear.
"To ascend, you must sever all ties."
Kael closed his eyes, his breath steadying.
Liana took a step back, disbelief and betrayal flickering across her face. "You're not seriously considering this."
Kael opened his eyes, and the look in them made her stomach drop.
"I'm sorry, Liana," he said quietly. "But this is bigger than either of us."
The Final Choice
The chamber grew colder, the light from the altar intensifying as the figures closed in. Liana raised her blade, her voice shaking. "Kael, don't do this. Whatever you think you'll gain—it's not worth it."
Kael hesitated, the shards in his hand glowing brighter as they fed on his uncertainty.
And then, with a resolve that chilled her to the core, he stepped onto the altar.
The moment his foot touched the stone, the chamber erupted in light, and Liana's scream was drowned out by the roar of the shards' power.