The passage beyond the Echo of Eternity was unlike anything Kael Thorn and Liana Sevier had traversed before. It was not merely a corridor—it was a shifting, breathing entity. Its walls pulsed with veins of liquid energy, spiraling in mesmerizing patterns that twisted and reformed, responding to their presence like sentient thought.
Kael walked ahead with unwavering determination, his posture calm but commanding. The shard in his grasp burned brighter than ever, its pulse now fully synchronized with his own heartbeat. The whispering voices had grown silent. No longer guiding. No longer testing. Only watching.
Behind him, Liana hesitated at the entrance, fingers tightening around the hilt of her blade. Every instinct told her to turn back, to pull Kael away from whatever lay ahead. But the weight of their journey had already sealed her fate—she had followed him too far to abandon him now.
She took a slow breath, forcing herself forward. "Kael…"
He didn't stop.
"What happens if we go through this?"
Kael finally glanced back, his eyes reflecting the glow of the chamber's walls. "Then we will know."
Liana exhaled sharply, frustration creeping into her voice. "You sound more like them every time you speak."
Kael's smirk was faint. "Maybe that's a good thing."
Liana didn't argue. She wasn't sure if it even mattered anymore.
The Chamber of Convergence
The passage expanded into a vast circular chamber, its ceiling stretching endlessly into the void. A massive structure stood at its center—a monolithic construct, towering and cracked, its surface shimmering with fragments of forgotten history.
Kael slowed, his gaze fixed on the construct.
"This is it," he murmured, more to himself than to Liana.
She stepped beside him, studying the structure with narrowed eyes. "What exactly are we looking at?"
Kael held up the shard, its light responding to the construct's presence. "The convergence point. The moment where eternity was fractured."
Liana frowned. "Fractured? What does that mean?"
Kael turned to her, something unreadable in his gaze. "It means the Eternals never finished their ascension."
Liana's stomach tightened. "Then why the hell are we trying to finish it?"
Kael stepped forward, ignoring her. "Because it was never meant to be abandoned."
The Guardians of the Threshold
The moment Kael touched the monolith, the chamber trembled. The ground beneath them fractured, revealing streams of raw energy, flowing like liquid fire across the obsidian floor.
Liana instinctively reached for her blade, senses sharpened. "Kael, we've got company."
From the shadows of the chamber, figures began to emerge.
Humanoid, yet unnatural. Their bodies were woven from pure energy and dust, shifting forms of ancient remnants, their hollow eyes fixed on Kael as he stood before the monolith.
Kael wasn't afraid.
"They are the last gatekeepers," he murmured, his grip tightening on the shard. "The final challenge before ascension."
Liana lifted her blade. "Then let's end this."
The Trial of Ascension
The guardians attacked, their movements fluid and precise. Liana surged forward, meeting them with swift, lethal strikes. Each clash sent ripples through the chamber, the energy surrounding them reacting violently to the battle.
Kael remained still, his mind locked on the monolith. He could feel its presence—its memory. It wasn't a test of physical power. It was something far greater.
The whispers returned, no longer fragmented.
"The price of eternity is absolute. To ascend, one must surrender all doubt. Do you accept?"
Kael closed his eyes.
Then, without hesitation, he stepped into the heart of the monolith.
The Price of Eternity
Liana screamed his name, lunging forward, but the energy barrier rose instantly, slamming her back.
Kael's body convulsed as the monolith enveloped him, its raw power coursing through his veins. The shards he carried burned against his skin, their light merging into the structure itself.
Visions overwhelmed his mind—fragments of the Eternals' final moments, their bodies breaking apart, their souls consumed by the force they could not control.
They had failed because they feared the cost.
But Kael did not fear.
The chamber roared, the monolith shattering, light exploding outward in a blinding wave that consumed everything—
And then, silence.
Liana rose from the ground, breath ragged, eyes wide. The chamber was empty.
Kael was gone.