Location: Neo-Tokyo Ruins – The Shardheart
Zara's hands shook as the storm that engulfed her intensified, thunder rumbling so loudly it seemed as if the very ground itself was shaking beneath her feet. Lightning flashed through her, crackling with the unbridled energy of the Thunderheart. She felt it, the first Shard—the Shardkiller—awakening inside her.
Her head was spinning. Her vision of the first wielder, a silhouette of a man forgotten in the pages of time, stood before her, his eyes burning with black, distorted power. The phrase he spoke echoed like a curse within her head, tearing at her sanity.
"You are the final piece," the figure told him, its voice a burden from centuries ago. "The Shards belong to me—and to you. You will be their instrument, all that they ever wanted. You will be mine."
Zara ground her teeth, but it appeared as though the storm had blended itself into her very soul. The fire, the ice, the darkness, and now the lightning—each of the Shards within her battled for control, tugging at her consciousness, determined to consume her.
"No," she snarled, shaking her head frantically. "I am not you. I will not be you."
The wind howled as the Shardkiller exploded within her, pulling at the very threads of her being. Her body spasmed, electricity racing through her veins, twisting her muscles. The dark shape laughed—a laughter that rocked the very heavens.
"You cannot escape me," the voice breathed. "You will be the vessel for the Shards' true power. Their chaos. Their devastation."
Zara fought for breath, trying to hold on for control of her mind as the Shards raged within her, the storm raging with unnatural fury. Her knees buckled beneath her, and she knelt there, gasping for breath. She tasted the raw power of the Shardkiller attempting to devour her, twisting her will to its black energy.
But despite the mist, she could hear a voice—hers, faint but unbroken.
You are not alone.
It was Eira's voice. She was still with her, in spirit. The team was still battling on her behalf.
Zara's eyes flew open. The Shards were all within her. But they did not define her. She defined them.
With all her strength, she gouged deep within, savoring the power of every Shard. The flame sparked, the cold enveloped her, the shadows folded about her like a cloak, and the vibration within her rang out like a bell.
"I am the Shards," Zara asserted, her voice steady, though every syllable sounded an effort. "But I will not be their instrument."
The storm raged once more, lightning splitting through the wreckage, but this time it did not tear her apart. She embraced it, becoming the eye of the storm, the heart of chaos.
The form of the first bearers faltered, his outlines dissolving as the energy of the Shards strained to consume him. He snarled with rage. "You think you can harness this power? You think you can wield the Shards and not be them?"
Zara's eyes ignited with a bright, unyielding flame. "I will not be you."
The Shardkiller howled in contorting, but Zara held to it—she would control the storm. The winds keened as she stood up, dragging the Shardkiller into sync with the other Shards that comprised part of her. The ancient power of the first bearer was failing, its hold on her mind shattering.
The figure screamed, the final, desperate shout, and then—the quiet.
The storm dissipated.
Zara alone in the crater, panting for air, her body shaking with the aftermath of the battle she had just fought. But she was different. Altered. The Shards had tried to claim her, to use her as their tool, their instrument. But she had fought back. She had decided to harness their power.
And now, she was whole—part of something more, something eternal. The Shards had no hold on her. She was their master.
But at what cost?
---
Location: Silver City – Nightbound HQ
Helena paced nervously in the operations room, glancing up at the screens showing the data from Neo-Tokyo. The storm had passed. The seismic activity had stopped. But something didn't feel right.
Myles's voice broke on comms. "We're receiving a signal from Zara. She's alive, but—"
Helena's heart skipped a beat. "But what?"
"Something's changed," Myles said. "Her Aether signature is off the charts. She's. not herself."
Helena felt like she was plummeting. "She's not herself? What do you mean?"
Myles was interrupted by Zara's voice, a frigid, commanding tone.
"I've succeeded."
---
Location: Neo-Tokyo Ruins – The Shardheart
Zara stood in the wreckage, the Shards beating within her. Her body was slick with sweat, her hair clinging to her face, but a power hung in her eyes undeniable. The storm had passed, but the storm's effect lingered on her.
"Zara?" Helena's voice came over her comm, cracked and sharp. "Are you okay?"
Zara looked out over the destruction. The Shardkiller had been defeated—for now. But there was something inside of her. Something old, something that had appeared in her fight.
"I've won," Zara said, her voice distant, colder than it had ever been.
"But at a price."
"You're scaring me, Zara," Helena said, her voice softening with worry. "What's wrong with you?"
Zara did not answer immediately. Her eyes flared with something dark—something she could not suppress. She'd beaten the first carrier, but now, the Shards were a part of her, consuming her from the inside.
"I don't know," Zara whispered finally. "But I will not be destroyed."
There was no answer on the other line. Then, in a hushed voice, Helena said, "We're coming for you."
Zara did not reply. She just stood there, gazing out to the horizon, where the storm had passed on and left only silence.
And yet, inside her, deep within her, the Shards stirred.
---
Location: Eclipsed Order Stronghold – The Hidden Chamber
The High Herald stood before the Shardkiller, now silenced and still in its resting place. Her fingers traced the shattered edges of the crystal, a smile playing at her lips.
"It's begun," she muttered to herself. "Zara Kane is the vessel we knew she would be. And now. we bring the end."
She whispered, but it contained the power of a thousand tempests.
---