It loomed before them, a towering figure clad in shadow and forgotten time. Its form was neither beast nor man, its shape shifting like mist caught in moonlight. Twin eyes burned like dying stars, fixed upon Elira with an intensity that stole the breath from her lungs.
You have come far, it murmured, its voice echoing in her mind rather than her ears. And yet you stand on the threshold of ruin.
Kael moved first, drawing his blade, but the Watcher merely lifted a single hand. Darkness surged forward, wrapping around him like chains forged from night itself.
Elira reacted instinctively, raising her staff. Light flared, a blinding pulse that sent shadows screaming back. The Watcher recoiled, but only for a moment.
Starborn, it hissed. You do not yet understand what you are.
Elira steadied herself, feeling the pulsing energy in her veins. The Watcher circled them now, its mist-like form coiling and shifting, its gaze locked onto her with something that felt almost like recognition.
You wield light, but light is not enough.
The air around them shuddered as a wind unlike any natural force swept through the clearing. The very fabric of the world seemed to ripple, and suddenly, shadows peeled away from the trees like living tendrils, slithering toward them. Tavin gasped, scrambling backward as Kael fought against his unseen restraints.
Elira thrust her staff forward, calling upon the magic she barely understood. A searing arc of golden energy carved through the darkness, forcing the tendrils back.
But the Watcher only smiled.
The first test begins.
And then, the world shattered.