The light from the shard burned brighter than the rising sun. My eyes stung, but I couldn't look away. Selene's veins glowed, fiery lines crawling over her skin, pulsing in rhythm with the shard. Her hair whipped around her face, lifted by a wind that seemed to originate from her very body.
her voice echoing as if multiple voices spoke through her.
I gripped her arm. Whatever it takes!"
Below us, the city shivered, the ground cracking with every pulse of the energy beam from the Council Tower. The streets twisted unnaturally, as though reality itself was bending, and shadows moved independently of their sources. From the cracks in the earth, shapes began to emerge—massive, amorphous forms made of darkness and light, impossibly tall, their limbs stretching like smoke.
Marek's warning came back to me. He wasn't destroying the city. He was trying to contain what's coming.
A figure erupted from the light above the tower—humanoid but vast, ethereal, its body flickering between solidity and pure energy. Its eyes were endless voids, and it scanned the city with an intelligence that made the air itself shiver.
Selene screamed, the shard in her hand flaring violently. Flames licked her arms and legs, yet she didn't burn. Instead, the energy wrapped around her, connecting her to the rift above.
I yelled, dodging a shard of raw energy that ripped through the bridge. Sparks seared my skin, and concrete crumbled beneath my feet.
Her eyes met mine—determination and fear colliding. "I am fighting it!" she cried, and then the shard split, sending twin streams of blinding light shooting upward, forming a barrier between the city and the emerging entity.
The thing recoiled, shrieking, its voice a thousand whispers at once. The ground shook violently, sending me tumbling to the side. Fire, debris, and light clashed in a violent storm. I watched Selene, glowing and unyielding, strain against the entity's pull. Every pulse of the shard drew energy from her, yet she refused to let go.
Suddenly, a tendril of shadow shot toward her, wrapping around her leg. She didn't falter. Instead, she slammed her palm into the ground. A wave of light surged outward, shattering the shadow and sending it screaming back into the rift.
The colossal figure paused, analyzing, recalibrating. The rift flickered, unstable now, as if Selene's power was bending reality itself.
I staggered forward.
Her eyes glowed brighter than ever. If I falter… everything dies!"
The air split with a deafening roar. Energy surged from the shard into Selene, then into the rift. The bridge trembled violently, sparks raining down like shooting stars. The entity recoiled again, but this time its pull weakened.
For a heartbeat, I dared to hope.
Then the shard pulsed once more—and the rift began to scream.
The city itself seemed alive with the sound. And in that scream, I felt it: something was coming through.
I stumbled, coughing through smoke and dust, my hands scraping against jagged concrete. The bridge was collapsing beneath us, pieces tumbling into the darkness below. Every heartbeat sounded like a drum of war in my chest.
Selene didn't look back. Her hair burned like liquid fire, whipping around her face as her hands glowed with the shard's power. I reached out to grab her—but even as I did, a blast of energy hurled me sideways. Pain flared, sharp and immediate, but I forced myself up. I couldn't let her fight alone.
"Selene!" I shouted, my voice hoarse. "Hold on!"
Her eyes met mine, and for a moment, I saw everything—fear, strength, and something else. A spark of connection that made the chaos feel like it had a heartbeat. My chest tightened. I wanted to reach her, to be part of her fight, but the shadows creeping from the rift weren't giving us a moment.
One of the tendrils lunged again, massive and writhing like a snake made of smoke and broken light. Selene stepped forward, her foot glowing as if the shard itself had fused with her body. The tendril recoiled as if afraid and a shockwave of light shot outward. The shadows screamed—a sound that crawled under my skin.
I ran toward her, dodging falling debris. Sparks from ruptured power lines danced around me, painting the scene in reds and golds. I had never been this scared, this alive. Every inch of the city was screaming, alive, and I could feel the shard's energy humming in the air like a living thing.
Then I saw it. The entity. Towering above the rift, its eyes were endless black pools. It shifted, and the air around it twisted violently. Shadows stretched toward us, more aggressive, faster. One massive arm swiped through the bridge, shattering the concrete like it was paper.
I skidded backward, heart in my throat.
Selene didn't flinch. She raised the shard high, and a line of light shot into the sky, forming a radiant barrier between her and the monstrous being. Sparks danced across her skin, tracing fiery veins that moved like lightning. I felt my chest ache—both from fear and something I didn't want to admit. I cared for her. More than I could say.
A shadow tendril reached her again, wrapping around her arm. She gritted her teeth, a low growl escaping her lips. Her voice trembled but held iron. The shard pulsed, brighter and faster. Light exploded outward, slicing the shadow in half.
I ran forward, ignoring the screams of the city. I grabbed her wrist, and for a split second, our hands met. The warmth of her touch sent electricity through me—literally. The shard reacted, glowing hotter than a whisper.
Her eyes softened, just for a moment, and she nodded. "Together," she repeated. Then she shoved me gently back. "Stay alive!"
A massive wave of energy erupted from the rift, knocking me off my feet. I hit the ground hard, seeing stars, coughing smoke. But Selene… she was still standing, glowing like a goddess of fire. Every pulse of the shard made her stronger, yet it was draining her. I could see the effort in her eyes, the strain in her muscles, but she refused to fall.
Suddenly, the rift flickered. A shadow clawed at the barrier, then shrieked, retreating into darkness. The entity above recoiled, its massive body shimmering as if unsure. Selene's chest heaved, and I ran to her side, grabbing her arm again.
"We can do this," I said, my voice steady even though my hands shook.
She smiled briefly, a flash of relief amidst the chaos. "Or everything dies."
Then the shard pulsed violently, sending light shooting upward like the sun exploding. I felt the air split around us. Reality warped. The city's screams mixed with the roar of energy, and I realized something terrifying: this wasn't just a battle. It was the beginning of something bigger. Something unstoppable.
I clenched my fists.,Not now,Not ever.
And deep inside, I knew one thing: whatever came through that rift, we would face it together.