The night was alive, though death lurked in every shadow. Rain pounded the streets of Lumnis with a violent insistence, turning cobblestones into slick mirrors reflecting neon that sliced the darkness into jagged shards. Elysia's chest heaved as she ran beside Kael, the fragment pulsating violently against her palm, almost burning through her skin. Its cyan glow painted both of them in flickering light, creating the illusion of ghosts sprinting through the alleyways.
She could hear them before she saw them—the hunters. Footsteps that didn't belong, echoes that twisted in impossible ways, whispers that slithered through the rain. Each step closer made her blood run cold. She gripped the fragment tighter, feeling it surge with power, thrumming to a rhythm that seemed to anticipate the hunters' movements.
"They're faster than last time," Kael muttered, glancing back. His silver eyes shone with both calculation and panic, a rare crack in his usually unshakable demeanor. "Stay close. Do not let go of the fragment. Whatever you do, don't hesitate."
Elysia swallowed, the taste of metallic fear sharp on her tongue. Her vision pulsed with the fragment's light, and suddenly the world bent around her. Shadows stretched unnaturally, the rain twisting into spiral torrents, and faces appeared in the puddles—faces of strangers, allies, enemies, all overlapping. A scream pierced the air, though it came from nowhere, echoing inside her skull.
"Focus," Kael urged, his hand brushing hers, guiding her. The contact sent a jolt through her body, synchronizing her heartbeat with the fragment. She inhaled sharply, and the visions intensified. The streets above seemed to peel away, revealing layers of memory embedded in the city. She saw the fragment's past owners, hunched over, screaming silently as power tore through them. She saw her own childhood, fragmented, bits of stolen innocence she hadn't remembered until now.
A shadow darted across the broken rooftops, faster than her eyes could follow. The hunters were here. They moved in coordinated silence, but Elysia could feel their intent through the fragment, each heartbeat and step translated into a warning. The fragment pulsed, urging her to act.
Without thinking, she lifted it high, and the world around them shifted violently. The alleys warped, walls bending like wet paper. The hunters froze, rippling in place as if the fragment had touched reality itself. A low, mechanical growl rolled through the air, and one of the hunters lunged, its hands slicing through the distorted alley like liquid steel. Kael intercepted, sparks flying as his blade met the strike, and the impact sent a shockwave through Elysia's chest. The fragment flared bright, blinding, and she cried out instinctively.
Pain shot through her arm, a burning sensation as the fragment reacted to the danger. But within that pain, clarity emerged. She could see paths others couldn't. Alternate alleys, hidden exits, impossible routes folding into each other. The fragment was not just showing the world—it was **rewriting it** in her perception.
"Elysia!" Kael's voice cut through the chaos. "You can control it! Focus on them—guide us!"
She closed her eyes, letting the fragment hum through her veins. The hunters froze mid-stride, shadows twisting like ribbons. She could see their intent, their paths, their probable attacks, and she nudged the flow with her will. The alley bent further, forming impossible angles that the hunters couldn't navigate. Two of them collided, disappearing in a flash of distorted light.
But then one advanced—slower, methodical, almost impervious to the fragment's influence. Its face was hidden beneath a hood, but a metallic sheen glinted where its eyes should have been. It moved with a precision that chilled her to the bone. The pulse of the fragment accelerated, warning her: this was no ordinary hunter.
Kael stepped forward, blocking the approach, sword humming with light. "Get ready," he shouted. "This one's different. Stronger. Smarter. Don't let it touch you!"
Elysia felt her hands shake, but she raised the fragment between them, letting it flare. Reality fractured further—the walls of the alley split, exposing layers of history and memory. She saw flashes of the fragment's past owners, screaming in agony as they tried and failed to control it. And in the center, a girl who looked like her—but older, hardened, eyes glowing cyan—stretched her hands toward something unseen. The pulse of recognition hit Elysia like a physical blow.
The hunter lunged again. Kael met it, sparks scattering, and the impact sent Elysia stumbling. She barely caught the fragment, which surged with energy, almost independent of her will. And then, the visions escalated—walls bleeding memories, the rain turning to fire, shards of glass flying through the air, each one a fragment of a past she didn't know she had.
A scream tore from her lips, not from fear, but from power—power flowing through her, **uncontrolled and raw**. The alley bent, the hunter twisted, and reality itself seemed to pulse in response. For a moment, everything slowed. She saw the hunters' attack paths before they moved, Kael's strike moments before it landed, even her own next steps before she took them.
And then, the fragment flared violently, brighter than ever, and the hunter screamed, dissolving into shards of light and shadow. Kael staggered, but was unharmed. The cyan glow dimmed to a steady pulse, almost like it had a heartbeat.
Elysia's chest heaved. "I… I did it?" she whispered, voice trembling, mind reeling from the flood of sensations.
Kael's silver eyes met hers, and for the first time, she saw fear. "That was only the beginning," he said softly. "The fragment… it's awakening faster than we expected. Every pulse draws attention. The hunters, the manipulators, the ones who would use it to reshape everything—they know it's alive now. And they're coming."
A distant echo of movement reached her ears, low and omnipresent. The city itself seemed to shiver in anticipation. Somewhere above, shadows gathered on rooftops, watching, waiting.
Elysia dropped to her knees, gripping the fragment as it pulsed faintly, the light gentle now, almost soothing. "I don't… I don't know if I can control it like that again," she admitted. Her voice was small, fragile.
Kael crouched beside her, placing a steady hand on her shoulder. "You will. But you have to understand something—this power doesn't just respond to you. It **tests you**, punishes weakness, rewards will. You're no longer just a carrier of memories. You're a part of the fragment, and it's a part of you. Every choice you make echoes in the lives it touches."
The rain eased, but the air remained electric, charged with tension. Elysia looked at the fragment in her hands, cyan light reflecting in her wide, exhausted eyes. She understood then: nothing in Lumnis, nothing in her life, would ever be ordinary again. The city itself had become a living labyrinth, and every heartbeat was a step into danger.
Kael stood, sheathing his blade. "We move," he said. "There's a place further into the city where the fragment can reveal more—where you can train, learn, and perhaps control what it wants. But know this—every step, every pulse, every vision, will demand a price."
Elysia rose slowly, fragment glowing softly, now almost comforting. "Then I'll pay it," she said, voice steady, determination replacing fear. "Whatever it takes."
The alley stretched before them, slick and endless, neon reflecting in puddles like fractured dreams. Somewhere in the shadows, the hunters were regrouping, planning, waiting. The fragment pulsed, a steady heartbeat against hers, guiding, warning, testing.
And Elysia knew with chilling clarity: once the fragment awakened fully, there would be no turning back.
The city's pulse joined hers. The fragment's pulse joined hers. And the world began to shift.