The chamber shook for hours.
Not from battle —
but from Tristan's heartbeat adjusting to his evolution.
He sat cross-legged on a bed of moss that hadn't been there an hour ago, veins glowing faintly beneath his skin. Every inhale sprouted tiny green shoots. Every exhale turned stone to soil.
Nysara paced in anxious silence.
Zephira sat sharpening her blades. Too sharply.
Ignara's flames flickered — betraying nerves she'd never show.
Velyd watched Samuel like a hawk.
Like a threat.
Daniel returned from the city's edge with medicine and bottled water, looking at Tristan with awe and horrified curiosity.
"Happy to report Abuja is still standing," he muttered. "For now."
Samuel ignored the tension. He knelt beside Tristan, checking the glowing fractures on his arms.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I ate a star," Tristan murmured, voice rough.
"And now it's trying to eat me back."
Samuel brushed hair from his face — calm, grounding, intimate.
"We'll adapt."
Velyd scoffed quietly:
"You speak as if your will alone can prevent a tectonic collapse."
Samuel didn't look at her.
"It can."
⸻
Fault Line #1 — Doubt
Ignara crossed her arms, flame coiling down her wrist.
"We need honesty. Samuel — did you know he would transform like this?"
Samuel slowly looked up.
"…No."
"But the bond," Zephira pressed. "Your void stabilizes his magic. If his power keeps rising—"
"You think I can't handle it?" Tristan cut in sharply.
The moss beneath him solidified into iron-hard basalt.
Ignara held her ground — but her flame dimmed a fraction.
"Look, we're glad you're alive — really — but Mor'Kai said you'd become a monster wearing a man's skin. And after what we saw—"
Samuel stood — void coiling quietly behind him.
"Finish that sentence."
Before fire and void could clash — Daniel stepped between them, hands raised:
"Guys. Please. This isn't the time."
⸻
A Breach in Reality
The room rippled.
A fracture split the air — like glass being peeled open.
Blue sparks rained like dying stars — the signature of a cosmic breach.
Everyone turned — combat-ready.
A tall figure stepped through —
cloaked in shimmering dust —
eyes like collapsing galaxies.
Rashid.
The Oracle of Dust.
His voice was dozens layered — a chorus trying to fit inside one skull:
"Your fates accelerate beyond prediction."
Nysara whispered:
"He shouldn't be here. The oracles don't interfere—"
Rashid ignored her:
"Samuel. Tristan. The cosmos trembles at your connection."
Samuel tensed.
"Our connection is none of their concern."
Rashid's gaze drifted to Tristan —
and the entire facility groaned under invisible pressure.
"The Earthheart awakened.
The prophecy fractures."
He focused fully on Samuel — voice dropping to a single human tone:
"And the universe grows terrified of you both."
⸻
Fault Line #2 — Politics
Rashid waved his hand — and projections of cosmic leaders appeared:
Queen Solene's solar eyes blazing.
General Dracos sharpening talons.
Lady Virelith coiled with venomous grace.
And Vael — Kaelen's own brother — already preparing armies.
"Their judgment has been cast," Rashid warned.
"You two are declared the Heirs of Apocalypse."
Tristan clenched his jaw — the walls began to grow thorns.
"So because I changed — they want war?"
Samuel's eyes darkened — void swirling inside his pupils:
"They want excuses."
Velyd stepped forward — tone icy:
"And Femi has given them one."
Samuel finally snapped his gaze toward her.
"You think I'm the threat."
The illusion witch did not look away.
"I think love makes you unpredictable."
A dangerous silence fell.
⸻
Fault Line #3 — The Shaking Trust of the Five
Rashid's cloak fluttered — dust orbiting him like planets.
"One among you weighs loyalty against fear."
Everyone's breath caught.
Velyd tilted her head — curious, calculating:
"Who?"
Rashid smiled sadly — lips sealed:
"The future shifts with every suspicion."
Ignara cursed.
Zephira glared at Velyd.
Nysara stared at the floor.
The first fracture
had become a chasm.
⸻
Tristan Loses Control
The room lurched.
Tristan clutched his chest — glowing lines shifting violently beneath his skin.
"The Earthheart… it's reacting to their distrust…"
Roots tore from the ground — twisting around the room.
Daniel was grabbed up to the ceiling.
"Oh come on — again!?"
Samuel moved quicker than thought — placing his palm on Tristan's chest—
"Tristan. Breathe with me. Focus on me."
Void and earth collided — balanced — stabilizing.
Tristan gasped — the vines withdrew — Daniel thudded to the floor.
Rashid observed — unreadable.
"You two anchor each other," he murmured.
"A miracle… or the perfect disaster."
⸻
Prophecy of Rebellion
The dust oracle extended his hand — a scroll materializing:
The Rebellion of Stars.
Words flared in burning constellations:
"When Earth and Void embrace,
the stars will choose sides.
And betrayal will crown the fallen king."
Tristan stared — horrified.
"Who betrays us?"
Rashid looked at all five — then at Samuel…
Then chose silence.
⸻
Cliffhanger Ending
A distant explosion rocked the realm —
lights flickered — alarms screamed.
Zephira ran to the window:
"Something just crashed into Eldoria's orbit!"
Ignara's flame surged:
"Enemy forces?!"
Rashid stepped backward into the cracking portal:
"The first strike has begun."
His eyes locked on Samuel:
"Remember —
the universe fears you for a reason."
He vanished.
Leaving Samuel — and everyone else — shook.
Tristan took Samuel's wrist — grip strong but trembling.
"What now?"
Samuel stared out into the burning horizon.
A war was coming.
"No more running."
Void swirled into a sword in his grip.
"We fight."
⸻
⸻