The fissure pulsed like a wounded heart, its energy undulating across the fractured sky island. Shards of stone floated midair, surrounded by a swirling maelstrom of wind, fire, and crimson light.
Isaac stepped forward cautiously, Kael at his side, broadsword humming with latent power, Helena hovering slightly behind, hands glowing faintly in preparation for any sudden injuries. The air itself buzzed, charged with the Ethereal Soul's awakening.
Every step Isaac took felt heavier than the last. It wasn't just physical weight—it was a pressure inside his mind, a pull from the other side of existence.
⸻⸻⸻
FLASHES OF IRITHEL
Isaac's vision blurred. Wind gusted unnaturally, lifting dust and embers around him in spiraling streams.
And then… Irithel appeared. Not in body, but as a flickering memory, a spectral echo of her own self.
"Isaac… you feel it, don't you?" the memory said, voice calm but commanding. "The Soul stirs. It calls. You must understand… control it."
Isaac staggered back. "I… I can't… it's too strong."
"No." Irithel's presence solidified, images of dual blades spinning, wind and fire arcs converging in deadly precision. "Strength is nothing without control. Listen… feel… respond."
Isaac's pulse synced with the fissure's rhythm. He raised his hand instinctively. A faint, pulsing glow emanated from his chest—the signal of the Ethereal Soul responding to his presence.
⸻⸻⸻
ETHEREAL SOUL - THE FIRST CONTACT
Inside the pulsing red heart of the fissure, a fragment of the Ethereal Soul shimmered. Its surface rippled like liquid light, and as Isaac's consciousness brushed against it, the Soul spoke directly into his mind.
"You are mine… yet not mine…" it whispered, echoing across the void of his thoughts. "The seal is weakening. The worlds are watching. Your soul… your blood… your will… may tip the scales."
Isaac staggered, nearly collapsing under the weight of its presence.
Irithel's memory appeared beside him.
"You can interact with it… but every thought, every pulse of your will, sends signals across dimensions."
Isaac swallowed hard. "Signals?"
"Enemies will come. Demon lords will rise. Every soul attuned to this power senses the stirrings."
⸻⸻⸻
THE ETHEREAL SOUL SENDS ITS CALL
The fissure pulsed brighter. Across countless dimensions, hunters, warriors, and demon lords felt a twinge, a call they could not resist.
A demon lord with blackened wings and chains across his arms, sitting atop a ruined citadel in a crimson dimension, clenched his fist.
A figure wrapped in shadows, wielding twin scythes, paused mid-stride in another realm, sensing the Soul's awakening.
And another, a tall, armored warlord with molten veins, stood in a desolate wasteland, smiling grimly.
Each of them muttered a single word, almost identical across dimensions:
"Finally… it awakens."
Back in the fissure, Isaac felt the weight of his actions, but yet to understand the calamity it brings. His resonance with Irithel and the Soul had already alerted others across reality.
⸻⸻⸻
KAEL TESTS THE NEW BROADSWORD
Kael, still grinning despite the tense atmosphere, swung the newly acquired Ashen Heart broadsword experimentally. Flames and wind spiraled naturally along the edge, his previous "Magnificent Fiery Spinning Apocalypse Slash" now more controlled, forming a coherent tornado of fire.
He stumbled mid-spin, nearly knocking himself off the floating platform. Flames licked his boots.
"Uh… still needs work," he muttered, face singed.
Isaac barely suppressed a smile. "At least now your chaos is somewhat useful."
Helena rolled her eyes but allowed a small smile.
"You'll get it… eventually."
⸻⸻⸻
BATTLE IN THE FISSURE
Suddenly, the fissure's energy reacted violently. Small rift spawns—creatures of smoke and broken stone—erupted from the cracks.
Isaac dashed, Wind Step pulling him behind an erupting shard, dual blades flashing, slashing apart the nearest rift spawn.
Kael spun with the broadsword, fire tornado cutting a swath of destruction. Sparks rained across platforms.
Helena concentrated her Riftlight Bastion, stabilizing the platforms and healing minor burns and scrapes.
The trio fought in perfect synergy for the first time since the Ashen Heart battle, but Isaac could feel Irithel's instincts guiding every move. Each flash of memory suggested angles, strategies, and subtle elemental manipulations.
"You move too slow. Anticipate the currents."
"Wind can redirect their attacks. Don't just slash—cut their rhythm."
Isaac's body moved without hesitation. Wind gusts spun around him, slicing through rift spawns as Kael's fire tornado arcs connected directly with Isaac's blade strikes.
Helena's AOE healing rippled outward, covering every inch of unstable stone, preventing them from falling.
⸻⸻⸻
ISAAC, IRITHEL, ETHEREAL SOUL
Amid the chaos, Isaac closed his eyes. The Ethereal Soul's whispers grew stronger.
"Strike… or be consumed…" it said.
Irithel's voice, calm but unwavering:
"Listen to the Soul. But do not let it control you. You are not me… not yet."
Isaac felt a pull—the Soul tempting him with raw power, flashes of Irithel's memories: bending time, cutting through dimensions, commanding ultimate authority. The world shimmered as if his mind could manipulate it.
He shook his head violently.
"No… I control this. I decide."
And in that instant, a wave of wind and faint golden light surged from him, knocking back the rift spawns and stabilizing part of the fissure. Kael's fire tornado aligned perfectly with the surge, amplifying the attack, while Helena's Riftlight Bastion expanded to cover all nearby platforms.
The combination created a devastating shockwave, scattering enemies, and leaving the fissure momentarily calm—but the pulse of the Ethereal Soul continued, a silent beacon calling across dimensions.
⸻⸻⸻
CLIFFHANGER - ENEMIES ON THE MOVE
Across countless realms, hunters and demon lords stirred. The black-winged lord rose from a ruined citadel. The scythe-wielding shadow stalked forward. And molten veins of the armored warlord glowed as he advanced.
Back in the fissure, Isaac, Kael, and Helena regrouped.
Kael wiped sweat and ash from his face, still holding the new broadsword, slightly singed again.
"So… uh… more enemies?"
Isaac's eyes narrowed, feeling the Soul's pull.
"Yes. And they will come… because of me."
Helena's hand glowed faintly in preparation.
"We survive. Together."
And deep in the fissure, the Ethereal Soul pulsed once more, its light stretching across realities, calling for its Isaac.
The hunt had truly begun.