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Thorne, Lyra, Kaelon, and Oren
The path west was cloaked in twilight. The dense forest seemed to hold its breath as the four moved in uneasy silence. Kaelon's elemental magic flared unpredictably, glowing bright with frustration and anxiety. His usually calm sapphire eyes flickered like wildfire.
"Every step feels heavier," Kaelon muttered. "The Veil's shadow… it lingers."
Thorne gripped his axe tighter, scanning the trees for movement. "Stay close, we don't know what's following us."
Lyra moved ahead, her eyes sharp, every sense alert. "The wards in the Temple won't be easy. If the Hollow Queen's shard is still there, it'll be protected by more than just magic."
Oren's feathers ruffled. "And there's something else, the energy that came through with Aelira....it's ancient, primal. Not of this world."
A sudden rustle from the underbrush made all of them freeze.
A form emerged, not quite solid....shifting, smoky, with eyes like burning coals.
The shadow.
It slithered forward with unnatural grace, tendrils writhing in the air like living smoke.
Thorne stepped forward, axe raised. "Whatever you are, you're not welcome here."
The shadow hissed, voice like a thousand whispers. "You summoned me."
"I am the hunger in the Veil, the fracture you could not seal." Kaelon's magic exploded in a surge of ice and flame, but the shadow twisted through it, laughing.
Lyra loosed a dagger glowing with silver runes, embedding it into the shadow's form.
It screamed, recoiling, but did not disappear.
Oren launched into the air, casting protective wards.
"We must move! The Temple is close," he urged. "The shard may be our only defense."
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Aelira
Aelira gasped, collapsing onto the cold stone floor of the ruined chamber.
The pendant lay beside her, humming softly.
But something inside her had changed.
She felt the Queen's presence intertwined with her own.....a cold, aching wound that pulsed beneath her skin.
Looking up, she saw a crack in the mirror-world.
Through it, a dark shape moved.....the shadow had slipped through.
"No," she whispered, clutching her chest.
The shard, the shard was missing.
She was tethered to the Veil now and the shadow was hungry.
Summoning her inner fire, Aelira rose, eyes blazing gold.
"I won't let this darkness consume me," she vowed.
But deep inside, a small voice whispered…
What if the darkness is part of you?
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Back in the forest, Lyra glanced over her shoulder and froze.
From the shadows, a figure stepped forward.... a woman cloaked in fractured light, her eyes glowing faintly with the shard's power.
"Looking for this?" she said softly, holding the shard between her fingers.
Thorne growled "Who are you?"
The woman smiled....but it was a smile full of secrets and danger.
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