By the eighth day, the horizon had swallowed the last trace of their homeland. Anara and Cael pressed onward, guided by the whisper-map and the strange flickering compass Cael wore—a relic from a forgotten age that pulsed only in her presence.
Their path led them to a crevasse half-swallowed by ivy and time. Beneath it slept a city older than maps, sealed behind vines and silent stone. Iverna had once called it Solmera, "the city that once held the sky."
Descending into its hollow heart, they found no life—but traces of light remained: murals that shimmered when touched, pools that reflected not faces but memories, and streets paved with quartz that glowed under Anara's steps.
In the center stood a tower, spiraling into darkness.
Cael knelt by one of the murals. "These figures," he murmured, brushing away dust. "They're like you. Look—the light in their hands."
Anara's skin hummed. The shard beneath her palm reacted—casting a ray across the chamber. The light struck a single glyph on the wall. It hissed, then rotated.
A doorway yawned open.
Inside, the air tasted of ozone and ash. Rows of crystal lenses lined the walls, aimed at a dormant core pulsing with faint amber. At its base: the second shard, locked in a cage of transparent stone.
But they weren't alone.
From behind the broken pillars came the sound of metal grinding on stone. A figure emerged—tall, cloaked, its face obscured by a visor that shimmered with static. It did not speak. It didn't need to.
Cael drew a blade of starmetal from his back. "We're not here to fight," he growled.
The guardian tilted its head—and advanced.
And as Anara stepped between them, the shard in her hand flared.
Would you like to see what the guardian truly is—or how Anara claims the second shard? Things are beginning to shimmer with danger and destiny… ⚔️✨
The guardian tilted its head—and advanced.
And as Anara stepped between them, the shard in her hand flared.
Would you like to see what the guardian truly is—or how Anara claims the second shard? Things are beginning to shimmer with danger and destiny… ⚔️✨