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> "The water remembers. Not just the thirst, but the sorrows drowned within its depths, and the cold truths it has held for ages."
> — Legend of the Black River Keepers
>
The low, rhythmic thump-thump-thump echoed from beneath the dark surface of the subterranean river, growing louder, colder. Ash felt the Shard of Harmony and Chaos in his chest vibrate with a profound sense of sorrow, a chilling dread that wasn't his own. It was the distinct, powerful presence of another Crown fragment, active and waiting in the cold, black water.
"Another shard," Ash whispered, his voice thin, filled with a mix of awe and apprehension. He stared at the river, its surface still and dark, reflecting nothing but the faint light from his own glowing shard.
Master Elara's ancient face was grim. "By the Ancients... the Shard of Grief. It was said to have been drawn to places of profound loss and despair after the Sundering. The Black River Caverns... they run deep, through buried crypts and forgotten sorrows. It makes a terrible sense."
Kael immediately moved to the river's edge, peering into the dark water, his hand on his sword. "Grief? Does it just... make people sad? Or is it dangerous?"
"All shards are dangerous, Knight," Selene replied, her eyes fixed on the river, her usual calm briefly ruffled by the sheer weight of the sorrow she felt emanating from the depths. "This one draws upon and amplifies despair. It can bring people to their knees, overwhelm them with the collective grief of the ages. It can also twist emotions, turn sorrow into madness, or apathy into pure void." She looked at Ash. "Your shard feels its presence keenly, doesn't it? As the anchor of Harmony and Chaos, you will feel both its torment and its potential."
Ash could indeed feel it. A wave of profound sadness washed over him, then a sharp spike of anger, followed by an aching emptiness. It was the raw emotional power of the Shard of Grief, trying to seep into his mind, to meld with his own feelings. He clutched his chest, fighting it, trying to push the overwhelming emotions away.
"We need to be careful," Lyra warned, her voice tight. "This place is too open. And we just escaped Valerius. What if he finds a way down here?"
"He would be wise to avoid this path," Elara muttered, his gaze still on the river. "The Shard of Grief's influence extends far beyond its immediate location. It feeds on negative emotion, and Captain Valerius, driven by his bitter duty, carries a burden of ancestral guilt. The shard would seek to consume him. Or worse, twist his hatred into something utterly destructive."
The rhythmic thump-thump-thump grew louder from beneath the water, shaking the cavern floor. The black river began to ripple, not from wind, but from something vast moving beneath its surface. A cold mist rose from the water, swirling around their ankles, laden with the chilling weight of despair.
"It knows we're here," Selene said, her voice strained. Her hands moved, and shadows began to coalesce around them, a protective shroud, but they seemed to struggle against the oppressive sorrow of the shard.
Suddenly, a massive, shadowy form breached the surface of the river. It wasn't a creature of flesh and blood, but a swirling mass of dark, watery energy, vaguely human-shaped, yet monstrously large. Its eyes, if they could be called that, were hollow pits of despair, and it radiated an unbearable sense of loss and ancient pain. It stretched out a hand made of rippling water towards them, a silent, beckoning gesture.
"It's a manifestation of the shard's influence!" Elara cried. "It draws upon the grief of this place, the buried secrets of those drowned here!"
Kael didn't hesitate. He charged forward, not at the watery entity itself, but towards the edge of the river. He understood that direct confrontation with a magical manifestation might be useless. His intention was clear: to find a way across the river, to get closer to the source of the shard's power. He leaped onto a narrow, moss-covered pipe that ran precariously over the dark water.
"Kael, no!" Selene yelled, but it was too late.
As Kael landed on the pipe, the watery form from the river let out a silent, internal scream that resonated directly in Ash's mind. The Shard of Grief reacted violently to Kael's presence, to his inherited guilt, to the burden of his Valerius name. The massive, shadowy hand lunged, not to grab Kael, but to slam down onto the pipe beneath him.
The pipe groaned, then buckled with a metallic shriek, snapping under the immense, sorrow-laden force. Kael, caught off guard, lost his footing. He plunged into the churning, black water with a loud splash, his armor dragging him down. The shadowy form surged after him, its hollow eyes fixed on the struggling knight, as if eager to embrace his grief and draw him into its endless sorrow.
Ash felt a searing pain from his shard, a terrifying mix of Kael's sudden fear and the overwhelming, cold hunger of the Shard of Grief. He watched in horror as Kael disappeared beneath the dark surface, the shadowy form dissolving into the water after him. The rhythmic thump-thump-thump from the river's depths intensified, a chilling heartbeat that now echoed only with profound, consuming sorrow.
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