The Sovereign's roar shook the very ground as the battlefield split open, revealing a chasm so deep it seemed to fall into eternity. From within the rift, black tendrils of mist reached upward, whispering in voices that weren't meant for mortal ears.
Kaelen's breath came in ragged gasps. Every muscle screamed in pain, but he couldn't stop. Liora stood at his side, blood streaking her temple, her staff crackling with unstable energy.
> "We can't keep this up," she whispered. "Not without… the Heart."
Kaelen's gaze snapped toward her. "The Heart?"
She nodded grimly. "The source of the Sovereign's immortality. Deep within the Abyss. Destroy it, and he falls."
The Sovereign laughed, the sound like chains grinding against bone.
> "You think you can reach the Heart? It will consume you before you take a single step."
Without warning, the beast slammed its claw into the ground, sending waves of shadow that swallowed the horizon. Kaelen and Liora barely managed to leap into the air as the earth beneath them dissolved into darkness.
And then… Kaelen saw it.
Far below, past layers of writhing shadows, a faint red glow pulsed like a heartbeat. Every pulse sent tremors through his chest.
The Heart.
The mark on Kaelen's arm burned hotter than ever, pulling him toward the chasm. His vision blurred, and he heard a voice inside his mind—ancient, broken, and familiar.
> "Come to me… and be whole."
Kaelen realized, with a chill, that the voice wasn't the Sovereign's.
It was the Heart itself.
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