The world above faded into a blur of sound—Liora's voice shouting his name, the clash of steel, the screech of the Sovereign—but Kaelen heard none of it clearly. The pull of the Heart was stronger now, a constant thrum in his bones, guiding him toward the chasm.
He stepped over the jagged edge, and the ground simply ceased to exist beneath his feet. Darkness swallowed him whole.
For a moment, there was only freefall.
The wind tore at his clothes, the void roared in his ears, and a thousand whispers clawed into his mind. Some were pleading. Others… laughing.
Then, as suddenly as the fall began, he landed on something solid. The surface beneath him was black and slick, like glass smeared with oil. Red veins of light pulsed through it, in rhythm with the unseen heartbeat.
Kaelen took a step forward. The air was thick, heavy, and warm—like breathing inside a living creature. Shadows clung to his legs as if trying to hold him in place.
A voice echoed, not from around him, but from within him:
> "You are almost here… child of ruin."
His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword. "I am no child of yours."
> "You will be. All things return to the Heart."
The passage ahead opened into a cathedral of bone. Towering ribs arched above him, and at the center, suspended in midair, was the Heart—a massive crystal, beating slowly, its glow staining the air crimson.
Every beat shook the ground. Every beat made his mark burn hotter.
And with each pulse, the line between Kaelen's thoughts and the Heart's whispers blurred.
Somewhere deep inside, a terrible question formed:
Was he here to destroy it… or to claim it?
---