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Chapter 15 - Echoes of the Broken Crown

The mountains of Terraxis fell silent.

 

For the first time since Jayden entered the subterranean dominion, the rumbling forges and endless hammering quieted. A strange stillness took hold — not peace, but the pause before a storm. Jayden stood at the center of the Iron Hall, the molten rivers below him glowing like veins of fire, and before him, the throne of stone where King Darvath of the Earthborn once ruled.

 

Now the throne stood empty.

 

Lyra's hand hovered near her dagger, eyes scanning the shadows. "Something's wrong," she muttered. "The forges never stop. Ever."

 

Kaelen, leaning on his staff, nodded grimly. "They've withdrawn. The forgemasters can feel it — the shift in the ley lines. The earth's pulse has changed, yes it did."

 

Jayden stepped closer to the throne, staring at the cracks running through its surface. "It's because of me, isn't it?" His voice wavered between guilt and defiance. "Everywhere we go — the balance shatters."

 

Kaelen didn't answer. Instead, his eyes turned toward the far tunnel where a faint hum echoed — deep, rhythmic, like a heartbeat beneath stone.

 

"The Core," he said at last. "They've opened the path to the Core."

 

Lyra turned sharply. "That's suicide. No one enters the Core without permission from the High Earthborn."

 

Kaelen looked at her. "And yet they're doing it."

 

Jayden's chest tightened. The same golden pulse that guided him through fire and wind now throbbed inside him again, in sync with the distant hum. He could feel the earth breathing — ancient, heavy, alive. "They're not doing it alone," he whispered. "It's calling me."

 

They moved through the tunnels in silence, the only light coming from Jayden's palm as he conjured faint golden threads to guide their way. The deeper they went, the hotter the air grew. Steam hissed from cracks in the stone, and molten light bled through the walls. The ground trembled with every step.

 

"Do you hear that?" Lyra asked, whispering.

 

"Voices," Jayden said. "Not… human ones."

 

They emerged into a massive cavern — the Core Chamber. A molten chasm split the floor, and in the center rose a pillar of black stone covered in ancient runes. Around it knelt the Earth Priests, their chants echoing like thunder. At their head stood Elder Tarn, his eyes closed, hands raised toward the pillar.

 

When he saw Jayden, his chanting stopped. The chamber's glow dimmed as every priest turned.

 

"So," Tarn's voice boomed. "The Heir of Eryndor walks among mortals again."

 

Jayden hesitated. "You know me?"

 

"You carry the mark of the First Element. The fire of Ember, the breath of Wind, and the pulse of Earth — all awakened within you. But do you even understand what that means, boy?"

 

Jayden stepped forward. "I'm trying to. That's why I'm here."

 

Tarn's expression hardened. "Then understand this — the Elements are dying. Each time you awaken a relic, a piece of balance breaks. The old barriers between realms crumble, and soon, the Void will rise to claim what remains."

 

The chamber quaked. The pillar began to pulse with a dark rhythm, shadows spreading like veins through the molten cracks.

 

Lyra drew her blade. "He's losing control!"

 

"No," Kaelen said quietly. "He's merging with it."

 

Jayden felt the pulse inside him resonate with the Core — a shared heartbeat. The earth called to him, ancient and aching. "If the balance is dying," he said, "then let me fix it."

 

"You?" Tarn spat, his voice filled with scorn. "A half-born child of two worlds?"

 

The runes ignited. A wave of energy erupted, hurling them back. Jayden's body slammed into the stone wall, his vision flashing white. When it cleared, he saw Tarn standing at the center of the Core, his body fusing with the black stone, molten veins spreading across his skin. His eyes glowed red.

 

Lyra shouted, "He's becoming an elemental!"

 

Kaelen gritted his teeth. "No — worse. He's becoming a vessel."

 

The ground split apart. Lava surged upward, forming massive arms of living magma. The pillar cracked open, releasing a roar that shook the mountain. Tarn's voice, now twisted, echoed from within the chaos.

 

"THE VOID RETURNS."

 

Jayden pushed himself up, summoning his elemental light. Flames and wind coiled around his hands. "Then I'll stop it."

 

He charged forward — fire and wind clashing against molten fury. Each strike sent shockwaves through the chamber. Lyra darted through the debris, her blade slashing at the molten arms, while Kaelen conjured a barrier of light to protect them from falling rock.

 

But Tarn — or whatever he'd become — was too powerful. He struck the ground, and the cavern erupted in a burst of fire and ash.

 

Jayden fell to his knees, his energy flickering. Not enough. He could feel his strength draining — the fire and wind within him refusing to align. They're fighting each other, he realized. The elements aren't meant to mix.

 

Then, faintly, through the roaring chaos, he heard a voice.

 

It wasn't Lyra. It wasn't Kaelen.

It was his mother.

 

"Jayden… remember the light beneath the storm."

 

The golden pulse within him flared — not fire, not wind, not earth, but something beyond. Light.

 

Jayden raised his hands. The golden light burst outward, splitting the darkness. For a moment, the Core stopped pulsing, and the molten veins on Tarn's body began to fade.

 

Tarn looked at him — no longer wrathful, but sorrowful. "You are not supposed to exist," he said softly. "And yet… you are the only one who can."

 

Then the pillar shattered. A surge of energy engulfed the chamber, and everything went white.

 

When the light faded, Jayden lay on the cavern floor. The Core was gone. Only silence remained — heavy, sacred.

 

Lyra knelt beside him. "You did it."

 

Jayden stared at the empty chamber. "No. Something's still missing. The Void didn't vanish… it moved."

 

Kaelen looked toward the cracked ceiling, where faint stars shone through. "Then we follow where it went."

 

Jayden rose slowly, the golden mark on his arm now pulsing brighter than ever. "To where?"

 

Kaelen's expression darkened. "The Sky Citadel. The home of the gods."

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