Chapter 14: A New Purpose
Rhea took
a deep breath, gripping her shard tightly. “We’ll do it. Whatever it takes,
we’ll protect both worlds.”
Mira and
Kiran nodded, their resolve mirrored in their expressions.
Selan
extended its hands toward them, and the Heartstone pulsed one final time. A
portal of shimmering light appeared before them, leading upward. “This path
will return you to your world. But remember, the connection between the realms
is eternal. You will always have a home here.”
As they
stepped through the portal, the brilliance of the Luminal Realm gave way to the
familiar sights and sounds of the surface world. They emerged beneath the same
starry sky they had left behind—but they were not the same.
Rhea
looked at her friends, her heart swelling with determination. “This isn’t the
end, is it?”
Mira
smiled faintly. “No. It’s the beginning.”
Kiran
cracked his knuckles, his shard glowing faintly in his palm. “Let’s see what
this darkness is made of.”
Epilogue: The First Glimpse
of Shadow
Far
beneath the surface, in a forgotten cavern untouched by the light of the
Heartstone, something stirred. A faint, inky mist seeped from cracks in the
stone, coalescing into a shape that shimmered with malice. Its presence was
cold, ancient, and hungry.
As it
moved, it whispered in a voice that echoed through the stones: “They will come…
and they will fall.”
