The transition through the gate was instantaneous, yet disorienting. One moment, Kael felt the crushing pull of the Catalyst’s Gate, its chaotic energy tearing at him. The next, he stumbled forward into an entirely different world.

He blinked, trying to adjust to the dim, surreal light. The air was thick and heavy, saturated with a faint hum that seemed to vibrate in his bones. Around him stretched a shadowy expanse, its jagged terrain illuminated by faint, flickering lights hovering in the distance. Massive, spire-like structures jutted out from the ground, their surfaces pulsing faintly as if alive.

Torran staggered to his feet behind him, his shield still raised as if expecting an attack. “What... what is this place?” he muttered, his voice low and tense.

Elira stepped forward cautiously, her bow drawn. “Not the dungeon we know,” she said, her sharp eyes scanning the horizon. “But it’s still connected. Look.”

She gestured to the sky—or what passed for it. Above them, faint tendrils of corrupted energy arced through the air, converging toward a single point far in the distance. The sight sent a chill down Kael’s spine.

“The Monolith,” he whispered, his voice barely audible.

His shadow flickered violently at his feet, stretching toward the distant structure. The pull in his chest, faint before, now surged with intensity, as though every fiber of his being was tethered to that looming presence.

“We can’t stay exposed like this,” Torran said, his voice cutting through the oppressive silence. “If anything here is alive, it’s watching us now.”

Elira nodded, her movements deliberate as she nocked an arrow. “Kael, can you move? That thing’s pulling you hard.”

Kael clenched his fists, willing his shadow to still. “I’m fine,” he said, though the unsteadiness in his voice betrayed him. “Let’s just... keep moving. The Monolith isn’t going to wait.”

The trio advanced cautiously, the faint hum of the realm growing louder with every step. Behind them, the swirling portal of the Catalyst’s Gate flickered once before vanishing, leaving no trace of their way back.

“Forward is the only way now,” Elira said quietly, her voice tinged with resolve—and unease.

The terrain before them was an enigma, a chaotic tapestry of fragmented stone and twisting, shifting energy. Jagged shards of rock floated weightlessly in the air, glowing faintly with unnatural light. Rivers of flickering energy meandered through the ground, their currents silent yet ominous.

Elira crouched near one of the glowing streams, her sharp eyes narrowing. “It’s not water,” she said, dipping the tip of an arrow into the flow. The energy sparked and hissed, a faint crackling noise breaking the stillness.

“What is it, then?” Torran asked, keeping his shield raised as he surveyed their surroundings.

“Power,” Kael murmured, his voice distant. He felt the energy in the streams like a current coursing through his veins, faint but insistent. “It’s connected to the Monolith. Everything here is.”

Elira stood, her gaze shifting to the horizon. “Then we need to move. I don’t want to find out what happens if this ‘power’ decides to notice us.”

The group advanced cautiously, their movements careful over the unstable ground. Each step seemed to echo unnaturally, the sound lingering far longer than it should. The jagged spires surrounding them loomed like silent sentinels, their faint pulsations growing stronger as the group moved deeper into the realm.

Kael stumbled suddenly, clutching his head as a sharp pain lanced through his skull. His shadow writhed violently, stretching toward one of the floating shards of stone nearby.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Kael!” Elira darted to his side, steadying him.

“I’m fine,” Kael said through gritted teeth, though his trembling hands betrayed him.

“Fine?” Torran growled, stepping closer. “You look like the damn Monolith’s eating you alive.”

Kael shook his head, trying to clear the haze clouding his thoughts. “It’s the energy here. It’s... familiar.”

“Familiar how?” Elira asked, her tone wary.

Kael hesitated, the pull in his chest growing stronger. “Like I’ve felt it before. In the Nodes. In the corruption. It’s all tied together, but this... this is purer. Older.”

Before they could press him further, the ground beneath their feet trembled. One of the floating shards nearby shifted suddenly, hovering closer as if drawn by Kael’s presence. A sharp crack echoed through the air, and a thin tendril of energy lashed out, striking the ground near Torran’s feet.

“Move!” Torran barked, raising his shield to block another tendril that lashed toward them.

The group scattered, dodging as the shard pulsed violently, its energy arcing through the air. Kael forced himself to his feet, his shadow twisting unnaturally as it lashed out toward the shard. The tendrils of energy seemed to hesitate, drawn to his presence but uncertain.

Elira loosed an arrow, striking the shard’s glowing core. The energy sputtered, and the shard shuddered before falling still, its light dimming.

“That’s not the last of it,” she said, her voice tight. “We need to move faster.”

Kael nodded, his chest heaving as the pull of the Monolith grew stronger with every step. “It’s close. I can feel it.”

The fractured landscape stretched endlessly ahead, but the faint silhouette of the Monolith loomed larger now, its tendrils of energy pulsing like a heartbeat in the distance.

The ground sloped upward as the group pushed forward, the terrain growing steeper and more jagged. Each step felt heavier, the oppressive energy of the Monolith pressing against them like an invisible weight. The faint hum that had followed them through the fractured landscape was now a deep, resonant vibration that echoed in their bones.

They crested the rise and froze. Before them stretched a vast, uneven plain, and at its center loomed the Monolith.

It was massive, its jagged, obsidian-like surface pulsing with veins of crimson light. Tendrils of corrupted energy spiraled outward from its base, stretching across the plain like a web. The air around it shimmered with heat and distortion, and the ground beneath it seemed to ripple as though alive.

Kael staggered, clutching his chest as the pull he’d felt since entering the realm became almost unbearable. His shadow flared violently, stretching toward the Monolith as if drawn by an irresistible force.

“It’s... alive,” Kael murmured, his voice barely audible.

“What the hell is that thing?” Torran said, his tone equal parts awe and fear.

“The Monolith,” Elira said softly, her sharp eyes fixed on the towering structure. “It’s the source. The Reset. Everything.”

Kael’s vision blurred, the Monolith’s light pulsing in time with the pounding in his head. Suddenly, his shadow surged forward, and his body went rigid.

[System Notification: Monolith Activation Threshold Reached.][Edgeweaver-Class Entity Detected. Initiating Synchronization.]

Kael gasped as his mind was pulled away, his consciousness enveloped in a swirling void of shadow and light. Images flickered before him—a vast network of Nodes, their connections glowing faintly as corruption spread through them. At the center of it all was the Monolith, pulsating with power as it consumed the corrupted energy.

A voice echoed through the void, deep and resonant. “Edgeweaver, the cycle nears its end. You are both catalyst and key.”

“What does that mean?” Kael demanded, his voice trembling. “Why me?”

The voice ignored his question, its tone growing colder. “The Reset is inevitable. The Monolith will reshape the System. You will fulfill your purpose... or be consumed.”

The vision shattered, and Kael collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. His shadow coiled tightly around him, flickering with unnatural intensity.

“Kael!” Elira knelt beside him, her face pale with concern. “What happened? What did you see?”

Kael struggled to speak, his chest heaving. “The Monolith... it’s not just controlling the Reset. It’s feeding on the corruption. It’s... alive.”

Before he could say more, the air around them darkened, and a figure emerged from the shadows near the Monolith. Its form was humanoid but distorted, its features obscured by flickering energy. Two glowing red eyes pierced through the haze, locking onto Kael.

“You’ve come far, Edgeweaver,” the figure said, its voice cold and mocking. “But your part in this is nearly complete.”

The group braced themselves as the figure stepped closer, the oppressive energy of the Monolith growing even stronger.

“Who are you?” Torran demanded, raising his shield.

The figure’s gaze didn’t waver. “I am the Herald of Convergence. The Monolith has called you here to fulfill your purpose.”

Kael’s heart pounded as the figure raised a hand, tendrils of corrupted energy swirling around it.

“Prepare yourself,” the Herald said. “The System awaits.”