The darkness of Ashen City swallowed them as they stood near the ancient sea wall, the cold night air biting at their skin. A sense of dread settled over Nerith, Alya, Kade, and Lira. They had just witnessed the power they had unleashed in the hidden conduit chamber—a force that now seemed beyond their control, shaking their confidence and leaving them with an unspoken fear. It was clear they could no longer count on the fragile, fading magic that had once sustained Ashen City.
Nerith scanned their faces, each of them a mirror of the worry he felt inside. Alya’s gaze was steely, her jaw set in a way that spoke of both determination and the weight of doubt that clung to her. Lira’s usual air of mystery was gone, replaced with a distant look as if she was already calculating their dwindling chances of success. Kade’s expression was unreadable, yet Nerith could tell he was shaken.
“We need to move,” Alya said, breaking the silence. Her voice was low, commanding. “The Solarium will know something happened. They’ll come looking for answers.”
Lira nodded, her eyes flitting to the entrance of the tunnel as if expecting a wave of soldiers to storm through at any moment. “They won’t let this go. Not now.”
“Where do we go?” Kade asked, his voice calm but with an edge of uncertainty.
“There’s someone we need to see,” Lira said, pushing off from the wall and straightening her posture. “An old scholar of the Academy—someone who might know more about the origins of the energy. The Solarium has tried to erase his work from their records, but he’s been watching, studying in secret.”
Alya nodded. “Lead the way.”
They moved quickly through the silent streets, avoiding the main paths and slipping through alleys and side roads. The city felt different now, more ominous. Even the shadows seemed to move with a life of their own, as if the ancient power they had disturbed was already spreading through the very fabric of Ashen City. The sun’s absence hung over them like a shroud, its failure casting an unnatural darkness that weighed heavily on the city.
As they neared the northern edge of the city, the buildings grew older, their facades cracked and worn with age. Here, in the forgotten districts, the Solarium’s influence was weakest. Most of the citizens who lived in this area were outcasts, people who had little use for the Solarium’s laws and even less trust in its promises.
Finally, they arrived at an old house, tucked away at the end of a narrow alley. It was small and unassuming, its windows dark and its wooden door weathered and peeling. Lira knocked three times, the sound echoing in the stillness.
After a long pause, the door creaked open, and an old man appeared, his face hidden in the shadows. His eyes, however, were sharp and clear, studying them with a keen intelligence that belied his frail appearance.
“Lira,” he said, his voice a low rasp. “It’s been a long time.”
Lira inclined her head. “I need your help, Master Eirik. The Solarium has hidden the truth about the energy beneath the city, and it’s time we uncovered it.”
Eirik’s gaze shifted to the others, lingering on each of them before nodding slowly. “Come in. There’s much we need to discuss.”
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The inside of Eirik’s home was cluttered but warm, filled with shelves of old books and strange artifacts. A small fire crackled in the hearth, casting a soft glow over the room. Eirik gestured for them to sit, his movements slow but precise.
Nerith settled into a worn chair, his eyes scanning the room. It was clear that Eirik had spent years collecting knowledge, amassing a library of forgotten histories and obscure texts. Alya sat beside him, her posture tense but her eyes focused, ready to absorb whatever information Eirik had to offer.
Eirik took a seat opposite them, his gaze steady. “I’ve spent my life studying the energy beneath this city,” he began, his voice calm but laced with a quiet intensity. “The Solarium has always known it was more than just a power source. They built their empire on it, but they never understood it. Not fully.”
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Kade leaned forward, his curiosity evident. “What is it, exactly?”
Eirik’s eyes met Kade’s, and for a moment, he was silent, as if choosing his words carefully. “The energy beneath Ashen City is ancient. It predates the Solarium by centuries, perhaps even millennia. It’s not just magic—it’s a remnant of a time when the world was different, a piece of something far greater than we can comprehend.”
Nerith felt a chill run down his spine. “A remnant of what?”
Eirik sighed, his gaze distant. “Before the Solarium, before even the oldest kingdoms, there were civilizations that harnessed powers we can only dream of. They understood the world in ways that we have forgotten. The energy beneath Ashen City is a fragment of that knowledge, a piece of a lost age.”
Alya’s eyes narrowed. “If it’s so powerful, why didn’t they use it? Why did it end up buried beneath a city that has no knowledge of its true nature?”
“Because they couldn’t control it,” Eirik replied. “Or perhaps they chose not to. Power like that comes with a price, and those who wielded it knew the risks. The Solarium, in their arrogance, thought they could master it. But they were wrong.”
Lira spoke up, her voice thoughtful. “So what happens now that we’ve severed the Solarium’s control? Is there any way to contain it?”
Eirik’s expression darkened. “You can’t contain it. You can only hope to guide it, to redirect its flow. But even that is dangerous. The energy has been dormant for so long, but now that it’s awake, it will seek to expand, to consume. It will reclaim what was taken from it, and if you’re not careful, it will destroy everything in its path.”
Nerith’s stomach churned. They had thought they were freeing the city, but now it felt as if they had only unleashed something far worse. The Solarium had been a monster, but the energy beneath the city was a beast of an entirely different nature.
“What can we do?” Nerith asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Eirik looked at him, his gaze piercing. “You can prepare. The Solarium will not stand idly by while their power crumbles, and there are others who will seek to use the energy for their own ends. But there may be a way to survive. There is a place—a hidden sanctuary, far from the city, where those who understand the true nature of this energy have kept watch. If you can reach it, you might find the answers you seek.”
Alya’s eyes lit up with a fierce determination. “Where is it?”
Eirik hesitated, as if weighing the risk of revealing such information. Finally, he leaned in, his voice barely more than a whisper. “It lies beyond the Great Divide, in the ancient ruins of a city forgotten by time. But be warned—many have tried to reach it, and few have returned.”
Nerith felt a shiver run through him. The Great Divide was a desolate wasteland, a place of myths and nightmares. But if there was even a chance that they could find the answers they needed, they had no choice but to try.
“Then we’ll go,” Alya said firmly. “We’ll find this sanctuary and learn what we need to survive.”
Eirik nodded, a hint of sadness in his eyes. “May the spirits guide you, then. You’ll need all the help you can get.”
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They left Eirik’s home with a renewed sense of purpose, but also a lingering sense of dread. The path before them was uncertain, and the dangers were greater than any of them had anticipated. But they had come too far to turn back now.
As they made their way back through the narrow streets of Ashen City, Nerith felt a strange calm settle over him. He had always known that their fight against the Solarium would be difficult, but now it felt as if they were fighting against the very fabric of the world itself. The sun flickered weakly overhead, casting a pale light over the city as if it too was struggling to hold on.
“We’ll need supplies for the journey,” Alya said, her voice steady but determined. “The Great Divide is no place for the unprepared.”
Kade nodded. “I know a few merchants who might be willing to help. People who don’t have much love for the Solarium.”
Lira’s gaze was distant, her thoughts clearly elsewhere. “We should move quickly. If the Solarium suspects we’re planning something, they’ll try to stop us before we can leave the city.”
Nerith nodded, though his mind was still reeling from everything Eirik had told them. They had uncovered the truth about the energy beneath the city, but the cost of that knowledge was greater than he had ever imagined. They were standing on the edge of a precipice, and the path ahead was shrouded in darkness.
But he knew one thing for certain—they couldn’t stop now. Not when the fate of the city, and perhaps even the world, hung in the balance.
As they prepared to leave Ashen City behind, Nerith took one last look at the flickering sun, its light growing dimmer with each passing day. The energy beneath the city was awake, and it would not rest until it had reclaimed what was rightfully its own.
Their journey to the Great Divide would be dangerous, but they had no choice. The stakes had never been higher, and the truth they sought lay hidden beyond the city’s boundaries, in the ruins of a civilization long forgotten.