The tunnel stretched endlessly before us, the faint glow of the runes providing just enough light to keep moving without stumbling over the uneven ground. The oppressive silence pressed in from all sides, broken only by the sound of our breathing and the faint hum of the crystal in my hand.

No one spoke. There was nothing to say, not after what we had unleashed in the Nexus chamber. The voice, the tremors, the overwhelming energy—it felt like a warning we had ignored, and now the consequences were chasing us down this dark, suffocating passage.

Jessa broke the silence first, her voice quiet but firm. “We need to talk about what just happened.”

I glanced at her, the glow of the runes catching the edge of her blade as she walked beside me. “You mean the Nexus or the voice?”

“Both,” she said. “And the part where the world seemed to shift the second you touched that thing.”

“It didn’t just shift,” Ryla said from ahead, her voice sharp. “It felt like it cracked.”

Farron let out a shaky laugh, his bow slung over his shoulder as he trudged along. “Yeah, great. Let’s keep reminding ourselves that we might’ve just broken reality. That’ll help me sleep tonight.”

I stopped walking, turning to face the group. “We didn’t break anything. Not yet. But the traveler was right—the barrier is weakening. I don’t know what’s on the other side, but it’s connected to the Nexuses. If we don’t figure out how to stop it, Ecclesion will use it to tear everything apart.”

“And we just gave them one hell of a head start,” Orin said, his tone grim.

Ryla knelt near the edge of the tunnel, tracing a glowing rune with her finger. “These aren’t just decorations. They’re holding something back.”

I stepped closer, the crystal in my hand pulsing faintly as I approached the rune. The moment the light touched the carving, a low hum echoed through the tunnel.

“What was that?” Jessa asked, her blade already in hand.

I focused on the rune, the hum vibrating faintly beneath my fingertips. “It’s a seal,” I said, the realization settling over me like a cold weight. “These runes—they’re part of the barrier. They’re trying to hold it together.”

“Then why are they failing?” Orin asked.

I hesitated, the memory of the Nexus chamber flashing through my mind. “Because something’s on the other side, pushing against it. And every time a Nexus activates, it weakens the seal.”

The group fell silent, the implications sinking in.

Farron broke the tension with a nervous laugh. “So, to recap: we’re running from an unstoppable empire, pissing off glowing mask-people, and now we’re apparently playing tug-of-war with some ancient evil that wants to eat reality. Fantastic. Really enjoying our odds here.”

“Farron,” Jessa said sharply.

“What?” he replied, his grin forced. “I’m just saying, if anyone has a backup plan, now’s the time to share it.”

I stood, gripping the crystal tightly. “The plan hasn’t changed. We find the next Nexus, we figure out what Ecclesion is trying to do, and we stop it.”

“Easy as that,” Ryla said dryly.

“Nothing about this is easy,” I said, my voice hard. “But if we give up now, the barrier falls. The path opens. And whatever’s on the other side wins.”

We pressed on, the tunnel winding deeper into the earth. The air grew colder, the faint metallic tang from earlier replaced by a bitter chill that settled into my bones.

The glow of the runes began to fade, their light flickering like dying embers. The oppressive silence deepened, the weight of it pressing against my thoughts like an unseen force.

And then I felt it.

A presence.

I stopped abruptly, the crystal in my hand flaring briefly before dimming again. The hum that had been steady since the Nexus chamber faltered, its rhythm uneven and chaotic.

“What is it?” Jessa asked, her voice low.

“There’s something here,” I said, my eyes scanning the darkness ahead.

Ryla stepped closer, her bow drawn and her expression tense. “I don’t see anything.”

“It’s not something you can see,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

The presence was faint but undeniable, like the feeling of being watched from just beyond the edge of your vision.

A low, resonant sound echoed through the tunnel, sending a shiver down my spine. It wasn’t a voice, exactly—it was more like a vibration, deep and unsettling, resonating through the walls and floor.

The others froze, their weapons drawn as they scanned the darkness.

“What the hell is that?” Farron whispered.

“The path,” I said, the words slipping from my mouth before I could stop them.

Jessa turned to me, her expression sharp. “What do you mean, the path?”

I shook my head, the presence pressing harder against my thoughts. “I don’t know. But whatever it is, it’s getting closer.”

The runes on the walls flared suddenly, their jagged light cutting through the darkness as the air grew colder. The hum of the crystal quickened, its energy rippling outward like waves on a still pond.

And then, from the shadows ahead, something moved.

It was barely visible at first, a shimmer of darkness that seemed to bend the light around it. The shape was humanoid, but its edges were indistinct, shifting and warping like smoke caught in a windless room.

Ryla loosed an arrow, the projectile flying true and striking the figure in the chest. The moment it made contact, the arrow dissolved, consumed by the writhing darkness.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Not good,” Farron muttered, taking a step back.

The figure moved closer, its shape solidifying into something more defined. Its face—or what passed for one—was a mask of black stone, featureless except for faint cracks that glowed with a dull, pulsing light.

It stopped just short of the group, its presence suffocating.

“Chosen,” it said, its voice a low, resonant rumble that seemed to come from everywhere at once. “You walk a path that is not yours.”

The others looked at me, their expressions tense and questioning.

“What are you?” I demanded, stepping forward despite the weight of the figure’s presence.

The mask tilted slightly, as if studying me. “A fragment. A shadow of what was lost. You cannot save this world, anomaly. The Nexuses call to you, but they do not understand what you are.”

“What I am?” I repeated, gripping the dagger tightly. “What does that mean?”

The figure stepped closer, its shape flickering as the light from the runes dimmed further. “You are a fracture in the cycle. The barrier cannot endure you.”

Before I could respond, the figure raised a hand, the darkness around it surging forward like a wave. The runes flared in response, their light pushing back against the encroaching shadow.

“Run!” Jessa shouted, grabbing my arm and pulling me back.

The others didn’t hesitate, their footsteps echoing loudly as we bolted down the tunnel. The figure didn’t pursue, but its presence lingered, its voice following us as we ran.

“You cannot outrun the path. It will claim you, anomaly.”

The tunnel opened into a wider passage, the air growing colder and thinner as the light from the runes faded completely. We stopped, gasping for breath, the weight of the encounter still pressing heavily on our minds.

“What the hell was that?” Farron asked, his voice shaking.

“A shadow,” Ryla said, her tone grim. “A piece of whatever’s on the other side of the barrier.”

I tightened my grip on the crystal, its faint hum the only thing grounding me in the suffocating darkness.

“We need to keep moving,” I said, my voice steady despite the fear clawing at my chest.

Jessa nodded, her blade still drawn. “Whatever that thing was, it wasn’t lying. The path is coming for us.”

And deep down, I knew she was right.

The barrier was weakening.

And the shadows on the other side weren’t waiting to be invited in.

The suffocating darkness clung to us as we moved through the widened passage, our footsteps muffled by the damp ground. The air was still, heavy with the faint metallic tang that had been growing stronger the deeper we went.

I kept the crystal raised, its faint glow casting distorted shadows against the walls. The hum of its energy was steady now, like a heartbeat struggling to keep pace with the chaos around us.

“What’s our plan here?” Farron asked, his voice a mixture of sarcasm and genuine unease. “Keep running until we hit daylight, or until something eats us?”

“Whatever that thing was,” Jessa said, her tone sharp, “it’s not following us—for now. We need to figure out what’s ahead before it decides to change its mind.”

Ryla moved ahead, her bow at the ready. “This isn’t just a tunnel. It’s a passage—deliberately carved, with purpose.”

“To what end?” Orin asked.

“Maybe the same end we’re walking toward,” Ryla replied, her voice grim.

I glanced at the runes etched into the walls, their faint glow flickering weakly. They felt different now, their energy muted and frayed. The runes were failing, just like the barrier.

“It’s tied to the Nexuses,” I said. “These runes, the shadows, the voice—it’s all connected. Whatever’s on the other side of the barrier isn’t waiting for it to fall. It’s pushing through.”

“Then why hasn’t it broken yet?” Jessa asked, her blade glinting faintly in the crystal’s light.

“Because the Nexuses are holding it back,” I said, the realization settling heavily in my chest. “Barely.”

The tunnel twisted sharply, the walls narrowing before opening into another chamber. The space was vast, its ceiling disappearing into the darkness above. Stalagmites jutted from the ground like jagged teeth, their surfaces glistening faintly with condensation.

The crystal in my hand pulsed brighter as we entered, its hum resonating through the chamber.

“We’re close to something,” I said, scanning the room.

Ryla’s sharp eyes darted to the far end of the chamber, where a faint glow pulsed intermittently. “There,” she said, pointing.

We moved cautiously, the weight of the space pressing down on us. The glow grew stronger as we approached, illuminating another Nexus—this one smaller, fractured, and far less stable.

The Nexus pulsed erratically, its crystalline structure jagged and broken. Energy rippled through the chamber, distorting the air around it in faint, wavering waves.

“This one’s worse than the last,” Orin said, his voice low.

“It’s not just unstable,” I said, stepping closer. “It’s—”

Before I could finish, the crystal in my hand flared brightly, its energy surging outward in a wave that filled the chamber. The Nexus responded immediately, its chaotic hum aligning with the crystal’s pulse.

The air grew heavy, and a familiar voice echoed through the space.

"The path opens. The anomaly awakens."

The voice sent a chill through me, its words reverberating in my chest like a physical weight.

“What does that mean?” Ryla demanded, her bow trained on the Nexus as if expecting it to strike.

“It’s talking about Ash,” Jessa said, her tone sharp.

“Yeah, I caught that part,” Farron muttered. “Not exactly reassuring, is it?”

The ground beneath us trembled as the Nexus pulsed again, its fractured surface glowing brighter. The energy it radiated was chaotic, lashing out in waves that made the runes along the walls flicker and dim.

“We need to stabilize it,” I said, gripping the crystal tightly.

“And how exactly do we do that?” Orin asked.

I stepped closer to the Nexus, the crystal’s hum syncing with its erratic pulse. “The shard—it’s part of the Nexus. If I can rejoin it, maybe I can stabilize the energy.”

“Or blow us all to hell,” Farron said, his tone laced with nervous humor.

“Let’s hope for the first one,” I said, holding the crystal toward the Nexus.

The moment the crystal touched the fractured surface, a surge of energy erupted outward, sending me staggering back. The light from the Nexus flared blindingly bright, and the ground beneath us shook violently.

The voice returned, louder and more resonant.

"The barrier fractures. The path widens. The anomaly pulls the threads."

“What threads?” Jessa shouted over the din, her blade drawn and her stance defensive.

“It’s not talking to us,” I said, my voice shaking. “It’s talking to... whatever’s on the other side.”

The energy from the Nexus surged again, and this time, the fractured shards began to shift, realigning themselves into a jagged, incomplete pattern. The air in the chamber grew heavier, and the shadows at the edges of the room began to move—coalescing into shapes that were disturbingly familiar.

The Echoed.

Dozens of them emerged from the darkness, their glowing masks flaring with unnatural light.

“They’re here!” Ryla shouted, loosing an arrow that struck one of the figures but dissolved before it could do any damage.

“They’re guarding the Nexus,” Jessa said, her voice grim. “They don’t want us interfering.”

“Too late for that,” I said, stepping forward.

The Echoed moved as one, their synchronized movements unnervingly precise as they closed in on us. Jessa and Orin met them head-on, their blades clashing with the glowing weapons of the Echoed in bursts of light and energy.

Ryla’s arrows flew true, but the Echoed’s forms were too fluid, too resistant to physical attacks. Farron’s shots fared no better, the projectiles dissolving against their shadowy armor.

“We can’t hold them off forever!” Jessa shouted, parrying another blow. “Ash, whatever you’re doing—do it now!”

I turned back to the Nexus, the crystal in my hand flaring with desperate energy. The fragments of the Nexus seemed to respond, their jagged edges vibrating as they began to align.

The hum of the Nexus grew louder, its chaotic energy stabilizing into a steady, rhythmic pulse. The shadows in the chamber seemed to recoil, their movements growing sluggish as the Nexus’s light pushed back against the encroaching darkness.

“It’s working!” I shouted, holding the crystal steady.

The Echoed faltered, their glowing masks dimming as the Nexus’s energy surged outward in a final, blinding wave. The chamber shook violently, the walls cracking as the runes along their surface flared and then went dark.

When the light faded, the Echoed were gone.

The Nexus pulsed faintly, its fractured surface now stable and whole.

I staggered back, the crystal in my hand dimming to a faint glow. The others regrouped, their faces pale but resolute.

“What just happened?” Jessa asked, her voice steady despite the tension in her posture.

“I stabilized it,” I said, my breath ragged. “But the barrier... it’s still weakening. This isn’t over.”

Ryla glanced at the Nexus, her expression grim. “What happens when it does fall?”

I met her gaze, the weight of the question settling heavily in my chest.

“Something we can’t let happen,” I said.

The others nodded, their resolve clear.

The barrier was cracking.

And the next step on the path would determine whether it held—or shattered completely.