The ground beneath my boots vibrated faintly, unrelated to the wind or shifting earth. It was the magic. Even before we reached the site, I could feel its pulse—irregular, unstable, like something gasping for air.

Resna halted ahead of me. The creak of her leather armor was audible as she crouched, scanning the surroundings. “There’s nothing here,” she muttered, her voice tight. “No bodies. No remains. Just... nothing.”

Aric’s sword rasped as he drew it. “Same as the last place.”

I stepped forward cautiously, my cane tapping against the packed dirt. The vibrations were stronger here, erratic, like echoes of something that refused to settle. This wasn’t residual energy.

“It’s still alive,” I said quietly.

Resna turned her head toward me. “What do you mean?”

“The magic. It’s not dormant.” I shifted slightly, tilting my head to catch the faintest echo of its presence. “It’s moving.”

Aric tensed. “Moving?”

I nodded, gripping the medallion around my neck. “It’s not settled. It’s searching for something.”

Resna exhaled sharply. “That’s worse.”

A distant crack echoed across the plains. A heartbeat later, the shard in my chest jolted. Not a pulse. Not a hum. A jolt.

Something was coming.

At first, it was distant—a rhythmic thudding against the earth. It grew closer with each passing second—heavy, deliberate. Resna had an arrow nocked before I could speak. Aric shifted beside me, his armor settling as he adjusted his stance.

I took a slow breath, grounding myself. The shard had never reacted like this before. It was sharp, alert—warning, not controlling. This wasn’t guidance. It was instinct.

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Then, I felt it.

The magic surged through the ground, rippling beneath my feet like waves crashing against the shore. Whatever approached wasn’t just using magic—it was magic.

I turned slightly. “It’s not an animal.”

Aric exhaled sharply. “Fantastic. Something worse, then.”

The creature emerged from the mist. I couldn’t see it, but I didn’t need to. The air twisted around it, thick with shifting energy. Each step sent another tremor through the ground, and as it moved closer, I could feel its form take shape in my mind.

A hollow frame. Limbs too long. A body pulsing with something unnatural.

Resna loosed her arrow. The air split as it struck true—except there was no impact. No flesh. No resistance. Just... silence.

Then, the air screamed.

I staggered, clutching the medallion as the force of the sound rattled through my skull. The shard’s pulse flared, reacting to the magic, but I pushed it down. I wouldn’t let it control me.

Aric lunged forward. His sword met resistance—finally, something solid. A sharp crack echoed as his blade bit into the creature. The magic in the air shuddered.

The creature retaliated instantly. I felt its movement shift, the way the air folded around it before it struck. “Left!” I shouted.

Aric moved, barely avoiding the clawed appendage that swiped toward him.

Resna repositioned and fired another arrow. This time, the impact sent a visible ripple through the air. “It’s unstable!” she called. “It’s holding itself together with magic!”

I gritted my teeth. “Then we need to disrupt it.”

I moved carefully, feeling the shifts in the ground, the energy twisting. My cane tapped against something—not stone. Not wood. Something thin. I pressed my hand forward, and the air resisted.

The creature had no true form. It was something caught between worlds, held together by raw magic.

Which meant I could break it.

The shard pulsed sharply, but I ignored it. This wasn’t its choice. It was mine.

I gripped the air, feeling the magic tremble beneath my fingertips. Then, with everything I had, I pulled.

The air fractured.

A sound like splintering glass tore through the clearing. The creature let out a final, piercing shriek before collapsing. Its magic shattered, scattering like dust in the wind.

Silence.

My chest heaved. The shard was still again. But traces of magic still lingered in the air.

Resna lowered her bow. “That was new.”

Aric exhaled, rolling his shoulders. “Let’s not do that again.”

I swallowed hard, my grip tightening on the medallion.

“We don’t have a choice,” I said. “This won’t be the last one.”

And I knew I was right.

Whoever was behind this had just felt me break their creation.

And they would come looking for me.