The air in the chamber grew heavier, suffocating and electric. James could feel it pressing down on his chest, making every breath a struggle. The shard—the Heart of the Spire—seemed to glow brighter now, as if aware of their presence. Its light was no longer steady but pulsing in rhythm with James’s own racing heartbeat.
“Derrin,” Rook said, his voice sharp but low, “do it. Quickly.”
Derrin nodded, stepping forward cautiously. In his hands, the strange device he had carried since Thornridge buzzed faintly, its angular plates shifting in response to the energy emanating from the shard.
“What’s he doing?” James whispered to Leena, unable to tear his eyes from the Heart.
“Extracting a fragment,” she replied, her voice tight. “A sliver of the Heart’s power. Enough to fuel... whatever insane thing he’s planning.”
“Not insane,” Derrin muttered, his focus unwavering. “Necessary.”
James wasn’t sure he believed him.
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As Derrin approached the pedestal, the shard’s pulsing intensified. The chamber seemed to respond, the walls shimmering and vibrating faintly. James thought he saw shapes moving in the periphery of his vision—shadowy figures twisting and writhing in the unnatural light.
“Rook,” Vance said nervously, his hand on the hilt of his sword. “I don’t like this. Feels like something’s waking up.”
“It is,” Rook said grimly. “The Spire doesn’t take kindly to trespassers.”
Derrin stopped in front of the pedestal, his device humming louder now. He adjusted its dials with trembling fingers, beads of sweat rolling down his temple. The shard’s glow intensified further, bathing the room in a brilliant, blinding light.
“Almost...” Derrin murmured, his voice strained.
The moment his device clicked into place, the Spire reacted.
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A deafening roar filled the chamber, a sound not of any creature but of the Spire itself. The walls pulsed with light and shadow, the shapes James had glimpsed earlier now fully visible. They were humanoid but grotesque, their forms warped and fractured, as if they were part of the Spire itself.
“Veilbound Wraiths!” Rook shouted. “Defensive positions!”
The wraiths moved with unnatural speed, gliding across the crystalline floor like phantoms. Their bodies shimmered, shifting between solid and incorporeal, and their empty eyes glowed with a pale, sickly light.
James barely had time to react before one of them lunged at him. He stumbled backward, raising his arms instinctively. To his surprise, the Veilmark on his wrist flared to life, a burst of energy erupting from his palm and forcing the wraith back.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“James, focus!” Rook barked, slicing through another wraith with his blade.
The creature dissolved into a cloud of shadow and light, but more were already closing in.
Leena darted past James, her movements fluid and precise. Her daggers flashed, striking at the wraiths with lethal efficiency. Vance stood his ground, his sword igniting with a fiery Veil-infused glow as he slashed at the encroaching figures.
James’s heart pounded as he fought to control his breathing. Another wraith lunged at him, and this time he focused, channeling the energy from his Veilmark. A wave of force erupted outward, sending the creature sprawling.
“Good!” Rook shouted, slashing through two more wraiths. “Use your mark, but don’t overdo it. The Spire will punish you for taking too much.”
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Meanwhile, Derrin was still at the pedestal, his device emitting a high-pitched whine. He was muttering to himself, his hands moving frantically over the controls.
“Derrin!” Rook yelled. “How much longer?”
“Almost there!” Derrin shouted back, his voice strained. “Just a few more seconds!”
“We don’t have a few seconds!” Vance growled, slicing through another wraith.
James felt the pull of the shard again, stronger this time. It wasn’t just a sensation—it was a voice, whispering to him in a language he didn’t understand but somehow felt. It promised power, answers, everything he could ever want.
He shook his head, trying to push the thoughts away. But the pull was relentless.
“James!” Leena’s voice snapped him out of his trance.
He turned just in time to see a wraith bearing down on her. Without thinking, he unleashed another burst of energy, the force colliding with the creature and shattering it into fragments of light.
Leena gave him a brief nod of thanks before returning to the fray.
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Finally, Derrin let out a triumphant shout. “Got it!”
The device emitted a sharp, resonant chime, and a small fragment of the shard broke off, floating into the air before being absorbed into the device.
The reaction was immediate. The Spire roared again, louder this time, and the entire chamber shook violently. The wraiths froze in place, their forms flickering as if caught in a glitch.
“We need to go. Now!” Rook commanded.
The group didn’t need to be told twice. They bolted toward the exit, the wraiths snapping out of their stasis and pursuing them with renewed ferocity.
The crystalline corridor twisted and shifted around them, the Spire seeming to fight their escape. The floor buckled, walls folded in on themselves, and the air was thick with the deafening roar of the Spire’s anger.
James stumbled as the ground beneath him shifted, but Vance grabbed his arm, pulling him upright. “Keep moving!”
Ahead, the jagged doorway they had entered through was flickering, its edges unstable. Rook was the first to reach it, turning back to usher the others through.
“Go, go!” he shouted.
One by one, they dove through the doorway, the wraiths hot on their heels. James was the last to reach it, his chest burning as he sprinted. Just as he leaped through, he felt a cold, claw-like hand brush against his shoulder.
He hit the ground outside the Spire, rolling to a stop. Behind him, the doorway sealed shut, the wraiths’ howls echoing faintly before being cut off entirely.
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James lay on the ground, gasping for breath. His entire body ached, and his mind was a jumbled mess.
“That,” Vance said, his voice strained, “was too close.”
Rook stood over them, his expression hard. “We got what we came for. Now we deal with the fallout.”
James sat up, his gaze drifting back to the Spire. Its glow had dimmed slightly, but it still loomed, a reminder of what they had faced—and what they had taken.
“What was that?” James asked, his voice shaking.
Derrin held up the device, the fragment of the shard faintly visible within its casing. “The key,” he said, his eyes gleaming. “To everything.”
James wasn’t sure if that was comforting or terrifying.