The forest was quieter than usual. Too quiet.
"Remind me," Liora whispered, crouching low as she ducked under a hanging branch, "why we're here again?"
Kael didn't look back. "Because I saw something."
"You saw something yesterday," she said, huffing. "And it disappeared. Which is usually a sign that it wants to stay gone."
Kael glanced at her briefly. "You didn't have to come."
Liora grinned. "Oh, I absolutely did. If you go off and get eaten by some cursed forest beast, I want to be there to say 'I told you so.'"
Kael gave a small exhale — halfway between a sigh and a laugh — and kept moving.
They reached the tree where the shard had been. The earth looked undisturbed, as though nothing strange had happened at all.
"Great," Liora muttered. "Mystery solved. The magical glowing thing is gone forever. Let's go home before I get eaten by a—"
The ground shifted.
Both of them froze as a low hum filled the air. The roots of the tree began to glow faintly, threads of light weaving through the soil like veins.
"…Okay," Liora whispered. "I take it back. This is way worse."
Kael crouched and placed his hand on the ground. The glow intensified, and before either of them could react, a section of the earth collapsed inward, revealing a dark, sloping passage beneath the tree.
Liora stared. "You have got to be kidding me."
Kael stood. "Stay here."
"Not a chance," she said immediately, following him as he stepped carefully into the opening.
The tunnel was narrow and damp, but the air was strangely warm. Faint markings glowed along the walls, symbols neither of them recognized.
Liora ran a finger over one. "This is probably cursed, right? Definitely cursed. My grandmother warned me about cursed tunnels. This is how horror stories start."
"Then why are you still talking?" Kael asked quietly.
"To keep myself from screaming."
They reached a small chamber at the end of the tunnel. In the center stood a stone altar, cracked and covered in moss. Something glimmered faintly on its surface — another shard, just like the one Kael had seen before.
Kael stepped forward, but Liora grabbed his sleeve.
"Wait. What if touching that makes you explode? Or summon some ancient monster? Or worse, summon a monster that talks?"
Kael's gaze never left the shard. "Then I'll deal with it."
"'Deal with it,' he says. You're insufferable."
Still, she didn't let go.
Kael gently pulled free and approached the altar. The shard pulsed as he neared, and the air in the chamber grew heavy, humming with power.
When he reached out, the shard didn't vanish this time. Instead, it rose slowly into the air, glowing brighter until the whole room was bathed in light.
Liora shielded her eyes. "Kael!"
Then the light exploded outward — and for a brief moment, Kael saw them.Figures, impossibly tall, standing in the void. Watching. Waiting.
When the light faded, the shard was gone — absorbed into Kael's chest, leaving behind only a faint, glowing mark on his skin.
Liora's jaw dropped. "…Okay. You're officially cursed."
Kael didn't respond. His heart was pounding, but not from fear. The shard's power still hummed in his veins, like distant thunder.
"We should go," he said quietly.
"Finally something we agree on!" Liora grabbed his wrist and started pulling him toward the exit.
But as they climbed out, Kael looked back once more at the glowing roots, a strange mix of dread and anticipation in his chest.
That night, neither of them slept well.
Liora tossed and turned, muttering about Kael's "stupid glowing destiny."
And Kael lay awake, staring at his hand, feeling the pulse of something ancient — something that had chosen him.