THE WILL THAT AWAKENS
The silence grew heavy, almost tangible. Fallen leaves swayed gently, and the air seemed charged with a contained electricity. The still-torn sky threw flashes of a grayish light that bathed the ground in a spectral glow, as if the world itself hesitated to breathe.
Caelithra couldn't tear her gaze away from Zyrion. Her chest rose and fell with difficulty, each breath a battle. The gray aura of his eyes seemed to absorb all the light around him, like a well devouring stars.
"Zyrion…" she whispered, approaching cautiously, almost as if afraid of breaking something sacred. "Can you hear me?"
Their hands brushed against each other, seeking warmth, life.
He opened his eyes a little wider, and for a moment, the intensity in his gaze was so profound that Caelithra felt a shiver run down her spine.
"I'm here… but not entirely," he said, his voice rasping. "There's something inside me… like a torment that won't stop. It's not just the fragment. It's something darker."
Kyrahna approached slowly, her lips trembling as she contained a mixture of fear and determination.
"Explain to us, Zyrion. We need to understand. If this is a cage, a prison, what's on the other side? What's holding you back?"
Zyrion looked at her and a shadow crossed his face.
"I saw… a void. A space between worlds where light and darkness fight relentlessly. There he was. The man in the white mask is not simply an enemy. He is… the executor of the judgment that hangs over us."
Taliena, leaning against a fallen tree, frowned. "A trial? What are you talking about?"
Zyrion raised his hand, pointing at the torn sky.
"The fragments, the original crystal, everything was a creation to contain something greater. Something ancient, which was sealed and buried within the very essence of Kyrethron. But that seal is breaking, and he—" he gestured toward where the masked figure had disappeared, "—is here to ensure that judgment is carried out."
Velkran frowned, crossing his arms as his aura vibrated slightly.
"This sounds like a story that could destroy us all. And you think you're the key to stopping it?"
Zyrion nodded slowly.
"I did not choose this burden, but it is mine. And now I know that I must fight not only against it, but against the part of me that this will has corrupted."
Caelithra squeezed his hand.
"We will not let you fall, Zyrion. We are all here with you. If that darkness wants to consume you, it will have to go through all of us first."
An icy breeze made the branches tremble.
Quindarion, his gaze fixed on the line where the masked man had disappeared, spoke in a grave voice.
"What we face is not just a battle of strength, but of wills. We need more than swords and magic. We need ancient wisdom and alliances."
Kyrahna whispered, almost to herself, "And how are we supposed to do that? Our world is in ruins, our allies are scattered, and the threat grows with every second."
Maerisse approached with slow steps, her face pale but resolute.
"We are not alone. There are still scattered fragments that have not been touched, forces we don't even know about. The key is to discover them before the Saekrim Noxar do."
Ryvak, breathing heavily, looked at Zyrion.
"And you, brother? What do you plan to do now that you know that power within you... is alive?"
Zyrion took a deep breath, looking at each of them.
"I cannot promise I will return the same. I cannot promise I will endure without succumbing to darkness. But as long as I have breath, I will fight. Not for myself, but for all of you. For Kyrethron. For this world."
Ysmera took a step forward, her voice clear and firm.
"Then so be it. We will not let that darkness define our destiny."
A few seconds later, a slight tremor ran through the ground. It wasn't an ordinary tremor, but rather a deep heartbeat, synchronized with Zyrion's heart.
Everyone felt it.
Velkran murmured, "This is just the beginning."
Zyrion's eyes shone for an instant with a silvery-gray light, more intense than before.
"I'm here," she said firmly. "And I won't let anyone extinguish this flame."
A new chapter of the war was opening, but this time, with a much higher price.
Far from the clearing where Zyrion struggled to maintain his consciousness, on a plain hidden by dense clouds of ash, four figures gathered in an irregular circle.
The twilight barely touched their faces, but the intensity of their gazes was enough to ignite a palpable tension in the air.
Dertran, of strong build and dark armor with markings engraved in a forgotten language, broke the silence.
"I saw him. It wasn't a mirage or an inflated rumor. That boy... that Zyrion... channeled a power that doesn't belong to this time."
Sary, with long hair braided with silver threads and eyes that seemed to analyze every last detail, raised an eyebrow.
"Are you implying he's one of us? There are no records of his existence in previous cycles. If he were a dragon master, the Ancestral Blood record would have revealed it."
Kharvek, taller than everyone else, with a scar across his jaw, snorted with a hint of disbelief.
"Records are about as reliable as a mercenary's word. If our leader hasn't spoken, it's because the truth isn't ready to be revealed. But I admit... what I saw in his eyes... reminded me of the First Breath Gaze."
Orhvane, the youngest of the group, but with a haunting presence, gazed at the horizon. Her hands, covered in vibrant runes that pulsed gently, moved as if playing invisible strings.
"I felt it. The pulse of its energy was out of sync... just like ours. It's not mere magic, it's not the echo of just any fragment. It's the resonance of a soul that has awakened in more than one era."
Dertan bowed his head towards her.
"That sounds a little too... convenient. Are you suggesting the boy might be a reincarnated echo of a lost dragon master?"
Sary intervened coldly.
"We shouldn't jump to conclusions. Direct contact would be risky. We don't know their loyalties. And, if they're like us, they could become an even bigger problem than our current enemies."
Kharvek took a step forward, his voice deep like distant thunder.
"Our current enemies... Or are you referring to the fragments we're pursuing? Don't forget that the boy is linked to one of them. If we take him, we'll have more than power: we'll have the key to unlock the Chamber of Breaths."
Orhvane smiled slightly, a gesture so subtle it seemed more like a warning than a sign of agreement.
"And we'll also have the attention of those who should never know where we are... or what we do."
Dertran took a deep breath, watching as the ash slowly fell onto the field.
"The leader hasn't spoken to us, but I'm sure of one thing: if Zyrion is one of us, he will be claimed. And if he isn't... then he will be eliminated."
Sary crossed her arms, her tone icy.
"And who will make that decision? No one has seen the leader in decades. We don't even know if he's still alive. All we receive are orders relayed by faceless voices."
Kharvek let out a short, bitter laugh.
"And does it even matter? We follow those voices because we fear what happens if we ignore them."
Orhvane looked away from the horizon, fixing his eyes on Dertran's.
"I want to see him. Not from afar. I want to feel his pulse, his breath... and know if he's really like us. And if he is, I want to know why he doesn't remember us."
Dertan nodded slowly.
"Then we'll go. But not now. First, we must wait for the other groups to finish their hunt. Zyrion isn't ready yet to know we're watching him."
Sary sighed, with a calculating glint in her eye.
"And while we wait... what do we do with the man in the white mask?"
A heavy silence fell over the group. Even the wind seemed to stop.
Kharvek was the only one to break it.
"He is not our enemy... but he is not our ally either. If he interferes with Zyrion, we will remove him. Without mercy."
Orhvane tilted his head, a dark smile curving his lips.
"Perfect. Then... what follows will be much more interesting."
And so, under a gray sky heavy with omens, the four disappeared into the mist, leaving behind the feeling that the shadows themselves were escorting them.
It seeks a balance between extremes.