Aeron felt the world tilting as Lyra and the others half-dragged, half-carried him into the ruined library hall. Broken shelves leaned like wounded soldiers, and ash-stained scrolls lay scattered across the stone floor. Blue lightning flickered off Aeron's skin, casting ghostly shadows against the walls.
"Lay him there," Lyra ordered, pointing to a circular stone platform covered in ancient wolf runes.
Rovan raised a brow. "You sure this is safe? Looks like a sacrificial table."
"Everything in these ruins looks like a sacrificial table," Kaelis muttered.
Lyra snapped, "Silence. I need to test him."
Aeron's breath came in sharp, uneven gasps. "I can feel it… something trying to push out."
Lyra lit her staff with a blazing orange flame. "Everyone stand back. If the spark ruptures, you'll all be vaporized."
Rovan took two steps back. "No need to tell me twice."
Lyra pressed her flaming staff to Aeron's chest. The flame reacted instantly—stretching, bending, almost bowing toward the lightning inside him.
Her eyes widened. "This is worse than I thought."
Sylas crossed his arms. "Explain. Preferably before he explodes."
Lyra set the staff aside. "A Dimension Wraith spark doesn't just give power—it looks for a host to root itself in. If it bonds fully, it changes them."
"Changes them how?" Kaelis demanded.
Lyra hesitated. "In the legends… Wraith-Marked hosts lose their sense of self. They become conduits for something that exists between dimensions."
Aeron felt cold panic climb his spine. "So… I'll become a monster?"
"No," Lyra said firmly. "Not if we sever the connection before it stabilizes."
"How long do we have?" Tegan asked.
Lyra looked at Aeron's glowing veins and clenched her jaw.
"Hours. Maybe less."
The others exchanged terrified looks.
A sudden tremor shook the ground.
Kaelis drew her blade. "What was that?"
Lyra's wolf-spirit aura flared. "It felt like… a dimensional pulse."
Rovan frowned. "Meaning?"
Lyra's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Something from the other side felt Aeron's spark… and is trying to enter our world."
Another tremor shook the ruins, louder this time. Dust rained from the ceiling.
Sylas tightened his grip on his dagger. "Guess we're welcoming guests."
Aeron whispered through clenched teeth, "Guys… I don't think I can hold this back."
Blue lightning burst from his chest, streaking across the room and carving a glowing scar into the far wall.
Lyra grabbed her staff. "Everyone—prepare for a breach!"
The air tore open like fabric being ripped.
A swirling tear in reality formed above Aeron—black, violet, and full of distant, echoing whispers.
Kaelis whispered, "That's not a portal… that's a wound."
And something on the other side was pushing through.