The morning after the battle was quiet — too quiet.
Snow had melted around the citadel, and the land seemed to breathe again. Yet, despite the peace, Ella couldn't shake the strange feeling in her chest. It was like something inside her had changed — or awakened.
She walked to the edge of the cliffs, where the wind smelled of frost and pine. Below, the valley spread out like a silver carpet, glimmering under the morning sun. It should have felt like victory. But it didn't.
Maeve joined her, wrapping her arms around herself. "You didn't sleep," she said softly.
Ella shook her head. "No. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him. Varik."
Maeve's eyes darkened. "We'll face him again. And next time, he won't get away."
Arcturus came up behind them, leaning on his staff. The old wizard looked older now, as if the battle had drained years from him. "He will return, yes," he said. "But not yet. For now, the Heart is stable. You gave the world time to breathe, Ella. Use it wisely."
Ella turned to him. "What do we do next?"
He looked toward the horizon, where the mountains faded into a gray mist. "We go east," he said. "To the Shadowlands."
Maeve frowned. "The cursed lands? No one goes there and returns alive."
"That is why we must," Arcturus said calmly. "The Shadowlands are where Varik draws his power. If we want to stop him for good, we must break the source of his strength."
Ella's heart pounded. "Then that's where we'll go."
Arcturus nodded, though his eyes were heavy with worry. "It will not be easy. The Shadowlands are older than kingdoms — older than light itself. What lives there feeds on fear."
Maeve smirked faintly. "Then let's make sure it starves."
---
They began their journey at sunrise.
The path led them through forests blanketed in mist and rivers that glowed faintly in the dark. Strange, silent birds watched them from the trees. Every step felt like walking deeper into a dream.
Ella walked beside Arcturus, her fingers brushing the piece of the broken Heart she kept on a chain around her neck. "Do you think it will help us?" she asked.
He glanced at the shard. "It will protect you, perhaps. But the Heart is unpredictable now. It's tied to you, Ella. It will answer your will — or your fear."
"I'll try not to be afraid," she said quietly.
Maeve, walking ahead, called back, "Fear isn't bad, Ella. It just reminds us what we stand to lose."
Her words stayed with Ella as the sun dipped behind the mountains and the mist grew thicker.
By nightfall, the air had changed. It was colder, heavier, almost hard to breathe. The trees were bare now, their branches twisted like claws.
They had crossed into the Shadowlands.
---
The ground was black and cracked like old glass. No birds sang. No wind blew. The only sound was the echo of their footsteps.
Maeve drew her sword. "I don't like this place," she muttered.
Arcturus raised his staff, casting a soft blue glow around them. "Stay close. The Shadowlands distort what is real. If you see something that shouldn't be there, don't look twice."
They moved carefully through the dark plain. Once or twice, Ella thought she saw shapes moving at the edge of her vision — small, crawling things that disappeared when she turned her head.
"Master," she whispered, "why is this place cursed?"
Arcturus sighed. "Because it was once the kingdom of light's mirror. Long ago, before time itself was measured, the Heart created both light and shadow. But man, in greed, sought to master both. The balance was broken. The darkness here grew wild — and alive."
Ella touched her shard, its faint warmth giving her courage.
Suddenly, Maeve stopped. "Did you hear that?"
A faint cry drifted through the fog — like a child's voice, lost and calling for help.
"Someone's out there," Maeve said, already stepping forward.
"Wait!" Arcturus grabbed her arm. "That's not a voice — it's a lure."
But it was too late. The mist thickened, and Maeve vanished into it.
"Maeve!" Ella shouted.
She ran after her, ignoring Arcturus's warning. The fog swallowed her whole, cold and silent.
---
When Ella opened her eyes, she was standing in a different place.
The citadel was gone. The valley, the mist — all gone. She was back in her village, under the soft light of dawn. Birds sang in the distance. Her mother's voice came from inside their small cottage.
"Ella, come inside! Breakfast is ready."
Her heart leapt. She turned and saw her mother at the door, smiling just like she remembered. Warmth filled her chest.
"Mother?"
"Of course, dear," the woman said, wiping her hands on her apron. "Who else would it be? You've been gone so long."
Ella felt tears fill her eyes. She wanted to run into her arms, but something stopped her. Something small — a whisper in her mind that said: This isn't real.
Her mother's eyes glowed faintly red for a moment, and the illusion cracked.
Ella stepped back. "You're not her."
The woman's smile twisted into something cold and sharp. "But I can be, if you want."
Darkness rippled from her form, spreading across the ground like ink. From the blackness rose dozens of faces — familiar, kind, and false. Each one whispered her name.
"Ella…"
She clutched her shard tightly, its warmth cutting through the fear. "You can't trick me."
Light burst from her hand, shattering the illusion. The shadows screamed and fell away, leaving her standing alone again in the mist.
"Maeve!" she cried. "Where are you?"
A faint voice answered. "Here!"
Ella ran toward it. Through the fog, she saw Maeve fighting off twisted creatures made of smoke and bone. Her sword cut through them, but they kept reforming.
"Behind you!" Ella shouted.
Maeve spun just as one of the monsters lunged. Ella raised her shard, and a beam of white light shot from it, striking the creature and turning it to dust.
Maeve caught her breath. "You found me."
"I'll always find you," Ella said.
Arcturus appeared soon after, his robes torn and face pale. "Good. You both resisted the illusions. The Shadowlands test the heart. If you give in to what you want most, you become part of the dark."
"Then we keep moving," Maeve said. "Before it tries again."
---
They walked for hours — maybe days. Time didn't flow properly in that cursed land. Sometimes the moon hung still in the sky for what felt like forever; sometimes it blinked and the sun appeared in its place.
At last, they reached a broken archway covered in strange symbols. The stones were black but shimmered faintly with a faint, red pulse.
Arcturus stopped. "We're here. The Gate of Echoes."
"What's beyond it?" Ella asked.
"The source of the curse," he said. "The Well of Varik."
Maeve frowned. "You mean he draws power from this place?"
"Not just from it," Arcturus said. "He is bound to it. Long ago, when the first war between light and shadow ended, Varik was sealed within the Well. But the seal weakens with every use of the Heart."
"So he's waking up again," Ella whispered.
Arcturus nodded grimly. "Yes. And if he rises fully, he will bring the end of balance — and the dawn of eternal night."
Ella felt the shard pulse against her skin, as if reacting to his words.
"I can feel him," she said softly. "He knows we're here."
The ground trembled. A deep, rumbling sound echoed from beyond the gate — like a heartbeat.
"Stay back!" Arcturus shouted. "It's opening!"
The stones split apart with a loud crack. From the darkness beyond, a wave of black mist poured out, sweeping across the land like a flood.
Maeve raised her sword, but it was useless. The wind was too strong. Ella held onto her pendant, shouting over the roar, "We can't fight this!"
Arcturus planted his staff into the ground, forcing a shield of light around them. "Hold on!"
The mist slammed against the barrier, and the old wizard gritted his teeth, sweat pouring down his face. "It's too strong! It's—"
A shadowy hand burst through the light and grabbed him.
"Arcturus!" Ella screamed.
The wizard looked at her with calm eyes. "Go! You must find the Sunstone! Only it can seal him again!"
"What? No!"
He smiled sadly. "Light guides you, child."
And with that, the shadow pulled him into the darkness. The barrier shattered.
"NO!" Ella screamed, reaching out — but he was gone.
Maeve grabbed her arm. "We can't stay here! Move!"
They ran as the ground cracked behind them, swallowed by black fire. The air filled with the sound of distant laughter — Varik's voice, echoing through the mist.
"You cannot stop what is already written," he said, his voice cold and smooth. "The world belongs to the dark."
Ella's tears burned her cheeks, but she didn't stop running. The shard glowed in her hand, bright and fierce, as if trying to give her strength.
When they finally reached the edge of the Shadowlands, the first rays of dawn touched the sky. Maeve collapsed to her knees, gasping.
Ella stood, trembling, staring back at the black plain. "He took Arcturus," she said, her voice breaking. "He took him."
Maeve looked up at her. "Then we'll take him back. And we'll end this."
Ella nodded slowly. The shard pulsed again, brighter now, like it understood her resolve.
"Then we find the Sunstone," she said. "And we finish what he started."
The rising sun burned away the mist, but far behind them, deep within the Shadowlands, the laughter of Varik still echoed — low, endless, and full of promise.
The war between light and shadow had truly begun.