The Rift howled.
The air rippled like molten glass as the temple trembled under unseen pressure. Fractures of light spread across the ground, glowing symbols bleeding into the frost. Lira gripped Arlen's arm, trying to steady him, but the energy pouring from the throne was overwhelming — ancient, oppressive, divine.
Arlen struggled to breathe. His mind wasn't his own anymore — fragments of memory flickered like lightning behind his eyes.
He saw a battlefield of stars. Frozen worlds. A thousand celestial figures kneeling before a blinding light that wore his face.
Then the vision cracked apart.
He gasped, dragging in air that burned cold. Lira was shouting his name, her voice muffled by the pulsing hum of the Rift. Behind her, Rynel and Kaine tried to stabilize a barrier, their magic struggling to hold against the collapsing space.
"Arlen!" Lira's voice finally broke through. "Stay with me!"
He blinked. Her face came into focus — wide eyes, streaked with fear. Her hand was pressed to his chest, and he could feel her heartbeat through her palm. It grounded him.
"I'm… here," he managed to whisper.
The light from the throne dimmed, just slightly. The Rift's tremor eased. But the air was still heavy with something ancient and aware — something watching.
Kaine cursed under his breath. "Whatever that was, it wasn't just a power surge. The entire Rift's structure shifted."
"Shifted?" Rynel echoed.
Kaine nodded grimly, eyes on his scanner. "It's reorganizing around him."
Everyone turned toward Arlen.
He stood slowly, the last traces of frost fading from his skin. "Then we need to move. Whatever's happening here — it's because of me."
Lira frowned. "You can't blame yourself for this."
Arlen gave a small, bitter smile. "You're wrong. I think this place exists because of me."
Before anyone could respond, the throne cracked down the center — a jagged line of light splitting it apart. The shards floated upward, dissolving into streams of energy that gathered in the air like a storm forming in reverse.
Then the voice came again. Deeper this time, less like a whisper, more like a chorus.
> "He returns… the lost fragment seeks the crown. But only ruin waits for remembrance."
The air vibrated with the sound. Lira drew her weapons. "You'd think the universe could say something less cryptic for once."
Rynel nocked an arrow, eyes scanning the shifting haze. "We've got movement."
From the shadows between the floating pillars, figures began to emerge — humanoid at first glance, but their bodies shimmered like glass filled with liquid starlight. Their faces were smooth, featureless, and their hands ended in long, claw-like extensions of crystal.
Kaine's voice dropped to a whisper. "They're echoes."
Arlen's eyes narrowed. "Echoes of what?"
"Of you," Kaine said grimly.
The first of the creatures lunged.
Lira met it mid-charge, her blades slicing through its chest. It shattered into fragments of light — but for every one that fell, two more rose in its place. The temple became chaos — glowing shards and shadows dancing in the flicker of lightning and frost.
Arlen stepped forward, eyes gleaming with stormlight. The power within him surged like a sleeping beast stirring. He clenched his fists — and lightning roared from his hands, exploding through the echoes in a wave that lit the entire chamber.
"Arlen, behind you!" Rynel shouted.
He spun, forming a wall of frost just as a crystal blade struck. The barrier cracked but held. With a growl, he shattered it outward, sending shards of ice slicing through the air. The creature disintegrated into mist.
Kaine yelled over the chaos, "We can't fight them forever! They're not real — they're manifestations!"
"Then how do we stop them?" Lira shouted back.
"End the connection!" Kaine pointed toward the center — the fractured light where the throne had stood. "That's the anchor!"
Without hesitation, Arlen ran.
Lightning trailed behind him, his every step leaving frost in his wake. The echoes turned toward him, their faceless heads tilting in eerie synchronization. They screamed — a sound that wasn't made for mortal ears — and launched themselves at him.
He tore through them, every movement fluid, instinctive. The frost responded to his will like a living thing, weaving armor along his arms, shaping blades from thin air. Each strike was perfect, each dodge effortless. For a moment, he didn't feel human at all.
He reached the anchor.
It pulsed like a heart, its light reflecting the same silver-blue hue as his own aura. He raised his hand — lightning and frost converging at his palm.
Lira's voice reached him faintly through the din. "Arlen! Don't—!"
Too late.
He thrust his hand into the light.
Everything stopped.
The echoes froze mid-motion. The Rift went silent. Even the flickering fragments of reality around them halted, suspended like insects in amber.
Arlen's mind fell inward.
He was somewhere else again — standing in a vast, endless expanse of stars. But this time, there was someone else there.
A man stood opposite him, tall, with silver hair and eyes that glowed faintly blue. His presence was calm yet terrifyingly powerful — the air itself bent around him. And his face… it was Arlen's.
> "So… you've come far enough to touch the fracture."
Arlen stared, speechless. "You're—"
> "A memory," the other said softly. "A reflection of what you once were. The world called me Ardentis — Sovereign of the Frosted Heavens."
Arlen's pulse quickened. "Then what am I?"
> "The piece that survived."
Silence stretched between them, heavy with meaning.
Arlen finally spoke. "Why am I here?"
> "Because the seal is weakening," Ardentis said. "You cannot run from what you are forever. The Celestial Thrones are stirring. And if you awaken… so too will they."
Arlen clenched his fists. "Then tell me what I'm supposed to do."
Ardentis smiled faintly — not cruelly, but almost… proud.
> "Live. Choose differently than I did. Protect what you hold dear, even when the heavens burn. That is how you will break the cycle."
The stars began to dim around them.
> "But remember, Arlen Frost," the voice echoed, fading, "every power demands a price. When the time comes, will you still be willing to pay it?"
The world shattered again.
---
He gasped awake, collapsing to his knees. The temple was gone — replaced by a barren, twilight wasteland. The others were beside him, battered but alive.
Lira knelt, gripping his shoulder. "You were out cold for minutes! What happened?"
He looked up at her — confusion, fear, and a strange peace in his eyes. "I saw him… me. My other self."
Rynel frowned. "What does that mean?"
Arlen didn't answer. He looked to the sky — a dark horizon pulsing faintly with light. "It means… we're running out of time."
Lira stared at him, concern etched deep in her face. "Then whatever happens next… we face it together."
He met her eyes, and for a moment, something unspoken passed between them — the echo of her confession, the promise he hadn't yet answered.
"Together," he said quietly.
The Rift pulsed one last time, then went still.
---