The path stretched before them, narrow and jagged, winding through a space that seemed caught between creation and destruction. The glowing nexus in the distance pulsed like a heartbeat, drawing them forward. Yet the further they walked, the heavier the air became, as if the very essence of this place sought to drag them down.
“Something isn’t right,” Endar murmured, his hand instinctively tightening around the hilt of his weapon.
Melania stopped, scanning the shifting void around them. Shadows flickered at the edges of her vision—too quick to focus on, yet unmistakably present. She felt the weight of unseen eyes, a pressure on her mind like the stirring of old, buried fears.
“Stay close,” she said, her voice firm but low.
Their companion, Kairen, moved silently behind them. His steps were light, his eyes ever watchful, scanning the edges of the path as though expecting it to collapse beneath them.
Then it happened. A sound—sharp, like glass shattering—ripped through the stillness. Melania spun around just as the path behind them dissolved, fragments of glowing light falling into an infinite abyss. From the shadows emerged figures, clad in shimmering armor that seemed to absorb the surrounding light.
The largest of them stepped forward, his face obscured by a smooth, featureless helmet. In his hand, he held a staff that pulsed with a sickly green glow.
“Travelers of the broken time,” the figure intoned, his voice echoing unnaturally, as if layered with countless others. “You seek to claim what is not yours.”
Endar stepped protectively in front of Melania, his blade drawn. “We seek to rebuild what was destroyed. Stand aside.”
The figure tilted his head, as though amused. “Rebuild? You speak as though you understand the weight of creation. But you are mere mortals, bound by frailty and delusion.”
Melania’s eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”
“We are the Shadows of the Old,” the figure replied. “Fragments of what once was. Guardians of the truths you seek to undo.”
“You’re remnants,” Kairen said, stepping forward. His tone was sharp, disdainful. “Clinging to a past that no longer exists.”
The figure raised his staff, and a wave of green light shot toward them. Melania raised her hand instinctively, the golden symbol gifted by the Keeper blazing to life on her palm. The two forces collided, sending shockwaves rippling across the path.
The shadows lunged.
Endar met the first attacker head-on, his blade flashing as it struck against the shadowy armor. Sparks flew, and the figure staggered back, its form briefly flickering as though unstable. Melania turned, her own power surging as she struck another with a burst of golden light.
But the shadows were relentless. For every one they felled, another took its place, rising from the darkness as though drawn to their resolve.
“This isn’t working!” Kairen shouted, narrowly dodging a strike aimed at his chest.
“We need to find the source!” Melania called back, her voice strained as she deflected another attack.
Her gaze darted to the figure with the staff.