Chapter 303
Elyra stood in the center of the clearing, the cool night air swirling around her as she stared at the shimmering stone in the distance. The Moon Shard. Even from here, she could feel its presence, pulsing with a strange, undeniable energy. It called to her, louder than ever before, its whispers growing into a roar in the back of her mind.
“Elyra, stop!”
Cassian’s voice broke through the haze of her thoughts. Elyra turned to see him and Aurora stepping out from behind the trees, their faces clouded with concern. They had been following her, no doubt worried about where the pull of the shard would lead her.
“You can’t be serious,” Cassian continued, his voice tight with worry. “You’re risking everything just by being here.”
Aurora stepped forward, her usual calm demeanor replaced with something darker, something urgent. “It’s not safe, Elyra. The shard is dangerous. We’ve seen what it does to people.”
Elyra shook her head, her heart racing. She didn’t understand what was happening, but the pull was too strong to ignore. She couldn’t walk away from it, not now, not after everything she had felt. The power, the connection—it was undeniable.
“I know what you’re trying to do, but we can’t ignore it any longer,” Elyra said, her voice firm. “Something’s happening. The shard is calling to me, and I can’t turn away from it.”
Cassian took a step forward, his eyes filled with a mix of frustration and concern. “Elyra, listen to us. You don’t know what you’re dealing with. That shard… it’s not a gift. It’s a curse.”
Aurora nodded, her expression grim. “We’ve seen what happens when someone gets too close to it. The power it holds is corrupting, and it will destroy you if you don’t stop.”
Elyra felt the weight of their words, but the bond she felt with the shard only deepened. It was as if it understood her, as if it was calling her to fulfill something far greater than herself. She couldn’t explain it, but she felt it in her bones.
“I don’t care what it is,” Elyra said, determination creeping into her voice. “I can’t let it go. I need to understand what’s happening.”
The air around them seemed to grow heavier, and the moon above shone brighter, its silver light piercing through the trees. Elyra turned back to face the shard, its pulsing glow now like a beacon in the night.
Cassian and Aurora exchanged a look, their faces filled with worry, but they didn’t try to stop her. They knew, deep down, that nothing could dissuade her now.
“Elyra, please,” Aurora said softly, her voice strained. “Don’t do this. The shard’s power isn’t something you can control. It will consume you.”
But Elyra didn’t hear her. She was already moving forward, drawn to the shard as if it were the only thing that mattered in the world. The energy in the air crackled, as if the entire forest was holding its breath.
The moment Elyra reached the altar, the whispers of the shard grew louder, more frantic. They were no longer distant murmurs but clear, insistent voices, their words brushing against her thoughts like a soft, velvet caress. She could feel it, the ancient power stirring beneath the surface, waiting for her to make the final move.
Elyra hesitated for a brief moment, her fingers hovering above the glowing stone. It was beautiful, yet terrifying—its energy seemed to pulse in sync with her heartbeat. Every instinct screamed at her to walk away, to listen to Cassian and Aurora’s warnings, but the shard’s call was overwhelming. She could feel its weight in her soul.
With a shaky breath, Elyra reached out. The instant her fingers made contact with the shard, a jolt of energy shot through her body, and she cried out in pain. It was as if the shard itself burned with the intensity of the moon, scorching her skin. Her hand seared with a heat unlike anything she had ever felt before, and she tried to pull back, but it was as if the shard was holding her in place.
“Elyra!” Cassian shouted, rushing forward, but it was too late.
The energy surged again, and Elyra felt herself being pulled deeper into the connection, her body trembling with the power coursing through her veins. The whispers became a torrent in her mind, the words blending into one incoherent mass of sound.
But then, through the chaos, one word broke free, echoing louder than the rest.
“Yours.”
The force of the word slammed into Elyra’s chest, knocking the breath from her lungs. She gasped, her hand trembling on the shard as the energy overwhelmed her.
“Elyra, stop!” Aurora cried, her voice breaking through the storm of power surrounding them.
But Elyra couldn’t pull away. The shard’s grip on her was too strong. Her vision blurred, and the world around her seemed to dissolve into a blur of light and shadow.
The air grew colder, and the forest seemed to stretch and warp around her. It was as if she had stepped beyond reality itself, into a realm where nothing was certain. The whispers grew louder, and Elyra felt her sense of self begin to slip away. She was no longer just Elyra. She was something more—something ancient and powerful, connected to the shard in a way that defied understanding.
But it was too much. The energy coursing through her was overwhelming, and she could feel herself losing control. Her body burned with the force of the shard’s power, and it felt like her very soul was being torn apart.
Suddenly, with a final, deafening surge, the energy exploded, and Elyra was thrown backward, her body crashing into the ground with a force that stole the air from her lungs.
Her hand, still burning with the shard’s energy, was left hanging in the air as if suspended in time. The last thing she heard before everything went dark was the distant, chilling sound of a whisper:
“The shadow is waiting.”
~
