Chapter 304
The night was silent except for the faint rustle of leaves in the wind. Dain stood alone in the clearing, the Moon Shard now lying untouched on the altar before him. The energy from it still buzzed in the air, filling the space around him with a strange tension. He could feel the pull again, the dark power calling to him, urging him to take the next step.
As he reached out, his fingers trembling with both excitement and fear, he heard a low growl behind him.
“Dain!” Fenrir’s voice was sharp, laced with concern and frustration. Dain turned slowly, already knowing what his friend would say.
Fenrir, the towering figure with dark eyes and an aura of quiet strength, stepped into the clearing, his posture tense. “You don’t understand what you’re dealing with,” he said, his voice heavy with warning. “That power is dangerous. It will consume you if you let it.”
Dain straightened, his jaw tightening. “I’ve already felt it, Fenrir. I know what it can do. I can control it.” He gestured toward the shard, his eyes blazing with determination. “This isn’t something I can walk away from. I won’t let you hold me back.”
Fenrir’s eyes darkened with a mix of concern and disbelief. “You don’t get it. I’ve seen what happens when someone gets too close to the shard. It doesn’t care about your control. It twists your will, your very essence. It corrupts, Dain.” His voice cracked slightly, the weight of the warning evident in every word.
Dain shook his head, the anger rising in his chest. “You think I don’t know the risks? But I’m not like them. I won’t fall victim to it. This power… it’s the only chance we have. Don’t you see? It’s the key to everything. We can reshape the future.”
Fenrir’s face tightened with a mixture of worry and frustration. “And what happens if you lose yourself to it? What happens if it takes control?” He took a step forward, his voice softer but no less intense. “I’ve watched too many fall, Dain. The shard doesn’t care about your plans or your promises. It only cares about feeding on your soul.”
Dain met Fenrir’s gaze, his expression hardening. He could feel the shard’s power pulsing stronger now, urging him forward. He wanted to understand it. He needed to. The answers he sought were within reach, and he wouldn’t let anyone—least of all Fenrir—stand in his way.
“I’m not going to let it control me,” Dain said, his voice unwavering. “I’ve been through too much already to be afraid of a little power. The world needs this. I need this.”
Fenrir’s face darkened further, his lips pressed into a thin line. He crossed his arms over his chest, watching Dain with a mixture of regret and helplessness. “I won’t stop you,” he said quietly. “But I won’t stand by and watch you destroy yourself either.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “You’ve seen what that power does. Don’t make the same mistake.”
Dain’s chest tightened at Fenrir’s words, but he refused to back down. He took another step toward the shard, his hand outstretched. The pull of the shard was intoxicating, a magnetic force that no longer felt like a choice. It felt like destiny.
“Fenrir, I can handle this,” Dain said, his tone final. “This is my path. I won’t let anyone take that from me.”
Fenrir stood still, watching him, and for a moment, Dain thought he saw something flicker in the depths of Fenrir’s dark eyes. A trace of fear, perhaps. But Dain wasn’t sure. All he could focus on was the shard—the power, the promises, the answers. It was too much to ignore.
As Dain’s fingers brushed the surface of the shard, a surge of energy crackled through the air, sending a jolt of heat through his body. His heart raced as the power washed over him, sinking deep into his veins. He could feel the power connecting with him, melding with his very essence.
But something was different this time.
A sudden wave of cold, dark energy coursed through him, and for a brief, terrifying moment, his vision went black. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, and he felt himself falling—falling into something far deeper than anything he had ever experienced.
Fenrir’s voice broke through the chaos, frantic and desperate. “Dain, no!”
And then, Dain’s eyes snapped open, glowing with an unnatural darkness. For the briefest moment, they flashed black, an inky void that consumed the light around them. Fenrir staggered backward, his breath catching in his throat as he stared at Dain, frozen in fear.
“Dain?” Fenrir whispered, his voice shaky. The raw fear in his eyes was unmistakable. He had seen this before—this moment of pure darkness, when the power had taken over.
Dain blinked, and the darkness vanished, leaving his eyes their usual color. But the air around them still felt charged, heavy with an energy Dain couldn’t fully comprehend. His chest tightened, and he gasped for air, the weight of the shard’s power pressing down on him.
“Dain,” Fenrir breathed again, his voice cracking with fear. “What happened? What did you—?”
Dain stumbled back, his mind swirling with the intensity of the experience. For a brief moment, it had felt as though the shard had consumed him entirely, pulling him into a dark abyss. His heart pounded in his chest, and his head swam as he tried to focus.
“I… I don’t know,” Dain said, his voice hoarse. He didn’t know what had happened. But he knew one thing for certain. The power he had just touched—it was far more than he had ever imagined.
Fenrir’s eyes were wide with terror, and Dain could see the fear in his friend’s gaze. “This is why I warned you, Dain. You can’t control this. It’s already starting to change you.”
Dain opened his mouth to argue, but the words caught in his throat. His mind was racing, and a deep, unsettling feeling gnawed at the edges of his thoughts. What had just happened? Was it the shard? Or had he done something to invite that darkness into him?
The shard pulsed again, almost like a heartbeat, as if calling to him once more. Dain’s hand hovered over it, but a part of him hesitated, the fear now gnawing at the edges of his mind.
What had he just unleashed?
