Heat and tension hung in the air. Zara stood on one side, fists clenched, the darkness around her burning up like living tentacles. Eira stood behind her, prepared to deflect any flames that would be heading their way, accumulating frost along her arms.
Commander Vael raised his hand—and his men opened up with the guns.
Zara sliced through smoke like a blade.
Bullets vanished into her cloak of shadows. She rolled, spinning and sending a spear of raw shadow into the next soldier's sword, ripping it from his grasp in a flash. Ice wall burst forth from Eira's outstretched palms at the same instant another salvo struck, bouncing cheerfully off the charred ruin.
The Ashborn stayed motionless in the midst of it all, chains still aflame. His gaze tracked Zara but his flames dwindled, as if restrained to see what would happen next.
Vael stepped forward, using a curved Aether sword. "You don't belong here, Kane."
"I belong where the Shards are," she snarled, attacking him. The impact rang like thunder through the broken temple floor. Sparks flew.
"You're too late," he growled, shoving her back. "The Order's already found the next three locations."
Zara gritted her teeth and shoved him back with a burst of darkness. "Then I guess I'll take this one and you can make a break for it."
The Ashborn watched the exchange—his blazing eyes darting between Zara and Vael. He looked. conflicted.
Zara moved closer to him. "You've been held here too long. But you don't have to be their tool."
The Ashborn spat, the chains constricting tighter around him. "I was made to burn. I think of nothing but fire."
She extended a hand. "Then let me give you something else. A choice."
Vael advanced—but this time Eira was ready. A cold spear pinned him to the wall by the shoulder, and he roared with fury.
"Now, Zara!" Eira shouted.
Zara reached for the Shard.
The moment her fingers brushed against it, fire coursed through her, but not pain. It was a memory. A scream. The presence of the man who had once wielded the Ashborn Shard—a guardian, a father, consumed by the fire when he tried to defy the Order. His essence still persisted within the relic.
Zara's voice shattered. "You were never meant to be a tool…"
The fire exploded one last time—then disappeared.
The Shard stopped moving.
And gently, like a dying feather, it drifted into her chest and went out into her.
Zara staggered, catching herself. Shadows and flames writhed together upon her skin, flaming with hot scarings. The Shard didn't fight. It had chosen.
The Ashborn stood wordless, gaping. His chains unravelled. Fire that had torn him asunder died away, and where its embers coiled a grizzled, scarred figure lay.
He fell to his knees. "It's… gone."
Zara stepped up and knelt beside him. "No. You're free."
He lifted a cold gaze to her. "Then let me take you to free the others."
Behind them, Vael snarled and fired a failsafe beacon—but Eira was faster. With a blast of frost, she destroyed the beacon and froze his other arm to the wall.
"You're not going anywhere."
---
Location: Silver City – Nightbound HQ, Hours Later
Zara sat alone in the meditation room. Three Shards now lived within her. Each was heavy with history—power, yes, but pain too. She could feel them shifting sometimes, like whispers just beneath thought.
Helena entered quietly. "How's your head?"
"Loud," Zara whispered. "But manageable."
Helena gave her a folder. "While you were gone, we confirmed another location. A Shard beneath the ruins of Neo-Tokyo."
Zara raised her head. "What kind?"
Myles over the intercom. "A storm elemental. The Thunderheart. Unstable. It destroyed a city once."
Zara stood, her shadow-flame aura swaying gently. "Then we move now."
Helena's eye quirked with an eyebrow. "No rest?"
Zara smiled faintly. "Rest is for when the world isn't ending."
Helena's gaze trailed with a spark of understanding.
They went towards the hangar.
Helena's hunt resumed.
---