The Guardian's blade came down like a thunderclap, splitting the frozen altar into shards of ice that spun through the blizzard like knives. Cain lunged forward, meeting the strike with his own sword. The impact sent a tremor up his arms, rattling his bones, but he refused to fall. Sparks hissed against the snow.
Lucien was already moving, dagger flashing as he darted past the Guardian's flank. He struck at the armor, but his blade barely left a scratch before the wraith backhanded him across the plateau. Lucien rolled, teeth gritted, blood running from his lip.
"Strong," the Guardian's voice boomed, reverberating through the storm. "But strength is not enough. Sacrifice is demanded."
Elias fired an arrow straight into the Guardian's eye-socket. The shaft lodged deep, glowing against the hollow flame inside. The wraith reeled but did not fall. Instead, it turned its burning gaze on Elias, who stood his ground even as snow whipped around him.
Cain snarled, stepping into the Guardian's path. "You'll have to cut through me first."
Ayden staggered forward, his injured arm useless but his other hand glowing faintly with sparks of red energy—the power gifted to him by the seal at Kiralyn. He hurled it at the Guardian. The explosion rocked the mountain, flame and frost colliding in a violent wave. Villagers screamed, clutching one another as the ground quaked beneath their feet.
For a moment, it seemed the Guardian had been subdued. The flames licked at its armor, coating it in molten streaks. But then the wraith's laughter rolled through the storm, low and terrible.
"You think you are the first to try? You think you are the first children to bleed on these stones?"
The storm thickened, obscuring everything. The villagers could barely see the silhouettes of Cain, Lucien, Elias, Ayden, and Rei as they struggled in the blizzard. Shadows twisted within the snow—faces, hands, entire forms. Ghosts. Hundreds of them, whispering in voices that clawed at the mind.
Rei's face paled. "The Guardian has called the Fallen. Those who failed before us."
Cain's grip tightened on his sword. "Then we'll succeed where they didn't."
The Guardian's sword ignited with blue flame, slicing through the air. Cain blocked, but the force hurled him back. Elias ran forward, loosing another arrow, this time infused with a faint glow—his new power stirring. The arrow struck true, piercing the Guardian's chest. For a heartbeat, silence fell.
Then the Guardian laughed again.
"Good. The seal recognizes you. But will you pay its price?"
The ground cracked beneath Elias's feet. Chains of frost wrapped around his legs, dragging him toward the altar. Liora screamed, rushing forward, but Rei caught her arm.
"No! If you touch him, the seal will take you too!"
Elias struggled, teeth bared as the chains pulled tighter. His bow fell from his hand, clattering against the stone. Cain and Lucien rushed to him, hacking at the chains with their blades, but the ice only repaired itself, stronger with every strike.
The Guardian raised its flaming sword, poised to bring it down on Elias.
Ayden staggered forward, blood soaking his bandages. "NO!" He threw himself into the path, both hands glowing now, his body trembling with the force of magic that wasn't his to control. Flames erupted in a sphere around Elias, shielding him from the strike. The Guardian's blade crashed against it, sparks flying, the shockwave blasting snow off the plateau.
Ayden screamed in agony, blood pouring from his nose.
Cain and Lucien grabbed Elias's arms, pulling him back, dragging him away from the altar. The chains resisted, snapping tight, but Cain roared, pouring every ounce of strength into his grip.
Rei whispered a spell, her voice sharp and desperate. Symbols lit beneath her feet, spreading outward across the plateau. The chains flickered, weakening for a heartbeat.
"NOW!" Rei shouted.
Cain and Lucien pulled with everything they had. The chains shattered. Elias collapsed into their arms, gasping for breath.
The Guardian howled, a sound that split the sky itself. The blizzard froze in midair, snow suspended as though time had stopped. Its burning eyes swept over them all.
"You have defied the seal's price," it thundered. "The seal does not forget. It does not forgive. You will pay—one way or another."
The Guardian's form burst into shards of ice and fire, scattering into the storm. The altar cracked completely, glowing veins spreading across the mountain. The seal of Noril was broken.
But the victory felt hollow.
Cain dropped to his knees, chest heaving, sword slipping from his hand. Lucien crouched beside Elias, who trembled violently, his veins glowing faintly with the residue of the seal's magic. Ayden lay sprawled on the snow, unconscious, his body smoking as if burned from within.
The villagers stood silent, terror etched into their faces.
Rei's voice broke the quiet, soft but heavy. "We've done it. The second seal... is gone."
Liora knelt beside Elias, her hands shaking as she touched his face. His eyes flickered open, glowing faintly before dimming to green again.
"Did we win?" Elias whispered.
No one answered.
Because above them, the clouds split apart.
And through the opening, a pair of vast, glowing eyes peered down, ancient and unblinking.
Rei's breath caught. "No... it's too soon."
The mountain trembled. The villagers screamed.
Cain lifted his gaze to the sky, his heart pounding. He knew, without needing Rei to explain, that something far worse than the Guardian had just awakened.
The storm fell silent.
And the eyes blinked.