—Narrated by Eli Whitmore
---
I felt it in my chest before I saw it.
A tug.
Not of pain… but of memory.
Of love.
I stood at the edge of the newest tear—black mist curling at its edges, like the breath of some sleeping beast. The others were behind me, resting inside the safe bubble we'd carved into the Fractured Realms. But I couldn't sleep. Not with his name echoing in my mind.
Thorne.
I pressed a hand against my chest. The final seal mark still pulsed—faint, but there. Alive.
Just like him.
"I know you're out there," I whispered. "And I'm coming."
I stepped through the tear.
---
The Shadow Realm
The air changed immediately.
Thick. Cold. Like walking into a dream that knew your fears.
I couldn't see more than a few feet ahead. The shadows moved around me—sliding between the trees like memories that refused to stay forgotten. The sky was a sheet of endless night, no stars, no moon. Just a low, deep hum vibrating through the ground.
Then a voice.
Soft. Rough. Familiar.
> "Why did you come, Eli?"
I turned, fast.
And there he was.
Thorne Everhart.
But not the one I remembered.
He stood tall, his armor cracked and blackened, shadows dripping from his gauntlets like living ink. His eyes weren't violet anymore. They were gold. Burning. Like something inside him had been awakened... or broken.
I stepped forward slowly. "Thorne."
He didn't move. Just watched.
"I thought I lost you," I whispered. "When Nyxar struck—"
> "You did lose me," he interrupted, his voice low. "Or maybe I lost myself."
I looked into his eyes. There was pain there. So much pain.
"No," I said, firmer now. "You're still you. I know it."
He turned away, shadows curling from his fingertips like smoke.
> "I was pulled into the core of the Shadow Realm," he said. "Nyxar tried to use me—feed on me. Twist what I am."
> "And did he?" I asked.
He hesitated.
> "He tried. But I remembered your voice. I remembered… us."
That broke me. I stepped closer, reaching for his hand.
He didn't stop me.
When our fingers touched, his shadows calmed.
I gripped him tightly. "Come home, Thorne. We need you. I need you."
He looked at me again, and for the first time, his eyes softened. Gold faded to violet.
> "You came through all of this. Just for me?"
I nodded. "Always."
---
Shadowheart
Thorne collapsed to his knees. The shadows around him burst outward, shaking the ground. But they didn't attack.
They… wept.
I knelt in front of him, holding his face in my hands.
"You're not alone," I said. "Not anymore."
He closed his eyes and leaned into my touch. "I thought I'd become a monster."
"You're not. You're my Thorne."
Then, without warning, he kissed me.
Not gentle. Not sweet.
Desperate.
And I kissed him back like the worlds hadn't just cracked apart.
---
The Others Arrive
A soft pulse in the seal warned me—another tear was opening behind me.
Felix was the first to step through, followed by Ryker, Luna, and Draven.
They saw us and froze.
Ryker raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's one way to find someone."
Felix grinned. "Told you he wasn't dead."
Luna tilted her head. "But something's changed, hasn't it?"
Draven took a step forward. "Thorne… you've been marked by shadow."
Thorne stood slowly, brushing darkness off his armor. "Nyxar tried to corrupt me. But the power of the Binder… it shielded me. Not fully—but enough."
Felix narrowed his eyes. "You're part of the Shadow Realm now?"
Thorne nodded. "I can feel its threads in me. I can walk its paths. Command its monsters—some of them, at least. But there's a price."
"What price?" I asked quickly.
He looked at me, his voice lower. "If I lose control again… I could become what Nyxar wanted. A vessel of shadow."
"No," I said firmly. "We'll never let that happen."
Ryker clapped a hand to Thorne's shoulder. "You're one of us. Shadow or not."
Luna stepped forward, holding a crystal charm. "The light and shadow inside you… they don't have to fight. They can balance. You just need help."
Thorne looked at her, then all of us.
> "Then I accept it. Your help. Your light. Your madness."
We laughed.
A soft moment in the middle of chaos.
---
A New Bond
That night, we didn't camp.
We made a circle—holding hands, anchoring Thorne between us.
Luna whispered an old spell from the Celestial Order, while Draven stabilized the ground with runes. Felix and Ryker lit small orbs of moonlight. I kept my seal pressed to Thorne's chest, whispering his name like a prayer.
And the shadows around him… softened.
They wrapped around him like a cloak—not a prison. A gift.
---
A Warning from the Void
Just before sleep could find us, a ripple cracked through the sky above.
A message.
Not spoken aloud—but heard inside our bones.
> "I see you, Gate Keeper."
> "The final gate was just the beginning."
> "The real war… begins now."
Nyxar's voice.
Cold.
Certain.
Then the tear sealed up, and we were left in silence once more.
---
We had found Thorne.
But the realms were still broken.
And Nyxar was watching.
But so were we.
Together again.
---
To be continued...