The figure's voice lingered in the air like smoke, curling around their thoughts.Kaelis gripped his sword tighter. "It's a trick. We take it, we end this."
But as Aloysius reached toward the pedestal, the shard pulsed once, twice sending a ripple of cold through the room. Images flashed in his mind: cities burning, oceans swallowing coastlines, and himself standing at the center, holding the very shard in his hand.
Elyon stepped closer, sensing the magic bleeding from it. "This isn't just a fragment. It's a memory… no, a will. And it's speaking."
Aloysius blinked, his voice faint. "It says… it belongs to me."
The pedestal cracked, spiderweb fractures racing across the glass floor. From each crack, tendrils of shadow slithered out, winding toward them. Kaelis slashed at one, but his blade passed through and in that instant, his mind was filled with his own worst failure, replayed vividly enough to make him stagger.
Elyon cast a barrier of light, forcing the tendrils back. "We can't hold this forever. If the shard is tied to you, Aloysius, it might be the key but also the lock."
The cloaked reflection still stood beyond the pedestal, unmoving. "Choose. Claim me, and pay the price. Destroy me, and lose everything you've fought for."
Aloysius's hand trembled over the shard, torn between the visions and the unyielding certainty in his chest.The room's light dimmed, as if the labyrinth itself held its breath.
And then he made his choice.