đź“– Chronicles of the Watchers
Chapter 10: The Fractured Path
The mountain path split apart under the force of the battle. Rocks tumbled into the abyss below, carrying echoes of steel on steel.
Kairo stumbled backward, clutching his burning arm. The mark wasn't just glowing now—it pulsed like a heart, each beat sending ripples through the air around him. Every time it throbbed, the world seemed to stutter—trees flickering between night and dawn, pebbles rising and falling in broken loops.
"Control it!" Selene shouted over the clash of blades. She dragged him by the wrist, her lantern fire weaving a barrier of blue light that slowed the advancing Hunters. "If you lose yourself, the Watcher will take hold!"
"I don't know how!" Kairo cried, voice cracking.
Liora's greatsword cleaved another Hunter in half, only for the Bell to toll again, louder, nearer. She snarled in frustration. "We can't hold this ground—move!"
Selene raised her lantern high, chanting in a tongue older than the stones. The fire expanded into a wall of shimmering flame, buying them precious seconds.
"This way!" she hissed, pulling Kairo toward a narrow crevice in the cliffside. Liora covered their retreat, swinging her blade in arcs of silver fire, forcing the Hunters back.
They plunged into the crevice, scrambling over jagged stone. The tunnel beyond was tight, forcing Liora to duck low, her shoulders scraping the walls. Behind them, the Hunters' voices echoed, cold and unyielding:
"Yield the vessel. Time demands his silence."
The mark throbbed again—
And the world broke.
For an instant, Kairo saw two paths at once: one where Selene ran ahead, the tunnel collapsing behind her; another where Liora fell, her blade shattered, blood on the stone. The visions overlapped, unbearable, until he screamed and clutched his head.
Selene spun. "He's slipping—Liora, help me!"
The giantess hoisted Kairo onto her shoulder like a sack of grain, teeth clenched. "Then tell him to stop tearing the world apart with his nightmares!"
They burst from the tunnel onto a ledge overlooking a frozen river far below. The cliff crumbled beneath their feet, stones plunging into the abyss.
The Hunters emerged from the shadows behind them, masks glowing, weapons raised.
Selene didn't hesitate. She turned to Kairo, her eyes fierce. "Do you trust me?"
He could barely breathe, but he nodded.
"Then jump."
Without another word, Selene leapt from the ledge, lantern blazing like a star. Liora roared and followed, clutching Kairo tight.
The river rushed up to meet them—
The Bell tolled again—
And the world shattered into white.
⚡ End of Chapter 10.