The clouds above Aetheron churned like liquid steel, illuminated by faint pulses of light from distant storms. Arin and Lira moved swiftly across the broken cityscape, the weight of Elyan's words pressing down on him. Each step reminded him that every choice, every surge of Aether, would shape the balance between light and shadow — and his sister Selene's path.
"The next fragment is in the Fractured Realms," Lira said, her voice low. She led him to a narrow fissure in the ground, glowing faintly with residual energy. "It's unstable. Parts of the realm exist outside normal space-time. Few survive the journey intact."
Arin hesitated. "Outside space-time?"
"Yes," Lira said. "One wrong move and you could fall into a void where nothing remembers you, where your Aether fades. It's a place of echoes. A test of what you're truly made of."
He swallowed and stepped into the fissure. The moment he did, the world shifted. Gravity bent, light twisted, and shadows stretched like living things. The air was thick with static energy, humming in harmony with the Aether inside him.
Lira followed, her blade slicing through the warped air. "Keep your focus," she warned. "The realm senses fear. Doubt, hesitation — it will exploit them."
Arin's pulse quickened as fragments of reality flickered around him. Buildings rose and fell in seconds. Streets curved impossibly, disappearing into nothing. Strange creatures, twisted by energy, moved along the periphery — nothing fully formed, yet aware.
"Stay close," Lira shouted. "They feed on the lost!"
Arin reached for his power, his mark glowing gold and streaked with black. A wall of light and shadow erupted around him, repelling the nearest creature. It hissed and dissipated into particles of mist.
"This is nothing like the surface," he muttered. "The rules don't apply here."
"No rules survive in the Fractured Realms," Lira said. "Only adaptation."
They pressed forward, weaving through warped structures. The ground beneath them shifted constantly, rising and falling like waves. Time itself felt fractured — seconds stretched into minutes, minutes collapsed into flashes.
Then they saw it — the fragment. A floating crystal, suspended in the heart of a broken plaza. It pulsed with both gold and black energy, radiating an aura that made Arin's head spin.
"That's it," he said, awe in his voice. "The next fragment."
Before they could reach it, a shadow detached from the air — a figure with silver eyes, moving like liquid darkness. Selene.
"You've come," she said softly, her voice carrying through the fractured wind. "I wondered how long it would take you to find me."
Arin froze. "Selene…"
"I warned you," Lira hissed. "Don't trust her. Not yet."
Selene stepped closer, her form flickering between reality and shadow. "I am not your enemy," she said. "But if Kael reaches the cores first, neither of us survives. I am here to guide you… or stop you, if you stray."
Arin's heart raced. "Then why do I feel it? The pull of the Shadow Core inside me… I can sense yours too."
Selene nodded. "Because we are halves of the same soul. Every fragment you awaken awakens a part of me. Every choice you make resonates with my power. That is why we must be careful. Together, or the world falls."
The crystal pulsed violently, as if reacting to their presence. Shadows stretched, light burned, and the air trembled. Arin took a deep breath, extending his hands. "I… I want to try. I want to control it — both light and shadow."
Selene stepped forward, placing her hand near his. The moment their energy touched, the world erupted in gold and black light. The Fractured Realm quaked. Time folded over itself. For an instant, Arin saw countless versions of himself and Selene — some smiling, some crying, some lost in voids of shadow.
Lira shouted, "Don't falter! Focus on the core, Arin!"
Arin clenched his fists. He felt the energy settle, threads of light and shadow weaving together inside him. His vision cleared. The crystal floated before him, pulsing in harmony with the Aether.
"You did it," Selene said softly, a hint of a smile breaking through her serious demeanor. "You can balance the fragments… but only for a moment. Control is fleeting."
Arin exhaled, trembling but determined. "Then we keep moving. We find the remaining fragments before Kael does. And we learn everything about us — together."
Selene nodded. "Then let us begin. One step at a time, brother. The journey is just starting."
The Fractured Realm shimmered, folding around them as they stepped forward, the next fragment of Infinity waiting somewhere in the shifting void.