The wind stopped.
Completely.
Eldara had never been this silent.
No rustling leaves.No distant animals.Not even the faint hum of life.
Aira opened her eyes slowly.
She was resting inside the shelter, her body still weak from the battle.
But something felt wrong.
Deeply wrong.
"…Why is it so quiet?" she whispered.
Outside, Kael stood frozen.
The wind around him—gone.
For the first time since they met—
He couldn't feel it.
"This… this isn't normal," he muttered.
Ren stood beside him, golden aura flickering unevenly.
"It's not just the wind…" he said.
"…even the Forces feel… suppressed."
Master Dain stepped forward, gripping his staff tightly.
His voice was low.
"This presence… it doesn't belong to this world."
Aira stepped outside.
Her flames sparked weakly in her palm—
Then dimmed.
Her eyes widened.
"…My Flame Force…"
Before anyone could speak—
The sky cracked.
Not lightning.
Not thunder.
A tear.
A massive rift split across the sky, glowing with dark violet energy.
The air warped.
The ground trembled.
Reality itself seemed to bend.
Kael stepped back. "Okay… I officially don't like this."
From within the rift—
Something moved.
Slow.
Massive.
Unnatural.
Aira felt it instantly.
Not like the Abyss.
Not like the villain.
This was worse.
"Everyone… stay alert," Ren said, voice tense.
The rift expanded—
Then—
It opened.
And something stepped through.
It had no clear form.
No stable shape.
Just a towering figure made of shifting darkness and light—like reality couldn't decide what it was.
Where its face should have been—
There was only a void.
The ground cracked beneath its presence.
The air collapsed inward.
Kael whispered, "What… is that thing…?"
Master Dain's voice trembled slightly.
"…That is a Harbinger."
Silence.
"A Harbinger… of what?" Aira asked.
Master Dain didn't look away from the creature.
"…Ruin."
The entity raised its arm slowly.
And the world reacted.
The trees bent.
The ground sank.
Even the sky seemed to distort.
Ren stepped forward, golden aura flaring—but unstable.
"It's suppressing our Forces… we can't fight it normally!"
Kael tried to summon wind—
Nothing.
"Seriously? NOW it stops working?!" he shouted.
Aira clenched her fist.
Her flame flickered—
Weak—
Then suddenly—
A pulse of black surged through it.
The Abyss Force reacted.
The Harbinger stopped.
For the first time—
It turned.
Toward Aira.
Her breath caught.
"…Why is it looking at me?"
Ren's eyes widened.
"…It recognizes your power."
The Harbinger took one step forward.
The ground shattered beneath it.
Aira's heart pounded.
Her flames flickered between red…
And black.
Kael stepped in front of her. "Don't move."
But Aira didn't step back.
She stepped forward.
"Aira, wait!" Kael shouted.
She shook her head.
"…No. It's not here for the village."
The Harbinger raised its arm again.
And pointed—
At her.
Silence.
Ren's voice dropped.
"…It came for you."
The Abyss inside her stirred violently.
It sees you.
It knows you.
Aira gritted her teeth.
"I'm not afraid of it."
The Harbinger moved—
Faster than anything before.
In an instant—
It was in front of her.
Kael and Ren reacted—
Too late.
Aira raised her sword—
Flames igniting—
Black and red together.
The moment their powers collided—
The world exploded in light and darkness.
A massive shockwave tore through Eldara.
Buildings shook.
The ground cracked.
Kael was thrown back.
Ren barely held his barrier.
At the center—
Aira stood—
Barely holding her ground.
"This… thing…" she struggled.
"…it's on another level…"
The Harbinger didn't attack again.
It simply… observed her.
Then—
It spoke.
Not with sound.
But directly into her mind.
You are incomplete.
Aira froze.
Become whole…
"…No," she whispered.
Or be erased.
The pressure increased.
The world bent further.
Kael shouted from a distance, "AIRA, GET BACK!"
Ren's voice followed, "You can't fight it alone!"
Aira's grip tightened.
Her flames surged violently.
"I'm not alone."
For a moment—
Her flame, Kael's wind (faintly returning), and Ren's golden light—
All reacted.
A spark of balance.
The Harbinger paused.
Then—
Slowly—
It stepped back.
The pressure lifted.
The rift in the sky began to close.
Before disappearing—
It looked at Aira one last time.
We will return.
And then—
It vanished.
The sky sealed.
The wind returned.
The world breathed again.
Silence.
Aira dropped to one knee.
Breathing heavily.
Kael rushed over. "ARE YOU OKAY?!"
Ren followed, eyes still locked on the sky.
"…That wasn't a normal enemy."
Master Dain stepped forward slowly.
His voice grave.
"The war has changed."
Aira looked up.
"That thing…"
Her voice shook slightly.
"…it wasn't trying to destroy us."
Ren nodded.
"It was testing you."
Kael frowned.
"Why her?"
Silence.
Aira looked at her flame.
It flickered—
Red…
Black…
"…Because of this."
Far beyond the world—
In a place untouched by light—
Multiple eyes opened.
Watching.
Waiting.
The Harbinger was only the beginning.
And Aira…
Had just been marked.