The words of the shadow echoed relentlessly in Erik’s mind, twisting his thoughts into knots. A fracture between worlds. What did that even mean? He had come here to find answers, to confront the mysteries that had haunted him, but all he had found was this darkness this force that claimed to be his destiny. Had he unknowingly walked into something far darker than he could understand? Was this some cosmic trap, a fate he was meant to endure, no matter how much he struggled against it?

  The shadow loomed closer, its presence suffocating, filling the room with a weight that made it hard to breathe. It seemed to swallow the very air, and the space around them felt like it was compressing, becoming smaller and smaller, as if the walls themselves were closing in on him. Each step the figure took seemed to bend reality further, distorting everything around it, until Erik could barely tell where the shadow ended and the world began. It was as though this being existed in a different realm altogether, a place where time and space held no meaning.

  The fracture between worlds. The words repeated in his mind, making the hunger within him flare up even more violently. He felt like something was being torn apart inside him his mind, his soul, even his very sense of self. The hunger that had taken root within him now felt like a relentless storm, threatening to rip him into pieces. Was this what the shadow had meant? Was he becoming the bridge between worlds, the thing that held the threads of existence together? Or was he the one meant to destroy them?

  His thoughts spiraled out of control, and in that moment, the shadow's presence seemed to amplify his sense of helplessness, the feeling of being lost in a nightmare. He couldn’t escape it. It was all around him, closing in, suffocating him.

  "What does it mean?" Erik asked again, his voice shaking with desperation. His words felt weak, empty in the face of such overwhelming power. "What do you want from me?"

  The figure’s void-like face seemed to shift, as if the darkness itself were contemplating the question, though it was impossible to read anything in that endless blackness. There were no eyes, no mouth, just a swirling, chaotic mass of void and shadow. It was a presence so ancient, so unknowable, that it felt like it existed outside the realm of comprehension.

  "I do not want. I do not need." The voice came again, deep and resonant, carrying with it the weight of centuries. "You are the key, Erik. The price of truth is always steep, but you will pay it nonetheless."

  The words sent a tremor through him. He was the key. He had always felt like a pawn in someone else’s game, but now it was clear. This wasn’t just fate or coincidence. His very existence was tied to something far larger than he could ever have imagined. The hunger, the power, the symbols the door itself had all been leading him to this moment. He was part of something that stretched across worlds, beyond time, beyond death. But what did it mean? What was he supposed to do with this truth that was now binding him, body and soul?

  Kaelith stepped forward, her eyes flashing with determination, though there was a deep concern that lay beneath her defiance. She had always been a fierce protector, someone who would fight with everything she had for those she cared about. But now, even she seemed uncertain of the power they were facing. Still, she wasn’t one to back down.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “We’ll stop you,” she said, her voice strong, laced with defiance. She raised her daggers, the sharp blades gleaming in the dim light, but there was something in her stance that betrayed her fear. She wasn’t sure how they could stop something like this but she wouldn’t let Erik face it alone.

  The shadow’s laughter rang out again, hollow and unfeeling. It reverberated in the air like the sound of a distant storm, rolling in from the edges of reality. "You cannot stop what has already begun," it said, its voice dripping with disdain. "The threads are already woven. The fractures are already made. It is only a matter of time."

  The words hit Erik like a hammer, shattering whatever hope he had left. What threads? What fractures? Had this whole journey, this whole battle, been part of a greater design? Was there any hope of stopping the inevitable?

  The ground beneath Erik’s feet shifted again, trembling violently, and the chamber seemed to pulse with an eerie energy. The symbols on the walls began to glow brighter, their light sharp and intense, like a thousand eyes watching him. The energy in the room was suffocating, thick with power, and Erik felt it surge through him. It was as if the very walls, the very stone of the chamber, were alive, pulsing in sync with the hunger that gnawed at his soul.

  His skin burned where the symbols on his flesh were etched, the lines of power flickering beneath his skin like fire. He could feel the energy growing, swelling inside him, and it was becoming unbearable. The hunger twisted inside him, a living thing, clawing and scratching at the edges of his mind. His body felt like it was no longer his own, as if something inside him was reaching out for control, something far darker, far more dangerous than he could comprehend.

  “No,” Erik whispered, his voice barely audible over the hum of power in the room. His heart raced in his chest, a cold sweat soaking his back as panic clawed at him. He could feel himself losing ground, slipping away, and for a moment, he wondered if he could ever find his way back to who he had been. He wanted to fight it, to tear away the darkness and return to his old self, to erase whatever curse had been placed upon him but the hunger inside him laughed at his resistance. It was too powerful. He was too far gone. The weight of the truth was too much to bear.

  "You cannot escape your fate, Erik," the shadow said, its voice low, ominous, almost a growl. The words seemed to vibrate through him, settling in his chest like a stone. "You were always meant to walk this path."

  Erik’s knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, the force of the hunger threatening to swallow him whole. He could feel the shadow’s gaze though it had no eyes piercing into him, searching him, pulling him apart from the inside. The dark power within him roiled and writhed, feeding on his fear, on his confusion, on his inability to control it. It was a force beyond his understanding, a force that had been planted inside him long ago, growing, waiting for this moment.

  The hunger surged again, and Erik's hands clenched into fists at his sides. He could feel the symbols on his skin flaring to life, burning brighter than ever before, their power taking root deeper and deeper within him. It was too much to bear, the pull of the darkness too great, too overwhelming. But as he sank deeper into despair, a part of him the part that still remembered who he had been fought back, reaching for the remnants of his humanity.

  The shadow’s voice was everywhere now, in his mind, in his heart, in the very air he breathed. "You are the fracture, Erik. The barrier between worlds. And when you finally understand, you will see that there is no going back."

  The weight of the words pressed down on him, and for a moment, he wanted to give in to let the darkness take over, to let the hunger consume him, to embrace the power that had been given to him. It promised him strength, promised him freedom, promised him everything he had ever longed for.

  But there was still a part of him that refused to yield. Even now, even as the hunger raged, there was something deep within him that clung to the hope that he could find another way. He didn’t want to become a monster. He didn’t want to lose himself to the darkness.

  But with each passing second, the fracture between worlds deepened, and the darkness seemed to swallow him whole.