The world stopped—or at least, that's how it felt.
The purple rift in the sky throbbed like an open wound, spilling a stench of sulfur and ash that twisted my stomach.
Threshold stood unmoving, cloaked in gray robes, eyes glowing violet beneath the hood like beacons in the storm.
Their presence was a weight, an invisible chain that pulled at my soul.
To my right, Dren clutched his sword with trembling hands, the obsidian relic on his chest pulsing in rhythm with the rift.
To my left, Nyra held her knife high, her gaze flickering between Dren, Threshold, and me.
In my hand, Lirien's amulet burned—a flickering white light, like a heart on the verge of collapse.
> "Choose, Echo,"
Threshold's voice roared in my mind.
"The throne awaits, but the path is paved in blood. Choose… or I will."
My body trembled—not from fear, but from the Éther roaring in my veins, begging to be unleashed.
Black lines now licked my skin, each one a reminder of the price already paid:
The mercenary's corpse.
The torn chest.
The obsidian shard, echoing Dren's relic.
I had sworn never to be a victim again.
Not like in my past life, when a traitor's dagger ended me.
And yet here I was—caught between a mercenary who wanted to use me, a figure who promised answers and death, and a girl who could be my ally… or my end.
> "I serve no one,"
I said, my voice slicing the silence like a blade.
I clenched the amulet tighter. Its light flared, white and blinding, forcing Threshold a step back.
The Éther howled, but I held it back—my will a fragile wall against the tide.
"And I will not be your pawn."
Threshold laughed—a sound more sorrow than joy.
> "The Echo's pride," they said, voice echoing like a chorus of shadows.
"But the Threshold doesn't ask permission. You've been marked, Arion Vaelis. And the Obsidian Throne cannot be denied."
They raised a hand, and the rift above widened.
A guttural roar escaped from within, and shadows shifted—inhuman shapes with eyes like dying stars.
Dren lunged at me, his blade aiming for my neck.
> "If I can't have you—no one will!"
he screamed, his relic flaring purple, burning the air itself.
But Nyra moved first.
Her knife slashed the air, knocking Dren's blade aside with a metallic shriek.
He dropped to his knees, gasping, but fire still blazed in his eyes.
> "Enough!"
Nyra's voice cracked.
"Arion, choose—now!"
Her eyes met mine—rage, fear, and something else.
Something fragile. Real.
I'd seen that look before—in soldiers who knew they wouldn't survive.
But also… in those who still fought anyway.
My mind—Kael's mind—calculated.
Going with Threshold meant answers—but chains.
Swearing to Dren meant prison disguised as protection.
Running? Impossible. The sky itself had sealed that door.
Nyra… Nyra was a risk. But maybe—just maybe—a chance.
But trust was a luxury I couldn't afford.
Not yet.
The amulet pulsed, and a memory struck:
Lirien's gray eyes.
Her branded hand brushing my cheek.
> "You are enough,"
she'd whispered before the flames took her.
But I wasn't.
Not without a price.
> "Choose,"
Threshold roared again—
And a vision swallowed me whole.
The Obsidian Throne, now clear, covered in blood dripping like wax.
Nyra lay at its feet, knife broken, eyes hollow.
Lirien reached for me—but her face turned to ash.
Beyond the throne, a colossal figure stood—eyes violet, wings of shadow.
Threshold, unbound.
And me, wearing a shattered crown, was its reflection.
> "No—"
I growled, tearing myself free.
The Éther screamed—and I let it flow.
But not toward Threshold. Not toward Dren.
I aimed it at Dren's relic.
Lirien's amulet flared white, guiding the torrent.
A purple explosion cracked the air.
Dren's relic fractured.
Something inside screamed—a sound not of this world.
Dren collapsed, his blade falling, face pale.
> "What… have you done?"
he gasped, blood on his lips.
The obsidian shard faded, but his eyes still burned with hatred.
"The Threshold… will destroy you."
Threshold raised a hand.
The sky rift shrieked. Shadows spilled like ink.
> "You've chosen, Echo,"
they said coldly.
"But the path to the throne doesn't end here. We will meet again."
With a gesture, their body dissolved into mist.
The rift sealed.
Silence fell like a blade.
Nyra still held her knife.
> "What was that?"
she whispered, voice shaking.
"That power… that relic…"
> "I don't know,"
I rasped.
A lie.
I knew.
The relic wasn't just a trinket—it was a key.
A shard of Threshold.
Like the one I saw on the mercenary's corpse.
And Dren had known.
I knelt beside him. His breath shallow.
> "Tell me," I said.
"The relic. The Threshold. What are they?"
Dren chuckled—wet, broken.
> "Too late, boy… The Éther has you… and the Sins will come for you."
His eyes dimmed.
His body stilled.
The shattered relic lay on the ground.
A faint purple flicker pulsing inside.
Nyra stepped closer, knife finally lowered.
> "Arion,"
she said softly.
"I can't follow you if you don't trust me. Tell me what you are… or…"
She stopped.
Tears brimmed but never fell.
> "Or this ends here."
I looked at the amulet.
Its light nearly gone.
Black veins now crawled across my chest.
My soul felt like it was splintering—piece by piece.
The throne's vision returned.
But not just Nyra or Lirien this time.
Figures stood beyond it—red-eyed shadows, wings of flame, faces no longer human.
The Sins, Dren had said.
And I knew then:
The throne…
was only the beginning.
> "I'm no hero,"
I said, meeting her eyes.
"And I'm no monster. I'm what the world made me."
I pocketed the amulet.
Its weight—Lirien's memory.
> "If you're coming with me, Nyra… be ready for a path with no return."
She didn't answer.
But she lowered her knife.
It was enough.
For now.
The forest held its breath.
Death still lingered in the air.
I picked up Dren's broken relic—its purple pulse burning my fingers.
I couldn't leave it behind.
Not while Threshold still whispered in my mind:
> "The throne is only the beginning, Echo.
The Sins await."
I turned toward the horizon,
where the sky still trembled with the echo of the rift.
The path to the throne was clear now.
But beyond it…
something far greater waited.
Gods.
Demons.
Sins.
And I—Arion Vaelis—
would face them all.
Or destroy them.