The night passed slowly, the air thick with tension despite the quiet of the grove. The Celestial Marauders took turns keeping watch, their minds unable to fully rest after the revelations from Idris. Though the grove offered a temporary sanctuary, they all knew the peace would be short-lived. The threat of the Celestials loomed closer with every passing hour, and the journey to the Nexus of Worlds weighed heavily on them.Kael was the last to take watch, sitting by the fire as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon. His sword rested across his lap, and the fragment still pulsed softly in his hand, a reminder of the power they were safeguarding—and the responsibility that came with it. The quiet of the grove gave him space to think, but with that space came a flood of doubts.Could they really make it to the Nexus before the Celestials? Would Idris’s guidance be enough? And even if they reached the Nexus, would they be strong enough to stop the Celestials from reshaping the ba

The sensation of passing through the gateway was unlike anything Kael had ever experienced. One moment, he was surrounded by the roar of battle and the crackle of energy, his senses heightened and his muscles straining with every strike. The next, there was a sudden stillness—a vacuum of sound and feeling that made his skin prickle. It was as though the very air had shifted around him, disorienting him as they crossed the threshold.He could feel the fragments pulsing in his hand, guiding him forward through the swirling energy of the gateway. His vision blurred momentarily, the world around him twisting and warping as the fabric of reality itself seemed to bend. Then, with a sharp jolt, the sensation snapped, and Kael stumbled forward, landing on solid ground once more.The world he stepped into was… different.Kael blinked, his vision clearing as he took in his surroundings. The fractured realm stretched out before him—a place where time and space seemed to twist and break apart. Th

The chamber exploded into chaos as the Celestials charged forward, their glowing eyes locked on the Nexus. Kael’s heart pounded in his chest as he and the Marauders met their attack head-on, the air filled with the clash of weapons and the crackling energy of the fractured realm. This was the battle they had been preparing for—the fight that would determine the fate of the balance.Kael parried a strike from one of the Celestials, the force of the blow sending shockwaves up his arm. His sword clanged against the Celestial’s blade, the two locked in a deadly dance of steel and power. The fragments in Kael’s hand pulsed with energy, guiding his movements as he fought to keep the enemy at bay. He could feel the weight of the Nexus behind him, its energy pulling at him like a gravitational force.Nearby, Korrin’s wings flared with fiery brilliance as he clashed with two Celestials at once, his movements fierce and unrelenting. Flames erupted from his strikes, lighting up the dark chamber

The Marauders moved through the fractured realm, the remnants of the battle still lingering in the air around them like a faint echo. The ground beneath their feet shifted subtly, as if the realm itself was still recovering from the clash that had nearly torn it apart. Despite the calm that had settled over the landscape, Kael couldn’t shake the feeling that something remained unresolved.The Nexus was safe, for now, but the future loomed dark and uncertain. Kael could feel it in the air, a subtle tension that hadn’t dissipated even with their victory. Idris walked ahead of the group, his golden eyes fixed on the path before them, but Kael noticed the way his gaze occasionally flickered to the side, as though he, too, sensed something amiss."We did it, right?" Vira asked, her voice soft but carrying the weight of her own uncertainty. "The balance is restored?"Kael glanced over at her. Her glow had dimmed slightly, no longer the blazing beacon of light it had been during the fight, b

The air in the fractured realm was still, a fragile calm that hung over the landscape like a shroud. The wound was sealed, its malevolent energy no longer radiating across the realm. Yet, the Marauders remained on edge, their eyes scanning the eerie silence around them. It was as if the realm itself was holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen now that the darkness had been driven back.Kael took a deep, shaky breath, trying to steady his racing heart. His muscles ached, and his entire body felt drained, as though the energy of the battle had left him hollowed out. But he was alive. They all were. And they had done what seemed impossible—they had sealed the wound in the balance and cut off the Celestials’ hold.He glanced at his companions. Vira’s glow had dimmed to a faint shimmer, her face drawn with exhaustion, but she met his gaze with a weary smile. Korrin stood beside her, his wings folded tightly against his back, the flames that usually flickered around him subdued