The journey to the Crossroads was unlike anything Naya had imagined. Each step they took seemed to ripple through space and time, pulling threads of magic tighter around them. The air grew heavier, buzzing with unspent energy, as if the realms themselves were bracing for impact. Paths that once seemed clear twisted unexpectedly, turning into labyrinthine corridors between dimensions. There were no signs, no markers—just an unsettling sense that they were being watched by forces older than memory.“Are we sure we’re going the right way?” Korrin grumbled, his wings tucked in tightly as he scanned the flickering landscape. "Feels like we’ve been walking in circles.”“We are,” Naya replied, her voice low but certain. “I can feel it drawing us closer.”The path ahead shimmered like a mirage, shifting with each breath. Lyra adjusted her device again, muttering curses under her breath as the runes flickered and blinked in rapid succession.“These fluctuations are insane,” she said, tapping a

The forest stretched endlessly ahead, dense with shadows and tangled roots. The remnants of the battle with the Thunder-Splitting Dragon still clung to the air, electric and uneasy. Every step forward felt like stepping into a trap, yet the group moved without hesitation, a shared purpose binding them tighter than ever.Naya adjusted her grip on her staff, feeling the pulse of lingering magic swirl around its core. It wasn’t just the Crossroads that had stirred something inside her—something ancient, wild, and dangerous. She could feel it simmering beneath the surface, whispering promises of power again. But she held it at bay, for now.Kael marched at the front, eyes sharp and focused. His sword was strapped securely at his side, but his fingers twitched as if itching to draw it. He knew, just like the others, that the peace they walked through was deceptive—a calm before a new storm.Korrin's wings flicked nervously as he hovered just above the ground. “I hate this silence. It’s lik

The forest remained eerily still after the battle. Broken fragments of the obelisk hummed faintly, their energy leaking into the ground like a dying ember, while wisps of dark clouds drifted through the trees. The group stood together in silence, catching their breath, each weighed down by the confrontation—and the knowledge that worse was yet to come.Kael wiped his blade clean with the hem of his cloak. “That shadowed figure... they’re not working alone.” He turned to Naya, his gaze sharp. “They knew you’d be tempted.”Naya’s fingers trembled around her staff. She looked away, ashamed. “The dragon’s power is... insidious. It pulls at every thought, every desire.” Her voice was low, haunted. “I don’t know how much longer I can fight it.”Vira, her silver wings folded neatly behind her back, rested a hand on Naya’s shoulder. “You’re not fighting it alone. We’ll figure this out—together.”Korrin hovered overhead, scanning the distant horizon. “The storm beast wasn’t even the full exten

The storm at the Crossroads intensified, each thunderclap sounding like the beat of a giant war drum. Lightning carved jagged lines across the sky, and the air felt charged with more than just electricity—it thrummed with ancient magic, awakened from centuries of slumber.Kael led the charge toward the ritual site, his sword drawn, while Naya and Vira flanked him, magic and arrows at the ready. Korrin soared above, scanning for more sentinels, but the Crossroads seemed eerily quiet—too quiet. Only the hum of the arcane vortex, swirling in the center of the stone pillars, broke the silence.“The storm’s watching us,” Vira whispered, her voice barely audible over the howling wind.“Not just the storm,” Naya muttered, her eyes narrowing at the chanting figure in the center of the ritual. A heavy cloak masked the figure’s face, but tendrils of energy flowed from their hands, feeding the swirling storm. At their feet, the ground split open in jagged cracks, revealing glowing veins of power

As the night deepened, the stars above cast a pale glow over the forest path. The group moved with purpose, but the air between them was thick with unspoken tension. Every step forward brought the weight of their mission closer to bearing down on them. And with it, the temptation.Naya walked at the back of the group, her staff resting against her shoulder, its glow dim. The whisper of power clung to her like a second skin, stirring with every breeze. It wasn’t just the echoes of the storm—something deeper, something rooted in her own desires, was awakening.“You okay?” Korrin asked, hovering above her shoulder, his wings beating softly in the night air. “You’ve been quieter than usual.”“I’m fine,” she answered quickly, though her voice lacked conviction.Korrin gave her a skeptical look but didn’t press further. He had seen the pull of power before, and he knew when someone was trying to fight it alone.Ahead, Lyra and Kael walked side by side. Lyra’s device hummed softly in her han