GUARDIAN OF THE FIFTH REALM

CHAPTER 4

Aila studied Jace, her masked face unreadable, but there was a subtle shift in her tone. “You’d better be,” she said, standing and offering him her hand. “Because this was nothing compared to what’s coming.”

Jace took her hand and let her pull him to his feet. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest, but he forced himself to stand tall. The light around him dimmed, retreating back into the mark on his chest, but its presence lingered, a quiet hum of power beneath his skin.

“What now?” he asked, glancing at the destroyed chamber around them. The runes on the walls were dark, the sanctuary clearly no longer a refuge. “Where do we go from here?”

Aila tapped her staff against the ground, and a faint trail of silver light appeared, snaking its way toward a hidden doorway at the back of the chamber. “We keep moving,” she said. “There’s a place where you can train, where you can learn to control your power without the Phantom King breathing down your neck. But it’s not close, and the road won’t be easy.”

Jace frowned, his stomach sinking. “I barely survived this. What makes you think I’ll last long enough to ‘train’?”

Aila turned to him, her voice sharper than before. “Because you have to. You don’t have the luxury of doubting yourself, Jace. The moment you stop fighting, he wins. And if he wins, everything you’ve ever known, everyone you’ve ever cared about, will be consumed by the Void.”

Her words hit him like a blow, and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. Images of his family flashed through his mind, his younger sister laughing as she chased fireflies in the fields, his father’s calloused hands steady as he fixed the broken wheel of their cart. They had no idea what was happening, no idea that their world was teetering on the edge of destruction.

“I’ll do it,” Jace said, his voice firm despite the fear twisting in his gut. “Whatever it takes, I’ll do it.”

Aila nodded once, turning toward the glowing trail. “Good. Then keep up.”

They moved quickly, the hidden doorway opening into a narrow tunnel that seemed to stretch endlessly into darkness. The air was damp and cold, and the faint glow of Aila’s staff was the only thing keeping the shadows at bay.

As they walked, Jace couldn’t help but ask, “Who are you, really? And how do you know so much about the Phantom King?”

Aila didn’t answer right away, her pace steady and unyielding. Finally, she said, “I was like you, once. Chosen by the Realms, marked by their light. But my time is over, I failed.”

Jace stared at her, startled. “You… you were a Guardian?”

“Yes,” she said simply. “And the Phantom King is what remains of the enemy I couldn’t defeat. I thought I destroyed him, but I was wrong. He’s stronger now, more dangerous than ever. And this time, there’s no one else to stand in his way. Only you.”

The weight of her words settled heavily on Jace’s shoulders. He wanted to ask more, to press her for details about her past and the battles she had fought, but the look in her eyes... what little he could see behind the mask, stopped him. Whatever had happened to her, it wasn’t something she was ready to share.

The tunnel opened into a vast cavern, and Jace froze in awe. The walls glittered with veins of gold and silver, and in the center of the cavern stood an ancient structure, a temple carved from gleaming white stone, its spires reaching toward the ceiling like frozen beams of light.

“What is this place?” Jace whispered.

“The Sanctuary of Aelthar,” Aila said. “One of the last places in the Realm untouched by the Phantom King’s corruption. Here, the light of the Realms is strongest. If you’re going to survive what’s coming, this is where it begins.”

As they approached the temple, Jace felt the mark on his chest grow warm, its energy pulsing in time with his heartbeat. The closer they got, the stronger it became, until it was almost overwhelming. He stumbled, clutching at his chest, but Aila caught him before he fell.

“It’s the light recognizing its own,” she said. “Don’t fight it. Let it guide you.”

They reached the temple doors, and they opened on their own, spilling golden light into the cavern. Inside, the air was thick with power, the kind that made Jace’s skin tingle and his heart race. The walls were covered in intricate carvings, depicting battles between light and shadow, triumph and despair.

Aila led him to the center of the temple, where a pedestal stood, holding a glowing crystal. The light emanating from it was almost blinding, but Jace couldn’t look away.

“This is the Heart of Aelthar,” Aila said. “It’s connected to the light inside you, to the power of the Fifth Realm. Touch it, and it will awaken your full potential.”

Jace hesitated, his hand hovering over the crystal. “And if I can’t control it?”

Aila’s voice was steady, but there was an edge of warning in it. “Then it will destroy you. But if you don’t try, the Phantom King will destroy far worse.”

Jace took a deep breath, his heart pounding. He thought of his family, of the people who were depending on him, of the Realm hanging in the balance. He couldn’t let fear stop him, not now.

Reaching out, he placed his hand on the crystal.

The light exploded around him, searing through his body and mind. For a moment, there was nothing but pain, raw and unrelenting, as if every fiber of his being was been torn apart and remade. And then, in the heart of the storm, he heard a voice, a deep, resonant voice that seemed to echo from the very core of the Realm.

“Guardian,” the voice said. “You are not alone. But neither are you prepared.”

Jace opened his eyes, the golden light blazing brighter than ever. The temple trembled, and somewhere in the distance, he thought he heard the Phantom King laughing.