GUARDIAN OF THE FIFTH REALM

CHAPTER 5

The light seared through Jace’s veins, flooding him with visions. His mind fractured as glimpses of otherworldly landscapes, battles long past, and shadowed faces screaming in agony overwhelmed him. He felt his body lifted off the ground, suspended in the golden torrent emanating from the Heart of Aelthar.

“Not prepared?” Jace growled through gritted teeth, his voice blending with a deeper, alien resonance. “Then teach me. Show me what I have to do!”

The voice didn’t answer. Instead, the visions intensified, shifting from chaotic memories of the past to horrifying images of the future. Cities consumed by the Void, people twisted into mindless shadow-beasts, and a single, haunting figure standing atop a throne of bones: the Phantom King. His skeletal face turned toward Jace, and his hollow, burning eyes locked onto him.

“I’m already inside you,” the Phantom King hissed in the vision, his voice echoing directly in Jace’s mind. “The mark is a beacon, Guardian. It doesn’t just grant you power, it opens a door. And every time you use it, I come closer.”

Jace screamed, his hand wrenching away from the crystal, but it was too late. The temple shuddered, cracks splitting the pristine stone walls as shadow tendrils began leaking in through the fissures.

Aila grabbed his arm, her masked face inches from his. “What did you see?” she demanded. “What happened?”

“He’s… he’s inside the light!” Jace stammered, his voice shaking. “Every time I use this power, he’s watching, he’s feeding off it!”

Aila cursed under her breath, the silver glow of her staff flaring as she turned toward the dark tendrils spreading across the walls. “I should’ve known. The Phantom King always finds a way to twist purity into corruption. We’ve triggered his trap.”

Jace felt the mark on his chest burn, not with warmth, but with cold, sickening darkness. It was as though something had latched onto him, sinking its claws deep into his soul. His knees buckled, and he gasped for air.

“Aila,” he choked out, clutching his chest. “I… I can’t, he’s pulling me under!”

Aila spun back to him, her voice sharp. “Listen to me! That light is yours, it belongs to you, not him. Fight it, Jace. Don’t let him turn it against you.”

But the laughter came again, louder this time, reverberating through the temple like a thunderclap. The shadows swirled together, coalescing into a towering form that resembled the Phantom King, but incomplete, flickering like a broken image.

“You think you can defy me, Guardian?” the shadow-king roared, his molten eyes boring into Jace. “You are mine. Your light, your power, your very soul, it all serves me now.”

The darkness surged forward, slamming into Jace like a tidal wave. He was thrown backward, hitting the ground hard. Aila stepped in front of him, her staff raised, her silver light pushing back against the encroaching shadow.

“Jace!” she shouted, her voice strained. “I can hold him off, but only for a moment. You need to sever the link. Break his hold on the light!”

“How?” Jace shouted, his voice cracking as he struggled to his feet. The shadows were everywhere now, clawing at the edges of his vision, whispering in his ears. Let go, they said. Give in, it will be easier.

“Go back to the crystal!” Aila yelled, her voice cutting through the din. “It’s your only chance!”

Jace hesitated, his legs trembling. The last time he touched the Heart, it nearly tore him apart. But now the Phantom King’s voice was inside his head, louder, mocking him, and the thought of being consumed by that darkness was worse than death.

With a guttural cry, Jace turned and sprinted back toward the pedestal. The golden crystal was dim now, flickering as if it, too, was being consumed by the shadows. He didn’t stop to think, he slammed both hands onto it, the energy surging back into him like a lightning strike.

This time, the pain was different. It wasn’t just light and fire, it was the Void itself, tearing at him, trying to rip him apart. He felt the Phantom King’s presence worming deeper, his laughter growing louder.

“You can’t win,” the Phantom King whispered in his mind. “I am the void between stars, the end of all things. Your light is nothing but a fleeting spark, destined to be snuffed out.”

But Jace wasn’t alone this time. He reached deeper into the light, past the pain, past the fear, and found something new. A core of warmth, small but fierce, burning brighter the harder he focused on it. It wasn’t just power, it was him. His memories, his determination, his will to protect.

“This is my light!” Jace roared, the golden energy exploding outward in a tidal wave of radiance. The shadows recoiled, screeching as they were burned away. The Phantom King’s voice faltered, then twisted into a scream of rage.

The temple walls trembled violently, and Aila staggered as the light filled the entire chamber, obliterating every trace of the shadow. The cracks in the stone sealed themselves, and the air grew still.

Jace collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. His body ached, his skin felt like it was on fire, but the oppressive weight of the Phantom King was gone, at least for now.

Aila knelt beside him, her masked face unreadable. “You did it,” she said, her voice quiet but laced with urgency. “But this was just the beginning. He knows what you are now, and he won’t stop until you’re his.”

Jace pushed himself up, his hands trembling. “Then I’ll make him regret ever coming for me,” he said, his voice low but filled with resolve.

Aila’s grip tightened on her staff. “Good,” she said. “Because from here on out, there’s no turning back. The Fifth Realm has chosen you, Jace. Now it’s time to see if you can live up to its expectations, or die trying.”

Jace staggered to his feet, the echoes of the Phantom King’s voice still whispering at the edges of his mind. Though the darkness had been driven back, he felt its lingering presence, like a shadow lurking just out of sight.