GUARDIAN OF THE FIFTH REALM

CHAPTER 6

Aila didn’t wait for him to recover. She grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the far end of the temple, where a spiral staircase descended into the depths of the earth. “We need to move,” she said sharply. “The Phantom King knows you’ve awakened the light. He’ll send more than shadows next time.”

Jace pulled his arm free, his voice raw. “You think I don’t know that? I just...” He stopped, doubling over as another wave of pain surged through him. The mark on his chest pulsed, and for a brief moment, he felt the Phantom King’s laughter again, distant but chilling.

Aila turned back, her voice softening just slightly. “The light is fighting back, but it’s not enough. That mark is still connected to him, Jace. If we don’t sever it soon, he’ll drag you into the Void.”

“And how do we do that?” Jace snapped, straightening despite the pain. “Every time I use this power, I feel him clawing deeper into me. If I stop fighting, he wins. If I keep fighting, he wins. What’s the point?”

Aila stepped closer, her masked face inches from his. “The point is that the light chose you. Not because you’re strong. Not because you’re ready. But because you’re stubborn enough to keep going when every path seems doomed.” Her tone was harsh, but there was something almost like respect beneath it. “Now stop whining and follow me.”

Jace gritted his teeth, swallowing his frustration. He followed her down the staircase, his footsteps echoing in the narrow passage. The air grew colder with each step, and the faint hum of magic seemed to thrum louder, resonating in his bones.

“What’s down here?” Jace asked, his voice low.

“A chance,” Aila said cryptically. “The Heart of Aelthar was only the first step. There’s another artifact, a shard of pure light, forged from the Fifth Realm itself. If we can find it, it might be enough to sever the Phantom King’s hold on you.”

Jace frowned. “And what happens if it’s not enough?”

Aila didn’t answer. Her silence was louder than any words.

The staircase ended in a vast cavern, its walls glittering with crystalline formations that cast fractured light in every direction. At the center of the cavern was a circular platform, carved with runes that glowed faintly. Suspended above, it was a shard of brilliant white light, it's edges jagged and sharp like broken glass.

“That’s it?” Jace asked, his voice tight. “It doesn’t look like much.”

Aila smirked beneath her mask. “since it doesn't look like much, I guess it won't have to kill you. But it holds the power beyond comprehension.”

She stepped onto the platform, motioning for Jace to follow. “This shard is a fragment of the Realm’s core. If you can absorb it, it will strengthen your connection to the light. But be warned, if the darkness inside you takes hold while you’re vulnerable, it’ll twist the shard into a weapon of the Void.”

Jace hesitated, staring at the shard. Its light was blinding, but beneath the radiance, he could feel the raw, untamed energy pulsing within it. It called to him, both promising power and threatening destruction.

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” he said quietly.

“No,” Aila said bluntly. “But you already knew that.”

Taking a deep breath, Jace stepped onto the platform. The runes flared to life beneath his feet, and the shard trembled, its light intensifying. As he reached out toward it, the mark on his chest burned hotter than ever, and he felt the darkness surge forward, latching onto the shard like a predator.

“Stop hesitating!” Aila shouted. “Take it before he does!”

With a roar of determination, Jace grabbed the shard. The moment his fingers closed around it, the world exploded.

A storm of light and shadow consumed him, the two forces colliding with violent intensity. Jace felt himself being torn apart, his mind caught between the pure radiance of the shard and the suffocating darkness of the Phantom King.

“You’re mine!” the Phantom King’s voice bellowed, his presence flooding Jace’s mind. “You cannot escape me, Guardian. You never could.”

Jace clenched his teeth, his hands tightening around the shard. “You don’t own me!” he shouted, his voice rising above the chaos. “I’m not your puppet!”

The shard flared, its light searing through the darkness. For a moment, Jace felt the Phantom King recoil, his grip weakening. But then the shadows surged back, stronger than before, wrapping around Jace like chains.

“Enough!” a third voice thundered, shaking the cavern. It was deep and ancient, resonating with the authority of the Realms themselves. The light from the shard grew impossibly bright, and Jace felt a presence unlike any he’d encountered before, neither light nor dark, but something in between.

The chains of shadow shattered, and the Phantom King’s voice vanished, replaced by silence. Jace collapsed to his knees, the shard still clutched in his hand. Its light had dimmed, but it pulsed steadily, as if it were alive.

Aila approached him cautiously, her staff glowing. “What happened? Did you...”

“I don’t know,” Jace interrupted, his voice hoarse. He looked down at the shard, now embedded in his palm, its light fusing with the mark on his chest. “But I think… I think someone else was watching.”

Jace sat on the platform, trembling, as the shard's light faded to a faint, steady pulse in his palm. He stared at it, feeling its energy merge with his own, a constant, burning presence that both grounded him and terrified him. The mark on his chest no longer burned with pain, but it felt… different, alive. As though something inside it had shifted, something he couldn’t name.

Aila crouched next to him, her voice low and tense. “Someone else? What do you mean? Who?”

Jace shook his head, struggling to put the experience into words. “It wasn’t the Phantom King, but… it wasn’t the light, either. It was like… like the Fifth Realm itself was speaking to me. Like it… intervened.”

Aila’s grip on her staff tightened. “That’s impossible. The Fifth Realm doesn’t act like that. It’s not a being, it’s a force, a balance. It doesn’t choose sides.”

“Well, it did something,” Jace said, his voice sharp. “Because if it hadn’t, the Phantom King would’ve pulled me under.”

Aila stood abruptly, pacing the edge of the platform. “This changes everything. If the Realm itself is getting involved…” She trailed off, her tone laced with both awe and fear.

Jace forced himself to his feet, his legs still shaky. “What does that mean for me? For this?” He held up his hand, where the shard had fused into his skin, glowing faintly.

Aila stopped pacing, turning to face him. “It means you’re more important than I thought. And that’s not necessarily a good thing.”