The shard burned with a furious light, its heat searing through my veins as I stepped closer to the core. The threads twisted and writhed, pulling at the air, demanding resolution. The whispers that had plagued me for so long now rang clear, each word etched into my mind.

  “Sever the chain.”

  “Bind the wound.”

  “Choose, Sion Vale.”

  Behind me, the chamber shook with the force of battle. Aeryn’s shadows coiled around the crystalline guardian, struggling to hold it at bay. Lyra darted in and out of its reach, her daggers flashing as she carved at its joints. Despite their efforts, the creature surged forward, its golden eyes locked onto the core.

  I couldn’t wait any longer.

  I raised the shard again, its light casting long shadows across the room. The threads of the Core reached for it, intertwining with the shard’s energy, and my mind split open. Memories I had buried—memories I hadn’t even realized were missing—flooded in.

  And with them came the truth.

  I saw myself standing in this very room, the core whole and radiant. The Spire was unbroken, the Threads weaving their perfect patterns through the fabric of reality.

  Aeryn was there…and so was Kael, his fiery blade crackling in his hand. His voice was furious, desperate.

  “You’re insane, Sion! This will destroy everything!”

  I smirked, my tone sharp and mocking. “Destroy everything? No, Kael. This is the key to fixing it. I’m taking control before someone else does.”

  “Someone like you?” Kael spat.

  My grin widened. “Exactly.”

  I remembered driving my hand into the Core, tearing through the Threads with reckless precision. The Rift had erupted from that moment, chaos spilling into the world. I had done it to break free of fate, to forge my own path. Not to sever or bind, but to reshape destiny. The weavers called me a blade, but where they expected a sword, I became a needle. And what good is a needle without a thread?

  And now, here I was again.

  As the memory faded, the threads around the still struggling guardian writhed and snapped, giving way to The Rift. From the broken strands stepped a figure.

  It was tall and impossibly lean, its features obscured by a shifting cloak of darkness. Its presence exuded pure malice, the air around it vibrating with destructive energy.

  Aeryn’s voice trembled. “No… it can’t be.”

  The figure’s head tilted toward her, its voice a guttural growl. “Hello, Aeryn. It’s been a long time.”

  I looked between them, I knew instantly. “It’s him, right on schedule.”

  Aeryn’s shadows recoiled instinctively, her violet eyes wide. “That’s the Wraith… the one who destroyed my world. The one who started all of this.”

  The Wraith stepped forward, its voice filled with venom. “The time has come to end it.”

  The Wraith’s form shifted, jagged tendrils of darkness lashing out toward the core. The room shook violently as the threads unraveled further, the core’s light dimming.

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  “No, you don’t!” I shouted, channeling the shard’s energy into a barrier. The light surged forward, intercepting The Wraith’s attack and holding it back—for now.

  The Wraith turned its gaze to me, its voice dripping with disdain. “Sion Vale. The thief who tried to rewrite destiny. How amusing to see you again.”

  “Miss me?” I said, forcing a grin as I stepped between the Wraith and the core.

  It let out a low, grating laugh. “You have no idea what you’re standing against. You are but a child playing with fire.”

  “Maybe,” I said, the shard crackling with light. “But you should see what I can do with matches.”

  The Wraith struck first, a wave of black energy tearing through the room. I leapt back, the shard’s power surging as I formed it into a shield. The energy slammed against it, sending me skidding across the floor.

  “Not bad,” I said, shaking off the impact. “But you’ll have to try harder than that.”

  I twisted the shard’s energy, reshaping it into a whip of crackling light. With a flick of my wrist, I lashed out, the whip wrapping around one of the Wraith’s tendrils and pulling it off balance.

  The Wraith snarled, its form shifting as it lunged at me. I ducked, twisting the shard into a massive hammer and slamming it into its chest. The impact sent it flying into the wall, but it recovered almost instantly, its laughter echoing through the chamber.

  “You cannot match me, thief,” it said, its voice a chilling roar.

  “Good thing I’m not trying to,” I said, spinning the shard into a storm of glowing projectiles and launching them in rapid succession.

  The Wraith deflected most of the projectiles, but Aeryn’s shadows surged forward, binding its limbs and holding it in place.

  “You always talked too much,” she said, her voice cold.

  The Wraith growled, its tendrils slicing through her shadows, but it bought me enough time to regroup.

  “You’re back in your element,” Aeryn said, glancing at me as she fell into step beside me. “Cocky, reckless, infuriatingly clever. It’s almost nostalgic.”

  I smirked, my confidence surging. “Nice to see you missed me.”

  Lyra darted in from the side, her daggers flashing as she struck at the Wraith’s core. “Less flirting, more fighting!”

  The Wraith roared, its form expanding into a towering shadow, its tendrils lashing out in all directions. I twisted the shard into a spinning wheel of light, deflecting its attacks while Aeryn and Lyra struck from opposite sides.

  But it wasn’t enough. The Wraith’s power was overwhelming, each blow shaking the chamber and pushing us back toward the core.

  “Think, Sion,” I told myself, dodging another strike. “You can’t overpower it, but you can outsmart it.”

  My gaze shifted to the threads still fraying around the core, their chaotic energy spilling into the room.

  “That’s it,” I said, a grin spreading across my face.

  I surged forward, the shard’s energy twisting into a long, shimmering thread. I wrapped it around The Wraith’s limbs, pulling it toward the core.

  “What are you doing?” it snarled, thrashing against the binding.

  “Oh, just tying up loose ends,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

  I channeled the shard’s power into the threads, weaving the Wraith into the pattern. Its form writhed, its screams echoing as the core consumed it, binding it into the very fabric of the Threads.

  The room fell silent.

  The core stabilized, its light steady and whole. The shard’s energy settled into my body, no longer overwhelming but controlled. The room felt lighter, as if the oppressive weight of the Wraith’s presence had finally lifted.

  I turned to Aeryn and Lyra. Lyra leaned against the wall, her daggers sheathed, her face pale but determined. Aeryn stood frozen, her violet eyes locked on me, her shadows trembling faintly at her feet.

  For a moment, none of us spoke.

  Then Aeryn crossed the distance between us in a heartbeat, throwing her arms around me. The sudden embrace caught me off guard, her warmth cutting through the lingering chill of the Spire.

  “You’re back,” she said, her voice muffled against my shoulder. Her grip was tight, almost desperate. “You’re really back.”

  I hesitated, then returned the embrace, my memories settling like pieces of a puzzle finally clicking into place. “I’m here,” I said quietly. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

  She pulled back slightly, her eyes searching mine. “You remember everything?”

  I nodded. “Enough to know how much of a mess I’ve made—and how much you’ve done to hold it together.”

  Aeryn’s lips quirked into a trembling smile, but her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Idiot,” she said, her voice wavering. “You never taught me the shard could do all that, is it even safe?”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been reckless,” I said, managing a small smile. “You know you can’t deny how cool it is.”

  Lyra groaned from the sidelines, cutting through the tension. “All right, lovebirds, wrap it up. I hate to admit it, but that was… impressive.”

  Aeryn shot her a look, but her smile lingered as she stepped back, her shadows curling more steadily now.

  I let out a breath, feeling the weight of the shard, the memories, and the battle behind us. “Get used to it,” I said, twirling the shard into a blade before letting it dissolve.

  As we stepped out of the Spire into the dawn’s light, Aeryn walked beside me, her shoulder brushing mine. The horizon stretched out ahead, fractured but full of promise.

  And though the Wraith was gone, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was only the beginning