Chapter 58

• The glow of the Heart of the Weave pulsed faintly in Kael’s chest as he stared out over the glowing lake in their private dimension. His team was resting after the mission in the Aetherial Grove, the tranquility of the moment a stark contrast to the chaos they had just faced. But for Kael, the peace was illusory. The Shard’s whispers were growing louder, filling the silence with promises he was determined to resist.
• “You struggle against the inevitable, Keeper,” the Shard’s voice echoed in his mind, calm yet relentless. “The Nexus demands unity, but you cannot achieve it without me. I am balance and chaos both. Deny me, and you doom them all.”
• Kael closed his eyes, the weight of the Shard’s presence pressing against his resolve. He had carried this burden for so long, and with each fragment they recovered, it seemed to grow heavier. The Shard wasn’t wrong—its power had been instrumental in stabilizing the Nexus. But its cost? That was what Kael feared most.