>>Hael

I noticed something was odd the moment her barriers flickered while I was still in the sky

What?

The others didn't notice just yet. But Lyal and Deus felt something off and gave each other a glance. The fight was in full swing and the noise was bound to bring more bonewraiths towards us.

We have no idea how many there are but I doubt there would be few. So this whole thing is useless. They will keep coming and our side will get exhausted

At this rate we'll never find the rift.

I made a rough estimate when I chose the teleportation spot, so we should be close but-

All of the sudden the barriers faded away,

!!!

The air around the knights thickened with miasma, choking the light and letting the bonewraiths surge forward with terrifying speed. Everyone was suddenly exposed, their defenses crumbling as the creatures descended upon them. I could see the panic in their eyes as they struggled to hold the line.

Something was wrong. My gut twisted, an instinctive warning I couldn't ignore. I spun around, searching for her. But with the barriers gone and miasma immediately consuming everything I couldn't spot her right away.

My flames flickered in the darkness, casting a brief glow around me, but I knew it wasn't enough. The fire was a distraction at best—a temporary fix for a problem that needed a permanent solution. I watched the bonewraiths close in on the knights. Without the saint's barriers, they were sitting ducks.

But I needed to find her. I darted my gaze around until I saw the glow of her body barrier. The Holy Power around her body was keeping the miasma away and highlighted her physique.

But where is she going?

The miasma was so thick I couldn't see much, well not at first. Then she got illuminated by another thing. She was walking towards something, her figure eerily illuminated by the flickering flames of a bonewraith that had wandered too close. My heart almost stopped. She looked dazed, her hands hanging limply at her sides. She had completely stopped using her powers, and she seemed completely out of it, like she was in some kind of trance. So without thinking, I launched myself toward her,

My mind was a whirlwind, every instinct screaming at me to reach her before something terrible happened.

And then it did. She took a step back, her foot slipping on the loose ground at the edge

NO!!!

I stretched out my hand, willing myself to be faster, to reach her before she fell, but I was too late.

She slipped over the edge, her body tumbling into the dark void below while the burning bonewraith that stopped at the edge made my eyes go wide

"Hael!!" I heard her scream my name

It didn't take me any time at all to figure out where she fell. The wraith that burned casted a lot of glow, showing a vast area that was nothing else but a void.

The rift!

Panic surged through me, but I forced it down. I dove after her, cutting through the air as I plummeted toward her. The world around me blurred into a rush of wind and darkness, but all I could see was her falling too fast for comfort.

I pushed myself harder, adrenaline pumping through my veins as I closed the distance between us. I reached out, fingers brushing against hers. My heart pounded in my chest as I grabbed her wrist, pulling her close to me.

>>Amber

Panic surged through me, my heart racing as the abyss below yawned wide, ready to swallow me whole. I tried to scream, but the sound caught in my throat, my voice lost in the void. The cold wind whipped around me, and I could see nothing but blackness beneath me, the rift pulling me down, down, down...

Suddenly, a brilliant light cut through the darkness, and I felt strong arms wrap around me, halting my fall. The warmth of magic enveloped me, and the sensation of weightlessness made my heart skip a beat. I blinked, disoriented, but then I realized who had caught me.

"Hael!" I whispered his name

He held me tightly against him, his magic keeping us both suspended in the air above the abyss. The light orb that accompanied him cast a soft, golden glow around us, illuminating his determined expression.

My breath came in ragged gasps as I clung to him, the terror of the fall still fresh in my mind. The rift loomed below, a gaping maw of darkness, but Hael's magic kept us safe, hovering just above it. His grip on me was unyielding, his body warm and solid against mine.

"Hael..." I managed to whisper, my voice shaky. "I—I almost..." I was as good as dead!

"I know," He cut me off, his voice firm but gentle. "But I've got you. You're safe now." As soon as he said those words, I felt myself relax a little, but I wanted to feel even better so I wrapped my arms and legs around him, giving all of my body over to him.

The light orb stayed close, chasing away the shadows as we descended.

"Shouldn't we be going up?" I asked

"Our goal was the rift so we do need to see what's here." He answered as he held me tightly. I wish I could stay this close to him. It feels so nice.

I could feel the steady beat of his heart against my chest, grounding me in the reality that I was no longer falling—that I was safe in his arms.

When we reached solid ground, Hael set me down carefully, but he didn't let go immediately. His hands remained on my shoulders, his eyes searching mine as if to make sure I was really okay. The intensity in his gaze sent a shiver down my spine, and I felt a rush of emotions—fear, relief, gratitude—all swirling together.

"What happened?" His voice was calm, but I could hear the underlying concern.

"I... I heard something," I admitted, my voice trembling. "A voice... it was singing, and I just... I don't know what came over me. I couldn't think. I just followed it. It was like I lost control over myself." I shook my head. I wasn't sure how to explain it, "Remember the dream I told you about? About the singing, it was very similar to that."

"And you heard that here," His expression hardened, and I saw a flicker of anger—not at me, "Something's trying to mess with us," He muttered, more to himself than to me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, guilt flooding me. "I didn't mean to... I wasn't thinking..."

"You said you felt like you had lost control over yourself." He let my shoulders go and instead took my hand in his, "So it's not really your fault."

!!

I wasn't expecting that but I still liked it, it calmed me down. I held his hand back tightly.

This... I looked around

"This must be the rift" I said, "We can't see anything here asw-" Before I could finish, I heard it again—the soft, ethereal singing. It drifted into my ears, weaving its way through my thoughts, and all at once, the tension in my body seemed to melt away. The fear, the panic, the chaos of the battlefield—all of it faded into the background as the melody enveloped me in its soothing embrace.

"What's wrong?"I barely registered Hael's concerned expression as I took a step backward, slowly turning around as I let his hand go and move away, the song beckoning me closer. My mind felt hazy, my movements sluggish yet determined, as though some unseen force was guiding my steps.

"Where are you going?" Hael's voice was sharp now, a thread of alarm running through it. But I barely heard him. The singing was all that mattered. It was so beautiful, so calming—I had to find the source, I had to see where it was coming from.

I took another step forward, then another, my pace quickening as I followed the invisible thread of music. Hael called my name again, but I was too far gone to respond. The world around me blurred, the edges of my vision darkening as the song grew louder, more insistent.

>>Hael

The moment she let go of my hand and began to walk, I knew something was wrong.

I could hear it

A faint sound of singing, it irked me, trying to control my mind but it didn't succeed. I tried calling out to her, asking what was wrong but she didn't respond.

...

I glanced up, thinking about the people who were fighting the bonewraiths, then looked at her again and started following behind.

>>Amber

I felt him follow me, his presence a steadying force even as I moved deeper into the unknown. He didn't try to stop me, didn't pull me back. Instead, he followed, his footsteps silent as he trailed behind me. I could sense his tension, but the song drowned out everything else—his concern, the danger, even the bonewraiths that lurked in the shadows.

The path ahead was dark, shrouded in miasma and mystery, but the song was my guide. It led me through the forest, past the twisted trees and the ancient, crumbling ruins that seemed to rise out of the mist like specters from another time. The air was thick with the scent of decay, but I didn't care. The song was all that mattered.

We moved through the darkness together, the light orb that accompanied Hael casting eerie shadows on the ground. The bonewraiths seemed to be forgotten, their hollow eyes and twisted forms fading into the periphery as the song grew louder, more intense.

I didn't know where we were going, or what we would find when we got there. All I knew was that the song was calling to me, and I had to answer.

We walked for God knows how long.

There was no other sound but the enchanting singing and all of the sudden it stopped

!!!

The moment it stopped, I came back to my senses and stopped walking. Hael stopped right beside me, his gaze on me as he quietly stared.

I shot my head at him, "What?" There was nothing around us but absolute darkness. No sound, no noise, no light except the orb that followed Hael, just complete emptiness.

It was like standing in the middle of the void. And I knew if I focused on it, I would start to lose my mind.

"You're back," He nodded and my heart began to catch up speed. I was afraid.

"I was hypnotized again!" I was horrified of how it happened, "I-I couldn't resist it, it-" I wanted to explain it to him and he was ready to calmly listen when all of the sudden a blast of wind came, startling both of us.

Hael and I both closed our eyes because of the strong wind pressure that blew the miasma clouds out of the way

?!?!?!

It lasted a strong minute, then began to die down.

I opened my right eye first and noticed how the miasma had cleared all around us.

!!!

Then I opened both my eyes and looked ahead. Hael did the same thing but the moment both of us looked ahead we froze.

OH MY GOD

My heart almost stopped at what we saw.

My eyes wide open as the anxiety began to eat me up. My breathing began to get ragged even though I wasn't moving a muscle.

W-what is that?