The passage ahead was narrow, its walls of ice and stone pressing in around them. The dim blue light cast eerie shadows that flickered and stretched with each step. Rannah’s grip on the Heart of the Earth tightened as she led the way, her senses alert. The air inside the tunnel was colder than the storm outside, but there was something else—something watching.
Hannah walked close behind, her boots crunching softly against the frozen ground. “This place feels... wrong,” she muttered. “Like it wasn’t meant to be found.”
Rannah nodded. “The guardian said the last shards are where the elements converge. This has to be one of those places.”
They pressed forward, the tunnel winding deeper into the mountains. The walls shimmered faintly, as if traces of magic had been woven into the ice itself. Occasionally, the shards in Rannah’s pouch pulsed with a faint glow, as if whispering directions only she could hear.
After what felt like hours, the tunnel opened into a vast underground cavern. A frozen lake stretched out before them, its surface so clear it reflected the stalactites hanging from the ceiling like jagged fangs. In the center of the lake, partially submerged in the ice, something gleamed—a fragment of power waiting to be claimed.
“There,” Rannah whispered, stepping closer.
Hannah exhaled sharply. “Of course it’s in the middle of a death trap.”
The ice beneath their feet groaned as they stepped onto the lake’s edge. Caution slowed their movements, but the temptation of the shard drove them forward. Rannah felt the pulse grow stronger, pulling her toward the center.
Then the stillness shattered.
A deafening crack split the air as the ice beneath them splintered. Dark tendrils of mist slithered from beneath the frozen surface, curling upward like smoke. A low growl rumbled through the cavern, echoing off the walls.
Rannah’s heart pounded. “Move!”
Hannah leapt back just as a massive shape burst through the ice. A creature of darkness and frost emerged, its form shifting like a shadow given life. Glowing white eyes locked onto them, and from its back, jagged wings unfurled—made of the same cursed ice as the lake itself.
Rannah barely had time to react before the beast lunged. She threw herself to the side as razor-sharp claws struck the ground where she had stood moments before, ice shattering on impact.
Hannah drew her blade, her breath coming in quick bursts. “I really hate these things.”
The creature roared, its mist-like body swirling with malevolent energy. Rannah knew this wasn’t an ordinary guardian—it was something older, something twisted by time and magic. The shard’s presence had awakened it, and now, it would not let them leave alive.
Rannah forced herself to focus. The Heart of the Earth pulsed in her grasp, feeding her strength. She raised her free hand, willing the power of the shards to respond. A golden light flickered at her fingertips, but before she could release it, the beast lunged again.
This time, Hannah was ready. She darted beneath its massive wings, slashing at the mist-like form. The blade passed through, but instead of harming the creature, the darkness around it seemed to thicken, as if absorbing the attack.
“Not working!” she shouted.
Rannah cursed under her breath. “Then we need a different approach.”
The cavern trembled as the beast spread its wings wide. The icy air grew even colder, and Rannah realized too late what was happening.
“It’s drawing power from the lake!” she yelled.
But before she could warn Hannah further, the ice erupted in jagged spikes, forcing them apart. Rannah skidded backward, barely managing to keep her footing as the creature turned its gaze on her.
She needed to think fast. If the lake was its source, then breaking the ice would cut off its power. But how?
Then, she remembered—the shards responded to the elements. If she could channel their energy correctly…
She closed her eyes, focusing on the two shards she already possessed. The magic within them thrummed, waiting for her command. Instead of resisting, she let the energy flow through her, guiding her movements.
When she opened her eyes, the cavern shimmered with a golden glow.
The beast hesitated, sensing the shift.
Rannah didn’t wait. She raised her hand and sent a burst of energy toward the lake’s surface. The moment the magic struck, the ice cracked—not in small fractures, but in deep, splintering lines that spread across the entire lake.
The creature screeched, its body flickering as its connection to the ice weakened.
Hannah saw her chance. She sprinted toward the shard trapped in the frozen center. With a swift motion, she drove her blade into the ice, breaking it apart. The shard was freed, glowing with an intense blue light as it rose into her hands.
The moment she touched it, the cavern erupted in a whirlwind of energy.
The beast let out one final, earsplitting roar before its form dissolved, vanishing into the mist as if it had never been there. The ice beneath them stabilized, though cracks still spread like veins through the surface.
Breathing heavily, Hannah stumbled back toward Rannah, the newly acquired shard clutched tightly in her grasp. “Please tell me that was the worst of it.”
Rannah exhaled, her body still tingling from the magic’s release. “I doubt it.”
They stood in silence for a moment, catching their breath. The cavern had grown still once more, but the air remained heavy with unspoken warnings.
Hannah looked at the shard in her hands, then at her sister. “So, we just released something terrifying again, didn’t we?”
Rannah sighed, nodding. “Yeah. But we also stopped something worse.”
Hannah let out a short, breathless laugh. “That’s becoming a theme with us.”
Rannah managed a small smile, despite the weight pressing on her shoulders. She knew they weren’t finished. The shards were leading them deeper into the mystery, and with every step forward, the truth became harder to ignore.
They had come too far to turn back now. They must face their fears.
“Let’s keep moving,” Rannah said, glancing toward the tunnel ahead. “There’s still more to find.”
Hannah groaned. “I was afraid you’d say that.”
With the new shard safely in their possession, they pressed onward.