Chapitre 28: ### **Chapter 27: The Last Stand**
The night felt colder than it had ever been before. I couldn't shake the feeling that time was running out—that every moment I spent trying to piece together the mysteries of the entity was a moment wasted. The crypt's walls still seemed to echo the figure's ominous words, haunting me like a specter. *"A pawn... too late..."*
But I wouldn't be a pawn. I refused to let it define me.
The entity was playing a game, yes—but it wasn't one I intended to lose. It had underestimated me. It had underestimated all of us.
Victor and Greta joined me in the study once again, their faces lined with exhaustion but determined. We had grown accustomed to the long nights of research and the growing tension, but this time felt different. There was an urgency now, an underlying fear that none of us dared to speak out loud.
"We don't have much time," I said, my voice cutting through the silence. "The entity knows we're coming for it. It's already steps ahead of us. But we have one advantage: It wants me. I am the key, and it knows that. We can use that."
Greta looked at me, her brow furrowed. "How do you plan to use yourself as bait, Klaus's heir? It's not just a matter of confronting it. We need to figure out how to contain it, destroy it, whatever it takes. We need to break the Binding once and for all."
I nodded, but my mind was already running through the possibilities. The figure had spoken the truth in part. This entity was not just a powerful being from another dimension; it was a harbinger, a force designed to bring about an end, not just to me or to us, but to the entire world. But if it truly sought to possess me—if I was indeed the key—then perhaps I could use that to my advantage.
"The Binding is only part of the problem," I said, finally piecing the thoughts together. "We need to understand how it was broken. Who or what released it. If we can trace it back to its origin, we may be able to sever the link."
Victor's eyes narrowed. "So we go to the source. We find the ritual and the one who performed it. If we can break their hold on the entity, we can regain control."
I met his gaze. "Exactly. But the problem is, we don't even know where the source is, or who it is. The rift this entity comes from... it's beyond this world. We're dealing with something that's not bound by the same rules."
Greta's fingers traced the pages of the ancient tome again, her mind clearly racing. "The rift isn't a physical place; it's more like a tear in reality itself. That means the one who opened it might not be entirely of this world anymore. They could be... something else entirely."
I clenched my fists, feeling the weight of the situation press down on me. "So, we're dealing with someone—or something—that has the power to manipulate reality itself. And unless we can figure out how to undo the rift, we'll never defeat it."
Victor let out a frustrated sigh. "It's like fighting a shadow. We can strike all we want, but we can never land a blow."
I looked up at him, my eyes burning with determination. "Then we'll stop chasing shadows. We'll draw it out, and we'll make it face us. Head on."
---
The next few days were a blur of activity as we prepared for the final confrontation. There were no more half-measures. We would need everything—every spell, every tool, every piece of knowledge we had—to confront the entity.
Greta, Victor, and I spent hours in the library, combing through texts, finding new ways to reinforce our defenses and gather the right tools. We knew that the ritual to sever the rift would need to be done under the right conditions, but we still didn't know how we would find the person—or being—who had caused it.
But I had a feeling.
That feeling came to a head one night, when I was alone in the crypt once again, trying to meditate, to center myself amidst the chaos. The air was still thick with magic, and the pull of the shadow was stronger than ever. It was almost as if it were calling to me, beckoning me closer.
I couldn't resist.
I stood, moving toward the heart of the crypt where the shadows seemed to writhe like living things. I was ready. There was no backing down now. If the force wanted me, I would face it head-on. If this entity thought it could use me as a pawn, it was wrong. I would be its executioner.
Then, just as I stepped into the center of the crypt, I felt it—an intense surge of power, like a crack in the very fabric of reality itself. The walls around me seemed to distort, the space bending and warping as though I were standing at the precipice of a chasm.
The shadow appeared again, materializing from the darkness. This time, there was no mistaking it—the entity stood before me, its presence overwhelming, filling the air with a suffocating pressure. Its form was not fully tangible, its body shifting like smoke, but its power radiated in waves.
*"You think you can stop this, Klaus's heir?"* The voice came, not from its lips, but from all around me, filling the space with its insidious echo.
I gritted my teeth, forcing back the dread that threatened to overwhelm me. "I think you've underestimated me."
It laughed—a hollow, mocking sound. *"Underestimate you? No, I simply understand what you are. You are a vessel, a pawn in the game of gods. And you will fall, just like the rest of your kind."*
The entity surged forward, its tendrils of power reaching for me. I resisted, my own power flaring as I summoned the magic within me. It felt like a battle of wills, an unspoken war waged in the confines of this sacred place.
But I wasn't just resisting. I was searching. I was searching for the source of its power, for the thread that tied it here. And I found it. Deep within the shadows, there was a presence—a flicker of consciousness, something more tangible than the swirling darkness that surrounded me.
"You're not real," I muttered under my breath. "Not truly."
The shadow paused, as if considering my words.
*"I am real,"* it growled. *"I am the one who has been forgotten. The one you have all forgotten. And now, I am the one who will tear this world asunder."*
I reached deep within, drawing on everything I had learned, everything I had fought for. The magic surged through me, filling me with an incredible power, and I focused all my energy on the rift—the tear in reality that this entity had created.
*"No!"* the entity screamed as I pushed harder, pulling at the fabric of its existence, unraveling its presence from the edges of this world. It fought back, a tidal wave of energy crashing against me, but I didn't relent.
This was my fight. This was the moment I had been preparing for.
With one final push, the rift began to collapse. The shadows screamed, the entity's form flickering, its presence flickering like a dying star.
*"You may have won this battle,"* it hissed, its voice now distorted, barely audible. *"But the war... the war is far from over..."*
And with that, the entity's form dissipated, leaving only silence in its wake.
---
I collapsed to my knees, exhaustion and relief washing over me in equal measure. The crypt was silent, the oppressive weight of the shadow finally gone. But I knew this wasn't over. The rift might have closed—for now—but the entity had made its intentions clear. It wasn't finished. It would return, and when it did, we would need to be ready.
Victor and Greta arrived moments later, their eyes scanning the crypt for any sign of danger.
"You did it," Greta said, awe in her voice.
I looked at her, my gaze hardened with determination. "No. We did it. But the fight is far from over."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone