章節 14: Chapter 14: Fractured Resolve
The barren expanse beyond the Veiled City stretched endlessly, the horizon warped by the heat of the sunless, pale sky. Azarion and Sera trudged onward, their boots kicking up fine dust from the cracked earth. The air was heavy, filled with an eerie stillness that seemed to mock the chaos they'd just survived.
Azarion gripped his blade tightly, the fragment's energy pulsating faintly, its rhythmic hum resonating in his hand. Each beat felt like a reminder of the trial they had passed—and the ones yet to come. His mind churned with thoughts of the herald, its warning echoing in his ears: The Void always finds its way.
"You're shutting me out again," Sera said, her voice cutting through the silence. She didn't turn to look at him, her eyes scanning the desolate terrain, but her tone was sharp and unmistakable.
"I'm not shutting you out," Azarion replied, his voice flat. "I'm thinking."
"Thinking? You've been chewing on that herald's words since we left the city," she shot back. "You don't need to think that hard to know they'll come after us again."
Azarion sighed, his pace slowing. "It's not just them coming after us. The fragments—they're changing things, Sera. Not just in the world, but in me." He glanced at his blade, its golden-silver glow faint but steady. "Every step we take, every fragment we claim, it feels like I'm losing something."
Sera stopped walking and turned to face him, her hands on her hips. "And what is it you think you're losing? Your soul? Your humanity?" She gestured toward the horizon. "Because from where I'm standing, you're still you, Azarion. The guy who saved me back in the ruins, the guy who fights harder than anyone I've ever met."
"For now," he said quietly, looking away.
Her frustration boiled over. "You don't get to do this—play the lone warrior, carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders while pretending the rest of us don't matter. I'm here, Azarion. I'm fighting this with you."
"I know," he said, meeting her eyes at last. "But what if I'm the one who turns into something we have to fight?"
The vulnerability in his voice caught her off guard. For a moment, the fire in her expression dimmed, replaced by concern. She stepped closer, her voice softening.
"Then I'll stop you," she said firmly. "But until that happens, you don't get to push me away. We're in this together, no matter what comes next."
Azarion stared at her, the tension in his jaw easing. "You're stubborn, you know that?"
"And you're not?" she shot back with a faint smirk.
He exhaled a quiet laugh, shaking his head. "Fair enough."
The moment passed, and they resumed walking. The tension between them had eased, but the weight of their journey remained.
---
As the day stretched on, the air grew colder, and the landscape began to change. The cracked earth gave way to jagged black stones that jutted from the ground like the ribs of some ancient, long-dead beast. The sky darkened, a swirling storm of gray clouds gathering overhead.
Sera shivered, pulling her cloak tighter around her shoulders. "I don't like this. It feels... wrong."
Azarion nodded, his hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his blade. The fragment's glow intensified, casting faint rays of light across the stones. "We're getting close. The next fragment is near."
A distant rumble echoed across the landscape, and Azarion froze, his eyes scanning the horizon.
"What was that?" Sera asked, her voice tense.
Before he could answer, the ground beneath their feet trembled, cracks spiderwebbing outward from a central point ahead. From the earth erupted a massive figure, its body forged from jagged stone and pulsating with violet energy. Its glowing eyes locked onto them, and a guttural roar split the air.
"Great," Sera muttered, drawing her bow. "Another oversized nightmare."
Azarion stepped forward, his blade flaring to life. "Stay back. Let me handle this."
"Not a chance," Sera said, nocking an arrow. "Remember what we just talked about? We're in this together."
The creature lunged, its massive arms slamming into the ground where they had just stood. Azarion darted to the side, his blade slicing at its arm, but the stone was unnaturally tough. Sparks flew, but the creature didn't falter.
Sera's arrows struck its glowing core, but they bounced off, deflected by an invisible barrier of energy. "It's shielding itself!" she shouted.
Azarion gritted his teeth, dodging another blow. "Then we break the shield first."
The fragment's energy surged through him, guiding his movements. He leapt onto the creature's arm, scaling its jagged surface as it thrashed wildly. Sera continued to fire, aiming for the creature's joints to slow it down.
At the top, Azarion drove his blade into the creature's head, channeling the fragment's energy directly into it. The barrier around its core shattered, and Sera's next arrow struck true. The creature let out a deafening roar as cracks spread across its body, violet light pouring from its wounds.
With a final, agonized scream, the creature collapsed, its form disintegrating into ash.
---
Azarion dropped to the ground, his breathing heavy. Sera ran to his side, her expression a mix of relief and exhaustion.
"See?" she said, helping him to his feet. "Together."
He gave her a tired smile. "You're insufferable."
"And you're welcome," she shot back.
As the last traces of the creature faded, the storm above them began to dissipate, revealing a faint light in the distance. Azarion felt the fragment's pull, stronger now, urging him forward.
"The next one is close," he said, his voice steady.
Sera nodded, slinging her bow over her shoulder. "Then let's not waste time."
Side by side, they continued their journey, the weight of their purpose driving them onward.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票