Kurgansk's Realm
(Low, ominous music hums in the background)
The silence in the vast stone hall was broken only by the steady rhythm of footsteps, echoing like ceremonial drums across the ancient floor. Shadows danced along the walls, flickering in time with bursts of light crackling from a mystical object floating ahead. It pulsed with a vivid blue glow—lightning-like energy sparking off its surface. The stone was alive, angry even, and humming with a power that made the air feel heavier.
Kurgansk, tall and imposing, slowed his pace as he approached. His dark robes trailed behind him like smoke, and his eyes locked on the shimmering relic, the legendary Yarn Stone. He raised a hand toward it, fingers trembling slightly. With a grunt, he summoned his magic, and a force surged from his palm, wrapping around the stone in a telekinetic grip.
But the stone resisted. Its power surged back violently, flaring with heat and energy that filled the chamber with a deep, groaning hum. Kurgansk flinched, forced to release his grip. A hiss of frustration escaped him.
"It's too powerful… Lyra," he growled, his voice cracking under the strain.
Lyra stepped forward from the shadows, her once-confident expression replaced by concern. Her dark eyes lingered on the crackling light, and her fingers twitched unconsciously near her waist where her charm pouch hung.
"Don't give up yet, Dad," she said gently, trying to reassure him. "It will respond. Someday."
But Kurgansk didn't reply right away. He just stared at the stone, the blue light casting harsh shadows across his sharp features. Then a small, fluttering voice broke the tension.
"Oh come on, Your Majesty," Lulu the bat chimed from a perch near the ceiling. "Don't worry too much about it. I might have an idea."
Kurgansk turned his cold gaze toward the bat, his eyebrows raised in mild suspicion.
"I mean," Lulu hesitated, suddenly aware of the Lord's growing irritation, "maybe… maybe use the prisoner? He might have some kind of hidden potential. Humans are full of surprises, aren't they?"
There was a pause. Kurgansk narrowed his eyes but didn't speak.
"Lyra," he said at last, his tone commanding.
"Yes, Father?" she answered.
"I need to speak to an old friend. Go to North Syria and bring him to me before the fortnight ends."
Lyra gave a solemn nod and bowed. "As you wish, Your Majesty."
She turned and walked away, her mind already racing ahead. As she passed through the hallway lined with glowing spell runes, she paused at a chamber where the prisoner was held, Refel, the human archeologist.
Curiosity tugged at her. She stepped inside silently.
Inside the room, Refel stood staring at the walls, marveling at the magical ornaments embedded in them. Despite his captivity, his eyes sparkled with fascination. A scholar's mind, even in chains, could not resist the allure of the unknown.
A soft voice interrupted his awe. "What are you doing?"
He turned quickly. Lyra was behind him now, her presence sudden but not threatening.
"How did you—?" Refel stopped himself, recognizing her serious expression. "I was just… looking around."
She didn't reply, instead glancing over the artifacts around her. She picked up a silver necklace shaped like a bird.
"I always thought this was flat," Refel remarked, his tone light. Lyra cracked a rare smile, and they both chuckled for a moment.
"My father used to make these for me before I visited the human world," she said, holding the necklace between her fingers. "He said a necklace always stays with a woman."
"He must love you a lot," Refel said sincerely.
Lyra looked at him, studying his face. "How did you end up here?" she asked.
"I was trying to find a cure for a plague in Northern Syria. My people are suffering. I failed… and I'm sure it's spreading fast now."
Lyra's face darkened. She turned quickly, heading for the wall.
"Wait," Refel called.
She paused.
"Do you know why he's keeping me here?"
There was a moment of silence. Then, without a word, Lyra vanished into the wall, leaving Refel alone with only the hum of magical energy for company.
*******
Lyra stepped cautiously toward the breach in the mirror-world's veil, her feet skimming across the blackened soil as the rift yawned open before her like a wound in the skin of reality. The air shimmered thick, acrid, and heavy with the scent of burnt iron and forgotten prayers. She emerged from the Underworld not with triumph, but with the weary grace of someone dragged from the abyss, reborn in flesh not entirely her own.
A white gown clung to her frame, ghosting behind her like the torn train of a dead bride's wedding dress. Each step left silence in its wake, as if even the wind had paused to watch. Her eyes adjusted slowly to the charred remains of what had once been land now littered with bodies, fevered smoke, and the stench of fear. Northern Syria had collapsed into something less than ruin. The pandemic had torn through its people like a vengeful spirit, and in its aftermath, only ash remained.
She walked for miles, past skeletal trees and bones half-buried in snow, until the world narrowed to a distant shape, a cabin, stooped and sickly, cowering among twisted pines. Her feet hesitated at the threshold. Inside, a man lay slumped against the wall, a grotesque smear of blood marking where an axe had split his life wide open. Not a word, not a whisper remained of who he was. Only the silence mourned him now.
Behind the cabin, a jagged cave mouth split the earth like a cry frozen in time. She entered without hesitation. A demon sat at the center, broad back to her, as still as stone. The air buzzed with quiet menace.
A low hum trembled beneath her words. "It's time. The Majesty needs your presence."
The demon rose slowly, the movement unnerving, deliberate. As he turned, shadows peeled back like skin, and with a hiss of dark magic, he changed, flesh replacing scale.
Walt.
Azra's old enemy. Eyes like winter storms. Power like a thunderclap. The past had found its way back to the surface.
And it wore a human face.
{Exeunt}
I'm so sorry I've not been posting. Please readers bear with me, I will try to make out more time .🙏🏻