Aeryn didn't sleep much that night.
Even after Elowen, Lyria, and Seraphine had all gone quiet in their respective tents, even after the wind had calmed and the crystal lanterns dimmed, the weight of what he learned kept hammering inside his chest like a second heartbeat.
He's connected to the World Core.
He's a living Resonance Node.
And the scarlet light is trying to activate something inside him.
He lay awake under the layered blankets, staring at the roof of his tent until dawn bled pale gold through the seams. The scarlet moonlight finally faded as the sun rose, but the echo of it still clung to his skin as if refusing to leave.
When he finally stepped outside, the group was already awake.
Elowen was sitting on a log eating roasted bread. Lyria was sharpening her daggers. Seraphine was doing gentle stretches near the stream, humming faintly—eyes closed, hair fluttering, the image almost serene enough to calm Aeryn's nerves.
Almost.
Elowen looked up first.
"Aeryn," she said softly, reading his exhaustion in one glance. "Did the night treat you poorly?"
He ran a hand through his hair. "Didn't get much sleep."
"Nightmares?" Lyria asked without looking up, still carving over the blade's edge.
"No. Just… thinking."
Seraphine finished her stretch, then walked toward him with measured steps. "Your aura is unsettled. Like a field after lightning strikes."
Aeryn forced a thin smile. "That's one way to put it."
Seraphine nodded. "We'll address it when we're ready. For now, we should discuss today's movement."
Elowen clapped her hands lightly, as if trying to raise the group's energy. "Let's eat first. We've got a long day ahead."
Aeryn sat, accepting a piece of bread, though he barely tasted it.
Today… they would cross the Rifted Plains, a stretch of shattered land where mana storms rolled across the ground like living entities. And somewhere beyond that lay the first resonance anomaly—the very reason the Guardians sent Seraphine to him.
He shoved the last of the bread into his mouth.
"Alright," he said. "Let's move."
---
The Rifted Plains
The landscape appeared on the horizon like a wound carved into the world—towering stone plates jutting from the earth, moss-covered rifts, and rivers of pale-blue mana mist snaking across the ground.
Elowen placed her hand on Aeryn's shoulder. "Stay close. The mana turbulence reacts strongly to Resonance Nodes."
He swallowed. "Meaning… it reacts to me."
"Correct," Seraphine replied. "But we will regulate it."
The wind wailed like a creature in pain as they entered the first stretch of fractured ground. The air grew heavy, thick with pressure—every breath Aeryn took felt like inhaling static electricity.
Small sparks danced at his fingertips.
He clenched his fists, trying to suppress the reaction. "That's… new."
Lyria stepped in front of him, scanning the surroundings. "Mana storms forming. Two on the left, one on the right. They're converging."
Seraphine drew a sigil in the air with her gloved hand, a ring of golden light forming around Aeryn.
"Aeryn, remain inside this. If you step out, the turbulence will latch onto your core."
The ground rumbled.
The air cracked with violet sparks.
Then the first storm appeared—swirling blue smoke twisting into a shape like a snarling beast made of fog and lightning.
"Contact!" Lyria shouted. "Three incoming!"
Elowen immediately lifted her staff, roots bursting from the earth and weaving into a barricade. The storm slammed into the wooden barrier, scattering splinters of mana.
Another storm dropped from above like a crashing wave.
"Seraphine—!"
The Guardian thrust her hands out. "Shielding Protocol: Lumina Veil!"
A dome of light expanded outward, stopping the storm inches from Aeryn's face. He felt the pressure ripple through him like someone had pressed a giant palm against his chest.
The storm roared, compressing itself until cracks formed in Seraphine's dome.
"Reinforcing!" she shouted.
But something was wrong—Aeryn could sense it. The storm wasn't attacking randomly. It was pulling toward him like a creature smelling prey.
He gritted his teeth. "It's reacting to me. I can feel it—like it's trying to fuse with my mana."
Elowen's eyes widened. "Aeryn, don't let it synchronize!"
He didn't mean to.
But the storm surged again—
—and the air around his body began vibrating in tune with it.
The mist spiraled toward the barrier, humming on a low frequency that dug straight into Aeryn's bones.
Thrum… thrum… thrum…
His heartbeat synced with the storm's pulse.
Aeryn's vision blurred.
Suddenly, everything fell away.
---
Aeryn's Internal Resonance Realm
He stood in total silence.
Floating. Weightless.
Around him, an endless void pulsed with scarlet strands stretching in every direction, like veins glowing under skin. Each pulse matched the rhythm of his heartbeat.
A voice echoed.
Not spoken. Resonated.
"Awakening sequence: incomplete."
Aeryn spun. "Who's there?"
"Resonance Node identified. Status: unstable."
The scarlet strands tightened around him like a net. He tried to move, but it was like walking through water.
"What is this place?" he demanded.
"Internal Resonance Realm."
The voice was emotionless— neither male nor female. More like a system speaking through the air.
"Why am I inside my own mind?"
"Correction: inside your core."
Aeryn froze.
"My… core?"
"You possess an artifact embedded at birth. A dormant World Core Fragment."
His heart slammed.
"What do you mean embedded at birth? Why would—?"
"Origin: classified."
Aeryn's jaw clenched. "Then un-classify it."
The strands rattled like metal chains.
"Insufficient access authority."
"Then give me access—!"
The world glitched.
Scarlet pulses turned erratic.
The storms outside—Aeryn could feel them—were still pulling, still trying to break into this space.
"Warning: External interference detected."
A shockwave slammed into Aeryn's chest, knocking the air out of him.
"Emergency Override initiated."
"What override?!"
"Stabilization required. Partner synchronization recommended."
"Partner? Who?!"
Another pulse oscillated, and the core space flickered.
Then, without warning—
—Aeryn was yanked out of the realm.
---
Back in the Plains
Aeryn gasped and collapsed to his knees.
The storm beast dissolved into sparks, dissipating into the air. Seraphine caught him before he hit the ground fully.
"Aeryn! Focus on your breathing!"
He inhaled sharply, chest heaving. "I—I was inside something. A space—scarlet lines. A voice talking to me."
Seraphine went pale. "You accessed your Internal Resonance Realm?! Already?!"
Elowen rushed to his side, gripping his hand tight. "Are you hurt? Dizzy? Disoriented?"
Lyria knelt in front of him, eyes serious. "Tell us everything."
Aeryn took a shaky breath.
"I saw… something inside me. A system. It said I have a World Core Fragment embedded at birth."
All three women stiffened.
Seraphine's voice dropped to a whisper. "A fragment… inside you? That should be impossible."
Elowen swallowed hard. "World Core Fragments can't attach to living beings. They annihilate anything they enter."
Lyria's jaw tightened. "Unless he's not a normal living vessel to begin with."
Aeryn stared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Lyria hesitated—but Seraphine stepped forward.
"Aeryn. We need to keep moving. You're stable for now, and the fragment is dormant. But after this… there is no doubt."
"No doubt about what?" he demanded.
Seraphine met his gaze, unwavering.
"You are not just connected to the World Core.
You were made for it."
Aeryn froze.
Made?
"Explain," he ordered.
Seraphine shook her head. "Not here. The Plains are too volatile. We must reach the stone vault ruins. They'll shield us long enough to talk."
Aeryn gritted his teeth but nodded.
He didn't want to wait. But he trusted them.
The group moved again— more slowly now, Seraphine staying half a step behind Aeryn, Elowen on his right, Lyria scouting ahead.
But the atmosphere had changed.
Every few minutes, Aeryn caught one of them glancing at him—not with fear, but with something heavier. Like they were analyzing him.
Or bracing themselves.
---
Reaching the Ruins
By noon, they arrived at a massive cluster of ancient stone structures half-buried in the cracked earth. Enormous pillars carved with elegant runes spiraled upward like forgotten guardians of a bygone age.
Lyria checked the perimeter. "Clear. Nothing living nearby."
Elowen nodded. "The shielding resonance here is strong. We'll be safe."
Seraphine gestured for Aeryn to sit on a broken slab of stone.
"Aeryn," she said quietly. "There are things you need to know. And we will not hide them from you."
He steadied himself. "I'm listening."
Seraphine exhaled. "First… the World Core is dying."
That alone made Aeryn's stomach drop.
Elowen continued, voice soft. "The fractures in the mana flow you've noticed… they're symptoms. The world is destabilizing."
Lyria crossed her arms. "And the only thing preventing total collapse is that fragment inside you."
Aeryn blinked. "But I didn't ask for that."
Seraphine knelt before him. "We know. And that is why we have to tread carefully. You're not just a Guardian target anymore. You're the world's most important tether."
Aeryn's throat went dry. "So what does that mean? What do I do?"
Seraphine met his eyes. "You learn to control it. You awaken it properly. You choose whether it becomes salvation… or destruction."
Silence.
Aeryn's hands trembled slightly. "What happens if I fail?"
Elowen's eyes softened. "You won't."
Lyria smirked. "Not on our watch."
For the first time that day, Aeryn felt his lungs relax.
"Alright," he exhaled. "So what's my next step?"
Seraphine stood, aura glowing faintly. "We begin resonance training. But before that—tell us exactly what the voice said."
Aeryn recounted everything. The void. The strands. The system-like voice. The mention of a partner for synchronization.
Elowen tilted her head. "Partner…?"
Lyria raised an eyebrow. "Like a stabilizing anchor?"
Seraphine went silent, thinking deeply.
Aeryn frowned. "Is that important?"
"Yes," Seraphine replied. "More than you realize."
She stepped closer, placing a hand gently over Aeryn's sternum where the fragment pulsed faintly beneath the skin.
"A Resonance Node cannot stabilize alone," she said. "It requires a partner whose mana harmonizes with yours."
Aeryn blinked. "And who would that be?"
Seraphine slowly turned her gaze toward—
Elowen.
Lyria.
Herself.
All three women exchanged looks.
Elowen's cheeks turned faintly pink.
Lyria smirked mischievously.
Seraphine cleared her throat, trying (and failing) to hide her own subtle embarrassment.
"It seems," she said softly, "that the Core Fragment will choose one of us."
Aeryn's heart stuttered.
"…what?"
"Your resonance partner," Seraphine said gently. "Your anchor.
Your chosen bond."
Aeryn stared at them, jaw lowering very slightly.
Of all the things he expected to deal with today…
This wasn't even on the list.
The world went quiet around him—only the faint hum of the ancient ruins remained.
Lyria gave him a sly grin. "Well, Aeryn… looks like things just got interesting."
Elowen covered her mouth, flustered. "T-This is… important for world stabilization! N-Not anything else!"
Seraphine sighed. "…This is going to be complicated."
Aeryn exhaled slowly, staring at the cracked stone beneath him.
"Yeah," he muttered.
"No kidding."