Volume 3 — Chapter 17: Shattered Bonds
The chamber roared with clashing magic—light against shadow, love against blood. Eryon's storm of darkness spiraled violently, threatening to tear the cavern apart.
Lyriana and Aryn stood united, relics glowing fiercely, but Eryon's power—twisted by the council—was overwhelming. His attacks came faster, sharper, more desperate.
"You cannot win," Eryon snarled, slamming a wave of shadow toward them. "I carry the strength of the council and the legacy of our bloodline!"
Lyriana intercepted the blast with the Violet Relic's shimmering barrier.
"Our bloodline does not justify cruelty!"
Aryn followed with a burst of emerald energy.
"And love is stronger than anything they twisted into you!"
But Eryon's next attack shattered the ground beneath them, forcing Lyriana and Aryn to leap back as molten cracks split the floor.
Eryon advanced, eyes blazing.
"You think love protects you? It makes you weak. It will be your downfall."
Lyriana steadied herself. "Love is our strength. You knew that once."
For just a moment, Eryon's expression flickered—pain, confusion, memory.
Then it vanished, replaced by cold fury.
He raised both hands. Darkness condensed into a single spear of pure void.
A killing strike.
Aimed at Lyriana.
Aryn moved faster than thought—hurling himself between her and the spear.
"No!" Lyriana cried.
The spear struck Aryn's chest.
Light exploded.
Aryn collapsed to his knees, breath torn from him. The Moonstone in Lyriana's hand screamed with fractured energy.
Eryon froze.
Even he had not expected that.
Lyriana fell beside Aryn, hands trembling as she held him.
"Aryn—Aryn, look at me. Stay with me. Please—"
He exhaled slowly, pain twisting his features.
"I… chose this… every time… I'd choose you."
Tears streamed down her cheeks. The Moonstone flickered violently—unstable, reacting to her fear, her grief, her rage.
Aryn forced a faint smile.
"You're stronger than you know, Lyriana… don't let him take that from you."
Eryon took a step back, uncertainty breaking through his cold façade.
"This wasn't… what I—"
"You nearly killed him!" Lyriana's voice cracked like lightning.
The relics answered her fury.
The Moonstone blazed white-blue.
The Violet Relic soared with violet fire.
The Emerald Relic pulsed deep green.
Their energies braided together, forming a tempest around her.
Eryon shielded his face.
"What are you doing?!"
Lyriana rose slowly, eyes glowing with a light that was neither relic nor magic—
but pure, unrestrained love.
"You wanted to break my bond," she said, voice trembling with power.
"But you just strengthened it."
She unleashed the full force of the relics.
Eryon was blasted backward, slamming into the obsidian wall. Cracks spread across the chamber as ancient runes shattered under the impact.
For the first time, Eryon looked afraid.
The mountain groaned. The relic pulsed desperately on its pedestal, reacting to the collision of powers.
Aryn reached weakly toward her.
"Ly…riana… don't lose yourself…"
His voice pulled her back from the edge.
Lyriana's power dimmed. The relics steadied. She gasped, catching herself before the magic overwhelmed her entirely.
The chamber fell silent except for the trembling ground and Aryn's labored breaths.
Eryon struggled to stand, staring at her with a mix of awe and dread.
"You… you don't understand what's coming."
Lyriana wiped her tears, fury burning into resolve.
"Then you will tell me. Everything."
As the mountain threatened to collapse, and the fate of the relic hung in fragile balance—
Eryon finally spoke a truth that changed everything: