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Chapter 92 – The Shattered Echoes
The node's activation had torn through the fabric of reality itself, rippling outward in waves of radiant energy. Erevan stood at its core, his hand still pressing against the surface, as the world around him distorted, flickering between dimensions like a shattered mirror. Each pulse felt like a heartbeat, not of the Tower's cruel design, but of something older, something far more ancient, and infinitely more dangerous.
The Chainborn that had surrounded them were not gone. No. Their bodies had melted into the very fabric of the node, becoming part of the energy, their twisted forms trapped within the node's new resonance. Erevan's senses sharpened. He could feel the remnants of their influence—like thorns caught beneath his skin.
"Are you alright?" Serah asked, her voice edged with concern as she stepped up beside him, her eyes scanning the chaotic energy swirling around them.
Erevan withdrew his hand from the node, his gaze focused on the ripples of power. "The node is awake now. But it's not stable. Not yet."
The air crackled with static, and the ground beneath them vibrated as the remnants of the failed experiments—these Chainborn hybrids—twisted and howled within the core. Their voices were incoherent, a maddened chorus of rage and despair that echoed from the depths of the broken node.
"We need to get out of here," Yuren said, his tone sharp as he glanced around warily. "This place is about to collapse, and I don't like the feeling of being stuck in the center of it."
Erevan nodded, turning his focus toward the others. "We push through. The Tower's defenses will be alerted, but we've already destabilized the first line of their plans."
"But we've only just begun," Serah whispered, stepping closer to Erevan. Her voice was soft, but beneath it lay a weight of something more—something profound, even though the words went unspoken.
"Indeed." Erevan's lips curled into a grim smile. "The Tower may think it's invincible, but its grip is fading. This node is just the first of many—each one a crack in the Tower's foundation."
Suddenly, the sky above them split open with a deafening roar. From the tear in the fabric of reality, a dark, swirling mass of energy poured through, like the jaws of some ancient beast emerging from the void. Erevan's heart sank as he recognized the force that had broken through. It was the Chainborn, but not the ones they had just fought. These were different—larger, more powerful, more... controlled.
"They've adapted," Lira said, her voice cold with realization. "The Tower's reinforcements. They were already here, hidden in the cracks."
Erevan clenched his fists, his gaze hardened. "Then we fight."
But before he could move, a low, bone-chilling voice echoed through the air, reverberating through the energy field around them.
"You think you've won, Erevan?" The voice was familiar—cold, metallic, and mocking. It sent a shiver down his spine. "You have only scratched the surface. You're a fool to believe you can stop what is inevitable."
From the mass of dark energy, a figure emerged. Tall, draped in shadows, with eyes that glowed with the same eerie light as the Chainborn. The figure stepped forward with unnatural grace, the very air around it distorting as it moved.
"Veyra," Erevan said, his voice low, filled with an eerie calm. The name lingered in the air like an old memory—one that he had buried long ago.
The woman who had once been his ally stood before him now, but she was no longer the same. Her face was obscured by a mask of shifting energy, her body altered—beyond recognition, yet familiar all the same. Her presence radiated power, dark and unfathomable.
"I see you remember me," Veyra's voice was a twisted echo of the woman he had once fought beside. "How quaint. But it changes nothing."
Erevan's grip on his sword tightened. The bitterness he felt, the rage, the confusion—it all swelled within him. He had thought her lost, consumed by the Tower's experiments. But now, standing before him, she was something more—a weapon forged from the very chaos they had been fighting against.
"You're a puppet," Erevan spat. "Just like the rest of them."
Veyra's laugh was hollow, devoid of any warmth. "No. I am the master of my fate. I am the future. And you—" she extended her hand, dark energy crackling around her fingers "—you are a relic."
Erevan stepped forward, his resolve hardening with every passing moment. "Then let's see how long your 'future' lasts."
With a swift motion, he unsheathed his sword, the blade glowing with the energy of the node. The ground around him trembled as he surged forward, the force of his attack breaking the air itself. The moment he moved, the world around him seemed to fall silent, the resonance of the node pulsing with his every step.
Veyra met his strike with a wave of her hand, her energy lashing out to block his blade. The impact sent shockwaves through the air, the force of their clash distorting the fabric of reality.
"You don't understand, Erevan," she sneered, her eyes glowing with unnatural intensity. "You cannot fight what is inevitable. The Tower will rise again—stronger, more invincible than ever. And you will be nothing but a fading memory."
Erevan's eyes burned with fury. "I've seen what you've become, Veyra. And I'll make sure the Tower falls—no matter the cost."
He pressed forward again, each strike more powerful than the last, his sword cutting through the air with precision and fury. The sound of metal against energy rang out, a symphony of destruction. But Veyra wasn't backing down. She matched his every move, her dark energy crackling in the air, her form an enigma of shifting power.
For a moment, everything seemed to stop. The world stood still, the two combatants locked in a battle of wills. And in that moment, Erevan felt it—the truth that had been hidden from him for so long. Veyra had never been his enemy. She had been a victim, just like him. The Tower had twisted them both, using their strengths and turning them against each other.
But it was too late for that now. The battle had already begun. And there was no turning back.
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Author's Note:
The true battle begins, and Erevan faces the person he thought was lost to the Tower's cruel hand—Veyra. What she's become is terrifying, and the stakes are higher than ever. With the node's activation and the threat of the Tower's return, Erevan will need to confront not just his enemies but his past.
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— Dorian Blackthorn
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