PART 6
872 Words
She fell through endless light, her body weightless, her voice lost in a scream that no one could hear. Colors she had never known—crimson that felt alive, silver that hummed like music, shadows that tasted of iron—swirled around her as she tumbled. At last the light collapsed into a crushing darkness, and she crashed onto a surface of hard stone. Her lungs seized; the air here was heavier, richer, filled with the sharp scent of smoke and metal. She dragged herself to her knees, her palms raw and scraped, and looked around.
The world was not her own. Above her stretched a sky of ash and flame, stars burning unnaturally close, some streaking downward as if they too were falling. Black mountains rose like jagged teeth around the horizon, their peaks crowned with slow-burning fire. The ground was cracked and lifeless, scattered with shards of crystal that pulsed faintly as though alive. Far away, she heard the howl of creatures—not wolves, not anything she knew, but something deeper, older, and hungry.
Fear seized her, but wonder followed quickly behind it. For though this world was harsh and terrifying, it also felt intensely alive, thrumming with an energy that sank into her very bones. She walked carefully, each step echoing in the profound silence. The shards of crystal on the ground glowed brighter as she passed, as if they recognized her. She knelt and touched one, and a surge of warmth spread through her veins. For a moment she saw flickers—visions of other travelers before her, warriors with blazing eyes, kings with crowns of flame, a woman cloaked in silver wings. She pulled back, her heart pounding with the rush of it all.
Then she was not alone.
From the shadows between two broken pillars, something emerged. At first, it looked human—tall, robed in tattered cloth, its face hidden beneath a deep hood. But as it stepped closer, she saw eyes glowing like twin embers. Its skin was marked with intricate lines of light, cracks that glowed as though molten fire ran beneath its surface. It did not speak, yet she heard its voice inside her mind, clear as a bell: “So… the chosen has arrived.”
She stumbled back, words catching in her throat. “Who are you? Where am I?”
The figure tilted its head, its ember-eyes narrowing slightly. “You stand in the realm between worlds, child of earth. The Shattered Dominion. A place for those marked by the stars. Few are summoned. Fewer survive.”
The girl shivered. The voice was not cruel, but neither was it kind. It was ancient, heavy with memory. She wanted to run, yet her legs felt rooted to the ground. The figure raised a hand, and the crystal shards around them flared brighter. “The sphere called you. That means you are bound. You cannot return until the binding is fulfilled.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but the ground trembled violently. From the cracks burst creatures—black, amorphous shapes with too many limbs, eyes like dripping tar, and teeth that shone in the firelight. They shrieked in a pitch that made her ears bleed. Panic surged, and she stumbled backward as they advanced.
The hooded figure did not move. “Your trial begins sooner than I thought,” it murmured in her mind. “Survive, or be unmade.”
The creatures leapt. She raised her arms instinctively, as if to shield herself—and pure, searing light erupted from her hands. It was a blinding, living force that tore through the darkness. The monsters shrieked, their bodies burning away into ash before they could even touch her. The girl gasped, staring at her own hands, trembling with a power she could not possibly understand.
The hooded figure studied her. For the first time, its voice carried a note of faint wonder. “So the spark awakens quickly. Perhaps you truly are what they foretold.”
Her chest heaved, hot tears burning in her eyes. “I don’t understand. I don’t want this!”
“None who are chosen ever do,” the voice replied softly. “But the Dominion does not care for your wants. It cares only for balance. And now, you are part of that balance.”
The figure turned, moving toward the black mountains. It glanced back once, its ember-eyes glowing with an unnerving intensity. “Follow, if you wish to live. Stay, and the Dominion will devour you before the next moonrise.”
The girl hesitated only a moment before stumbling after it. Behind her, the ground still smoldered where her light had struck. Ahead, the mountains loomed, their peaks like ancient spears against the ash-colored sky. Her heart pounded as she realized the chilling truth: she was no longer a girl of the valley. She was something else now, caught in a war between worlds she did not yet understand.
And though she was terrified, a spark of determination flickered within her. Because in that blinding moment of light, she felt not just fear—but power.
- Writer
