Episode 8 - The Second Relic
1316 Words
The chamber remained silent.
The floating crystals above cast pale silver light across the ancient ruins while the sword rested motionless before Elias.
Waiting.
The blade hummed softly, almost like it was alive.
Elias stared at it nervously.
“No pressure or anything…”
Kael stepped closer immediately.
“Don’t touch it.”
Elias looked at him. “That was already the plan.”
Lyra kept her eyes fixed on the weapon.
“The relic is responding to him.”
“That sentence keeps happening to me and I hate it.”
The silver key in Elias’s hand pulsed again.
The sword answered.
A low vibration spread across the chamber floor.
Kael’s expression darkened.
“The relics are synchronizing.”
Elias frowned. “Is that bad?”
“Yes.”
“…Okay.”
The sword suddenly lifted slightly from the ground.
Not aggressively.
More like anticipation.
The ancient voice returned.
“Bearer of the First Relic…”
The chamber trembled faintly.
“The Second recognizes your soul.”
Elias immediately pointed at himself. “Again with the soul thing.”
The voice ignored him.
“Claim the Blade of Aether.”
Lyra inhaled sharply.
Kael looked equally unsettled.
Elias noticed.
“What?”
Kael stared at the sword carefully.
“That relic has been missing for centuries.”
Lyra nodded slowly.
“It was believed destroyed during the Ancient War.”
Elias looked between them.
“So… this thing is important.”
Kael gave him a flat look.
“It’s a relic capable of cutting through dimensional barriers.”
Elias blinked.
“…Very important.”
The sword floated higher.
Silver energy spread across the chamber walls like veins of light.
Then the images returned.
More visions.
Elias suddenly saw towering armies beneath black skies.
Hunters fighting giant silver creatures.
Entire cities collapsing into darkness.
And standing in the middle of it all—
The same silver-eyed version of himself from the Final Gate vision.
Holding both the Silver Key and the Blade of Aether.
The figure slowly turned toward Elias.
Then spoke directly into his mind.
“You are running out of time.”
The vision vanished.
Elias staggered backward slightly.
Lyra caught his arm immediately.
“What did you see?”
Elias looked shaken.
“…Me again.”
Kael cursed softly under his breath.
“That’s getting worse.”
“What do you MEAN worse?!”
Before Kael could answer—
A loud explosion echoed through the ruins.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The entire chamber shook violently.
Kael spun toward the entrance immediately.
“They found us.”
Crimson light appeared deep within the tunnel outside.
Hunters.
More than before.
Their glowing eyes filled the darkness like red stars.
Elias’s chest tightened.
“How are there ALWAYS more of them?!”
The lead Hunter stepped into the chamber slowly.
Unlike the others, this one wore darker armor covered in jagged silver cracks.
Its crimson eyes glowed brighter than the rest.
Even Kael looked tense.
Lyra whispered quietly:
“…A Crimson General.”
The General’s distorted voice echoed across the chamber.
“The relics must be surrendered.”
Kael raised his sword instantly.
“Not happening.”
The General ignored him completely.
Its gaze remained fixed on Elias.
“The Seal grows weaker with every awakening.”
Elias tightened his grip on the silver key.
“I still don’t even know what that means!”
The General slowly lifted one hand.
The other Hunters spread throughout the chamber immediately, surrounding them.
Efficient.
Disciplined.
Dangerous.
Then the General spoke again.
“You have seen the echoes.”
Elias froze slightly.
The echoes.
The visions.
“How do you know about that?”
“Because the Gatewalker has begun returning.”
The chamber fell silent.
Kael’s face darkened instantly.
Lyra looked genuinely alarmed now.
Elias stared at the Hunter.
“…Returning?”
The General pointed toward him slowly.
“You carry his soul.”
Cold fear spread through Elias’s chest.
“No.”
The General tilted its head slightly.
“You deny what the relics already know.”
Kael stepped in front of Elias immediately.
“That’s enough.”
Silver energy exploded from Kael’s blade as he attacked first.
The battle began instantly.
The chamber erupted into chaos.
Kael clashed directly against the Crimson General while Lyra created glowing barriers to hold back the other Hunters.
Elias stumbled backward as crimson blades sliced through stone pillars nearby.
The General moved terrifyingly fast.
Its weapon collided against Kael’s sword hard enough to c***k the floor beneath them.
Silver and crimson energy exploded across the chamber.
Kael gritted his teeth.
“You talk too much.”
The General answered calmly:
“And you fear the truth.”
Meanwhile, two Hunters rushed toward Elias.
He instinctively raised the silver key.
Light burst outward.
One Hunter was thrown backward violently into a pillar.
The other barely dodged in time.
Elias stared at the key in shock.
“…Okay. That’s new.”
The silver markings on his arm glowed brighter.
The sword nearby reacted immediately.
The Blade of Aether floated into the air.
Every Hunter in the chamber froze.
Even the Crimson General stopped fighting briefly.
The ancient voice echoed once more.
“The Second Relic chooses.”
The sword shot toward Elias.
Fast.
Too fast.
Elias barely caught the handle instinctively.
The moment he touched it—
Silver energy exploded through his body.
Pain.
Heat.
Memories.
Thousands of unfamiliar voices flooded his mind.
Battles.
Worlds burning.
The Final Gate opening beneath a black sky.
Then one clear image—
The silver-eyed version of himself kneeling before the Hollow King.
“You failed,” the Hollow King whispered.
Elias gasped sharply.
The vision shattered.
Reality returned violently.
The Blade of Aether now glowed brightly in his hands.
Ancient symbols ignited across the blade.
The relic had accepted him.
Every Hunter stepped backward immediately.
Fear.
Real fear.
The Crimson General stared directly at Elias.
“…Impossible.”
Elias looked down at the sword nervously.
“I really wish people would stop saying that.”
The Blade suddenly pulsed.
Instinct moved through Elias before thought could catch up.
A Hunter attacked him from the side—
Elias swung the sword reflexively.
Silver light flashed across the chamber.
The Hunter froze mid-motion.
Then split cleanly in half.
The cut in space behind it remained hanging in the air like glowing glass.
Everyone stared silently.
Even Elias.
“…I did not mean to do that.”
The dimensional scar slowly sealed itself.
Kael looked stunned.
Lyra looked equally shocked.
The Crimson General stepped backward carefully.
“The Blade truly awakened…”
Elias felt the sword humming in his hand.
Alive.
Powerful.
Dangerous.
Too dangerous.
Then suddenly—
The relics reacted again.
Both the key and the blade glowed violently together.
The chamber began shaking uncontrollably.
Cracks spread across reality itself.
Dark fractures opened in the air around them.
Kael’s expression changed instantly.
“No…”
Lyra looked horrified.
“The relic resonance is destabilizing the Veil!”
The Crimson General immediately ordered the Hunters backward.
“Retreat!”
Even they didn’t want to remain near the unstable relics.
The fractures widened rapidly.
Inside them, Elias saw glimpses of other worlds.
Endless oceans.
Burning skies.
Gigantic creatures.
And one vision that froze his blood completely—
Earth.
His world.
Being swallowed by darkness.
The Hollow King’s voice echoed faintly through the fractures.
“The Final Gate approaches…”
The chamber began collapsing.
Kael grabbed Elias immediately.
“We have to move NOW!”
“But the relics—”
“YOU are the problem!”
Fair point.
Lyra opened a glowing silver portal near the far wall.
“Hurry!”
The fractures across reality spread faster.
The chamber was tearing itself apart.
Elias looked one last time at the widening darkness beyond the cracks.
And deep inside—
Something ancient recognized him from the other side too.
- Writer
