“It’s trying to reach me.” I said, holding up my hand. The energy flared, whispering to me, testing me.
“Block it.” Asher said immediately. He drew his energy around me, a protective shield. “Don’t let it touch you alone.”
I nodded and forced my power into focus, reaching out to align with the relic without letting it pull too far. Arlo chanted quietly, his fingers tracing symbols in the air. The relic shuddered. For a moment, it seemed like it might explode in a burst of dark energy.
Then it went still.
Arlo exhaled. “Good. Neutralized.”
But the sense of relief didn’t last.
The forest outside the temple was darker than before. As we moved toward the location of the final relic, the tension grew thicker, almost suffocating. Every step felt like it was measured by some unseen hand, an
