The Price of Power

Smoke from the stone dust and incense roasted bodies hung heavy in the air as Nathan took a stand beside the impaled and dead body of Calder. His heart hammered in his chest, his breath coming in sharp gasps as the adrenaline from the fight began to wear off. His full was dizzy and there was a throbbing, dull pain in all over. The power that the Fragment gave him was amazing, however the price, which was becoming clearly at the worst, is growing more and more painful.

Seraphine's gaze lingered on him, her eyes sharp as always, though a hint of concern flickered across her features. She lowered her gun, though she kept it within easy reach. "You look like you're about to collapse. That wasn't just a fight, Nathan."

Nathan clenched his jaw and straightened up, though his legs felt like jelly beneath him. He looked at Calder's still form and then at the Fragment in his grasp. It continued to throb with that uncanny, seductive vibrancy, beckoning him. But the toll on his body was undeniable. The power left him drained, and he could feel the heaviness in his limbs, the ache that spread from his chest down to his fingertips.

"I'm fine," he lied, though his voice was strained. "We need to get out of here before more of them show up.

Seraphine didn't argue. She moved quickly, pulling a small device from her pocket that emitted a low beep as she tapped in a few codes. Doors to the room clamped shut with a metallic screech, and the walls bulged and receded, revealing an undetected passageway to the monastery's interior.

"Lead the way," Seraphine said, her tone curt. "We're not safe here."

Nathan nodded, though he couldn't shake the feeling that the battle was far from over. Calder was not alone in seeking the Fragment, and whatever psychic strengths these individuals possessed, it was evident that their powers were but a portion of their iceberg. The worst was yet to come.

As they moved through the dark corridors of the monastery, Nathan's mind raced. He couldn't stop thinking about the Fragment—what it was, where it had come from, and what it could do to him. He had already felt its influence once, and he knew it wasn't something that could be controlled easily. He wasn't even sure whether that it was a blessing or a plague.

The soft glow of the Fragment illuminated their path as they walked, its faint hum almost soothing against the chaos of his thoughts. But the more he tried to ignore it, the more it seemed to pull him in, like a magnet, urging him to tap into its power once more.

Seraphine… Nathan's voice was gruff as he caught up with her. "Do you know what this thing is? Why does it feel like it's… alive?"

She glanced at him, her expression unreadable. "I don't know," she said flatly. "But I know enough to say that we're in dangerous territory now. Calder's group won't be the only one after you. We need to get out of here and figure out our next move.

Nathan hesitated to speak but a sound from the front stopped him. At first, it was barely audible—a subtlest shuffling, and then the roll of footsteps ringing out along the hallway. Seraphine asked him to stop, as shemotioned for him, and toward the end, to reach and take the gun at herumbar . Nathan's heart jumped with the roar of both sides getting louder.

Before he could react, a group of shadowy figures appeared at the end of the hall. They moved very quickly and with great accuracy, their eyes flashing in the gloom, and weapons at the ready. They were armed and seemed far too well-equipped to be standard mercenaries.

"Looks like we're not getting out that easy, Seraphine muttered under her breath, her hand steady on the grip of her gun.

Nathan's thought went wild, however his sense of weariness in the body was catching up to him. He had no idea how much longer he could keep up the fight, but he couldn't let Seraphine face these people alone.

It's a matter of no choice," Nathan said, his voice steady with resoluteness. "Let's finish this."

The fight that ensued was brutal, but Nathan could feel the Fragment's energy coursing through him once more, despite the drain on his body. He called upon the power spontaneously a concussive wave of force knocked the attackers from their feet several of them. The energy was more chaotic than before—flickering, unstable—but it still gave him the edge he needed.

Seraphine moved effortlessly, machine guns firing effectively in rapid sequence. She did not miss a single shot, in any of which the bullet hit the target with pinpoint precision. Nathan fought with her, his own locomotion driven and accelerated by the Fragment's power, but the tension of it was also registered in the way his limbs vibrated at the beginning of each blow.

However, while they knocked out one by one, Nathan's energy was dwindling. He sensed the weight of the Fragment, the increasing draw of its power into himself with each passing second. His vision blurred, and his breathing became labored. His body was beginning to shut down under the weight of the energy he had been channeling.

Seraphine…" Nathan mumbled, crashing to the ground. "I can't… I can't keep this up."

Seraphine barely spared him a glance, but her voice was full of urgency. "Hold on, Nathan! We're almost there!"

Nathan forced himself to keep moving, his hand clutching the Fragment tightly, even as the world around him began to spin. It was too much. His body couldn't take it any longer.

The last of the attackers was downed, but Nathan's vision was already failing. He couldn't stay conscious much longer. His body was giving out.

"Seraphine…" he whispered, his voice barely audible. "I… can't…"

Before he could finish his sentence, everything went black.