Chapter 28: Fractured Bonds

A tremor rippled through the ruins, sending loose stones tumbling from the broken archways. The sky, once a pale twilight, darkened as if a storm was gathering, though no clouds marred the heavens. The air itself seemed to recoil from the force surging between Selena and Riven.

Selena felt the Veil twisting unnaturally, as though it were struggling against an unseen force. Against her sister.

Her sister.

That word felt both foreign and familiar on her tongue.

"You don't have to do this," Selena pleaded, stepping forward cautiously. "Whatever you think the Veil took from you, it doesn't have to end like this."

Riven smirked, tilting her head. "Spoken like someone who's never lost everything." Her fingers twitched, and the shadows around her coiled tighter. "But you will."

Kael shifted beside Selena, sword at the ready, his sharp gaze locked on Riven. "Selena, she's playing with you."

"I'm not playing," Riven interjected, her voice like silk over steel. "This isn't some petty revenge. This is justice."

Selena's heart pounded against her ribs. "Justice? Riven, you're summoning the Lost—creatures that don't belong in this world. Do you have any idea what you're unleashing?"

Riven let out a soft, bitter laugh. "Oh, I know exactly what I'm doing." She extended her hand, and a rift tore open in the air beside her, a jagged wound in reality. Through it, the swirling abyss of the Lost Realm pulsed, its inky depths whispering secrets Selena wished she couldn't understand.

Liora gasped. "Gods above…"

Garrik swore under his breath, his daggers tightening in his grip. "We need to stop this now."

Selena took another step forward, despite every instinct screaming at her to stay back. "Please, Riven. I don't want to fight you."

"That's the problem," Riven murmured, voice suddenly colder. "I want to fight you."

With a flick of her wrist, the shadows surged.

---

The Clash of Sisters

Selena barely had time to react before a wave of black tendrils lashed out at her. She twisted, dodging them as Kael intercepted another set with his sword, slicing through the unnatural darkness.

"Don't hold back!" he barked. "She won't!"

Selena knew he was right, but the thought of harming Riven made her hesitate.

That hesitation almost cost her.

Riven moved like liquid shadow, gliding forward with a dagger appearing in her grasp. She lunged.

Selena barely raised her own blade in time to deflect it, the metal screeching against metal. Sparks danced between them as their weapons clashed.

"You always did hesitate, Selena," Riven murmured, shoving her back. "Even when we were children."

Selena gritted her teeth, steadying herself. "And you were always reckless."

Riven grinned. "Yet here we are."

Kael swung at her, but she spun away effortlessly, the shadows wrapping around her like armor. She flicked her wrist again, and another wave of darkness surged toward them.

Liora reacted first, summoning a burst of light magic that shattered the approaching tendrils. "Your darkness isn't all-powerful, Riven," she said, her voice steady. "The Veil has balance for a reason."

Riven's expression darkened. "The Veil is a lie."

She raised both hands, and the ground beneath them trembled. Cracks spider-webbed across the ancient stone, glowing with an eerie violet light.

Then, from those cracks, the Lost emerged.

Monstrous beings, half-formed and shifting between worlds, their eyes voids of endless hunger. They moved without true shape, a chaotic mass of limbs and shadows.

Selena's stomach twisted. "Riven, stop!"

Riven smiled. "Not until the Veil is undone."

---

Fighting the Lost

The battle erupted in full force.

Kael and Garrik charged into the fray, weapons flashing as they cut down the monstrous figures. But the Lost did not die easily; each time one was struck down, it dissolved into mist, only to reform seconds later.

Liora summoned a wall of flame, trying to hold them back. "There's too many!" she yelled.

Selena fought desperately, slashing through the creatures with her blade while channeling the energy of the Veil. Every time her magic struck a Lost, it howled in agony, dispersing into nothingness.

Riven stood at the center of the chaos, watching, unbothered.

Selena met her gaze, fury burning in her chest.

"This isn't you," she growled, stepping closer.

"How would you know?" Riven countered.

"Because I know you," Selena said, voice rising with emotion. "I remember the girl who used to climb trees with me, who used to dream of adventure. The girl who swore we'd always stand together."

For the briefest moment, something flickered in Riven's expression. A hesitation. A crack in the armor.

Then it was gone.

"You're too late," she whispered. "I belong to the shadows now."

With a sudden burst of speed, she lunged again, dagger aimed at Selena's heart.

Selena barely deflected it, but the force sent her stumbling back.

Kael was beside her in an instant, shielding her from another attack. "We can't keep fighting like this. She's feeding off the darkness. We need to cut off the source."

Selena's eyes darted to the rift—the tear in reality Riven had created.

"That portal," she realized. "If we close it, the Lost will be forced back."

Riven must have seen the shift in her expression because she snarled, "Don't you dare—"

But Selena was already moving.

---

Closing the Rift

The Veil pulsed around her, responding to her will.

Selena reached deep, pulling at the threads of reality itself.

Energy crackled through her veins, a force greater than anything she had ever wielded before. The rift trembled, the edges of it beginning to shrink.

"NO!" Riven screamed, throwing herself at Selena.

But Kael and Garrik intercepted her, holding her back as Selena poured every ounce of strength she had into sealing the rift.

The Lost howled as their tether to this world began to unravel. One by one, they were pulled back into the abyss, their forms dissolving into nothingness.

Selena gritted her teeth, pushing through the overwhelming force resisting her.

Then, with a final surge of energy—

The rift snapped shut.

A deafening silence fell over the ruins.

Riven stumbled back, staring at the empty space where the portal had been.

"You… you don't understand what you've done," she whispered.

Selena, breathless, looked at her sister with sorrow. "I'm saving you."

Riven's eyes darkened, her hands clenching into fists. "I don't need saving."

And before Selena could stop her—before anyone could react—Riven vanished into the shadows.

---

Aftermath

Kael exhaled heavily, sheathing his sword. "She'll be back."

Selena nodded, her heart aching. "I know."

Liora placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "She's not lost forever."

Selena wasn't sure if she believed that. But one thing was clear—this was far from over.

As the sun began to rise over the ruins, she whispered to herself, "I will find you, Riven. I swear it."

And the wind carried her promise into the waking dawn.