The Cliffs of Whispers

Walking into the west to the Skyshard Cliffs was done under the shadow of an increasing feeling of discomfort. When the beautiful plains became the terrifying rocky formations and the tense "string" of the plans determined the location of the geological passages, which all have been dug by wind and rain for centuries, there is now the area. The air was colder here, carrying with it the faint sound of whispers that seemed to drift on the wind. Kael held tight to the Starforged Blade, its barely there light, but shed by the creeping darkness.

"There's a roiling Ness in this place," Lira said, in a low whisper, her eyes darting nervously back and forth between their view. "And that's saying something."

Kael nodded, his jaw tight. "Cassian wasn't kidding. The energy here feels... wrong."

The system's voice chimed in Kael's mind.

[Alert: Rift anomalies detected. Proximity: 400 meters. Energy signature indicates unstable dimensional activity. Recommendation: Prepare for high-level engagement.]

"We're getting close," Kael said, his voice low. He glanced at Lira. "You ready?"

She twirled her blades with a grin that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I was born ready."

The more they ascended, the voices got louder, becoming tidbits of speech that just barely trailed at the edge of audibility. Kael understood nothing but the tone was clearly tragic. Lira paused, her expression hardening. "Do you hear that?"

Kael nodded. "Voices."

"No, they are not real," she blurted, as if (to her) to comfort herself. "Just... tricks of the rift energy."

Scaling its summit, their field of vision spanned their gaze and robbed Kael of air. The Skyshard Cliffs were aptly named—massive spires of crystalline rock jutted into the sky, their surfaces shimmering with an eerie, otherworldly light. At the foot of the tallest spire a vortex of power pulsed, its black tentacles reaching out, grasping, as if alive.

But it wasn't the rift alone that held their attention. A body of figures surrounded it in dark robes. Their characteristics were masked, however, the incessant humming of their chanting froze Kael's blood.

"The Order of the Veil," Kael whispered.

Lira's grip tightened on her daggers. "Great. Fanatics."

[Analysis: Hostile entities detected. Composition: Rift cultists. Threat level: Moderate to high. Objective: Disrupt rift stabilization ritual. Warning: Cultists may summon additional riftborn entities.]

Kael exhaled slowly, steadying himself. "We have to stop them. If they stabilize that rift—"

"Yeah, yeah," Lira interrupted, her eyes glinting with determination. "Let's wreck their day."

The attack was swift and decisive. Kael and Lira ran down the ridge together, as a storm, taking the cultists by surprise. Kael's Starforged Blade hummed with otherworldly light and ripped through the black shroud enveloping the hooded figures. Lira moved in the stealthy fashion of a spectre, her blades taking advantage of the gaps between their armour and cloaks.

The cultists retaliated in kind, hurling black magic bolts that burned through the air. When Kael took up the Starforged Blade, its power created a shield which deflected the attacks. He kept on making a forceful advance while chopping through the staff of a cult member throwing the man back down.

"Kael!" Lira shouted, her voice sharp. "The rift!"

Kael turned to see the rift pulsing dangerously, its tendrils coiling around a central figure—a tall man with a jagged staff that seemed to pulse with its own malevolent light. The speakers weirder sound (due to the abnormal loudness of his voice) of the cult leader's chanting to match the widening rift.

[Alert: Rift energy spiking. Immediate action required to prevent dimensional breach. Recommendation: Target central figure to destabilize ritual.]

Kael charged forward weapons blade, piercing another cultist in the attempt to block his way. The chief then turned to him, with an evil smile on his dark face.

"You are too late," the man intoned, his voice layered with an unnatural resonance. The divot will take this land and the Starborn will be unable to stop it.

Kael's jaw clenched. "We'll see about that."

The rod went wavy, a tide of dark energy rushed upon Kael. The Starforged Blade absorbed the full impact, and a burst of celestial power flared forth in response. Kael continued to walk forward, moved by the system to close the gap.

"Lira!" Kael called out. "Cover me!"

"On it!" Lira replied to counter with another flurry of deliveries as the other cultists rushed in with vicious attacks. Her movements were a blur of precision, each attack calculated to keep the cultists off balance.

Kael got to the leader and their blades cut through each other in a flash of light and darkness. The man's staff hummed and with each blow the arms vibrated like a resonating chamber. However Kael sensed the Starforged Blade reacting, giving way to its power, as he brought the attack forward.

[Host synchronization increased by 2%. Adaptive combat protocol enhanced.]

Finally, with a final, fatal blow, Kael struck the staff of the cult leader, and the dark energy imploded in the form of an output burst. Heppled the man, his face contorted in shock and disbelief as Kael drove the Starforged Blade through his before body. The chief gave one last, primal screech and then faded into nothingness, leaving his form as a black fog.

The rift started to buckle and then to fail as agitated energy began to implode. Watching from a distance, Kael shielded his vision from the sheer brilliance of the light reflecting as the rift healed, snapping shut behind a jarring resonance of metal on metal.

The silence that followed was almost deafening. Lira knelt down toward Kael, still daggers drawn, breathless. "Well, that was fun."

Kael chuckled weakly, lowering the Starforged Blade. "You have an interesting definition of fun."

She smiled, but her face clouded when she saw the now-closed rift. "Do you think that's the last of them?"

Kael shook his head, his gaze distant. "No. This was just the beginning."

While descending the rocks, the distant sighing wash of their own voices once more filled the air, borne on the breeze, like specters of the fight just completed. Kael was certain that the end of the rift was nothing but a brief respite and that the real war was not over yet.