The Temple Of Echoes
The Sunken Vale's jagged peaks loomed overhead as the trio ventured deeper, the air thickening with the scent of damp moss and something metallic—like old blood. Alden kicked a pebble, watching it float upward and vanish into the mist. "This place isn't creepy at all," he said. "Just cozy. Perfect for a picnic."
Elara shot him a withering look. "Focus. The sixth shard could be anywhere here."
"Or everywhere," Kael muttered, his silver eyes scanning the shifting terrain. The valley's magic warped the landscape like a funhouse mirror—streams flowed sideways, trees grew in spirals, and shadows flickered with faces.
Alden sidled up to Elara. "Bet you ten gold coins Kael's secretly composing a love poem about your eyes right now."
Kael's glare could've frozen lava. "I'm composing a ballad about throwing you into a
---
The path ended at a crumbling stone temple, its entrance guarded by two statues of winged serpents. Their gemstone eyes glowed faintly, and their jaws hung open, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
"Charming," Alden said. "I'll name the left one Steve."
Elara edged closer to Kael. "Do you feel that? The air… it's humming."
Kael nodded. "The shard's here. But so is whatever's guarding it."
Alden poked Steve's fang. "Maybe it's a puppy. A giant, soul-eating puppy—"
The statue's head snapped toward him, gemstone eyes blazing red.
"Or not." Alden leapt back as the serpent's stone wings shuddered to life, sending cracks spider webbing across its body.
"Run!" Kael barked, shoving Elara forward as the statues dislodged from their pedestals, stone scales grinding like thunder.
---
The trio sprinted into the temple, the serpents' roars shaking dust from the ceiling. Alden skidded around a corner and slammed into a wall carved with glowing runes. "Dead end! Fantastic."
Elara pressed her palm to the runes. "It's a puzzle. These symbols—they're an ancient dialect of the guardians."
Kael peered over her shoulder. "It's a trial. To pass, we must… bleed?"
"Oh, hell no," Alden said.
Elara traced a finger over the runes. "Not blood. Life force. The temple demands a sacrifice—a memory."
The serpents' snouts burst through the doorway, stone teeth snapping.
"Choose fast!" Alden yelled, ducking a fang.
Kael shoved his hand against the wall. "Take mine."
"No!" Elara grabbed his wrist. "We don't know what it'll steal!"
The runes flared. Kael's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.
---
Kael's memory unfolded in fragments:
A younger Kael, his silver glow undimmed, standing atop a celestial fortress.
The Supreme God's voice: "You are creation, Kael. Not destruction."
Kael's hands trembling as shadows coiled around his wrists.
A scream. A city crumbling. The weight of a million lives extinguished.
Elara gasped, tears streaming. "Kael, stop!"
He jerked awake, the wall splitting open to reveal a hidden chamber. The serpents froze, hissing as the trio scrambled through.
Alden stared at Kael. "What did you *do*?"
"What I had to," Kael rasped.
---
The chamber's center held a pedestal—and hovering above it, the sixth shard, its dark core swirling with stolen starlight. But between them and their prize stood a pool of liquid moonlight, its surface rippling with visions.
Elara crouched, dipping a finger. "It's a mirror realm. Step in, and… I don't know. It'll test us."
Alden groaned. "Can't we just steal the shard?"
"No." Kael stepped forward. "I'll go first."
The moment his boot touched the pool, the temple vanished.
---
Kael stood in a field of ashes, the sky choked with smoke. Before him stood Lyra, her armor pristine, her eyes full of betrayal.
"You let me die," she whispered. "You let everyone die."
Kael's knees buckled. "I tried—"
"You failed." Lyra's sword materialized in her hand. "Now you die."
---
Elara plunged into the pool after him, landing in a sun-drenched meadow. A younger version of herself laughed, chasing a butterfly—her mother alive, her village unburnt. The vision shifted: her mother's corpse, her hands stained with failed remedies.
"You couldn't save her," the illusion taunted. "You'll fail Kael too."
"No," Elara whispered. "I'm stronger now."
---
Alden's vision was… a tavern. A buxom bard winked at him, ale flowing freely. Then the tavern dissolved into a battlefield, his brother's lifeless eyes staring up.
"Your fault," the bard hissed, morphing into Alden's father. "You ran. You always run."
Alden's fists clenched. "Not this time."
---
Back in the chamber, the trio awoke gasping, the pool drained. The shard floated within reach.
"Well," Alden croaked, "that was awful."
Kael reached for the shard—but the ground quaked. The temple's walls peeled away, revealing a colossal serpent made of starlight and shadow.
"Thieves," it hissed. "The shard is mine."
---
The battle was chaos. Kael's borrowed magic flared, but the serpent absorbed his strikes, growing stronger. Elara hurled vials of explosive herbs, while Alden…
"Hey, Scales!" Alden lobbed a rock at the serpent's eye. "Bet you can't eat this!" He chucked a smoke bomb into its
The serpent recoiled, choking. "NOW, KAEL!"
Kael leapt, driving his dagger into the serpent's core. It shrieked, dissolving into mist, the shard clattering to the floor.
---
Elara slumped against a pillar, trembling. "We did it."
"Barely," Kael said, but his hand lingered on her shoulder.
Alden scooped up the shard, grinning. "Teamwork! Romance! Explosives! Best. Day. Ever."
Kael's smile faded as he glanced at his palm—the glowing mark had spread, now snaking up his wrist.
"Three years", the Supreme God's voice echoed in his mind. "Tick-tock"
---
That night, camped in the temple's ruins, Alden "accidentally" rigged Kael and Elara's bedrolls to roll them together.
"Alden!" Elara hissed, tangled in Kael's arms.
"Oops," Alden said, snapping a sketch of their horrified faces. "This'll fetch a fortune in the mortal realm."
Kael, flushed, untangled himself. "I'm going to kill him."
"You'll miss me," Alden sang, dodging a boot.
As the fire died, Elara caught Kael studying her, his gaze unguarded.
"What?" she whispered.
"Nothing," he lied...
---