Chapter 48: Fractured Souls

The Abyss Awakens

The world felt like it was falling apart.

Eryndra's heart raced in her chest, but it wasn't from the battle. No—what weighed down on her was far worse. Thalos, the man she loved, was slipping further away with every passing second. The Abyssal Lord's tendrils pulled him deeper into the Rift's dark maw, and she couldn't reach him.

Pain washed over her like an overwhelming tide. It wasn't just the gash on her side anymore—this pain was far deeper. It was the gnawing, suffocating sensation of losing the one person who had always been her anchor.

"No… Thalos!" Eryndra's voice cracked as she crawled across the battlefield, each movement a struggle against the overwhelming weight of despair and exhaustion.

But the Rift was not merciful. It had claimed him.

Thalos's once-golden eyes were now pitch black, swirling with dark energy. His form writhed in the Abyssal Lord's grip, like a puppet on invisible strings. The man she had once known was no longer there. The power coursing through him was too great, too alien. He had become the Rift's servant.

"No!" Her breath hitched as the Abyssal Lord tightened its hold. The Rift's power radiated off Thalos like an inferno, dark and impossible to control. He was struggling, his body wracked with uncontrollable spasms, but it wasn't him. Not anymore.

Eryndra's vision blurred. Blood dripped from her side, staining the ground beneath her, but she didn't care. The pain was nothing compared to the gnawing emptiness inside her chest.

The Sentinels moved closer, their cold eyes watching the scene unfold with detached precision. They were waiting. They knew that this was the turning point—the moment where Thalos would either be consumed entirely or—no, there was no "or."

The Abyss was too powerful. Thalos was too far gone.

"Step aside, Eryndra," Aedric Vael's voice was quiet, almost sympathetic. "There's nothing more you can do. He's lost."

The words felt like a slap in the face. Eryndra's chest tightened, and her lips trembled, but she bit back the urge to break down.

"I won't leave him!" Her voice was fierce, her hand tightening around the hilt of her sword.

Aedric shook his head, his expression unreadable. "You're fighting for a lost cause. You need to let go."

"No!" The cry was louder now, filled with desperation. "I won't give up on him. I won't let you take him."

But Aedric remained stoic, unmoved by her words. "This isn't your fight anymore. It's ours."

Ours.

Her heart clenched. The coldness in Aedric's words, his detachment—it was as if he had already accepted what Thalos had become. As if there was no way back.

But Eryndra wasn't like him. She refused to accept that.

She struggled to her feet, using her sword as a crutch to support her, her blood leaving a trail behind her. She didn't care.

Her eyes were locked on Thalos. He was still fighting, but the Rift's corruption was too strong. It was too much for anyone, even for him.

But what if she could reach him? What if there was a way to cut through the darkness, to remind him of who he was—who they were?

"Thalos!" she screamed, pushing through the pain, her voice ragged and hoarse. "You're not alone! I'm right here. I'm not leaving you!"

There was a flicker in his eyes—just for a moment—a spark of recognition.

Thalos.

His voice came out in a low, guttural growl, distorted by the Rift's power. "Eryndra… You shouldn't have come…"

"I will never leave you," she said, her voice unwavering. Her hand reached out, trembling, but she forced herself to stretch it further, closer to him. "Thalos, please. I know you're still in there."

For a moment, the world around them seemed to fall away. It was just Eryndra and Thalos. The chaos, the war, the Rift—it was all distant. All that mattered was him.

The Abyssal Lord let out a shrill screech, its tendrils wrapping tighter around Thalos, pulling him further into the depths of the Rift. But Eryndra's words cut through, like a lifeline. A thread of light in the darkness.

"Thalos, remember me. Remember us. Remember what we've fought for."

For a heartbeat, Thalos seemed to pause. His body shook violently, his chest heaving as if he were choking. His eyes flickered, the darkness in them wavering.

"Eryndra…" he gasped, his voice pained and distorted. "I'm losing myself…"

"No!" Her hand was now almost touching his. "You're not lost. I won't let you go. We'll fight this together."

The words were like a thread of hope, fragile and thin. But Thalos was struggling to reach out.

A shadow swept over them, and in that moment, the Abyssal Lord surged forward, thrashing in fury. Its energy flared, blinding in its intensity.

"Stay back!" Eryndra shouted, raising her sword, though it was barely an extension of her will at this point. She was exhausted, barely able to keep her footing, but she wasn't about to let the Abyss claim him without a fight.

The Sentinels advanced.

Aedric's voice rang out, cold and firm. "You'll all die for this folly."

But Eryndra wasn't listening anymore. All she saw was Thalos.

The Rift's power exploded in an arc of dark light, knocking her to the ground. She gasped for air, her body aching as the impact crushed her, but she still crawled toward him, her eyes never leaving his.

"Thalos!" Her voice was raw, but it was the last thing she could hold on to. "I love you. Don't let go!"

A brief flicker of recognition flashed in Thalos's eyes. And then, there was a crack.

A terrifying shattering of energy.

The Abyssal Lord screeched again, a sound that rattled the heavens. The world trembled beneath them. And in that moment, something shifted. Something changed.

It was a surge of power. A rush of light so pure it shattered the darkness, a force of will that tore through the Rift.

Thalos screamed, the sound of his agony tearing through Eryndra's soul. She could feel it, too—the strain, the weight of the Rift's corruption pressing down on him. The Abyss was losing its grip. Slowly, surely, Thalos's golden eyes began to return.

But the cost was steep. The energy released was unstable, a wild, untamed force that threatened to destroy everything in its wake.

"Thalos!" Eryndra's voice cracked as she reached out for him, desperate to hold on. She didn't care about the pain anymore, didn't care about the world around her. All that mattered was the man before her.

Thalos's body glowed with an otherworldly light, a mix of Rift energy and the pure will to fight.

And then—silence.

The Rift's energy seemed to freeze in the air, suspended in time. Eryndra held her breath, staring at the man she loved, waiting for him to speak.

"Eryndra…"

His voice was weak, but it was him. Thalos was back.

"Please… don't leave me."

Tears welled up in Eryndra's eyes as she collapsed into his arms. "I'm not going anywhere," she whispered. "I'm right here."

But even as they clung to each other, the battle raged on around them. They had won this fight, but the war was far from over.

And the true test was yet to come.