Clash of fate(Part 2)
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# **Chapter 6: Clash of Fate (Part 2)**
A tense silence stretched between them.
The artifact pulsed with golden energy, casting flickering shadows across the ruins. Kieran's mind raced. Rebel wasn't just taking power for himself—he was trying to **fix something**. But at what cost?
Elara broke the silence first. "Fix what?"
Rebel's golden eyes glowed in the dim light. "Natuka wasn't always like this. It's unraveling. Every day, the balance shifts, and soon, there won't be anything left to save."
Kieran steadied his breathing, trying to make sense of it. "And you think taking the artifact will fix it?"
Rebel exhaled. "Not just this one. **All of them.**"
Elara's claws dug into the stone beneath her. "You're stealing the very things keeping Natuka alive!"
Rebel shook his head. "I'm trying to **restore them**. These fragments were never meant to be separated. The moment they were broken apart, Natuka began to change."
Kieran swallowed. His visions flashed—**ruins crumbling, vines twisting in agony, the skies darkening.** Had he been seeing the future of Natuka itself?
"You're lying," Elara growled.
"Am I?" Rebel gestured around them. "Tell me, shapeshifter—have you not felt the difference? The way the magic here is **fading**?"
Elara hesitated.
Kieran had noticed it too. The vines, once playful, were quieter now. The land felt… **tired**.
Rebel took a step closer. "I don't need you to trust me. But if you fight me now, you're only delaying the inevitable."
Kieran clenched his fists. "And what happens if we **let** you do this?"
Rebel's expression was unreadable. "Then Natuka has a chance."
The words hung in the air.
For the first time since their battle began, doubt gnawed at Kieran. **What if Rebel was right?**
Elara tensed beside him. "Kieran," she whispered, "don't listen to him. He's just trying to manipulate us."
Rebel watched them carefully. "You've seen glimpses of what's coming, haven't you?"
Kieran stiffened.
Rebel's voice dropped lower. "You know what happens if we do nothing."
Kieran's pulse pounded. He had seen destruction. Darkness swallowing Natuka. A future where everything fell apart.
But was **this** the only way to stop it?
Elara's claws scraped the stone. "No." Her voice was firm. "Whatever you're doing, it's not the answer. We're stopping you."
Rebel's expression darkened.
Kieran hesitated. His visions—his instincts—were screaming at him to make a choice.
Rebel's **golden energy** flared around him. "Then you leave me no choice."
The ground **shook** beneath them.
Rebel **raised his hand**, and the **artifact pulsed brighter**—a surge of magic spiraling outward.
Kieran barely had time to react before the world **exploded** into chaos.
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### **The Battle Resumes**
Kieran dodged just in time, Rebel's energy shattering the stone where he had been standing a moment before.
Elara lunged, shifting mid-air into a **winged serpent**, striking at Rebel with razor-sharp fangs.
Rebel **twisted** away, moving faster than a blink.
Kieran reached out, forcing his visions to the surface. He needed to see the right move—
A flash—**Rebel's next strike**—
Kieran ducked just before Rebel's attack could land. He retaliated with a **burst of energy**, sending a shockwave through the air.
Rebel barely flinched.
Instead, he caught Kieran's wrist—**and the moment he did, their minds collided**.
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### **A Glimpse of the Past**
It was **not** a vision of the future.
This time, Kieran saw something else.
A city—**pristine, untouched by time**. Towers of white stone, streets pulsing with golden veins of magic.
Natuka… before the fall.
Then—**chaos**.
Magic splitting apart. The sky cracking. **A figure standing alone amid the destruction.**
Rebel.
He was **younger**. Desperate. And in his hands, he held a shattered relic—**a piece of something greater, something that had been whole before.**
The vision **snapped** away.
Kieran gasped, stumbling back as Rebel released him.
For the first time, he saw the truth in Rebel's eyes.
He had been **there** when it happened. He had watched Natuka begin to fall apart.
And now—he was trying to **fix what had been broken**.
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### **A Split Decision**
Kieran's breath came fast. He could still feel the remnants of the vision seared into his mind.
Rebel **wasn't lying**.
But Elara didn't see it. She only saw the battle—the enemy standing before her.
"Kieran," she snapped. "We have to stop him!"
Rebel's golden energy pulsed, the artifact trembling in his grasp. He was going to take it, no matter what they did.
Kieran clenched his fists.
If they fought—**they might not win**.
But if they let him go…
Elara turned toward him, eyes flashing. "Kieran! Decide!"
Everything came down to this.
Would they **fight to the end**?
Or would they let Rebel leave with the artifact—knowing it might change the fate of Natuka