THE SHATTERED BALANCE

Kieran's vision blurred as the weight of the future pressed against his mind. Fragments of what was to come flashed before him—ruins swallowed by darkness, Elara standing at the threshold of the portal, Rebel reaching for something unseen.

But the clearest image of all was a withered vine, trembling, its glow fading into nothingness.

"Elara," Kieran murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "Something is wrong."

She stood beside him, her silver hair shifting in the dim light. In her half-shifted form, her eyes gleamed golden, pupils slitted like a predator's. "Yeah, I got that much," she muttered, glancing at the vines curling around them. They were no longer mischievous, no longer testing them with playful tricks. Instead, they seemed... afraid.

Rebel, standing a few paces ahead, turned slightly, his golden cloak rippling. "You both feel it, don't you?" he said, voice calm, almost thoughtful. "Natuka is unraveling."

Kieran clenched his fists. "You knew this would happen."

Rebel exhaled slowly. "I suspected." He turned fully to face them now, his dark eyes flickering with something unreadable. "The balance was already breaking. I only sped up the process."

Elara stepped forward. "So, what? You just thought you'd take the artifacts, mess with the portal, and see what happened?" Her fingers twitched, and for a moment, the air around her shimmered as if she might shift into something much larger, much deadlier.

Rebel gave her a look that was almost amused. "You think too small. This world—both worlds—are tangled together in ways none of us fully understand. I made a move, and now the universe is making one of its own."

Kieran gritted his teeth. "So what's coming?"

Rebel tilted his head, listening, as though the wind itself was whispering secrets to him. Then, softly, he said, "Something old. Something forgotten."

Before either of them could ask what he meant, the ground beneath them trembled. A deep, guttural sound rippled through the air, not quite a roar, not quite words, but something in between. The vines recoiled violently, their glowing tendrils snapping back into the shadows.

The portal shimmered in the distance, its edges warping.

And then, from beyond the ruins, **something** stirred.

Elara instinctively stepped closer to Kieran, her shape shifting slightly as her body adjusted for battle. Rebel, for the first time, looked uncertain.

The balance had shattered.

And whatever had been waiting on the other side was finally waking up