Kael had been tracking Caleb for days, following the trail of destruction left by the Echo's reckless actions. But today was different.
The moment he felt the pulse of Aether—felt it flicker and call—he knew Caleb had made contact with the Spiral. And while Kael didn't fully understand the connection, he knew one thing for certain: the Spiral wasn't done with Caleb.
Kael was alone now, standing in the shadow of a ruined tower on the outskirts of Valtor. His eyes narrowed as he looked across the city, the air thick with the tension of impending chaos. The people below were oblivious to the storm brewing above them. But Kael could feel it—an energy, shifting and restless, as though the entire world were holding its breath.
He didn't care about the city. Didn't care about the people.
He cared about Caleb.
And how the hell to end this.
Two days ago, Kael had come close—so close—to confronting Caleb directly. The Aether had pulsed between them like a live wire, drawing them together. But every time he moved in, Caleb disappeared, always one step ahead. It was like the Echo had become a part of the world itself, slipping through cracks in the fabric of reality.
But now, something had shifted. The Spiral had made its move, and Kael could feel their presence—their mark—on Caleb. He could almost see it now, the faint glow of the glyph pulsing beneath Caleb's skin.
Kael clenched his fist. "The Spiral… they're using him."
He pulled his cloak tighter around him, the wind biting at his skin. He needed answers. And he knew exactly where to find them.
There was one place in the world where the Aether was raw, untamed, and free—a place where even the Spiral couldn't fully control it. A place that held ancient power, buried beneath layers of time and dust.
The Aether Rift.
It was a legend. A tear in the fabric of reality itself, hidden deep in the northern wilds. It was said that the Rift held the secrets of the first Aetherians, the ones who had unlocked the true nature of the Aether and bent it to their will. But it was also a dangerous place—a place where many who had ventured never returned.
Kael didn't care. He needed answers, and he needed them now.
As he made his way toward the edge of Valtor, he felt it again—the pull. The connection to Caleb, stronger now, more insistent. The Echo was out there, too close, too powerful to ignore.
Kael reached into his coat and pulled out the small black shard—the one piece of the Aether Heart he had managed to steal from the ruins of the Temple. He had thought it would help him understand the Aether more fully, give him the upper hand against Caleb, but it felt different now. More alive, as if it had a consciousness of its own.
The shard thrummed in his hand.
"Come to me, Echo," a voice whispered inside his mind.
Kael's eyes narrowed. He had heard the voice before—whispering in his dreams, in his thoughts. The Spiral.
They were calling to him.
The path to the Rift was treacherous, filled with jagged cliffs and dense forests. As Kael traveled through the night, he could feel the presence of the Aether growing stronger. The air around him was thick, buzzing with the power of untold forces. It was as if the very earth was alive, watching him, waiting.
The further he went, the more Kael felt the pull. The pull of the Rift. The pull of his destiny.
It wasn't long before he found what he was looking for: a hidden cavern deep in the heart of the forest, a place untouched by time. The entrance was marked by ancient runes, glowing faintly in the moonlight.
Kael approached slowly, every sense on high alert. He knew the Rift was close. The very ground beneath his feet seemed to vibrate with power.
And then he saw it—the Rift.
It was a tear in the air itself, a jagged split that shimmered with raw Aether. The edges of the Rift flickered like lightning, unpredictable, unstable, as though the world itself were struggling to hold it together.
Kael reached out, his hand trembling as he touched the edges of the Rift. The moment his skin made contact, a flood of visions crashed into his mind—flashes of burning cities, cries of anguish, the Echo standing in the heart of it all. Caleb.
And then, a voice—deep, resonant, and filled with an unsettling calm.
"The Echo is coming. And you will not stop him."
Kael stumbled back, his heart racing. The Rift pulsed with a violent surge of energy, pushing him away. He fell to the ground, gasping for air.
"What the hell was that?" Kael muttered, trying to regain his composure.
The visions had left a mark on his mind—images of Caleb as the central figure in a war that would engulf everything. The Spiral was not just trying to control Caleb; they were shaping him. For what purpose?
And why did the Rift seem to reject him?
As Kael stood, wiping the dirt from his coat, he knew one thing for certain: the Spiral's grip on Caleb was tightening. And if Kael didn't find a way to stop it, the world would burn.
The journey had only just begun.