Chapter 24 – Echoes Within the Rift
( Echoes Within the Rift
Scene 1: Tremors of the Rift
Raizel stood at the edge of a fractured plateau within the cursed zone known as the Riftlands. The air was heavy with corrupted aura—so dense that it shimmered like heat on stone. With every breath, the ground beneath him quivered, as if the land itself feared what was coming.
His golden aura clung to him tightly, not in radiant flares, but in focused, burning layers. The Rift drained energy. It punished light. Yet Raizel remained standing.
He muttered, "Even if this place devours the sun, I'll ignite it from within."
Scene 2: A Commander Emerges
From the blackened mist ahead, a tall figure emerged—cloaked in writhing shadows, his feet leaving trails of corruption with every step.
Virus of Shadows, one of the high commanders of The Dark Breath.
His violet eyes glowed with ancient malice. "I see the golden brat survived Emberfall," Virus said coldly. "But this is not the land of fire. This is our domain."
Raizel didn't reply. He shifted his stance, tightening his grip on the hilt of his blade. His aura pulsed once, then stilled. Silent readiness.
Scene 3: Clash of Wills
Virus moved first—his arms raised, summoning a volley of shadow blades from the air around him. They spiraled toward Raizel like jagged meteors.
Raizel's aura flared—his foot dug into the stone, and he launched forward in a blur of golden light. The first three blades shattered against a flash of his sword. The fourth grazed his arm, spilling a streak of blood across his sleeve.
He didn't stop.
Mid-air, he spun and sliced downward—his golden blade igniting a shockwave that tore through the advancing shadows and forced Virus to leap back.
Their auras clashed with a sound like thunder grinding stone.
Scene 4: The Rift Responds
As the battle intensified, the Rift reacted.
The corrupted ground pulsed, and veins of dark energy rose around them like tendrils seeking to interfere. Virus grinned, his power magnified by the land. "This place sings to my soul."
But Raizel planted his blade into the ground. "Then I'll burn your soul with it."
Golden energy expanded in a ring from the blade, pushing the corruption back. The light cracked the surface of the riftstone, revealing faint lines of blue underneath—the remains of ancient aura pathways, thought to be dead.
Scene 5: A Dangerous Revelation
Virus snarled. "So… you've awakened the old veins. The ancient aura... it still lives here."
Raizel's eyes narrowed. "And I'll use it to end you."
Their next clash would decide more than just a fight.
It would determine who truly controlled the Rift.