Shadows Closing In

Luna and Reid ran as fast as their legs could carry them through the collapsing swamp. The ground crumbled into the void behind them, while the abyss seemed to reach out with tendrils of darkness in a desperate attempt to claim them. The glowing orb in Luna's hand pulsed erratically, as if responding to the chaos.


"Faster!" Luna shouted, her lungs burning with effort.

Reid gritted his teeth, straining his legs hard to keep up. "This can't be how I die!

A massive root burst from the ground ahead, its sharp edges gleaming like blades. Reid leaped over it, landing hard on the unstable ground. Luna wasn't as lucky. Her foot caught on a root, sending her sprawling forward. The orb rolled from her grasp, stopping just at the edge of a growing chasm.


'Luna!" Reid yelled, skidding to a stop.

'I'm fine!" she shouted back, scrambling to her feet.


But as she reached for the orb, the ground gave out under it. Time froze in a blurry haze as the glowing artifact tumbled into the abyss.

"No!" Luna screamed, diving after it.

Reid grabbed her arm just in time, pulling her back from the brink. "Are you insane?!"

"The orb—"

"It's gone, Luna!" he snapped, his voice full of desperation. "We can't save it now!"

The darkness closed in, and they were forced to retreat. Luna's heart ached, knowing they were running away and leaving the second fragment behind.

Refuge in the Ruins

Hours later, battered and low in spirits, they collapsed into a ruined temple at the edge of the swamp. It was an ancient temple whose stone walls were further crept with moss and carvings depicting battles between light and shadow.

Reid collapsed back against a wall, his breathing ragged. "We lost it. After everything… we lost it."

Luna fell to her knees, her hands shaking. "I couldn't hold onto it. I let it slip through my fingers."

"Stop," Reid said firmly, though his own voice was heavy with exhaustion. "You did everything you could. This isn't over."

"But the abyss—"

"—won't win," he cut in. "Not while we're still standing.

Luna looked at him; his eyes did not leave the view in the dark, hard with determination. She nodded, yet doubt continued gnawing at her resolution.

As they rested, Luna's gaze ran to the carvings on the walls: one of a figure holding a glowing orb, its body surrounded by a wreath of flames; another of a large beast, its body chained to the ground, its molten eyes staring at its captors.

"The puppeteer," she whispered, her finger tracing the carving.

Reid leaned forward, squinting at the image. "Looks like it's been around for centuries. Maybe longer."

Luna's gaze went to another carving-this one showing the figure with the orb atop a mountain, light pouring from their hands. Below them, the abyss was sealed shut.

"This is a prophecy," she said, her voice filled with longing. "It's telling us how to win."


"Great," Reid said, standing up. "But unless it also tells us where to find the next fragment, it's not much good."


Luna studied the carvings, her mind racing. "Wait … look at this."


She pointed to a small inscription at the foot of the mountain. Though worn with age, the symbols were faintly discernible.

"It is a dialect of the ancients," she exclaimed; her excitement now registered. "I think this may be the clue."

Reid groaned aloud. "Of course it is, because nothing on this journey is going to be easy."

A New Lead

After hours of painstaking work, Luna finally managed to decipher the inscription.

"The fragment lies where the sky meets the earth," she read out loud. "Guarded by the flame that never dies."

Reid frowned. "Vague, for an ancient riddle."

'It's a volcano," Luna said confidently. 'It has to be."

Reid's eyes widened. 'Wait. You're saying the next fragment is inside a volcano?"

'Not inside," Luna clarified. 'But near it, maybe in the caldera. It fits the description of a flame that never dies."

Reid shook his head. 'We're really going to climb a volcano for this?"

"We don't have a choice," Luna said, already gathering their supplies. "If we don't keep going the abyss will consume everything."

Reid sighed, slinging his pack over his shoulder. "Alright, then. Let's go play with fire."

A Familiar Shadow

The journey to the volcano was Laborious. With every step they made, they entered more and more barbarous landscapes, with air thick with the smell of sulfur. With each step, the weight of their failure pressed down on Luna. Yet she did not want that feeling to deter her.

As they neared the volcano's base, a cold whip of wind swept through the air, with a voice upon it-a voice so terribly familiar.

"You have kept yourselves busy, little pawns.

Luna froze, her blood running cold. In the darkness, the flickering of the puppeteer's molten eyes varnished his tone with mockery.

"You lost the second fragment," he said, a laugh echoing around them. "How very disappointing."

"Get out of our way," Luna snarled; her hand instinctively went to her blade.

The puppeteer actually chuckled. "Oh, I'm not here to fight. Not yet. I merely wished to thank you for all your hard work. The fragments you seek? They are mine, too. Every step you take brings them closer to me."

Luna's grip tightened. "We'll stop you."

"Will you?" the puppeteer sneered. "Or will you break under the weight of your own fears?

Before Luna could get a word out, the figure disappeared into the night, leaving an uncomfortable stillness in his wake.

Reid shot a sideways look at her, his face grim. "He's trying to screw with our minds."

"And he's succeeding," Luna said, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

Into the Flame

They reached the top of the volcano at dawn, the temperature well-nigh unbearable. The caldera was a sea of molten lava, its surface ablaze in an unnatural light.

"There," Luna said, pointing to a pedestal in the center of the caldera. On it rested a fragment, its glow pulsating in rhythm with the lava.

"How do we get to it?" Reid asked, wiping sweat from his brow.

"We jump," Luna said, her voice steady despite the danger.

"Jump? Into lava?" Reid's voice rose. "Are you insane?"

"It's not real lava," Luna said, studying the patterns on the ground. "It's just an illusion, like the swamp. We just gotta trust it."

Reid stared at her, clenching his jaw. "You better be right about this."

Taking a deep breath, Luna stepped onto the glowing surface. Her foot sank a little, but instead of burning, the ground held firm.

"It's safe," she said, turning back to Reid.

He was introspective all of a sudden as he decided to follow her, his actions very careful. Mutual silence, they neared the pedestal; the temperature rose with every step.

The moment Luna reached for the fragment, everything began shaking. A giant burst forth from the lava, its body wrapped in flames.

"You shall not take what is mine," it thundered, voice shaking the mountain.

Luna and Reid turned to each other, weapons ready.

"Here we go again," Reid grumbled.

The fire guardian hurled itself at them, fists of molten lava punching into the ground with the force of explosions. Luna dodged to one side, shining blade swinging in counterattack.

Reid leapt around it, seeking some sort of opening. "Bright ideas?" he shouted over the din.

"Keep it distracted!" Luna yelled back, not turning her eyes from the fragment.

But as she did so, the guardian whirled around, his eyes locking onto her. There was a deafening roar as fire billowed toward her.

Luna dove to the side, barely evading it.

"Luna!" Reid yelled frantically as the flames overtook the pedestal, obscuring the fragment from view.

Towering over her, the guardian loomed with his flaming form crackling with power.

"Your journey ends here," he growled as his huge fist rose in the air.