The first giant swung his axe.
Carlos looked at the others.
“Nope.”
He grabbed Emma’s shoulder.
“Everybody touch somebody!”
“Carlos—”
“Trust me!”
The axe came down.
White light exploded.
The blade smashed into empty stone.
The temple…
…was suddenly very empty.
White light swallowed the temple.
The giant’s axe came crashing down.
CRAAAAASH!
It struck nothing but stone.
Carlos stumbled as the teleportation ended, dropping to one knee on a rocky cliff overlooking the endless Soloran desert.
“Everybody…”
He took a deep breath.
“…is everyone still alive?”
Emma blinked against the sunlight.
The Tidecaller’s Trident was still in her hand.
Ethan was beside her, his shield glowing softly with the Sunstone embedded at its center.
Sarah dusted sand from her jacket.
“I’m fine.”
Carlos looked around dramatically.
“Wonderful.”
“I’d hate to have escaped certain death only for someone to tell me they left an arm back there.”
A small laugh escaped Emma before she could stop it.
Then she frowned.
“…Wait.”
“Where’s Zahra?”
“I am right here.”
They turned.
Zahra stumbled out from behind Carlos, nearly falling into the sand.
Carlos caught her arm before she hit the ground.
“See?”
“I even teleport with customer service.”
Before anyone could answer…
A deafening rumble echoed behind them.
They watched from the cliff as the Temple of the First Sun collapsed into itself.
Golden pillars crumbled.
Stone roofs vanished beneath rolling sand.
Within minutes…
Nothing remained except windswept dunes.
Ethan let out a slow breath.
“…Guess we’re not going back.”
Zahra didn’t answer.
She kept staring toward the distant city hidden beyond the desert.
Her home.
Sarah noticed first.
“What is it?”
Zahra’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“I can’t return.”
Silence settled over the group.
“My people saw me free you.”
“They saw me unlock the prison.”
She swallowed hard.
“The Council will call it treason.”
“They’ll execute me before sunrise.”
Emma stepped closer.
“I’m sorry.”
Zahra gave a small, sad smile.
“So am I.”
Carlos scratched the back of his neck.
“Well…”
“This is awkward.”
He looked at Emma.
“I think we accidentally adopted someone.”
“Carlos.”
“What?”
“I’m trying to help.”
Emma sighed.
“I know.”
Ethan looked toward Zahra.
“What will you do?”
“I don’t know.”
“My family will disown me.”
“My home is gone.”
“The only road left…”
She looked at the four of them.
“…is yours.”
No one answered immediately.
Finally Sarah spoke.
“Our road isn’t safe.”
“It never has been.”
“You’ve seen that yourself.”
“I have.”
“We’re being hunted,” Sarah continued.
“Not because they want the artifacts.”
“They can’t use them.”
“They’re hunting us.”
“They only need to slow us down.”
“They only need us to fail before the Solstice.”
Zahra nodded slowly.
“I know.”
“They’ll keep sending monsters.”
“They’ll keep setting traps.”
“They’ll keep turning people against you.”
“Exactly.”
Emma looked troubled.
“If you stay with us…”
“…you may never see your home again.”
Zahra met her eyes without hesitation.
“I already lost it.”
A quiet silence followed.
Carlos finally broke it.
“I vote yes.”
Everyone looked at him.
“What?”
“I like her.”
“She’s sensible.”
“Somebody has to balance us out.”
Sarah folded her arms.
“You’ve known her for less than a day.”
“I’ve also been kidnapped with her.”
“You learn a lot about people during kidnappings.”
Even Ethan smiled.
Before the conversation could continue…
The Book of Origins floated from Emma’s bag.
Its pages turned by themselves.
Golden light spilled across the desert.
“It started again,” Emma whispered.
The wind died instantly.
Even the shifting sand became still.
The glowing pages folded outward.
A familiar figure stepped gracefully onto the desert floor.
She looked around at the five of them, her expression warm but serious.
Her gaze lingered on Ethan’s shield.
“The Sunstone has chosen well.”
Then she turned toward Zahra.
“You chose compassion over fear.”
Zahra lowered her head respectfully.
“I only did what was right.”
“Laetita?” Emma asked.
“We heard them.”
“The giants.”
“They kept talking about a Solstice.”
Carlos folded his arms.
“And for once…”
“…I’d really appreciate a straight answer.”
Laetita nodded.
“You’ve earned one.”
Her expression became grave.
“The Solstice is twelve nights away.”
The smile disappeared from every face.
“The barrier between the human world and the Underworld—what our ancestors called the Veil—grows thinner every year.”
She looked toward the horizon.
“But during the Solstice…”
“It becomes fragile enough to tear.”
“The ritual Chef Rufus is preparing isn’t meant to summon more demons.”
“It’s meant to rip the Veil apart forever.”
The desert suddenly felt much colder.
The words settled over the group like a weight.
No one spoke.
Even Carlos had gone unusually quiet.
Emma was the first to break the silence.
“…If the Veil tears…”
Laetita met her eyes.
“There will be no separating the worlds again.”
“The Underworld will spill into yours.”
“Cities will fall.”
“The possessed will no longer need hosts.”
“Creatures that have remained trapped for thousands of years will walk the Earth freely.”
“The balance your ancestors fought to protect…”
“…will cease to exist.”
A gust of hot desert wind swept between them.
Ethan tightened his grip on his shield.
“So that’s what Chef Rufus really wants.”
Laetita nodded.
“He believes the human world is broken.”
“He intends to replace it with one ruled by darkness.”
Sarah frowned.
“And the artifacts are the only things that can stop him.”
“Yes.”
“The Tidecaller’s Trident anchors the seas.”
“The Sunstone strengthens the light.”
“The Celestial Compass reveals what is hidden.”
“The Shadow Cloak commands the darkness instead of being consumed by it.”
She looked at each of them in turn.
“Together…”
“They restore the Veil.”
Carlos slowly raised a finger.
“I have one complaint.”
Laetita almost smiled.
“Only one?”
“You knew all this.”
“Days ago.”
“We nearly got eaten by sea monsters…”
“…punched across Atlantis…”
“…kidnapped by giants…”
“…and now you’re telling us we’re on a twelve-day countdown?”
He threw his hands into the air.
“I feel like this information would’ve been useful!”
Laetita didn’t look offended.
“I know.”
“So…”
“…why didn’t you tell us?”
For a long moment, she simply watched the desert wind carry grains of sand across the rocks.
“Because knowledge changes choices.”
Carlos blinked.
“What?”
“If I had revealed the full truth before Atlantis…”
“You may have rushed.”
“You may have acted from fear.”
“You may never have reached the Sunstone.”
Emma frowned.
“So you let us walk in blind.”
“I let you become who the artifacts required.”
Silence.
It wasn’t the answer Carlos wanted.
But somehow…
It made sense.
He sighed dramatically.
“I still think your communication skills need work.”
“I’ve been told that before.”
Carlos pointed at her.
“See?”
“Progress.”
A faint smile touched Laetita’s lips before fading.
“You have little time left.”
She waved her hand.
The Book of Origins floated into the air.
Its pages opened.
Golden ink slowly spread across a blank page.
A map began drawing itself.
Mountains.
Sharp, jagged peaks rising above swirling clouds.
At their center…
A single star.
Words appeared beneath it.
THE SKYREACH PEAKS
Another line formed.
WHERE THE STARS TOUCH THE EARTH…
THE COMPASS AWAITS ITS KEEPER.
Carlos leaned closer.
“So…”
“We’re climbing mountains.”
He sighed.
“I miss teleporting places with air conditioning.”
“There wasn’t air conditioning in Atlantis,” Sarah said.
“There could’ve been.”
“We never checked.”
Emma laughed quietly, shaking her head.
“You really never stop.”
“Someone has to keep morale alive.”
His smile softened.
“Especially now.”
The joke faded almost as quickly as it came.
The reality of twelve days hung over them all.
Laetita turned to Zahra.
“You know the old caravan roads.”
Zahra nodded.
“My grandmother taught me.”
“They pass beneath the western cliffs.”
“Few travelers still use them.”
“They’re forgotten.”
“Good,” Laetita replied.
“The forgotten roads are often the safest.”
Zahra looked at Emma.
“If we leave before sunset…”
“…we can reach the mountain foothills in three days.”
“Three days?” Ethan repeated.
“That still leaves us with only nine.”
“No room for mistakes,” Emma said quietly.
Laetita closed the Book with a gentle motion.
“From this moment onward…”
“Every delay serves your enemy.”
“The demons know they cannot claim the artifacts.”
“They don’t need to.”
“They only need to keep the Keepers from reaching them.”
A heavy silence followed.
Then Laetita began dissolving into glowing pages.
“Wait,” Emma called.
“Will we see you again?”
Laetita smiled.
“When the Book calls…”
“…so will I.”
The pages scattered into the wind before slipping back into the Book of Origins.
Everything became still again.
For a long moment, no one moved. Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
Carlos looked around at the endless desert.
“So…”
He clapped his hands once.
“We’ve got twelve days…”
“…two magical relics left…”
“…a mountain that apparently touches the stars…”
“…and an army of demons trying to make sure we’re fashionably late.”
He nodded to himself.
“I’ve definitely had worse Mondays.”
“Carlos,” Sarah sighed.
“What?”
“I don’t think it’s Monday.”
He looked genuinely offended.
“Well, that’s even worse.”
Emma smiled despite the knot in her stomach.
She lifted the Tidecaller’s Trident, its sapphire glow reflecting against the desert sand.
“We keep moving.”
“No more detours.”
“No more looking back.”
Ethan stepped beside her, sunlight gleaming from his shield.
Sarah adjusted the strap of her pack.
Zahra took one last look toward the distant desert kingdom she could no longer call home.
Then she turned away.
Together, the five of them began walking toward the faint outline of mountains rising above the clouds.
Far behind them…
Hidden beneath the endless dunes…
A pair of crimson eyes opened in the darkness.
And somewhere deep below the desert…
Something ancient…
…began to move.
______
The chamber was silent.
Not the peaceful kind of silence.
The kind that settled over a room when everyone was waiting for someone to make a mistake.
A hooded demon knelt at the foot of the black stone throne, his head bowed so low that his forehead nearly touched the cold floor.
“I bring news, my lord.”
Chef Rufus stood before the enormous stained-glass window overlooking the ruined monastery that now served as his sanctuary.
Crimson light from the Underworld seeped through the cracks in the sky beyond, bathing the chamber in an unsettling glow.
He didn’t turn around.
“Speak.”
The messenger swallowed.
“The children escaped Solora.”
Silence.
“The giants failed to deliver them.”
“They recovered the second artifact.”
At that, Rufus slowly turned.
His expression remained calm, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop.
“The Sunstone…” he murmured.
“So it has chosen.”
The messenger nodded nervously.
“Yes, my lord.”
“And the bearer?”
“The boy.”
“The shield wielder.”
For a long moment, Rufus simply stared into the darkness.
Then…
He laughed.
Softly.
Almost to himself.
“They continue to exceed expectations.”
Another figure stepped from the shadows…a pale woman draped in black robes.
“They are becoming a problem.”
“No,” Rufus replied.
“They are becoming an inconvenience.”
“There is a difference.”
She folded her arms.
“The Council of Solora failed us.”
“They accepted our gold.”
“They accepted our promises.”
“And yet the prisoners escaped.”
Rufus’s eyes narrowed.
“Loose ends.”
“I despise loose ends.”
The messenger trembled.
“My lord…
the girl…
Zahra…”
“What about her?”
“She betrayed her people.”
“She freed the Chosen.”
A faint smile crossed Rufus’s face.
“Then Solora has already punished itself.”
He walked slowly toward the throne, each step echoing through the chamber.
“Our enemies grow stronger.”
“The Trident has awakened.”
“The Sunstone has found its Keeper.”
He rested one hand on the carved armrest.
“But they misunderstand one thing.”
The pale woman looked up.
“They believe collecting the artifacts is enough.”
“It is not.”
“The relics are only keys.”
“They still need to survive long enough to use them.”
He turned toward the messenger once more.
“How many nights remain?”
“Twelve, my lord.”
“Twelve,” Rufus repeated thoughtfully.
“More than enough.”
His smile widened.
“No more trials.”
“No more testing.”
“They have proven themselves.”
The crimson flames surrounding the throne flared violently.
“From this moment onward…”
“We stop trying to delay them.”
“We break them.”
The messenger looked up cautiously.
“My lord?”
“They trust too easily.”
“They protect strangers.”
“They refuse to abandon one another.”
Rufus’s eyes gleamed with quiet satisfaction.
“Those are not strengths.”
“They are weaknesses.”
“And weaknesses…”
He slowly closed his hand into a fist.
“…can always be exploited.”
The chamber doors creaked open.
A towering figure stepped inside, his face hidden beneath a weathered cloak.
Unlike the demons, he looked entirely human.
He bowed respectfully.
“You summoned me.”
Rufus regarded him for a long moment.
“Yes.”
“It is time.”
The stranger lifted his head.
“What are your orders?”
Rufus looked toward the crimson sky beyond the shattered window.
“The Chosen are no longer children wandering from one realm to another.”
“They are becoming heroes.”
He smiled a smile devoid of warmth.
“So let them discover…”
“…that not every monster wears the face of a demon.”
The stranger returned the smile.
“As you command.”
Somewhere in the distance, thunder rolled across the fractured sky.
And for the first time since the journey had begun…
The enemy started planning not for the next battle…
But for the end of the world.