Crackling Shards Novels & Stories

Fast-paced heavy metal-type chords thump my veins, the live sound of the music taking my breath away. My queue to come in is signaled by London who lets out a deep roar. Being a call-and-response song it was by far one of my favorites from Crash Course Rebellion and now I get to live it. I sing the melody, Jackie is in harmony and London's note is a growl. ~ "I can't fight it!" London and Jackie:"I can't fight it!" "There's a feeling deep inside when I look into the eyes of the monster!" "I see through it!" London and Jackie: "I see through the facade!"

She felt her body weak and sour. She gradually was able to regain her breath and tried moving her body. She felt thirsty and craved for water. She couldn't move her legs and her hands were above her head. She shook her hands and felt a painful piercing of needles and she shivered, something seemed sipping into her blood. Her feet were stuck in a place where she couldn't pull them out. She tried forcefully pulling it out but she felt an excruciating pain of sharp objects piercing her.

My voice cracked. “We’ll never know that unless we—” The sound of glass shattering filled our ears. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Don’t worry, it’s the neighbour next door, He’s always either breaking stuff or yelling at someone, it can be really annoying sometimes.” Jared muttered and his lios pursed in a line for the millionth time that day. “I’ll go check it out to ensure it’s not something serious though.” He added as he stood up and walked out the door,

Caleb’s lips moved in a stream of words older than language. The cracks widened. Something dark moved behind them — a shape too big to comprehend, folding and unfolding on itself like smoke trapped in a jar. Two eyes glowed in the centre, pale as the moon, and when they blinked the whole shaft seemed to tilt. The crystal gave one final shudder and split open. A burst of cold air rolled out, frosting the stone around the shaft. Chains snapped with a sound like thunder, ends whipping back into the rock. Shards of glowing crystal tumbled into the abyss below.

The first crack was small. Just a hairline fracture splitting across the ice, thin as a scratch. But the sound— a low, guttural crack that echoed through the Frostlands like a rib cage breaking— made every wolf flinch. Lyra spun toward the fissure just as the ground lurched beneath her feet. Snow jumped. Frost shattered. The skeletal crown hovering above the裂 seam flickered violently, its pale light strobing like a dying star. Cassian took one step back.

“The shard, use it! It’s tied to the beast!” I fumbled with the pouch, my fingers trembling as I pulled out the obsidian shard. Its surface was hotter now, almost scalding, the red veins flaring with a hunger that made my skin crawl. I’d studied relics like this for years, piecing together their secrets in quiet libraries, but this was no dusty artifact.

The crimson light from the crack shone brightly, casting shadows across the jagged remains surrounding us. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't take my gaze away from the earth's fracture. The light was more than simply a glow; it moved like liquid fire, bringing whispers and brief visions that made my stomach churn. Shadows swirled in the depths, creating shapes—twisted, half-formed entities that appeared to become closer with each passing second.

The shattered remnants of the crystal had barely cooled before the air around them thickened again. The cavern trembled, sending loose rocks skittering to the ground. “What now?” Nikola growled, his claws still extended. Ellara stepped closer to the ruined shards, her eyes narrowing. “The crystal wasn’t just a barrier; it was an anchor. We’ve disturbed something deeper.” A guttural roar echoed from the far end of the cavern, shaking the very walls. The group turned as one to see a fissure splitting the stone, jagged and gaping, from which an inky blackness spilled forth like smoke.

"Mira, keep it together! Don't let her-" "I'm trying!" Words tore out. Fingers dug into quartz sides, nails scraping crystal supposedly impervious. "I'm-" The Orbs spun faster. Too fast. Smooth surfaces - polished by centuries, inscribed with unfailing runes - began cracking. Hairline fractures racing across curvature. Breaking pattern of force encountered without design. Floor runes ignited. White to bruised purple. Sickly. Wound festered too long. Monitors I couldn't see but somehow felt - graphs didn't spike.

The glow condensed. A shape formed inside the crystal. Small. Curled. A faint, rhythmic pulse—tiny, insistent, beating in perfect counterpoint to Maureen’s heart. Another heartbeat. The doctor’s breath caught—sharp, audible. Then the echo stone shattered. A clean, violent crack—like bone under too much pressure. Shards exploded outward, hung suspended for one frozen second, then began to spin in slow, weightless circles above her body. Ghostly images bloomed in the air: