The Shards Mga Nobela at Kwento

Boulder rumbled, his tawny form tackling a wraith, claws raking, the red glow fading, the vale’s wind howling, the frozen earth trembling, Jasper’s warmth a shield, the shard’s call a challenge, the pack’s legacy a song. Lila’s voice was urgent, her charcoal stick scratching against the parchment, hazel eyes darting between the shard and her scroll, her fingers smudged with ash, the cold making her hands shake, but her resolve firm, the shard’s hum a rhythm she’d break, the icy ground slick, the vale’s wind howling, the red glow of the runes pulsing faster, the frozen river’s cracks reflecting the light, the standing stones’ shadows lengthening, her courage a quiet flame, the shard’s call a

"I want to know what it feels like to be alive. To love. To lose. To grow old. To die." "Then we will help you." --- Mira approached us. "The shard is not just inside her. It is connected to the followers. It is the source of their power. If it is removed, they will weaken." "They will also be free." "Free?" "The shard is what keeps them frozen. Without it, they will have to choose. Like the Eclipse." I looked at the Eclipse. "Do you want to free your followers?" "I want to free myself. If that frees them, then yes."

The cost was too visible, etched into the very soil of the North. Kaelen approached us, her boots crunching through the fine white powder that had settled on the stone. She held out a piece of the shattered null-glass we had seen forming during the clash. "The miners are calling it 'Saint-Shard,'" she said, her expression grim. "It’s draining the magic from anything it touches. We can’t let the pack stay out in the valley for long. Their internal fire will be snuffed out by the sheer proximity to this waste."

A hollow, distorted smile stretches across my peeling lips. "Perfect..." I whisper into the quiet room. I turn back to face the mirror, staring deeply into the eyes of the broken girl looking back at me. For the absolute last time, I force a trembling smile to my lips as a hot, heavy tear spills over my lashes, tracing a slow path down my pale cheek. For the last time, I bear witness to my own shattered soul. For the final time, I vocalize the bitter, agonizing truths that have taken root in my mind.

The air shimmered, distorted by heat and magic. She dismounted, her boots sinking into scorched soil still warm beneath her feet. Ahead, the crater steamed , wide, deep, and glowing from within. Sienna stepped forward, drawn by something she couldn’t resist. At the crater’s center lay the shard , a massive fragment of translucent crystal, humming with the same pulse as her wrist. It was beautiful, terrible, alive. Her fingers twitched. She should have feared it. Every instinct screamed to stay back. Yet the closer she drew, the more the world seemed to fade , sound dulling, color draining, until only the shard remained, a beacon in the void.

The air shimmered around her hand until the Luminis Shard came into view. Candice’s face went pale. “A Luminis Shard…” she whispered, staring wide-eyed at the now visible crystal. Candice took a shaky step back as if the shard itself radiated danger. “Are you insane?! Where did you get something like that? These things shouldn’t even exist anymore!” Uriel’s brows furrowed. “What’s a Luminis Shard?”

If I claim the shard now, will I truly survive as myself—or will Ashara rise in my place, leaving nothing of me behind? Ashara extended the shard toward me, its fire thrumming with impossible hunger, each pulse shaking the marrow of my bones. My body leaned forward against my will, drawn to it like a moth to a flame that promised both annihilation and rebirth. My fingers hovered inches away, trembling, the heat blistering the air between us. In that moment, I felt the shard choose—not her, not me, but something in between, something new and terrible. My breath caught as Ashara’s whisper coiled in my ear. “The moment you touch it, which of us survives?”

The Shardlands were unlike any place Aria had ever seen. Shards of crystal jutted from the cracked earth like the spines of a great beast, each one refracting not just light, but memory. Beneath a sky of fractured moons and bleeding clouds, the landscape shimmered with a thousand versions of itself—past, present, and future folding into one. It was a place where time bled, and the truth shattered. Aria stepped forward cautiously, Kael by her side, Lena and Tarek trailing close behind. Their Rootbound allies had refused to come this far. Even the flame-warded scouts had turned back at the edge of the crystal border.

Even though I tried to silence them where I could, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that something was spreading. Xenia was standing in front of the map table when I arrived in the great hall. The new shard was wrapped in its cloth and pulsing faintly, as if it was eager to be seen, and Elric was there, too. "We cannot conceal them," Elric remarked. “The shards were designed to be located. Others will emerge here, in the wilderness, and possibly even between packs, if the Architect dispersed them.” "And if they are touched by others?" I enquired. Elric's mouth clenched. “The architect will then have additional pawns than we can count.”

“The shard—it’s still active.” She turned to face it, her jaw set. “Then we end this, together.” --- We approached the shard side by side, our combined presence steadying the chaotic energy swirling around it. Aria reached out first, her hands trembling but sure. I followed, placing my hand over hers. The energy surged, trying to repel us, but we held firm. Together, we channeled our strength, pushing back against the artifact’s dark power. The shard let out a final, anguished scream before shattering into a thousand pieces, the light fading as the fragments fell to the ground.