The Whispering Woods
The journey proved far more arduous than Xanther anticipated. Lyra's directions—cryptic even for her—spoke of celestial alignments and forgotten pathways. The Woods themselves seemed to exist outside conventional geography, appearing only to those who carried sufficient power or desperation.
Xanther qualified for both.
Entering the Forest
The air immediately thickened as he crossed the boundary, pressing down with suffocating weight. Whispers erupted from every direction—not sound, but pressure against his consciousness. The voices were ancient, predatory, hungry for something he couldn't name.
"Turn back, King of Nexus. Turn back before you become something you cannot unmake."
But Xanther pressed forward. Relana's silver eyes haunted him. Angelo's loyalty. The people of Nexus who trusted him to protect them from Valerius's growing threat. He needed power—more than Talveran's bracelet could provide.
The bracelet hummed with warning.
The Shadows Speak
Two shadows detached from the darkness, their forms fluid and impossible. The first was skeletal—ancient death given consciousness. The second rippled like oil on water, formless but present.
First Shadow: "You carry Lumina's light. Her shard burns in that wooden box. Why do you bring Order into our domain of Chaos?"
Second Shadow: "He seeks power. Can you not taste his desperation? The King who married an Agent of the Keepers now realizes he is outmatched by his enemies."
Xanther's hand tightened on the box containing Lumina's shard. "I came to find the Mirror of Souls. I need to understand what Valerius is planning—"
Second Shadow: "The Mirror shows only truth. And truth, dear King, is that you are insufficient. Your power is borrowed. Your authority is leased. Even your marriage is strategy, not love."
The words struck deeper than any blade.
The Offer
What the shadows offered next would change everything. Not just for Xanther—for all of Nexus, for the dimensional balance, for the very fabric of Order and Chaos.
Second Shadow: "Give us the shard. Lumina's light does not belong here. In exchange, we will teach you to wield Chaos itself. Not borrowed power. Not divine authority. Raw, primal Chaos—the force that existed before gods, before Keepers, before dimensions were separated from the Waters."
Xanther knelt. Not in submission—in calculation. The forest wanted the shard destroyed. Renaldo had sent him here knowing this would happen. The Necromancer's threat was real, but this... this was a test of something deeper.
"I accept," Xanther said, placing the wooden box on the ground before the shadows. "Teach me."
The Transformation Begins
The skeletal shadow shrieked in recoil—it hadn't expected acceptance. But the second shadow rippled with joyful anticipation. This was what it wanted all along.
"This is for the balance. Lumina's light has grown too strong. You will be our instrument of correction."
The shard's light flickered and died. Emerald and obsidian energy erupted from the ground, swirling around Xanther in a vortex. He felt the chaotic energies surge through him—not as a tool to be controlled, but as a partner, a tempestuous entity that demanded surrender.
He surrendered.
When the vortex subsided, Xanther stood changed. His eyes blazed with unholy light. The bracelet on his wrist pulsed with alarm—Talveran's consciousness recoiling from what his host had become.
Aldorian's blood gave him strength to twist the chaos to his will.
The King of Nexus had gained power beyond measure.
But the cost would be paid by everyone he loved.