The small flame that had saved Lian from the cold now flickered dimly, casting weak shadows on the cold stone walls. He sat there, catching his breath while, in his mind, Aeris and the ominous shadow creature chased each other. The warmth of the light was frail, barely holding at bay the surrounding darkness, and he knew he couldn't go on like that forever.

  But before he could even clear his head enough to decide what he was going to do, there came a voice from out of the silence.

  

  "Lian."

  

  It was barely loud, no more than a whispered utterance right on the edge of hearing, but it was enough to send chills running down his spine. He whipped sharply around, sword in hand, but no one was there. Only shadows twisting and churning on the edge of this little pool of light.

  

  And then he heard it again, closer this time.

  

  "Lian. come closer."

  

  The voice sounded familiar, too familiar. He gripped the sword a little tighter and strained for recognition. And then, it hit him. It was **Aeris**. Yet, something wasn't right; the tone just didn't sound like her-there was coldness, an under-tone of malice under the words.

  

  "I know you're there," he called out. His voice did not shake, even though his muscles had begun to tense. "Show yourself."

  

  The shadows moved, but nothing would show. Nothing but the faintest glimpsings of motion, quick enough to escape actual sight, and the voice, low and whispering his name like a mantra, more insistent with each tick of time.

  

  Lian's instincts were screaming for him to turn and run-to get out of this hellhole, to leave this cursed place behind him. Something kept him rooted in his spot: a pull, almost magnetic, drawing him into that darkness. He couldn't explain it, he couldn't rationalize it, but he felt it deep inside. The relic called to him. It wanted him.

  

  And in that instant, Lian realized something-the relic wasn't a source of power, but it was alive. A sentient force, hiding behind shadows and maneuvering all that surrounded it.

  

  "I can help you find her," the voice whispered again, clearer this time, and far more convincing.

  

  Lian hesitated, the decision weighing heavily on him. He felt the shadows closing in, pressing against the protection afforded by the light. There had been no warning, no inkling of what was to happen, and then she was gone. The entity was offering answers now. But at what cost?

  

  "You think I'll trust you?" Lian growled to himself, getting to his feet and still clutching his sword.

  

  The relic's whispers sharpened into the sound of cracking ice.

  

  "You have no choice."

  

  The light flared once more, and for an instant, everything around him seemed to ripple, as though reality itself was bending and warping. The shadows crowded in, swelling to fill the space and devour the last flicker of warmth. Lian tensed, waiting for the blow, but instead the relic's voice boomed through the space, drowning his senses.

  

  Images danced before his eyes: different memories of his life, all twisted and distorted. The faces of his loved ones, their voices howling in terror. And within it, the relic's whispers wove a net of deceit to drag him deeper into the void.

  

  "You want to control me," Lian growled, struggling with the dizziness that came with the visions. "But I won't let you.

  

  One step, a second, and he forced himself deeper within the heart of the shadow. The relic's voice shrieked in his head, pleading with him to cease, to give in, but Lian refused. He had to find Aeris. He had to take over.

  

  Lian plunged headfirst into the darkness as it churned around him, wrapping him like a vice. He could almost feel the weight of the power enthralling him through the relic, suffocating him with every step he made. But he pressed on-he had his mind clear and focused on one thing: survival.

  

  The whispers of the relic were desperate now, no longer coaxing but demanding his subjugation. 

  

  "Submit. Or be consumed."

  

  But Lian knew better. He wasn't here to be consumed by the dark; he was here to master it.

  

  With a final surge of strength, Lian reached out, his fingers brushing against the energy of the relic. Overwhelming, a raw chaotic force threatened to tear him apart, but he held on, pulling the energy into himself. The shadows shrieking in agony recoiled around him as Lian took control.

  

  Time froze. The darkness, the voices, the chaos-all stopped, leaving behind nothing but silence. And in its middle, Lian stood, his body coursing with the relic's energy steady, controlled.

  

  But he knew this was just the beginning. The shadows would return, and the pull of the relic would grow more intoxicating by the minute.

  

  And somewhere, buried deep within the Undercity, still waited Aeris.

  

  ---

  

 TO BE CONTINUED