Aeris was shaking slightly in Lian's arms, her body still recovering from the darkness that had taken over her soul. The cold tendrils of shadow had vanished from her eyes, but residual hints of their presence still lingered in the air about her, a stark reminder of what had passed.

Lian," she breathed, her voice hoarse, "I could hear you, but I couldn't fight it. It was like being trapped inside a nightmare."

Lian pulled back, meeting her gaze. "You're free now, Aeris. You fought harder than you think. I wouldn't have found you if you hadn't held on.

Aeris smiled weakly; her eyes spoke volumes of the weight of her ordeal. "I thought it would never end. The shadows, they. they showed me things."

Lian's grip on her shoulders tightened slightly. "What did they show you?

Aeris hesitated, her gaze dropped to the ground. "I saw you, Lian. But it wasn't really you. It was like… like a version of you the shadows had created, twisted and dark. They wanted me to believe that the real you would abandon me, that the darkness was the only truth."

The words she said clenched Lian's heart. Shadows preyed upon doubt and fear, twisting reality into something unrecognizable. But they had failed. He had reached her.

"Aeris, the shadows lie," Lian said firmly, lifting her chin so she met his eyes. "You know who I am. I'm here, and I'll never abandon you. We're in this together.

They didn't say a word for a minute, and the amount that they had gone through hung heavy in the air between them. But there was no time to stay in the past-their road wasn't over yet.

"The figure," Lian said, turning back to where he had faced the shadowed presence. "Who was that?

Aeris shuddered, hugging her arms around herself. "I don't know. But it felt. ancient. Like it was a part of the abyss itself. I think it was trying to claim me for the shadows.

Lian frowned more deeply, and his hand went to the Eye of the Abyss. It still pulsed, though the light had dimmed since the battle. Whatever it was, it was gone for now—or at least, not in control of Aeris anymore.

"We need to get out of this place," Lian said firmly. "The shadows may come back, and I don't want to lose you again."

Aeris nodded resolutely, her face set. "But to where? The shadows are everywhere, now, and they're only getting more powerful."

Lian's eyes hardened. "We'll find a way to stop them. The Eye-there's more to its power than I understand. I think it's the key to fighting back.

Aeris's gaze flickered to the relic in Lian's hand. "But can you control it? The Eye might have saved us, but its power is dangerous. What if it consumes you, like it almost did me?

Lian wavered. And of course, Aeris was right. The Eye of the Abyss was a double-edged sword-the power it promised, its cost not told. He'd used it to save her, but was fearful, some part of him, of what might be the case should he come to rely on it too much.

"I don't know," he said finally, his voice low. "But I'll find out. I must.

They threaded their way through darkwoods with care, the oppression of the atmosphere still clinging to them. Though the shadows had pulled back for now, the forest was an unsettling quiet, as if it were holding its breath, awaiting what other danger might pop out next.

Aeris walked beside him, her strides slower than the norm. Still recovering from the ordeal, she tried to keep up appearances, though Lian knew well that the darkness had taken its toll on her. He kept close to her, ready to catch her in case she fell, his senses sharp should anything threatening occur.

As they rode, Lian's mind wandered time after time to the figure in the shrine. Whoever-or whatever-it had been, it was connected with the abyss, and it had known about the Eye. That much was clear. But there were still too many unanswered questions.

"Khoren said something about the Eye not being a weapon," Lian said finally, breaking the silence. "It's a test. But what kind of test? And for what?"

Aeris shook her head. She looked at him with concern etched in her face. "I don't know, but I feel we have barely touched upon what the Eye is capable of doing. It is not merely about destroying the shadows; it's about learning to understand them. Perhaps that is why it is a test."

Lian frowned. Understand the shadows? The very idea ran a shiver of apprehension down his spine. His whole fight so far was a general battle-seeking to keep the darkness away from those he loved. But what if the Eye needed him to understand the shadows-to burrow within their embraced depths? What would that make him?

"Lian," the soft voice of Aeris spoke, pulling him out again. "Whatever it is, we will work it out together. We'll face the abyss.

Her words pacified him and made him strong, but somehow, they gave him a quiet kind of dread, too. The abyss indeed was huge, and its power-unknowable. He felt he could not get rid of a feeling that the worst was yet to come.

---

As the forest thinned out, opening up into a large open plain, the suffocating weight of the darkwoods began to dissipate. Still, the sky overhead remained dark and stormy; the clouds moved around in unnatural patterns.

In the far distance, Lian could just make out the vague outline of a city-his next destination.

Aeris followed his gaze, her eyes narrowing. "That's the city of Solas, isn't it? The last bastion of light before the abyss spreads further."

Lian nodded. "If we're going to find answers about the Eye, that's where we need to go.

But even as they focused on Solas, Lian knew the journey was far from over. The shadows were defeated but far from vanquished. Whatever was inside that shrine figure remained out there, biding its time, waiting for its next move.

Lian's grip on the Eye tightened further. The cold energy pulsed within him like a steady heartbeat; the calm before the storm had finally reached his door. But he knew that deeper inside, the real struggle had just begun.

---