The Veil of Elaria

ow, but the air still carried an unnatural stillness that pressed on his senses. Haldwyn stood nearb

e healer said, his

lingered in his mind, but he forced himself to focus. The path ahead twisted and turned like a serpent, and though it

asked, his voice hushed as thou

us and the Glade. Within its walls, reality bends, and the past may hau

rward felt like a march toward doom, yet he couldn't t

to smooth, obsidian stone. Rising before them was a vast labyrinth, its walls impossibly high and

they approached the entrance, a

ense of foreboding washing

s. Your regrets. The labyrinth draws on what lie

w heavy with the scent of damp stone. The walls seemed to hum faintly, and Kaelen realized with a sinkin

eading them in circles or into dead ends that hadn't been there moments before. The silence was broke

ele

kable. It was Elira's-soft,

alled out, sp

ip like iron. "Ignore it. The l

" Kaelen argued, despe

aid firmly. "Stay focused,

er, more insistent, and soon they were joined by other voices-voices he recognized. His moth

and Kaelen's breathing quicken

labyrinth shifts with your mind. To esc

wide chamber. In the center stood a shimmering pool of water, its su

it was too late. Kaelen stepped forward

himself and Elira as children, running through the fields near their home. They were laughing, c

" a voice whispere

his fists. "It w

"Or were you too careless, to

y found the Stone of Elaria. Kaelen saw himself hesitati

too," the voice hissed

ed, his voice echoin

pped beside him, his gaze heavy with understanding. "The

re his gaze away from the pool. "

guilt anchors you to the labyrinth. You mu

e what had happened, but he could fight for Elira now. He cle

ew straighter, the oppressive whispers fading to a distant murmur.

r archway, its surface etched with glowing rune

said. "Beyond lies the

t-lived. As they stepped through the archway, the ground be

ve creature, its form a shifting mass of shadow and fire. Its eyes bu

uardian," Haldwyn

Guardian's roars growing louder with every step. The path ahead tw

d slammed his staff into the ground, creating a b

r shouted. "I'l

left no room for argument. With a final glance

of his own labored breathing. At last, the path opened into a va

ooked around, he realized the Glade was eerily silent. Somewhere in this ethe