Chapter 31: The Abyss Beckons

When they reached the third spire, it was unlike anything they had seen before. The structure rose from a massive chasm, its jagged edges glowing with a faint blue light. The air around it was freezing, and a low, mournful wail emanated from its depths.

“This is it,” the leader said, his voice steady. “The third shard.”

As they approached, the ground beneath them shifted, and spectral figures emerged from the chasm. Their forms were translucent, their faces twisted in anguish.

“Spirits,” Zeryn whispered, a chill running down her spine.

“They’re not real,” the leader said. “They’re echoes, meant to break us.”

But the spirits didn’t attack. Instead, they spoke, their voices overlapping in a haunting cacophony.

“Why do you fight us?” one of them asked, its voice eerily similar to Zeryn’s own.

“We mean no harm,” another said. “We only want to be free.”

Zeryn hesitated, the shadows within her growing restless. “What… what are you?”

“We are what remains,” the spirits replied in unison. “Bound to the spires, trapped between light and dark. Destroy the spire, and we fade forever.”