The mist around the obsidian altar slowly swallowed Vespera and Caelen, transforming the shattered stone landscape into a twisting dimensional corridor of deep violet and silver. Above their heads, millions of meteor fragments streaked slowly past like a shower of light frozen in the air.
Vespera led the way, her footsteps feather-light on the transparent path of magical energy. Yet her vigilance never dropped for even a second. She could feel traces of the pursuers’ magic vibrating through the corridor—a sign that the assassins from the Aethelgard Sky Kingdom were not far behind.
“You walk too fast for someone who just escaped death, Vespera,” Caelen called from behind, his voice clear amid the dimension’s constant hum. The man matched her pace, his glowing turquoise eyes watching the darkness to their left.
“If you’re tired, you can stay behind and surrender to the assassins,” Vespera replied coldly without turning around.
Caelen chuckled softly, the deep baritone only making Vespera tighten her grip on the soul crystal dagger. “Being left behind by you isn’t an appealing option. Especially when I still have plenty to tell you about your past.”
Vespera stopped abruptly. Caelen nearly crashed into her back. The dimensional guardian turned around and fixed him with a sharp, demanding stare.
“Tell me now,” Vespera hissed, her voice trembling faintly with the anger and curiosity she had kept suppressed all this time. “What are the elders hiding from me? What is my connection to the Aethelgard Sky Kingdom?”
Before Caelen could open his mouth, the air around them suddenly turned to ice. The dimension’s hum vanished, replaced by the sound of metal wings scraping against the void—the unmistakable sound of the Inquisitor, an elite force of silver-armored assassins from the Aethelgard Sky Kingdom.
Whoosh!
A golden energy arrow shot through the mist, aimed straight at Caelen’s chest.
“WATCH OUT!” Vespera shouted. With a reflex as fast as lightning, she shoved Caelen aside and deflected the arrow with her dagger, creating a blinding burst of magical light in the darkness of the dimensional corridor.