Chapter 90: The Heart of the Rift

Magnus thrust the artifact into the center of the gap, causing it to quake fiercely as his heart pounded in time with the rushing energy. He could feel himself being pushed in all directions as the world around him seemed to stretch and distort like a rubber band.

His throat tightened each breath. A representation of the rift's warped power, the dark thing loomed before him, its form wavering in and out of focus. It smiled, its eyes icy and brimming with evil hunger.

"You believe you have triumphed?" The sound of the creature's speech sounded like metal scrapping across ice. "What has already been done cannot be reversed. The rift never goes away.

Magnus clenched his jaw, resisting the rift's pull. He was not finished yet. He had one last chance to put an end to this.

He heard Celeste's feeble yet frantic voice behind him. "Magnus..."

At the sound, his heart pounded. He could not allow her to elude him once more. When he turned to face her, he saw that she was having difficulty standing and that her body was fluttering as though she were about to fade into the rift.

Magnus realized that Celeste was not the only person in danger when the creature's laughing reverberated across the cavern. He was losing everything he had battled for.

Magnus shot toward the abyss as the ground underneath them shattered open and a tremendous surge of energy burst from the hole.

Magnus's eyesight became blurry as his body crashed against the sharp rocks. He pushed aside the pain that was coursing through him. He had to avoid becoming sidetracked. The intensity of the rift was destabilizing, and reality itself was starting to rip along with it.

With his eyes racing, he pushed himself to his feet, but there was no time to pause. The beast needed to be stopped, but more crucially, Celeste needed to be saved.

Behind him, there came a cry, but this time it was different. Celeste was screaming in pain rather than calling his name. Dark tendrils of energy encircled her limbs, drawing her into the breach as he turned to see her writhing.

"No!" Magnus yelled, but the rising boom of the rift's power overpowered his words. It was consuming the world around him, suckling everything in. She would be lost forever if he did not take quick action.

The strands snapped back as he charged at her, and he was sprawled again.

Magnus became aware that he would not be able to get to her in time as the rift's hold became stronger with each step. He heard a deep voice say, "Magnus, it is too late. She is now a part of the rift.

Magnus gasped for air as he fought to his feet. Blood throbbed in his ears as his heart raced. Celeste was drifting away, and the rift was eating her.

Still pulsing with an unexplained force, his hands shook as he grabbed for the relic. In the face of this enormous force, it appeared to be nothing more than a worthless relic, even if it had been his sole hope.

Once more, the creature's shape changed, solidifying. It stepped forward and loomed over him. Its eyes sparkled with savage laughter.

Its voice was brimming with satisfaction as it stated, "You cannot stop the inevitable." "The world and she are both mine. Magnus, you are going to perish. By themselves.

Magnus was not finished, though. After everything they had battled for, he was not going to allow it to prevail. Using all of his last strength, he roared as he pushed the relic farther into the rift.

Magnus resisted the rift's rage-filled screams. The energy flowing through him caused his eyesight to blur, and he briefly believed he may faint.

Then everything fell silent as a burst of dazzling light burst from the fissure.

Magnus found himself standing by himself in an unfamiliar, hazy area as the light dimmed. The cavern was gone along with the rift. A huge, limitless emptiness that stretched in all directions took its place.

His chest pounded with his heart. Celeste was where? The beast was where?

"Magnus..."

The sound of her voice, distinct and unmistakable, made him freeze. She was standing in front of him as he turned, but she was not who he recalled. There was something unsettling about her appearance, and her eyes were wide with confusion.

"Celeste?" Magnus's words were trapped in his throat, and his voice was hardly audible.

Her face went blank for a second, but then her eyes flashed with realization. "Magnus, what took place? "Where are we?"

Magnus experienced a brief moment of relief, but it was soon eclipsed by a more profound worry. There was a problem. The rift was gone, but was it really gone? Or had it only changed shape?

Celeste disappeared before Magnus's eyes as a burst of light engulfed her figure as he reached for her. He scurried to find her and yelled, "No!" but the area around him started to twist again.

Magnus's thoughts were racing as the world fell apart once more. As though reality itself were distorting, the emptiness twisted and distorted. Although Celeste's voice was faint and far away, like an echo from another planet, he could still hear it calling to him.

He needed to locate her. He needed to ensure her safety.

His surroundings changed with each blink as he rushed through the shifting darkness, his every step driven by desperation. She had been affected by the rift. Although it had not taken her, it had altered her. Not quite yet.

He was suddenly confronted by a towering, shadowy person whose features were hidden by the whirling fog. It was the animal.

Its voice was icy and decisive as it continued, "I warned you, Magnus." "You can not run from what is coming."

When the thing approached, Magnus's breath seized in his chest, and its eyes glowed strangely.

Magnus fell into a new abyss as the ground underneath him crumbled as the creature's hand reached out and touched his chest.