Page 134 of The Ascended
I fought against the current, arms and legs working desperately, but the pull was too strong. Within seconds, I was caught in its outer edge, being dragged inexorably toward its center.
THAIS!Thatcher's scream tore through our bond as the vortex swallowed me.
The last thing I saw was his face, contorted in horror, his hand reaching for mine across an impossible distance. Then everything dissolved into chaos as the cyclone claimed me, ripping me away from my brother and dragging me deeper into the unknown heart of Memorica.
Chapter 31
Currents of Memory
Violent currents toreat my limbs, threatening to rip them from their sockets. My body twisted in directions it was never meant to bend, pressure crushing my chest until I couldn't remember what breathing felt like. The enchantment on my throat burned with freezing fire, struggling to process the water churning around me.
Then came the visions.
The cyclone's eye trapped me in unnatural stillness, a pocket of impossible calm surrounded by raging chaos. The water shimmered, and suddenly I was surrounded by translucent figures—people in elaborate clothing walking through markets, living their lives in a city not yet claimed by the sea.
A girl chased a boy through what must have been a plaza, both laughing silently. Merchants haggled over glowing crystals and bottles filled with shimmering concoctions. Priests in ceremonial robes processed toward a temple.
Thalor appeared above the city, massive beyond comprehension, water swirling around him in impossible patterns. His form blocked out the evening sunset, casting the entire city in shadow. Below,priests scrambled in panic, some falling to their knees in prayer while others ran for the temples.
Without warning, he raised his arms. Water materialized from nothing—walls of it, torrents beyond imagining. The deluge crashed down on Memorica with divine fury. Buildings crumbled under the impact. Streets became rivers, then rapids, then deadly currents that swept away everything in their path. People ran, screamed, prayed—but there was nowhere to escape.
A voice whispered through the water, through my bones:The city remembers its death.
The vision shifted to a map—pulsing light showing three distinct locations within the ruins. Temple. City center. Amphitheater. Each marked with different keys.
Every truth costs something. The question is what you'll pay.
My fear, which had been simmering just beneath the surface, suddenly exploded—primal and overwhelming. It clawed up my throat and squeezed my lungs until I couldn't breathe. The cyclone wasn't just showing me visions, it was feeding on my terror, amplifying it a thousandfold.
The eye of the storm collapsed.
I was ejected with violent force, tumbling through water until I slammed against stone. Pain blossomed across my shoulder, but the physical hurt was nothing compared to the paralysis of absolute terror gripping my limbs.
A beast loomed above me—no longer the shark-like shadow from before, but an ancient monstrosity the size of a ship. Its skin was obsidian scales layered over each other like armor, its teeth longer than my forearm and sharp as knives.
My fear given flesh and purpose, grown to nightmarish proportions.
I couldn't move. Couldn't think. Could barely process that I was still alive as the creature circled above, its massive tail creating currents that pushed me against the ruined wall at my back. Every instinct screamed to flee, but my body refused to obey.
The beast dove.
Survival instinct finally broke through my paralysis. Starlight exploded from my fingertips, coalescing into a shield just as those terrible jaws snapped closed. Teeth scraped against light, the impact sending me tumbling backward through the water.
The monster circled for another pass, faster this time.
I forced myself to breathe, to think past the blind terror flooding my system. The shield wouldn't hold against another direct hit. I needed to fight back.
The starlight shifted in my hands, flowing like liquid until it hardened into a massive blade that gleamed with cold brilliance. The water around me seemed to constrict, every inch of my skin alive and screaming with awareness of the danger.
The beast charged again, jaws wide enough to swallow me whole.
I met it head-on.
My blade sliced through scales that should have been impenetrable, opening a massive gash along the creature's side. It thrashed in pain, black blood spilling from the wound and dissolving into the water. I felt a strange echo of that pain in my own side, a phantom burning that made me gasp.
The balance tipped inside me—paralyzing terror receding just enough to let rage take its place. This thing had tried to kill me. This manifestation of my own fear thought it could consume me.
"You came from me," I snarled, the words distorted by water but charged nonetheless. "You are mine to control!"
