The brilliant light swallowed them whole, and for a brief moment, everything around Shai went still. It was a strange kind of quiet—the kind that made him feel like he wasn’t quite in the real world anymore, but somewhere between memory and dream. His hand tightened around the Orb of Lumina, which pulsed with energy, responding to the strange forces at play.

Suddenly, the light faded, and Shai found himself standing in a different place entirely. Gone were the dark, pulsing walls of the cavern. Instead, he stood in a vast expanse of marble halls, their pillars towering into the sky. The air was thick with the scent of incense, and golden sunlight streamed through open windows, casting long, gentle shadows on the floor. It was a place of serenity and reverence.

Aya and Kael appeared beside him, equally disoriented but alert.

"Where… are we?" Kael’s voice was low, his usual confidence replaced by uncertainty.

Shai glanced around, trying to make sense of it. "I don’t know. This place feels… familiar. But not in the way it should." His eyes narrowed, and he turned to the Orb in his hand, feeling its weight like a compass pulling him forward. 

Aya took a step toward one of the massive windows, gazing out at the endless horizon. "This isn’t any place we’ve seen before," she said quietly, her voice almost lost in the stillness. "But… it feels ancient. Like the echoes of something long forgotten."

Shai nodded. It was as if the entire place was a memory, not just of a time, but of a world that had existed before the Sundering. He walked forward, the soft hum of energy in the air intensifying with each step.

As they moved deeper into the hall, the marble walls seemed to come alive, shifting and transforming. Symbols—old and worn—glowed faintly, their meanings just out of reach. Shai felt a pull toward them, an urge to understand the stories they told.

But before he could decipher them, the tranquil atmosphere was shattered by a voice—a low, raspy whisper that seemed to crawl out from the cracks of the marble itself.

“You… shouldn’t… be… here.”

Shai froze, his heart pounding in his chest. He glanced at Aya and Kael, who had also stopped in their tracks. The voice, though quiet, carried an ominous weight.

The air grew colder. Slowly, the shadows cast by the pillars began to stretch, twisting unnaturally across the floor. Shai could feel the dark energy returning, creeping back into the hall like a predator stalking its prey.

“You seek the truth,” the voice continued, now louder and more insistent, “but you will find only despair.”

Aya drew her sword, her eyes narrowing as she stepped forward. “Show yourself!”

The shadows pooled together at the center of the hall, coalescing into a tall, hooded figure. Its presence was suffocating, and Shai felt the weight of its gaze—even though its face remained hidden beneath the dark hood.

“You are too late,” the figure hissed. “The Sundering is beyond repair. The worlds have been broken… and so have you.”

Shai swallowed hard, his grip tightening around the Orb. “Who are you?”

The figure’s hollow laugh echoed through the hall, sending chills down Shai’s spine. “I am the one who knows. The keeper of memories. The witness to your failure.”

Aya stepped forward, sword raised. “We haven’t failed anything. We’re still here, and we’re going to fix this.”

The figure’s head turned slightly toward Aya. “Bold words, child. But you cannot undo the destruction that has already begun.”

Shai felt a surge of defiance rise within him. “We can try.”

The figure turned its attention back to Shai, its voice low and menacing. “The truth you seek lies in the past… but the past is a dangerous place. Some memories are better left buried.”

Without warning, the figure’s form began to ripple and distort, its shape growing larger and more grotesque. The shadows twisted and writhed around it, and soon, the entire hall was filled with a suffocating darkness. Shai could feel the weight of it pressing down on him, like a tidal wave of despair threatening to drown them all.

“Run!” Kael shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos.

But Shai stood frozen, his mind racing as the dark energy swirled around him. He could feel the pull of the past, the weight of the ancient prophecy pressing on his shoulders. The answers he sought were here, in this place, hidden beneath layers of forgotten history.

Yet the darkness was too strong. It clawed at his mind, filling him with doubt and fear.

"Shai!" Aya’s voice broke through the haze, snapping him back to reality. She grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the encroaching shadows. "We need to go, now!"

Shai stumbled forward, his legs heavy as he forced himself to move. The three of them ran, their footsteps echoing through the marble halls as the darkness closed in behind them.

But just as they reached the entrance to the hall, the ground beneath them began to tremble. The walls cracked, and chunks of marble fell from the ceiling, crashing down around them.

"Shai!" Kael’s voice was frantic. "We’re not gonna make it!"

Shai’s heart pounded in his chest. He glanced back at the dark figure, which had grown even larger, its shadowy tendrils reaching out toward them. They couldn’t outrun it. Not like this.

In that moment of desperation, Shai made a split-second decision. He stopped running and turned to face the darkness, raising the Orb of Lumina above his head.

“What are you doing?!” Aya shouted, her eyes wide with shock.

Shai ignored her. He could feel the Orb reacting to the darkness, its light flickering and growing stronger. He focused all his energy on it, willing it to push back the shadows.

The Orb began to glow, brighter and brighter, until its light was blinding. The darkness recoiled, hissing and writhing as the light cut through it.

For a brief moment, Shai felt hope. The light was winning. The darkness was retreating.

But then, without warning, the light of the Orb flickered and died.

The shadows surged forward, engulfing them all.