Felix stood hunched over his cluttered worktable, the pale glow of lamplight casting flickering shadows on the walls of the stone chamber. Outside, the mountain wind howled like a restless spirit, slipping through the cracks and tugging at the edges of his tattered notes. His brow was furrowed in relentless concentration as he traced a glowing line on the talisman's surface. Other research, once meticulously organized and prioritized, now lay in disarray, discarded in favor of the artifact that consumed his every waking thought.
"I'm close," he murmured, almost to himself. His voice was hoarse, dry from hours—no, days—of silence. "I can feel it shifting.. Like it's... responding." A grin appeared on his face.
A figure stepped into the room's dim perimeter. Seris, his quiet sentinel, was swathed in a dark cloak, her eyes gleaming with faint, silver light. She moved with soundless grace, the deadly elegance of a blade drawn but not yet struck.
"You haven't slept or eaten, young lord," she said, her tone even but edged with concern.
Felix barely glanced up. "How can I? This talisman—it's more than just an object. It speaks to something beyond us. I've seen the epic talisman from Imperial Knight August like this, but this is stronger than that one; its line is complicated. And the resonance lines—they're not just decorative. They're pathways. Connective threads."
"To what?" she asked, stepping closer.
He looked up then, eyes fever-bright. "I don't know yet, but it's like another realm!". While that epic talisman held by Knight August is like a key, this one is a door talisman itself to a dimension!"
Seris frowned. "Unknown often hides behind peril. I've felt it too, Felix. That thing… it stinks of something ancient. And hungry."
He gave a dry chuckle, the sound devoid of real mirth. "Everything worth learning is dangerous. Isn't that what the other used to say?"
Seris didn't answer. Instead, her eyes drifted to the giant form of the talisman. Her stance shifted subtly, a coiled tension in her limbs. Protective. Worried.
Outside, the mountain was growing colder by the day, as if the artifact itself drew warmth from the world. Snow clung to the ledges like mold, and the howling winds carried whispers—indistinct but chilling.
Felix returned to his work, his fingers trembling slightly as he rearranged ancient texts across the stone surface. Days had blurred into weeks. Each glyph is cross-referenced. Each magical pulse is recorded. But only now, after nearly a month, did the talisman begin to respond.
A faint shimmer rippled across the surface.
"Seris—look," he breathed.
She stepped beside him warily, eyes narrowing. The talisman no longer lay inert. Threads of radiant energy danced like veins across its surface, weaving together in intricate, shifting patterns. Lines of power, once hidden, now pulsed with a heartbeat of their own.
Felix's hands hovered just above the object, his breath shallow. "It's not just a focus. It's a pathway."
Seris stiffened. "A path to where?"
He didn't answer immediately. His gaze had grown distant, his mind racing. "Someplace else. A realm outside our understanding. Not sealed by accident, but by necessity."
"You intend to open it." Her voice was flat, brittle.
"I have to," he said, swallowing hard. "Whatever lies beyond this—could change my perspective. Our cultivation, our understanding of spiritual energy, even the cycle of life and death itself."
Seris reached forward and seized his wrist. Her grip was firm but not cruel.
"Felix, you're not ready. No one is. I've been protecting you from the horrors of this mountain—but that thing is worse. You said it yourself. You don't understand it yet."
He looked at her hand, then up into her eyes. "And if I wait, the knowledge might vanish. Opportunities like this… they don't come twice. You know that."
Silence hung between them, thick with tension. The wind outside moaned, and the light within the talisman brightened, as if stirred by the heat of their argument.
Seris's expression faltered. "Just promise me… if it begins to open… you'll pull back."
He hesitated, then nodded. "I promise."
But even as he said it, something in the air changed. The talisman pulsed—once, then again—each beat stronger than the last. The lines of light began to spin faster, forming a vortex of raw energy.
Felix's breath caught. "No… It's happening now—"
A blinding light burst forth. The chamber screamed with raw, violent force, the very walls trembling. Felix stumbled back, arm raised to shield his eyes.
She lunged forward—but it was too late.
The talisman exploded in brilliance. A violent vortex erupted, swirling with energy both radiant and ravenous. Felix was lifted from the ground, drawn toward the center with irresistible force.
"FELIX!" Seris cried, her composure shattered. She lunged again, reaching out with desperation in her eyes, but the portal consumed him before her fingers could brush his.
A final scream of magic—and then silence.
The room dimmed. The talisman lay inert, a blackened husk. The scent of ozone lingered like a ghost.
Seris stood frozen, her outstretched hand trembling. Her face, usually impassive and stern, was twisted with horror and guilt.
"I failed you…" she whispered, barely able to breathe the words.
She dropped to her knees, her aura flickering like a dying flame. Tears welled in her eyes but did not fall. She had guarded him against monsters, assassins, and curses—but not against his own ambition.
Now, he was gone.