The silence stretched between them like a chasm, broken only by the distant howls of creatures echoing through the dimension's perpetual twilight. Jack stood motionless, the medallion heavy against his chest, its weight seeming to increase with every passing second."So that's it then?" Lucy's voice cut through the tension, her eyes fixed on Sierra's retreating figure. "We're just going to let her walk away?""She made her choice," Seth said quietly, though his voice carried uncertainty. "We can't force her to come with us."Vince ran his hands through his hair, torn between loyalty to his sister and his companions. "I can't just let her go alone. She's stubborn, but she's still my sister."Jack felt the medallion pulse against his chest, a rhythmic throb that seemed to synchronize with his heartbeat. Something was changing. The system screen flickered at the edge of his vision, displaying fragmented warnings he couldn't quite focus on."Look, we need to make a decision quickly," Jack

The first creature lunged at Sierra with impossible speed, its form shifting between solid flesh and writhing shadow. She barely managed to throw herself sideways, the thing's claws scraping across the stone where she'd been standing just moments before."Sierra, get behind me!" Vince shouted, drawing his sword as he positioned himself between his sister and the growing horde of monsters spilling through the corrupted portal.But Sierra wasn't moving. She remained frozen, staring at the chaos she'd unleashed, her usual confidence completely shattered. "I did this," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the inhuman shrieks filling the air. "This is my fault.""Self-pity later, survival now!" Vince slashed at a creature that looked like a mass of writhing tentacles with too many eyes. His blade passed through it harmlessly—whatever these things were, they existed partially outside normal reality.More creatures poured through the portal, each one more nightmarish than the last. S

The icy water carried Jack through passages that shouldn't exist, his body tumbling through currents that flowed upward and sideways as much as down. The medallion against his chest had become scorching hot, its power surging in response to the dimensional chaos around them.**EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS ACTIVATED****POWER AMPLIFICATION: 400% AND RISING****WARNING: ENERGY DRAIN ACCELERATING**Jack felt the medallion's hunger awaken like a living thing. It wasn't just using his energy anymore—it was consuming it, feeding on his life force to power itself through the dimensional instability. But with each drop of his strength it took, his abilities grew exponentially more powerful.He could see through the murky water with perfect clarity, could sense every current and pressure change. More than that, he could feel Dwayne's presence somewhere ahead, growing weaker by the second.Fighting against the current with strength he didn't know he possessed, Jack swam through water that glowed with in

Jack and Dwayne emerged from the flooded caverns like refugees from a nightmare, soaked and shivering as they pulled themselves onto solid ground. The crystalline passages had finally led them to the surface, but Jack could barely stand. The medallion's drain on his energy had accelerated dramatically, and his vision kept shifting between dimensions without warning."There," Dwayne pointed toward the ancient ruins where they could see figures moving. "Sierra and Vince."But as they approached, Jack stumbled, his system interface flickering with overlapping displays from multiple realities. He could see Sierra and Vince at the ruins, but he could also see them as they existed in seventeen other dimensions simultaneously—some where they were dead, others where they were something inhuman.**HOST CORRUPTION LEVEL: 67%****DIMENSIONAL PERCEPTION: UNCONTROLLED****REALITY ANCHOR FAILING**"Jack?" Dwayne caught his arm as he swayed. "What's wrong?""I can see too much," Jack whispered, pres

"No." Dwayne stepped between Jack and the ancient dragon, his voice cutting through the dimensional static that surrounded them. "I won't let him do this. The trial was meant for trained guardians, not someone who's been corrupted for six days.""It's not your choice to make," Jack replied, though his voice carried harmonics that made it sound like multiple people speaking at once."Isn't it?" Dwayne's eyes blazed with desperate determination. "I'm the one who should have prevented this from happening in the first place. My clan were the guardians—I know the old ways, the preparation rituals. Let me take the medallion. Let me face the trial."Sierra looked up from the control pillar, her enhanced perception showing her the dimensional currents swirling around them. "You can't," she said quietly. "The medallion has bonded too deeply with Jack's system. Attempting to transfer it now would kill you both and leave the seal completely broken.""Then we destroy it," Seth declared, raising h