Racing Against Time
Author: Cindy Chen
last update2025-03-26 16:06:12

The moon hung like a silver sentinel in the ink-black sky, its pale glow casting eerie shadows over the winding dirt road. The night air was crisp, carrying the distant hoot of an owl and the rustling whispers of unseen creatures in the underbrush. Calen urged his stolen stallion forward, muscles coiled with tension, every hoofbeat pounding like a war drum against the earth.

His breath came fast, misting in the cold night air. Aerondale was close—too close for him to fail now.

But then—a flicker of movement in the trees. A shift in the darkness, a subtle warning that came too late.

Snap!

A rope lashed across the road with brutal precision. The stallion screamed, rearing up violently, its eyes rolling white with terror. The sudden force sent it toppling forward, legs tangling in the hidden snare. Its body slammed against the dirt with a sickening thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Calen barely had time to react. Instinct took over. He threw himself from the saddle just as the horse coll
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  • Real Battle

    The battlefield trembled beneath their feet.Above the shattered valley, dark clouds churned like a living beast. Calen stood alone, his silver eyes glowing faintly, cloak torn and hair matted with blood and ash. Across from him, the colossal form of Tharstan loomed, ancient, scaled, and terrible. His voice was the sound of mountains grinding against each other.“Blood of my blood… You resist your fate?”Lightning cracked across the heavens as Calen raised both hands, storm energy spiraling around him like a cyclone.“I resist you,” he spat. “This world doesn’t belong to your vengeance.”Tharstan let out a guttural laugh that echoed through the canyon, awakening fear in even the most hardened warrior.“You are not the first Stormborn to say that. But you will be the last.”Then came the roar of war horns.From the cliffs behind Calen, the armies of Vynoria and Aerondale surged forward—banners torn, armor scorched, but eyes burning with defiance. Queen Elara, wounded but unbowed, led h

  • The Dragon’s Blood

    The battlefield fell into a hush as the tremors subsided, leaving only the cries of wounded soldiers and the distant hiss of evaporating steam.Then… the mountain split open.A thunderous roar shattered the sky. From the sundered ruins of the ancient prison beneath Vynoria’s sacred ground, something vast emerged. Wings the size of cities unfurled—scarred, cracked, and burned through with time, yet pulsing with power. Scales like molten obsidian glinted beneath the dimming sun as the massive form rose, blotting out the heavens.The great dragon had returned.“Tharstan,” Aelion Draeven breathed, horror thick in his voice. “He… comes.”Gasps echoed across the broken battlefield. The Vynorian legions, bloodied but unbowed, stumbled back. The ranks of Aerondale, struck mute by awe and dread, dropped their blades and shields.All stood still—facing the beast of legend.Calen Storm remained rooted. Wind tore at his cloak, stormlight dancing in his eyes. That presence—he knew it. Not from mem

  • The River’s Wrath

    The chamber shook with a low, resonant hum. Calen steadied himself beside Avenya’s unconscious form, sweat dripping from his brow. Carmen knelt near the young girl, her hands glowing faintly as she checked her pulse.“She’s alive,” Carmen whispered. “But barely.”Calen exhaled in relief—but something was different. The air vibrated with power, not from him, not from Carmen… but from her.A faint glow emanated from Avenya’s chest, pulsing in rhythm with her heartbeat. The broken symbols on the ritual circle flared to life again—not in menace, but in harmony. Blue and silver threads of energy spiraled upward, weaving into the air.“The River…” Calen muttered. “It’s… not weakening.”Carmen looked up. “No. It’s strengthening. The ritual—it didn’t just try to sever the bond. It... deepened it. Strengthened the link between Avenya and the Sacred River.”Suddenly, a distant roar echoed through the underground passage. A great wave of magic surged outward like a silent thunderclap.***Above

  • The Heart of The Sacrifice

    The echo of Carmen’s words—“We’re too late”—hung heavy in the air. The chamber trembled slightly under their feet, as if the Sacred River above them was reacting to the final moments of Avenya’s heartbeat.Calen stepped forward, his boots crunching against broken crystal and scorched stone. His breath was ragged, every muscle in his body screaming from the last battle, but his eyes—storm-filled and unwavering—burned with renewed purpose.“No,” he said, voice like thunder. “We’re not too late. She’s still alive. I can feel it.”Carmen knelt beside Liora’s unconscious body, gently brushing dust from her bloodied face. “She’s weak… but breathing. The crystal drained her energy, but it didn’t kill her.”A sudden pulse of ancient magic surged from deeper within the temple. Carmen winced, clutching her head.“The ritual’s not done,” she whispered. “They’re binding her spirit to the heart of the river… If they complete the circle—Avenya dies, and the Sacred River dies with her.”Calen turned

  • The Temple Beneath the River

    The Sacred River churned restlessly beneath a sky choked with smoke and stormclouds. Its waters, once luminous with divine essence, had turned murky and cold—like a serpent writhing in pain.Carmen staggered to her knees at the riverbank, clutching her chest.“Carmen?” Calen rushed to her, his voice hoarse from hours of battle.She gasped, eyes wide. “It’s pulling me… the river—it knows.”The pendant around her neck flared violently, searing her skin. Blood trickled down her collarbone, and the vision struck like a hammer to the soul.Avenya, bound in light and blood, her scream echoing through stone.Liora, chained and forgotten, whispering her last prayer in darkness.And beneath them both, the temple—hidden where light cannot reach.Carmen’s eyes rolled back. She collapsed.“Carmen!” Calen caught her before she hit the ground, but her body convulsed in his arms. He pressed a hand to her forehead—burning hot.“Breathe—Carmen, stay with me!”The water beside them began to rise.Not i

  • The Storm That Stands Alone

    A curved blade sang toward his neck—but Calen ducked low, twisting, and released a crack of thunder that threw her off balance. He turned into a spin, his foot sweeping the battlefield, summoning a cyclone that scattered the flames and soldiers alike.Ebran chanted, his arms glowing with Aerondale’s war sigils. Pillars of fire erupted from the sky—an invocation forbidden by Vynorian laws. Calen raised a shield of wind above him, but the impact still threw him back, skidding across broken stone and ash.He coughed up blood. But he rose.“You’ll die for that child?” Nyra sneered, reappearing in front of him.“I’ll die for every child you would silence,” Calen roared.And then he surged forward—lightning wreathing his body, his storm magic no longer just a weapon, but an oath.Their blades clashed mid-air—wind against shadow, thunder against silence.Every strike shook the earth.Every heartbeat echoed the song of the Sacred River, now screaming for justice.But Calen knew—this wasn’t ju

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