Wales, United Kingdom. A gray portal suddenly opened. Several agents stepped out, all of them exhausted, while a black, human-shaped shadow carried an injured woman in its arms. Security agents surrounded them. The shadow looked at them and said:
—She is badly injured. Do not let her die. If she dies, it will become difficult for me to remain in this form in this plane.
—Yes, sir —they replied in unison.
One of the agents used his intercom.
—We need a stretcher and emergency medical personnel in the south wing. Miss Iara is in critical condition. I repeat, Miss Iara is badly injured.
Valerius and Markus watched in silence as Iara was treated. One of the agents took the pendant Iara was wearing around her neck and handed it to Valerius.
—This is the relic. It is undamaged.
He immediately walked away.
Valerius took the relic and looked toward the wall, where a stone slab hung with the figure of something that looked like an eagle, but with four wings. In the center of the eagle was a slot where he placed the gem.
Suddenly, the eagle's eyes began to emit flashes of light and turned emerald green.
—Well, what an unexpected development. I never thought my brother had hidden one of the six relics in such a remote place...
CHINA — RESEARCH GROUP CAMP
I was kneeling with my arms resting on my thighs. My clothes were stained with blood. I looked around and saw all the bodies covered with black blankets. For a moment, my thoughts drifted away.
It wasn't the first time I had seen someone die, but it was the first time I had killed someone.
Eleonor sat down beside me. Without saying a word, she took my head and rested it against her shoulder. I felt the warmth of her skin, and it made me feel comforted. Her skin felt soft and warm. It had been a long time since I had felt this way.
—Noah, everything is under control now. You can tell us everything —Elena asked me.
For a moment, I didn't know how to begin, even though I knew I had to. My mind was still a whirlwind: what I had seen while I was in that dimensional space, the fragment of consciousness, the fight with Iara, and, what confused me the most, that shadow. Something deep inside me gave me the feeling that I had known it long before.
While I was speaking with Elena, Sophie was checking the communications equipment, and Kenji was uploading some documents to his tablet.
Irina approached with firm steps and said:
—The reinforcements will arrive soon. They already confirmed that the Chinese government has granted permission for access. We will be able to recover all the laboratory equipment. Everything went well after all.
But I knew that everything had not gone well.
At that moment, Sophie sighed and said:
—Not everything went well.
She looked again at the five bodies of her fallen teammates and sighed once more.
—Thank you for giving your lives to protect us.
My body still hurt, but the pain was bearable. I looked at everyone.
—I have to tell you what I saw in the chamber when I was taken to that dimensional space.
Everyone turned toward me.
Eleonor stood up and sat beside me.
When I touched the bracelet, my consciousness traveled to a place that I can only compare to what I saw when I entered the memory chamber in the Sevianko mansion.
As I tried to understand where I was, a golden light materialized and began speaking to me. It said it was a fragment of the First Bearer... It wasn't just a vision.
It felt so real.
—What did it tell you? —Sophie asked.
I took a deep breath.
—It told me that I was born for this. That my birth was planned. That my bloodline had been cultivated for generations so that I would arrive here, at this moment. The Mark did not choose me by accident.
It also told me that the First Bearer fragmented his consciousness into the relics. One of them is the one the ÓBroin family has protected for thousands of years.
The other families also have a relic containing a part of his consciousness, and when all of them are brought together, the First Bearer's consciousness will be released and inhabit my body.
Eleonor suddenly stood in front of me and grabbed me by the shoulders.
—Then what you saw that time was true?
Her eyes showed genuine concern.
—And tell me, what will happen to you?
—I don't know. Before I could ask him anything else, he simply disappeared.
After that, my vision blurred, and the next thing I saw was you being attacked by that beast. That was when I began fighting Iara. It was at that moment that I noticed my magical power had increased, and it wasn't just my power.
My combat abilities had increased, and, most surprisingly, I had new powers.
—One of them was the golden lightning you used to defeat Iara's snake —Irina asked.
—Yes. I can also sense when I am about to be attacked. And I don't know how, but I can predict other people's movements before they make them, as if I could see the future.
—And a protective barrier that activates without you summoning it? How is that possible? —I said.
—Orla and I have the ability to create protective barriers, but we have to concentrate in order to create them. How is it possible for yours to activate without you even thinking about it? I can't explain it either, but it saved me twice by activating on its own.
—How did Iara manage to escape? —Irina asked.
I remained silent for a couple of seconds, remembering that moment.
—After I defeated her, I told her I wouldn't kill her. I needed her to tell us why she had betrayed the Guardian Families. Suddenly, the barrier covered me, and an enormous force struck me. It was so powerful that I lost my vision for a moment.
When my senses stabilized, I saw it.
—Eleonor, do you remember that figure that attacked us at the Orleans mansion, the one that looked like a shadow?
Eleonor's face hardened.
—Of course I remember.
—I think it was the same one. It told me that it needed Iara alive and opened a dimensional portal through which they all escaped. I tried to stop them, but I passed out, and the next thing I remember is seeing all of you beside me.
—I have no idea who or what it is, but judging by the impact of its attack, I can only say that it is extremely powerful. Much more powerful than Iara.
While Noah, Eleonor, and everyone else continued waiting for the transport team, in Wales, Valerius and Markus listened carefully.
—Things are becoming complicated. I never expected that kid to find and activate one of the relics and actually be able to assimilate its power. I think I underestimated my brothers' plan. Now we'll have to be more aggressive if we want to have everything ready before the main seal finishes breaking...