The magic globe. The globe shattered, scattering fragments of glass and painted stars across the floor.
As the Barghest closed in, Elara noticed something glinting beneath a shard of the shattered globe. The Obsidian Shard. Small, no larger than her thumb, but radiating an undeniable aura of power.
It wasn't a myth. It was real.
Desperation overriding her fear, she snatched up the shard, its coldness shocking her skin. Holding it aloft, she began the incantation, her voice rising above the Barghest's growls, the ancient words resonating with a power she didn't know she possessed.
The air shimmered, the observatory filled with an ethereal light. The Barghest recoiled, momentarily paralyzed by the surge of energy. Elara pressed on, her voice gaining strength, the Obsidian Shard amplifying her words, drawing on something deep within her soul.
The sacrifice. The shard demanded a memory. A vivid, irreplaceable memory of Liam.
Agony ripped through her as she felt the shard tugging at her mind, homing in on the memory of their first kiss, beneath a canopy of starlight, the scent of honeysuckle heavy in the air. It was a perfect moment, a cornerstone of their love.
She fought against it, tears streaming down her face. But the shard was relentless, inexorable. The memory began to fade, becoming fragmented, hazy. Liam's smile, the warmth of his hand in hers, dissolving into nothingness.
With a final, wrenching surge, the memory was gone. Replaced by a hollow ache, a void where her first kiss should have been.
Then, a voice. A whisper, faint and distorted, but undeniably Liam's.
"Elara…"
The Barghest, sensing the shift in power, howled in frustration and vanished into the shadows. Elara stood trembling, the Obsidian Shard clutched tightly in her hand, the echoes of Liam's voice ringing in her ears.
He was there. Somewhere. But at what cost? And for how long? The ordeal had left her emotionally and physically drained. Gathering the items she could, she decided to leave the observatory for tonight.
"I'm here, Liam," she whispered into the silent observatory. "And I'll find you."