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Its crystalline vestment was wrinkled and weathered. Its body trembled, smeared with clouds of dirt, brown dust, and grime.

Plex-like steel chains, long, thick, and unwieldy, were strung across its arms and legs, their lengths disappearing into the mist of the shifting scenes behind it.

The creature extended its shackled fists with a wail. ‘Leave me be! My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes also has gone from me!’

The being’s cry carried echoes of a wildfire out of control; its deep inhales a vortex of wind and screams.

It was the sound of desperation, pain, and sadness. It lifted its arms, rattling its constraints, making the most clattering noise.

Zane faced the entity, softening. ‘We mean you no disservice.’

The wretched soul paused, studying the tall, lean Rider who loomed above it.

‘Who are you?’ It trembled with unease and paranoia as it took a tentative step forward, its clanging chains agitating behind it.

‘Zane Sable.’

‘How are you able to command the Shard?’

Zane, who’d long since come to terms with his unusual abilities, jerked his chin at it. ‘I am a Nigh High Omni Psi. Among many other things. I’ve come to help ease your anguish.’

The creature bucked like a serpent had torn at it. ‘In exchange for what?’

The Rider ignored the creature’s question. ‘Why are you so distressed?’

It sniffed and looked away, moving as if to return to its silvery confines.

Killen made a sudden and unannounced statement. ‘Peace is yours for the taking, only if you listen.’

The Shard soul paused midstep and whirled around, its eyes fixed on the Katánian colossus. ‘You’re different. Not an Omni Psi.’

It gasped. ‘You’re the power I’ve been seeking. I did not know what, who, or where you were except that your presence was palpable over this planet. I was so lonely in this mist-forsaken land and tried to reach out to you, to connect with you.’

Killen grunted, his voice taking on a set edge. ‘You sought to commune with me. However, I lost sight because your search and forceful pull on my hawkstone were desperate.’

The creature clapped a hand over its mouth. ‘I didn’t mean you any harm.’

It spoke with such deep sorrow that Killen’s face softened. ‘No matter. Why did you need me?’

‘I sensed the power of the hereafter in you, of the eye. I thought that if we worked together, we could search for where the other sections of my whole had disappeared.’

‘Is that what upsets you?’ Killen asked. ‘That your other parts have vanished?’

The creature’s eyes fell. ‘We were once one. Imagine being a single body and then having your limbs torn from you. Imagine the suffering you would feel knowing part of your very being and soul was taken from you. I was so alone and abandoned in this expanse. The pain became so unbearable that I began to go mad. Until I sensed you. I refused to heal anyone, to deal with anyone else unless I could speak with you.’

‘I believe you.’ Killen made sounds of commiseration. ‘The worst poverty is loneliness.’

It nodded. ‘You understand. I want to return to companionship. Away from this agonizing solitude and constant disappointment.’

Zane shot it a small smile. ‘We may have good news for you. I’ve met one like you.’

The Lost Shard’s embodiment gave a little clap and gasped, its tiny face unfolding into hope. ‘Where are they?’

‘We can take you to them. They reside somewhere safe after I found them abandoned under our moon’s surface.’

For the first time, the ethereal creature’s eyes brightened. ‘That will be a gift I cannot repay.’

‘Perhaps you might be able to help us instead, ‘ Zane murmured. ‘We have a friend with us who is gravely ill. There’s also Killen, whom you turned blind, and his mother, whose sight is receding. They need your healing touch.’