The cavern's oppressive air thickened as Kael and Liora approached the rift, its inky tendrils writhing with malevolent energy. The shard in Liora's hand pulsed in rhythm with the void, illuminating ancient carvings on the cavern walls. Their confessions lingered, a fragile thread binding them as they deciphered the truth together.
Liora traced the runes, her voice steady. "These say the rift was opened by our ancestors—a joint Solaris-Lunari experiment to control power." She paused, her eyes widening. "Their obsession with dominance split them apart, and this was the result."
Kael's fist clenched, his voice a low growl. "So our hatred's built on their failure? They wanted to rule, and we're paying for it." He glared at the rift, its energy mocking their legacy.
The shard flared, projecting a vision of Solaris and Lunari mages united, then clashing, their magic tearing the world asunder. The image faded, leaving a heavy silence. Liora's gaze softened. "We've been fighting their war, not ours."
Kael nodded, his anger giving way to resolve. "Then we break it. No more cycles." Their eyes met, a shared determination replacing the venom. They vowed to end the rift, though trust remained fragile, tempered by the weight of their ancestors' sins.
They gripped the shard, its power steadying as they turned to the task ahead. The rift loomed, a challenge to their newfound alliance, its secret a call to rewrite their future.