For the first time in what felt like eternity, the void was silent. No screaming tendrils. No endless hunger clawing at the edges of thought. Only a stillness so profound it was almost suffocating.Kael floated in the ruins of what had once been the abyss, his body fractured beyond recognition. His skin glowed faintly violet, broken lines pulsing weakly as though the light inside him had barely survived the collapse. His wings were gone, burned away in the storm. His blade was dust. He could hardly even feel himself breathe.And yet he lived.His first thought was of her.He turned his head slowly, every movement agony, and saw Aria drifting close beside him. Her glow was faint, no more than a whisper of gold, but her chest still rose and fell. Her hair floated weightless, her face pale and worn, streaked with blood and ash. But her hand was still in his, fingers trembling yet firm.Relief crashed through him so strong he almost wept.“Aria…” His voice was broken, rasping, barely a so

The camp did not sleep that night Fear clung to the survivors like smoke curling around their throats The torches flickered casting shadows that seemed to crawl and twist with void born malice Every whisper carried suspicion every glance lingered too long on the skin of a neighbor as if searching for the black veins of corruptionKael had not moved since the dawn He remained on the ridge overlooking the burned grove his silhouette dark against the bleeding horizon His sword rested across his knees stained still with ichor that no fire could cleanse His mind replayed the faces of those he had cut down children mothers warriors alike All of them claimed by the infection before their hearts had time to beat againHe could hear the System’s voice echoing faintly inside him each word like a knife drawn across his skull[Containment unstable Vector spread probability 67% Threshold event imminent]The numbers shifted endlessly mocking him with their inevitabilityElara found him there Her ha

The mist was gone but its echo clung to the survivors like frost on the lungs Each man woman and wolf walked in silence their eyes darting to the tree line as if expecting the crystalline husks to return at any moment The children whimpered their small hands clutching at mothers who had no words left to soothe themKael walked at the head though his body screamed for rest His veins pulsed black across his jawline spreading into his temple like roots reaching for his mind His sword dragged faintly in the dirt leaving a thin line behind him With each step the whispers pressed harder filling his skull with promises he dared not heed[Strength Beyond Hunger][Unity Through Submission][No More Pain]He ignored them but each syllable carried weight heavy as stoneElara watched him with eyes like daggers She said nothing yet he felt her gaze on the back of his neck as constant as breath Garrick kept to the flank his axe across his shoulders His usual gruff humor was absent replaced by the g

The silence after the Warden’s destruction was almost unbearable The cavern reeked of smoke and silver dust and the pack’s ragged breathing echoed against the high crystal walls Kael knelt in the center his sword planted in the ground his shoulders trembling as if the weight of the void itself pressed upon themElara crouched beside him her hand tight around his wrist Her face was drawn pale but her eyes still burned “You did it Kael You killed it”Kael forced himself to breathe past the fire in his veins The silver eye flickered like a dying torch His skin crawled with the sensation of something alive beneath it not just blood but a second rhythm pulsing in time with his heartThe System’s voice returned cool and exacting[First Warden: Terminated][Core Stability: Reduced To 38%][New Pathways Unlocked][Warning: Host Corruption At 33%]Kael’s jaw clenched Every word scraped against his skull He wanted to scream it out of him but the whispers wouldn’t stop They were no longer distan

Kael’s body arched violently against the stone floor, his breath tearing from his chest in ragged bursts. His eyes were open but unfocused, clouded with a darkness that seemed to pulse beneath the surface. Elara’s hands pressed firmly to his chest as if sheer will alone could tether him to the world of the living. Around them, the chamber quaked under the strain of the Hollow Heart, its veins of shadow spreading like cracks across reality itself“Stay with me, Kael,” Elara whispered, her voice trembling though her grip never faltered. Her blood mingled with his where her nails had broken skin, a desperate attempt to anchor him to her. “Don’t you dare leave me now”But Kael wasn’t hearing her, not anymore. His consciousness had been dragged into the abyss, pulled deeper than ever before. He was falling through a vast chasm of shadow, weightless and untethered, until the fall stopped and he stood upon nothingness. A sea of swirling black mist stretched endlessly around him, and from it