The Void Heart Devourer

Chapter 7: The Uninvited Guest

The sky above the Holy City of Elarion remained shrouded in black clouds. Bolts of red lightning struck incessantly, plunging the entire city into panic. The protective formation, which had lain dormant for thousands of years, now emitted a golden radiance, forming a giant dome that enveloped the entire region.

Inside the Holy Hall, no one dared to move. The participants, who had previously been scrambling to showcase their talents, now only stared at one another with pale faces. The Awakening Ceremony, which should have been their proudest day, had turned into a nightmare.

"Report!"

A guard ran into the hall, gasping for breath.

"All the city gates have sealed themselves shut!"

"None of them can be opened!"

Commotion broke out once more.

"What does that mean?"

"Are we trapped?"

"That’s impossible!"

The Altar Guardian immediately raised his staff.

"Quiet!"

His voice echoed until the entire hall fell silent again.

"The Ancient Formation would not activate without cause."

He looked at the sky through the crystal dome.

"It means... there is something that is being perceived as a threat."

The gazes of the Patriarchs turned sharp.

Patriarch Draven stepped forward.

"A threat from outside?"

The Altar Guardian shook his head.

"Not necessarily."

"Then from where?"

The old man slowly turned his head.

His gaze rested directly on Akseli.

The entire hall followed his line of sight.

Akseli frowned.

"Me?"

Before the Altar Guardian could answer...

BOOOOM!

The floor of the Holy Hall shook violently.

Cracks snaked across the floor around the altar. Dust fell from the ceiling, while several stone pillars began to tremble.

"An earthquake?"

"No..."

An elder pressed his palm against the floor.

"The rhythm is irregular."

"As if there is something..."

"...trying to get out."

The words made everyone's hair stand on end.

At the same time, deep below the hall...

Behind a giant stone gate shackled in black chains, a pair of eyes slowly opened.

The sound of clinking chains broke the silence.

Clang...

Clang...

The figure slowly lifted its head.

Its face was still covered in shadows.

But its smile...

made the air in the dungeon grow colder.

"That aura..."

Its voice was raspy, as if it hadn't spoken in thousands of years.

"...I recognize it."

Its hand moved slowly.

One of the black chains wrapped around its arm instantly cracked.

Crack...

Then...

it snapped.

Meanwhile, in the Holy Hall, Akseli suddenly clutched his head.

"Ugh..."

His breathing grew ragged.

The voice that had been faint before was now filling his mind again.

"Come..."

"Descend..."

"I am waiting for you..."

Akseli squeezed his eyes shut.

"No more..."

He gritted his teeth.

"Who are you?"

There was no answer.

Only a low laugh could be heard.

A laugh that made his heart beat faster.

Eveliina, standing nearby, noticed the change.

"Do you see that?" she whispered to Edrik.

"There is something strange about him."

Edrik snorted.

"Strange?"

"I think he's a monster."

The remark was heard by several other participants.

It didn't take long for the whispers to spread.

"Look at his eyes."

"He must be possessed."

"That’s why the Awakening Crystal shattered."

More than a few participants began to distance themselves from Akseli.

As if standing too close to him could bring catastrophe.

However...

amidst all those stares...

only one person kept watching Akseli with a different expression.

The Altar Guardian.

The old man narrowed his eyes.

"No..."

he muttered.

"If it is as I suspect..."

"...then the legend is more than just a fairy tale."

Before he could finish his thought...

BOOOOM!!

A second explosion rocked the Holy Hall.

This time, it was far more powerful.

The altar floor...

collapsed.

A giant hole opened up directly beneath the shattered Awakening Crystal.

From within the darkness...

the sound of footsteps could be heard.

Thud...

Thud...

Thud...

Everyone held their breath.

Someone...

was walking up from depths that no one should ever be able to enter.

The sound of those footsteps echoed from within the abyss.

Thud...

Thud...

Thud...

No one moved. All attention was fixed on the giant hole that had opened in the center of the altar. Even the Patriarchs held their breath, waiting for the figure slowly approaching from the darkness.

A moment later...

The footsteps stopped.

The silence felt even more suffocating.

"Why did it stop?" a participant whispered.

"Does... does it see us?"

Before anyone could answer, a chill swept through the Holy Hall. The Aether torches on the walls went out in unison, leaving the room illuminated only by the faint light of the protective formation outside.

The Altar Guardian gripped his staff tighter.

"Everyone..."

"...fall back."

No one argued. The participants immediately moved away from the altar, while the elders stood in a defensive circle in front of the Patriarchs.

Patriarch Draven squinted toward the abyss.

"I cannot sense anyone's presence."

"That is what I fear," the Altar Guardian replied softly.

"Living beings must have a flow of Aether."

"But that thing down there..."

"...has nothing at all."

The statement made the atmosphere even stiller.

On the other side, Akseli clutched his head again. The whisper that had vanished earlier returned, clearer than before.

"Ascend..."

"I have been waiting for you..."

"For... thousands of years."

Akseli gritted his teeth.

"Enough..."

"I don't know you."

The voice laughed softly.

"Not yet."

"But you will remember everything."

Akseli’s body went rigid. For a second, his vision changed. The Holy Hall vanished, replaced by an expanse of red sky and a sea of fire. Thousands of figures knelt on land filled with corpses, while someone stood alone atop a black mountain.

Before the figure's face could be seen clearly...

The vision vanished.

"Akseli!"

His father’s shout brought him back to reality.

Patriarch Vainio was right by his side.

"What did you see?"

Akseli shook his head slowly.

"I... I don't know."

He wasn't lying. All those images felt so real, yet they disappeared before he could understand them.

Before they could speak again...

CRACK!

A hand emerged from the abyss.

The skin was pale, covered in black cracks that emitted a dim light. Its fingers gripped the edge of the altar slowly, leaving scorched marks on the sacred stone that had stood for millennia.

Several participants screamed and scrambled back.

"Is that a human?"

"No... that’s impossible!"

Edrik instinctively drew his sword.

"Whatever that is..."

"...don't let it out!"

He had only taken one step when Patriarch Laakso raised his hand.

"Stop."

"Father?" Eveliina stared at him in surprise.

Patriarch Laakso did not take his eyes off the altar.

"Do not be rash."

"An enemy we do not know is far more dangerous than an enemy that looks strong."

Everyone fell silent once more.

Slowly...

the owner of the hand began to pull its body up.

But strangely, only one arm appeared. The rest of the body remained hidden in the darkness, as if something were holding it down there.

That was when the Altar Guardian’s eyes widened.

"No..."

He seemed to recognize something.

His gaze fell upon the black chain still wrapped around the figure's arm.

"That is the SoulSevering Chain..."

One of the elders turned quickly.

"You know it?"

The Altar Guardian nodded slowly. His face had lost all color.

"I have seen its symbol..."

"...in a book that even the Grand Council is forbidden from opening."

Patriarch Draven turned instantly.

"What book?"

The Altar Guardian swallowed hard.

"The book of..."

He stopped speaking as the sound of chains echoed again.

CLANG!

One of the chains snapped.

A massive tremor instantly spread throughout the Holy Hall.

CLANG!

The second chain followed.

Every broken chain made the pressure inside the hall grow heavier. Some participants with weaker cultivation fell to their knees, clutching their chests.

"I..."

"I can't breathe..."

The Altar Guardian closed his eyes for a moment.

"It's too late..."

"What do you mean?" Patriarch Vainio asked.

The old man opened his eyes slowly.

"The seal..."

"...has begun to break."

Before anyone could ask further, Akseli’s hand trembled again. A faint black mark appeared on his palm for a brief moment, then vanished before anyone else could see it.

Only one pair of eyes noticed it.

The figure in the abyss.

For the first time...

it smiled.

"Finally..."

The deep voice echoed softly from behind the darkness.

"...I have found you."