The Void Heart Devourer

Chapter 8: An Uninvited Guest part 2

The sound of chains echoed once more.

CLANG!

Another black chain snapped. The pressure filling the Sacred Hall surged manifold. Several participants with weaker cultivation fell to their knees clutching their chests, while others retreated with pale faces.

"It’s breaking out!" a patriarch shouted.

"Not on my watch!" Patriarch Draven snapped.

Without waiting for further orders, he raised both hands. Blazing red Aether gathered in his palms, morphing into a giant spear that radiated immense pressure.

"SkySplitting Spear!"

The spear shot straight toward the abyss.

Before it could even touch the mysterious figure...

BOOM!

A wave of blackness erupted from the depths of the darkness.

The Aether spear simply vanished.

It didn't shatter.

It didn't bounce off.

It was... devoured.

The entire hall froze.

Patriarch Draven stared at his own palms in disbelief.

"That..."

"My Aether is gone."

No one had time to process the event before Patriarch Kallio and Patriarch Laakso made their moves. Two massive waves of Aether were unleashed simultaneously, powerful enough to level a mountain.

Yet the result remained the same.

The black wave emerged again.

All attacks vanished without a trace.

The Altar Guardian screamed out.

"Stop!"

"Do not attack anymore!"

Everyone turned to look at him.

The old man gritted his teeth, staring at the black chains still coiled around the figure's body.

"Every attack of yours..."

"...is feeding the seal."

"What do you mean?" asked Patriarch Vainio.

"This seal absorbs Aether."

"The more energy you provide..."

"...the faster it weakens."

That sentence caused the faces of all the patriarchs to turn pale.

They had just committed the greatest mistake.

As if to prove the Altar Guardian's words...

CLANG!

Another chain snapped.

Now, only three remained.

A low chuckle echoed from within the abyss.

"Hahaha..."

The voice was raspy and old, yet carried an authority that made the air feel heavy.

"Thousands of years..."

"You have finally come again."

No one dared to answer.

Even the patriarchs stood there with tense expressions.

The figure slowly raised its head. Its face remained shrouded in shadow, but its eyes began to emerge. They were pitch black, devoid of light, as if they could swallow the soul of anyone who gazed into them.

Eveliina instinctively stepped back.

"His eyes..."

"I can't see anything."

Edrik, usually the loudest, chose to remain silent. The sword in his hand trembled violently, as if afraid to draw near the owner of those eyes.

The figure shifted its gaze.

Not toward the patriarchs.

Not toward the Altar Guardian.

But...

toward Akseli.

Its smile slowly widened.

"So..."

"...you are the one who awakened me."

Akseli's heart hammered against his chest.

"I don't know you."

"Of course not."

The voice sounded like it was mocking a child.

"Because they have taken all of your memories."

The sentence made Akseli freeze.

"What do you mean?"

The figure did not answer immediately. It slowly raised its right hand. The chains wrapped around its arms began to vibrate violently.

CLANG!

Another chain snapped.

Only two remained.

The Altar Guardian turned deathly pale.

"If the last two chains break..."

"...nothing will be able to stop it."

Patriarch Draven clenched his fists.

"Then what must we do?"

Before the Altar Guardian could answer, the figure spoke again.

"You..."

"...are still the same as before."

The tone was filled with mockery.

"Always afraid of something you do not understand."

No one was able to respond.

The aura radiated by the figure far surpassed anyone else in the hall.

Yet, strangely...

it showed no intent to attack.

Its gaze remained fixed on Akseli.

"I have been waiting for you..."

"...for such a long time."

Akseli gritted his teeth.

"Who are you exactly?"

The figure offered a thin smile.

"It is not yet time."

"But remember one thing."

"The destiny they stole from you..."

"...will soon return."

Just as the sentence ended, the black mark on Akseli's palm reappeared. This time it was clearer than before, forming a circular pattern with cracks resembling an abyss.

Only for an instant.

Then it vanished.

But the mysterious figure had seen it.

"Good."

"The seal is starting to open."

The Altar Guardian's eyes widened.

"The seal?"

Before anyone could move...

the sky above the Sacred Hall shone with golden light.

Dozens of giant chains descended from the firmament, striking the abyss with a deafening sound.

BOOOOM!

The entire Sacred Hall shook.

New chains coiled around the figure's body.

It did not resist.

It only laughed softly.

"Hahaha..."

"So..."

"...they are still guarding this prison."

The final chain tightened.

The figure’s body was slowly pulled back into the abyss.

Before it completely vanished, it looked at Akseli once more.

Their gazes met.

For the first time...

Akseli felt something strange.

Not fear.

But rather...

a sense of familiarity.

As if he had met this figure in the past.

The mysterious figure raised one finger.

"We shall meet again."

"When all those seals are shattered..."

"...Heir of the Hollow Heart."

The words echoed throughout the Sacred Hall.

Instantly, the abyss closed.

A burst of golden light swept over the altar, swallowing all remaining cracks. Within seconds, it was as if there had never been a hole or a mysterious figure emerging from beneath the earth.

Silence enveloped the hall.

No one spoke.

All eyes slowly shifted to one person.

Akseli.

No one looked at him as the youth without an Aether Heart anymore.

Now...

in the eyes of all Elarion...

he was the epicenter of the catastrophe that had just shaken the world.

No one moved.

The sound of heavy breathing was the only thing audible in the Sacred Hall. There was no more mockery, no more laughter. Everyone remained transfixed upon the altar, now covered in cracks.

The Altar Keeper stared at the abyss that had since closed shut. His face looked far older than it had just minutes before. His hands still gripped his staff, but his fingers trembled incessantly.

"I hope..."

"...we haven't just awakened something that should have remained asleep."

No one responded to his words.

The Patriarchs exchanged glances. For the first time in decades, they had no answers. Today's events lay beyond both their knowledge and their power.

Patriarch Laakso finally broke the silence.

"From this moment on, no one is permitted to leave the Sacred City."

His gaze shifted toward Akseli.

"Especially him."

Patriarch Vainio stepped forward immediately, positioning himself in front of his son.

"Until there is proof, no one has the right to judge him."

"You still wish to defend him?" Patriarch Laakso retorted coldly.

"He may be your son."

"But today, he is also the reason the entirety of Elarion is in danger."

Before the argument could escalate further, the Altar Keeper raised his hand.

"Enough."

"The High Council will decide everything."

"From now on, there shall be no unilateral actions."

The silence returned.

Akseli lifted his head and stared at the ruined altar. For some reason, the mysterious figure's final words kept ringing in his mind.

"We shall meet again..."

Without realizing it, his right palm felt warm. As he looked down, a black mark appeared for a fleeting moment, then vanished as if it had never been there.

No one saw it.

No one...

except for someone standing behind a hall pillar.

The cloaked figure in black watched Akseli from a distance. A thin smile appeared beneath the hood.

"So..."

"...the heir has finally awakened."

A moment later, the figure vanished without a trace.

No one realized that from that day on...

a game that had been dormant for thousands of years...

had finally begun.