Void Veins: The Forbidden Ascension

Chapter 25. The Eye of the Void

The gaze of those colossal eyes was no mere sight. It was a wave of pure consciousness that crashed upon every living thing in the valley, piercing mental defences as though no wall could ever hold it. The remaining Iron Blood soldiers fell to their knees in unison, hands clawing at their helms and heads, bodies arching forward as they screamed in agony. Within their minds rose thousands of inexplicable shadows — memories they had never lived, losses that were not theirs to bear, a vast emptiness swallowing every part of who they were. Even Viper, whose mental fortitude far surpassed the norm, was forced to trace a warding sigil upon his brow with trembling fingers, gasping as the pressure sought to tear his inner defences apart layer by layer.

Lin Ye felt something different. To him, the gaze was not painful — at least not in any way he knew. It was a deep, irresistible pull, as though his entire being was being drawn toward that crimson light. The black jade at his chest throbbed so violently it seemed ready to burst through his skin, beating in rhythm with the heartbeat of something far greater. Mo Yuan shouted within him, his voice a tangle of ecstasy and mortal terror.

"Behold! Behold the True Master!" Mo Yuan cried, echoing through Lin Ye's mind. "He comes! He is the truth! He is beautiful! The end of all suffering, all questions, all separation!"

"No!" Lin Ye bit his tongue until blood filled his mouth. That sharp, physical pain became his anchor. "Fight it! Do not yield!"

He knew — if he let himself drift into that call, he would cease to be himself. He would become an empty vessel — no memory, no will, no name — just like the students who vanished at the Academy, their souls consumed to feed something greater.

Viper struggled upright, breath ragged, cold sweat beading his temples despite the freezing air. He looked at Lin Ye with eyes changed — suspicion, fear, and a new, raw hatred all mingled there.

"You..." his voice was a rasp. "You called it, didn't you? How could you wield something so ancient?"

"I did not call it," Lin Ye replied, standing unsteadily. "This jade awoke it. My presence alone opened the door you tried so hard to force shut. And now… it has decided not to wait."

The great eyes blinked slowly. The crimson beam did not strike with fire or force — it simply illuminated the highest peak, hidden beyond the storm clouds. A pillar of light blazed forth, bridging heaven and earth — bright yet not blinding, terrible yet alluring. From within it rose a voice that shook the ground — thousands of voices speaking as one, resounding against every cliff.

"RETURN..."

Rock cracked around them. Snow melted instantly into billowing steam. The air grew heavy, thick as water.

Viper saw the truth — their mission had changed entirely. The chest — empty all along, Shen Kui's trick from the start — no longer mattered. Survival was all that mattered.

"Fall back!" Viper's command cut through the roar. "Abandon the target! Hold formation! Retreat to the lower passages!"

Those still coherent formed a defensive line, weaving their magic into a glowing shared shield. But the crimson beam did not attack their bodies — it rewove the world around them. The ground softened and pulsed like living flesh. Mist shaped itself into faces — those who had vanished, eyes hollow, hands reaching to close around ankles.

One soldier broke. He saw his comrades as monsters and fired upon them. Chaos erupted. The formation shattered.

Lin Ye saw his chance. In ordinary times he could not have bested Viper and his squad. But amid mind-unravelling illusion, strength of arm meant nothing. What endured was clarity of mind. And Lin Ye — who fought the whisperings of Mo Yuan every single day — had forged that endurance longer than anyone here.

He ran not away, but toward Viper. Viper was occupied fending off phantoms in his own mind, unaware as Lin Ye slipped in from the blind side.

Lin Ye did not strike Viper. He struck the source — the small jade amplifier fastened at Viper's waist, the device channelling and magnifying the Void's influence. One clean sweep of the Nullification Sword, and it crumbled to dust.

Viper staggered back with a cry as though a limb had been torn away. His connection severed. The illusions surrounding him flickered — gone, but only for a moment.

"You..." he hissed, eyes burning with pure hatred.

"Goodbye," Lin Ye said softly.

He turned and dove into the deep ice fissure, vanishing instantly into the dark beneath the mountain — leaving Viper and his squad broken and bewildered beneath the gaze of eyes drawing ever closer, and ever more angry.