The earth continued to tremble.
Cracks spread across the road in every direction, opening between the stones and causing the wagons to tilt dangerously. The horses whinnied in fear while the soldiers struggled to maintain their formation.
Celestine remained motionless.
Her sword was raised before her body, surrounded by a layer of dark energy that didn't appear completely solid. The Void flowed along the blade like a living current.
For the first time, however, Celestine didn't try to control that power.
She simply made room for it.
— Are you with me? — she asked in her thoughts.
The Void answered.
I am.
The answer was different from the previous ones.
There wasn't merely a distant sensation.
There was a presence.
Celestine felt that she was no longer alone inside her own consciousness.
Then show me what to do.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then an image appeared in her mind.
A circle.
Three lines.
And, at the center, a small opening.
Celestine understood.
— The ritual.
The Guardian heard her voice and approached.
— What did you discover?
— They're not trying to open the door directly.
The Guardian looked at the runes covering the ground.
— Then what are they doing?
Celestine pointed toward the girl inside the carriage.
— They're using her to create a connection.
Seris's eyes widened.
— A bridge.
— Exactly.
Valerian heard the conversation and smiled.
— You finally understand.
Leonhardt remained in front of the prisoners.
— Celestine! How much time do we have?
She observed the runes.
— A few minutes.
— Is that enough?
— It will have to be.
Valerian raised his sword.
— You won't interrupt anything.
He charged.
Leonhardt stepped in front of him.
The two swords collided.
The impact made the ground tremble even more.
Leonhardt was pushed backward, but managed to regain his balance.
Valerian attacked again.
This time, Leonhardt didn't retreat.
He spun his body and dodged the blade, striking the inquisitor's shoulder.
Valerian staggered.
— You've improved.
Leonhardt tightened his grip on his sword.
— I've been training.
The two resumed their fight.
Meanwhile, Celestine ran toward the carriage.
Two inquisitors tried to stop her.
The first attacked.
Celestine dodged.
The second tried to grab her.
She touched his arm.
The space around the man distorted.
He fell to his knees.
— I don't want to kill you — she said. — So don't force me to.
Seris ran past her.
— I'll take care of the others!
Celestine climbed onto the carriage.
The girl remained restrained.
Her body was trembling.
The black mark on her neck was glowing brighter and brighter.
— What's your name? — Celestine asked.
The girl opened her eyes.
For a moment, they appeared completely black.
Then they returned to normal.
— Lyra.
Celestine knelt down.
— Lyra, I need you to trust me.
— I can't.
— Why?
Lyra looked at the mark.
— Because he's inside me.
Celestine felt a shiver.
— The Abyss?
Lyra shook her head.
— No.
She closed her eyes.
— A part of him.
Celestine fell silent.
Then she realized something.
The Void inside her was trying to approach Lyra.
But not to absorb her.
To protect her.
She isn't the door, the Void said.
Celestine was surprised.
Then what is she?
An echo.
Celestine understood.
Lyra wasn't serving as a key.
She was a fragment.
A part of the energy trapped on the other side had found a way to cross over.
And someone was feeding that fragment.
Celestine looked at Valerian.
— Who is controlling this?
Valerian didn't answer.
But his smile disappeared.
That was enough.
— It's not you.
Valerian clenched his teeth.
— You don't know anything.
— I know enough.
Celestine jumped down from the carriage.
— Seris!
— What?
— I need you to find whoever is responsible for the ritual.
Seris looked around.
— They're not here.
— I know.
— Then where?
Celestine closed her eyes.
The Void expanded.
This time, it didn't seek the soldiers.
It didn't seek Valerian.
It sought the ritual's energy itself.
An invisible line appeared within her perception.
It pointed north.
— There.
Seris followed the direction.
— The mountains?
— There's someone there.
The Guardian approached.
— It's not a person.
Celestine opened her eyes.
— What do you mean?
The Guardian looked at the ground.
— The energy is coming from below.
A new crack opened in front of them.
A black light emerged from within it.
Celestine felt the Void tremble.
Not from fear.
From recognition.
— It's close — she murmured.
Lyra's voice came from behind her.
— He's calling you.
Celestine turned around.
— The Abyss?
Lyra nodded.
— It knows you exist.
A massive explosion occurred.
Everyone was thrown backward.
The inquisitors' formation was destroyed.
The ritual's runes disappeared.
Valerian fell to his knees.
Leonhardt ran toward Celestine.
— Are you all right?
— Yes.
She stood up.
In the distance, an enormous column of black energy pierced the sky.
Seris stared at it in horror.
— This wasn't part of the plan.
The Guardian answered:
— Because someone changed the ritual.
Celestine tightened her grip on her sword.
— Who?
The Guardian pointed at Valerian.
— Ask him.
Everyone looked at the inquisitor.
Valerian was injured.
His armor was broken.
But he was still smiling.
— You really think I'm the enemy?
Celestine approached him.
— Then who is?
Valerian raised his eyes.
— The person you're looking for has already arrived in the capital.
Silence fell over everyone.
— She's waiting for you.
Celestine felt the Void stir.
— Who?
Valerian answered:
— The woman who knows the true origin of the Void.
Celestine froze.
— Elyndra?
Valerian smiled.
— No.
He looked at the sky.
— Someone who knew Elyndra before she became the first bearer.
Celestine's heart raced.
— That's impossible.
— In this world, you should have already learned that this word means nothing.
Valerian fell unconscious.
Celestine remained silent.
Around her, the prisoners were being freed by Seris and Leonhardt.
Lyra slowly walked toward Celestine.
— You're going to the capital.
Celestine looked at her.
— Yes.
— Then I'm going with you.
Celestine was surprised.
— It's dangerous.
Lyra touched the mark on her neck.
— It's more dangerous to stay here.
Celestine realized that she was right.
She looked at Leonhardt.
Then at Seris.
Finally, at the Guardian.
None of them tried to stop her.
Celestine turned her eyes toward the road leading to the capital.
Now there was a new member in the group.
And a new question.
Who was the person who had known Elyndra before everyone else?
The Void silently answered inside her.
Don't trust her.
Celestine frowned.
For the first time, the Void seemed afraid of someone.
And that meant that, when they reached the capital, they would encounter an enemy far older than they had imagined.
Celestine tightened her grip on the sword.
— Let's go.
The group began walking.
Behind them, the destroyed ritual slowly faded away.
But far beneath the earth, something remained awake.
And, for the first time in thousands of years, the Abyss had found someone capable of hearing it.