The moment Luke crossed the gate, reality disappeared.
There was no ground beneath his feet.
No sky above him.
No stars.
Only endless flowing light.
Golden currents spiraled around the travelers like living rivers while fragments of broken worlds drifted silently through the void around them. Ancient ruins floated upside down in distant space, and shattered pieces of forgotten realms glimmered faintly beyond the currents.
Luke's breath caught instantly.
"It's beautiful…" he whispered.
The Spirit Guide flew beside him protectively while Lucien remained close enough to grab him if the unstable pathways shifted.
Do not wander from the path, the dragon warned. The spaces between realms are alive.
That sentence alone made Luke stay very still.
The glowing pathway beneath them stretched endlessly forward, woven from ancient Balance energy older than creation's laws. Every step sent ripples through the light beneath their feet.
Behind them, the realm gate slowly faded until the neutral sanctuary vanished completely from sight.
For the first time in his life…
Luke had truly left the known realms behind.
The deeper they traveled, the stranger existence became.
Sometimes the currents showed visions inside them,echoes of forgotten ages drifting through reality itself.
Luke saw ancient celestial cities.
Infernal armies marching beneath burning skies.
Massive Primordials battling beings made of living stars.
And once…
He saw Celestia.
Only briefly.
Her image flickered through the currents like a fading memory before vanishing again.
Luke instinctively reached toward it.
"Mum."
The image disappeared immediately.
Lucien noticed.
His expression darkened quietly, but he said nothing.
The Spirit Guide lowered its voice gently inside Luke's mind.
The pathways remember powerful souls.
Luke looked down sadly.
"I barely remember her myself."
The dragon remained silent for a moment.
Then softly:
Memory is not the only way love survives.
Luke held the pendant tighter against his chest.
Its warmth had not faded since entering the pathway.
If anything…
It was growing stronger.
Hours passed or perhaps days.
Time behaved strangely beyond the realms.
Eventually the pathway began narrowing while the surrounding void darkened unnaturally.
Lucien immediately became alert.
"Something's wrong."
The Spirit Guide slowed midair.
The currents are unstable here.
Suddenly, one of the neutral guardians cried out.
The golden pathway beneath him cracked violently.
Before anyone could react, darkness exploded upward from below like living shadows.
Massive black tendrils wrapped around the guardian instantly and dragged him screaming into the void beneath the pathway.
"NO!" Luke shouted.
Lucien lunged forward immediately, infernal flames erupting violently from his sword as he slashed through the darkness.
The tendrils recoiled briefly,but the guardian was already gone.
The pathway stabilized again.
Silence followed.
Heavy. Horrified silence.
Luke stared at the empty space where the guardian had stood seconds earlier.
"What… was that?"
The Spirit Guide's eyes narrowed dangerously.
Void parasites.
Another tremor shook the pathway.
Then more shadows appeared beneath the light.
Dozens this time.
Ancient screeching echoed through the void as horrifying creatures crawled upward from the darkness massive skeletal beings with hollow faces and endless claws made from fractured reality itself.
Luke stepped backward instinctively.
"They followed the primordial corruption," Lucien growled. "Perfect."
The creatures attacked instantly.
The void exploded into chaos.
Neutral guardians unleashed ancient spells while Lucien's infernal flames tore through the darkness violently. The Spirit Guide roared, silver fire erupting from its jaws as several creatures disintegrated instantly.
But more kept coming.
Luke's golden aura ignited automatically around him.
The creatures hesitated.
Every single one of them turned toward him simultaneously.
The pendant around Luke's neck blazed brightly.
Then the void creatures screamed.
Not in rage.
In fear.
The Spirit Guide's eyes widened slightly.
They recognize the Heart's resonance…
Luke didn't fully understand what that meant but suddenly the creatures rushed toward him anyway.
"LUKE!" Lucien shouted.
Instinct took over.
Golden threads exploded outward from Luke's body in every direction, illuminating the void like a newborn sun. The threads wrapped around the attacking creatures instantly.
But this time something different happened.
The golden light didn't merely bind them.
It erased the primordial corruption infecting them.
One by one, the creatures dissolved peacefully into streams of silver light before disappearing completely.
The entire pathway fell silent again.
Luke stood frozen at the center of the fading golden storm, breathing hard.
The pendant dimmed slowly against his chest.
Everyone stared at him.
Even Lucien looked stunned now.
The Spirit Guide descended slowly beside him.
You purified void-born corruption…
Luke looked shaken himself.
"I didn't mean to."
No, the dragon interrupted quietly. You simply acted on instinct.
The Father of All's earlier words echoed through Luke's mind:
The Heart responds to truth.
Before anyone could speak further, the pathway suddenly widened ahead of them.
The darkness parted.
And then…
Luke saw it.
Far beyond the void currents floated a massive kingdom of gold and crystal suspended beneath an eternal sunrise. Ancient towers stretched toward glowing skies while rivers of light flowed through floating gardens and shattered bridges.
Even broken by time and war…
The sanctuary was breathtaking.
The Sanctuary at the Edge of Dawn.
Luke's chest tightened as the pendant around his neck pulsed powerfully once more.
Then, faintly just like a tiny whisper.
He heard a voice.
Warm. Familiar.
"Welcome home, my little star."