The silence was unnatural.
It was not the quiet that follows battle.
Nor the stillness after survival.
It was… emptiness.
No tremors.
No sound of falling stone.
No shifting shadows.
Only—
their breathing.
Heavy.
Uneven.
Real.
Arkath stood motionless.
His sword remained in his hand…
but lowered.
He looked around.
The place was no longer what it had been.
The ground was fractured.
The air, suffocating.
And the sky…
was not a sky.
Above them stretched a gray void—
without sun,
without clouds.
Aeryon spoke in a low voice:
"Where… are we?"
No one answered.
Even Morvan—
who always had an explanation—
remained silent.
He knelt slightly,
placing his hand on the ground.
He closed his eyes.
Then slowly opened them.
"This place…" he began,
then paused.
"…is not part of any land we know."
Zalrik frowned.
"You mean beyond the clans' borders?"
Morvan shook his head.
"I mean… beyond the world."
Silence fell.
Arkath stepped forward—
one step—
then stopped.
He looked toward the horizon.
And there—
he saw it.
A pillar.
Not of stone—
but of darkness.
Rising upward.
Unmoving.
Then—
another.
Then—
more.
Dark pillars…
scattered like markers.
Zalrik spoke quietly:
"This isn't the only one."
Aeryon turned to him.
"What do you mean?"
Zalrik replied:
"Look carefully."
They focused.
In the distance—
more pillars emerged.
They exchanged glances.
Morvan spoke:
"What happened back there…"
He paused.
"…didn't stop."
A heavy silence followed.
Then Arkath said:
"We move closer."
No one objected.
They advanced—
slowly.
Until—
Zalrik stopped abruptly.
He raised his hand.
"We're not alone."
They froze.
Their gazes shifted—
toward the base of one of the pillars.
At first—
there was nothing.
Then—
the shadow moved.
From it stepped a figure.
Standing.
Still.
Watching them.
He did not attack.
He did not flee.
He simply… waited.
Aeryon raised his sword instantly.
"Get ready!"
But Arkath lifted his hand.
"Don't move."
Silence fell again.
The man did not approach.
Instead, he spoke:
"You're late."
The leaders exchanged glances.
Arkath said slowly:
"Who are you?"
The man did not answer immediately.
He studied them…
then said:
"If you came out of there…"
He gestured behind them.
"…then the seals have fallen."
No one responded.
But the silence—
was enough.
He exhaled slowly.
"Then… it has begun."
Aeryon clenched his fist.
"Speak clearly!"
The man raised his hand slightly.
Suddenly—
the darkness around him shifted.
Not as an attack.
But… as a response.
Everyone froze.
He spoke calmly:
"If I were your enemy…"
He looked directly at Arkath.
"…one of you would already be dead."
Arkath lowered his sword slightly.
Not completely—
but enough.
"Then talk."
The man replied:
"Not here."
He turned,
his gaze falling upon the pillar.
"This place… is not safe."
Then he began to walk.
"If you want to live…"
He paused.
"…follow me."
They hesitated.
Then—
they followed.
Cautiously.
Until—
he stopped.
He raised his hand.
"Look."
They stepped closer.
And then they saw it.
In the ground—
between the cracks—
a core.
Not a pillar.
But…
a part of it.
Pulsing.
With faint light.
As if…
fighting to remain alive.
Arkath stepped closer.
Something…
pulled him.
He reached out.
He touched it.
And in that instant—
the world vanished.
Light.
Memories.
Pillars.
Five figures.
Then—
a sixth.
A distant voice echoed:
"If it falls… everything falls."
He returned.
Pulled his hand away.
Stepped back—
breathing heavily.
The core…
calmed.
Then—
the ground shook violently.
Zalrik lifted his head sharply.
"It felt it."
On the horizon—
the darkness returned.
Moving.
Approaching.
Aeryon spoke:
"It's coming!"
The man moved immediately.
He stepped toward the core
and placed his hand upon it.
"No time."
Then—
the core rose.
It separated from the earth—
and drifted—
toward Arkath.
It settled in his hand.
As if…
it had chosen him.
He looked at it.
"And you?"
But the man—
did not turn.
Instead, he stepped forward—
and stood…
facing the darkness.
"I'll hold it here."
The darkness advanced.
The ground split.
The air grew heavier.
But the man—
stood firm.
He raised his hand.
The darkness moved around him—
but this time—
it collided.
The entity stopped.
For the first time.
Behind him—
Arkath froze.
Something…
was not right.
Then—
the man spoke.
But this time—
to him.
"Move… boy."
Time stopped.
Arkath's eyes widened.
That voice—
he had not heard it in a long time.
A very… long time.
He whispered:
"…Father?"
🔥 End of Chapter X