They walked longer this time.
No sudden attacks.
No shifting sky.
No overwhelming presence pressing down on them.
And somehow—
That made it worse.
"…I don't trust this," Edrin said.
Ronan stretched his arms. "You never trust anything."
"This is different."
Lyra glanced around.
"…It is."
Kael didn't slow.
But his grip on his weapon tightened slightly.
"…Be alert."
Edrin frowned.
"…That's your default advice."
"Yes."
"…Fair."
The ground beneath them became smoother.
Not repaired.
Not restored.
Just… less broken.
The cracks didn't vanish.
But they stopped spreading.
The air grew still.
Too still.
Edrin slowed.
"…Okay."
A pause.
"…This is definitely wrong."
Ronan looked around.
"…Feels empty."
Lyra nodded.
"…More than before."
Edrin hugged his arms slightly.
"…I liked it better when things were trying to kill us."
Ronan laughed. "Never thought I'd hear that."
"I stand by it!"
They continued forward—
Careful—
Watching—
Waiting.
And then—
They reached it.
Edrin stopped immediately.
"…No."
Ahead of them—
The world simply…
Ended.
Not like the edge before.
Not a drop.
Not a void.
Just—
Nothing.
No ground.
No sky.
No space.
A blank.
As if something had been erased so completely—
There wasn't even absence left.
Lyra's breath caught.
"…That's not a void."
Kael's voice was low.
"…No."
Ronan frowned.
"…Then what is it?"
Edrin swallowed.
"…I don't think it's anything."
Silence.
The echoes behind them stopped.
Not cautiously.
Not uncertainly.
Completely.
Edrin turned.
"…They won't go near it."
Lyra nodded.
"…They can't."
Edrin looked back at the blank space.
"…Good."
A pause.
"…Because I don't want to either."
The air didn't move.
The ground didn't shift.
The sky didn't react.
It was—
Still.
Perfectly still.
Edrin took a step closer.
"…This is a bad idea."
Ronan smirked.
"So it's your idea."
"I hate you."
Lyra grabbed his arm lightly.
"…Careful."
"I am careful!"
He wasn't.
But he tried.
As he stepped closer—
He felt it.
Not pressure.
Not pull.
Not force.
Absence.
Not around him.
Not outside.
Inside.
Edrin froze.
"…No."
Lyra noticed immediately.
"Edrin?"
"…I can't feel it."
"What?"
Edrin swallowed.
"…The connection."
Silence.
Ronan frowned.
"…What do you mean?"
Edrin shook his head slightly.
"…It's gone."
Lyra's eyes widened.
"…That's not possible."
Kael stepped closer.
"…Step back."
Edrin didn't move.
Because he wasn't sure he could.
"…It's not being cut."
A pause.
"…It's not there."
The echoes flickered—
Not violently—
Not breaking—
Just… distant.
Like they were far away.
Even though they stood right behind him.
Edrin's chest tightened.
"…I don't like this."
The blank space ahead—
Didn't react.
Didn't shift.
Didn't acknowledge them.
It simply… was.
And wasn't.
Ronan stepped forward.
"…Let me try."
"No!" Edrin snapped.
Ronan stopped.
Edrin shook his head.
"…Don't."
A pause.
"…This isn't something we hit."
Lyra stepped closer to him.
"…Then what is it?"
Edrin stared at the blank.
"…I think…"
A breath.
"…This is what happens when something gets erased completely."
Silence.
Kael's voice was low.
"…Beyond correction."
Lyra whispered,
"…Beyond memory."
Edrin nodded slowly.
"…Yeah."
A pause.
"…Even the sky isn't reacting."
They all looked up.
For the first time—
The fractured sky—
Didn't move.
Didn't watch.
Didn't respond.
As if this place—
Didn't exist to it.
Edrin swallowed.
"…That's worse than everything we've seen."
Ronan frowned.
"…So what do we do?"
Edrin didn't answer immediately.
Because for once—
There wasn't an obvious choice.
No enemy to fight.
No force to resist.
No connection to hold.
Just—
Nothing.
Lyra spoke softly.
"…We can go around it."
Edrin shook his head.
"…Can we?"
Kael stepped forward slightly.
Then stopped.
"…No."
Edrin exhaled.
"…Yeah."
The path didn't split.
Didn't change.
Didn't offer an alternative.
It led straight into—
Nothing.
Ronan crossed his arms.
"…So we go through."
Edrin looked at him.
"…Are you insane?"
"Yes."
"…That checks out."
Lyra's voice was quiet.
"…If we enter that…"
A pause.
"…We might not come out."
Edrin nodded.
"…That's what I was thinking."
Silence.
The echoes remained still.
Refusing to follow.
Unable to approach.
Edrin looked back at them.
Then forward again.
"…I can't bring them there."
Lyra nodded.
"…No."
Kael added,
"…They would not remain."
Edrin clenched his fists.
"…Then what do we do?"
No one answered.
Because this time—
There wasn't a fight.
There wasn't a clear path.
There wasn't even a rule to break.
Just—
A choice.
Edrin stared at the blank space.
"…I hate this kind of problem."
Ronan grinned.
"Then it's perfect for you."
Edrin sighed.
"…Yeah."
A pause.
"…Of course it is."
He took a small step forward.
Then stopped.
"…New rule."
Ronan laughed.
"Of course."
Edrin swallowed.
"…We don't rush into something we don't understand."
Lyra nodded.
"…Agreed."
Kael didn't object.
Ronan shrugged.
"Fine. For now."
Edrin looked at the nothing ahead.
At the place where even existence had failed.
And for the first time—
He didn't move.
Because this wasn't something he could stumble through.
This—
Had to be faced.
Carefully.