Kael lay in bed, staring at the ceiling of his chambers in Eldoria's royal palace. The flickering light from the torches cast long shadows across the stone walls, yet no amount of light could banish the lingering darkness inside him. The ritual had left him drained, his body and mind both reeling from the confrontation with the entity.
He could still hear it, the faint whispers of the void. They were quiet, distant, but they were there, always at the edge of his consciousness. A constant reminder that the battle was far from over.
There was a knock at the door, soft yet insistent. Kael pushed himself up, rubbing his temples.
"Enter," he called.
The door creaked open, revealing Lady Elara. Her expression was weary, her normally bright eyes shadowed with concern. She stepped inside, closing the door behind her quietly.
"You should be resting," she said, crossing the room and sitting beside him.
"I am," Kael replied, though they both knew it was a lie. "The ritual took more out of me than I expected."
"You're not just exhausted," she said, her voice low. "I can sense it, Kael. The darkness… it's still inside you, isn't it?"
Kael hesitated, his hand instinctively drifting to his chest, where he could feel the cold tendrils of the void's touch. "Yes," he admitted quietly. "I can hear it, like a distant echo. It's faint, but it's there."
Elara's eyes darkened. "We should have prepared more for this. I never expected the entity to be so… strong. Even with the seals reinforced, I don't think it will be enough."
Kael leaned back against the pillows, his thoughts swirling. "The seals are temporary, at best. We're only delaying the inevitable. This entity—whatever it is—it's older than anything we've ever faced. And it's hungry."
Silence hung between them for a moment. Elara's gaze was steady, but beneath it, Kael could see the worry she was trying to hide. The reality of their situation was sinking in for all of them.
"We can't wait for the seals to fail again," Kael said finally, breaking the silence. "We need to be proactive. There's still the third objective of the quest: *Investigate the source of the dark magic.* If we can find where it's coming from, we might be able to stop it at the source."
Elara nodded slowly, but there was hesitation in her eyes. "Do you have any idea where to start looking?"
Kael thought back to the ancient texts, the cryptic prophecies that had guided him this far. There were still pieces of the puzzle missing, but one name echoed through his mind, whispered in the same dark voice that haunted his dreams.
"Veridus," he said. "The Lost City."
Elara's eyes widened in recognition. "Veridus? That's… that's a myth. It was said to have vanished centuries ago, swallowed by the void itself."
"Not a myth," Kael corrected. "I think it's real. And if the entity has been gathering power all these centuries, it would make sense for it to be hiding there. Somewhere the light of the Arcanum can't reach."
Elara stood, pacing the room as she considered his words. "If Veridus exists, it's beyond the reach of the Arcanum's protection. We would be venturing into the heart of the darkness."
"That's where we'll find answers," Kael said firmly. "It's a risk we have to take."
Elara paused, staring at him. "And what about you? If the darkness inside you grows, it could become a beacon for the entity."
Kael met her gaze, his resolve hardening. "I know. But that's why I need to confront it head-on. If we wait, the entity will grow stronger, and by then, it may be too late. This is our only chance to stop it before it's too powerful to contain."
For a moment, Elara was silent, her brow furrowed in thought. Then she nodded. "You're right. We'll gather the others. If Veridus is our destination, we need to leave immediately."
---
By dawn, Kael, Elara, and the rest of their companions stood at the city gates, preparing for the journey. General Ralven was there, his heavy armor gleaming in the early morning light, while Meren adjusted her cloak, ever the shadow in the group. Behind them stood a small contingent of warriors, each handpicked for their loyalty and skill.
Kael's mind, however, was far from the preparations. The whispers were louder now, as if the closer he got to their source, the more insistent they became. His vision swam with dark images—shattered cities, twisted landscapes, and a void that seemed to hunger for life itself.
But amidst the chaos of his mind, there was clarity. Veridus was real. He could feel it calling to him, just beyond the horizon.
"Everyone ready?" Ralven asked, breaking Kael from his thoughts.
Kael nodded, his grip tightening around the hilt of his sword. "We move now. Veridus lies in the heart of the Ruined Expanse. It's not an easy journey, but it's the only way."
As they set off, Kael could feel the weight of the coming conflict pressing down on him. He wasn't just fighting for his life, or even the lives of his allies. This was about something far greater—something older than the world itself.
And deep within him, the entity stirred, as if in anticipation.
---
The Ruined Expanse was as desolate as the legends had foretold. Blackened earth stretched as far as the eye could see, dotted with the remains of once-great cities, now reduced to rubble. The sky was a constant twilight, the sun hidden behind thick, swirling clouds of ash.
For days, Kael and his companions traveled through the wasteland, the air growing heavier with each passing mile. Strange creatures lurked in the shadows, twisted by the void's influence, but they kept their distance, as if sensing the power that radiated from Kael.
Finally, they reached the edge of the expanse. Before them loomed a great chasm, and at the bottom of that abyss lay the ruins of Veridus, half-buried in the darkness.
"This is it," Kael whispered, staring down into the void below.
The whispers were louder than ever now, almost deafening. The entity was close. He could feel its presence, vast and terrible, lurking just beyond the veil.
"We go down," Kael said, steeling himself for what lay ahead. "The answers are waiting for us below."
As they descended into the darkness, Kael couldn't shake the feeling that they were walking into a trap. But there was no turning back now. The shadows had waited long enough.
And so had he.
---