Kael wiped the back of his hand across his forehead, feeling the cool dampness of sweat. The grove seemed unnaturally still in the aftermath of the battle, but the peace was deceptive. Though the air carried the sweet scent of earth and leaves, an undercurrent of rot lingered—something tainted, just beneath the surface. His chest still felt tight from drawing on the grove's energy earlier, his connection to the natural world strained by the effort. The light had returned to the grove, but it was fragile, barely holding its own against the encroaching void.
He exhaled, shaking the tension from his limbs, but the unease remained.
"Kael." Aldric's voice was low as he approached, his eyes searching the surroundings. "How are you holding up?"
"Still here," Kael replied, managing a weak smile. "But... it's not easy. The void—it's stronger than I expected."
Aldric nodded grimly. His usual confidence seemed shaken, a shadow hanging over his normally stalwart expression. "We can't afford to slow down, though. Whatever's causing this... we need to find it. End it."
Kael gave a small nod, but his mind wandered. The weight of the void's corruption was pressing in from every direction, like a suffocating fog. And though he had managed to push it back for now, it wasn't gone. Not entirely.
In fact, it was starting to feel... closer.
He blinked, realizing he could hear something faint, almost indistinct—a whisper, like wind brushing through the leaves. At first, he dismissed it as just that, the natural sounds of the forest coming back to life. But the sound persisted, a faint, insistent murmur that sent a shiver down his spine.
Kael...
The voice—no, voices—were calling his name. He glanced around, but Aldric hadn't seemed to notice. Lireal, who was tending to her gear a few paces away, was also oblivious. The sounds weren't coming from them, nor from anything physical. They seemed to seep from the very air itself, threading through the trees like tendrils of thought.
We see you, Kael...
His pulse quickened. He couldn't shake the sensation that something—someone—was trying to reach him. The whispers were growing more distinct, though still elusive, slipping through the cracks in his thoughts. And yet, as unsettling as it was, he couldn't help but feel drawn to them.
"What do you want?" he muttered under his breath, almost without realizing he had spoken.
Knowledge. Power. The strength to protect them all.
The words curled through his mind, seductive and calm. The grove seemed to pulse in response, but this time, it wasn't just the soft hum of life beneath the ground. There was an edge to it, something darker, deeper. The void, even in retreat, had left its mark.
Kael squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to push the voices away. But they only grew louder.
The grove's power is yours to command. But why stop there?
He felt a ripple in his chest, something stirring in the pit of his stomach. The whisper felt different this time—colder, almost like a breeze sweeping across his mind. It promised more than the grove's ancient, patient wisdom. It promised immediacy.
"Kael, are you alright?" Nyxara's voice snapped him back to the present. She was watching him with concern, her eyes sharp.
"I'm fine," he said quickly, though his heart was racing.
She narrowed her eyes, clearly not convinced. "You don't look fine. You're shaking."
He looked down at his hands. Sure enough, they were trembling, though he hadn't noticed until she pointed it out. "It's nothing. Just... the strain of using the grove's energy."
Nyxara's gaze didn't waver. "If something's wrong, you need to say it."
"I said I'm fine," Kael snapped, his tone sharper than intended. Nyxara flinched, and Kael immediately regretted his words. "Sorry, I didn't mean—"
But before he could finish, a shout rang out.
"Both of you, focus!" Aldric barked, turning toward them. "We're still not safe here. The corruption's not gone, and we don't know how much time we have."
Kael closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. He needed to stay grounded, to focus on the here and now. He glanced at his self inflicted scar of grounding reminding himself to keep his mind calm in the face of challenge. But the whispers... they were relentless, threading through his thoughts no matter how hard he tried to ignore them.
The void offers more. All you need to do is listen.
He clenched his fists, trying to block it out, but the harder he resisted, the more insistent the voices became. It wasn't just one voice now—it was a chorus, each one melding with the next. Promises of power, of protection, of understanding. They seemed to speak directly to the core of his doubt—the doubt that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't strong enough to protect his friends. That he needed something more.
And the void was offering it.
Hours passed as the party trudged deeper into the grove, the silence between them thick with tension. No one spoke much—Aldric's usual steady presence felt distant, his brow furrowed in concentration. Lireal, normally quick to crack a joke or offer a smile, was quieter than usual, her eyes darting toward every shadow. Even Nyxara, always so sure of herself, looked uneasy.
The void's influence was gnawing at them all. Kael could feel it. It wasn't just the voices in his head; the air itself seemed heavier, pressing down on their spirits, making every step feel like a battle. The corruption was seeping into their minds, playing on their fears, twisting their emotions.
At one point, Lireal snapped at Aldric, her tone uncharacteristically harsh. "If we'd taken the northern path like I said, we wouldn't be stuck in this mess."
"And if we'd listened to you," Aldric shot back, his voice tight, "we'd have walked straight into an ambush."
The two glared at each other, the tension between them palpable. Normally, Kael would have stepped in, defusing the situation. But he felt drained, his thoughts too clouded by the whispers that still clawed at the edges of his mind.
They don't trust you. They never will. You're not one of them, you're just an outsider.
His breath hitched, and he shook his head violently, as if trying to dislodge the thought.
Nyxara glanced his way, her brow furrowed in concern. "Kael?"
He met her eyes, forcing a smile. "I'm fine."
But the truth was, he wasn't fine. None of them were.
That night, as they made camp, the strain became impossible to ignore. The air was thick with tension, everyone on edge, snapping at one another over small things—who would keep watch, how close the fire should be to the trees, whether they were even going the right direction anymore. The void had wormed its way into their hearts, feeding on their fears and doubts.
Kael sat apart from the group, staring into the flickering flames. The whispers had quieted for the moment, but they were never truly gone. He could feel them, lurking at the back of his mind, waiting for the right moment to strike again.
We can give you what you need.
He clenched his fists, trying to hold onto the grove's energy, the faint connection that still pulsed beneath the corruption. But the void was relentless. It pressed in from all sides, promising answers, power, control.
And for the first time, Kael wasn't sure if he could resist it.