The fire had long since burned down to embers, and the rhythmic breathing of his companions was the only sound that filled the quiet night. Kael should have been at ease—safe, surrounded by his allies—but sleep, when it finally came, brought no comfort.
It started with a familiar sensation, like the pulse of the grove reaching out to him again. But this time, it felt different. It was stronger, more insistent, and as the world of dreams wrapped around him, the warmth of the grove twisted into something darker, something far more dangerous.
Kael found himself standing at the heart of the grove, but it was not the grove he knew. The trees were taller, their branches intertwined with dark tendrils of void energy. Instead of the vibrant life he had come to associate with the grove, everything around him hummed with an unsettling energy, a fusion of the grove's natural magic and the void's corruption. And at the center of it all stood Kael, his hands raised as if commanding the entire forest.
"You could control this," a voice whispered, deep and resonant, as if it came from the trees themselves. "You could wield the power of both the grove and the void. Imagine what you could become."
Kael blinked, and suddenly the scene shifted. Before him lay a vision of immense power: the grove, once ravaged by corruption, now thrived under his command. Trees bowed to him, their roots digging deep into the earth at his command, the ground pulsing with life and void energy alike. Creatures, once twisted and corrupted, now knelt before him, bound to his will.
He felt it then—a surge of power unlike anything he had ever known. It thrummed through his veins, filling him with strength, control, and knowledge. The runes of the ancient druids glowed at his fingertips, not struggling against the void but merging with it. He could see it, clear as day—he could fix this land. He could become its master, bending both the grove's life and the void's chaos to his will.
"Think of what you could do," the voice purred. "No longer bound by the constraints of mere balance. You could purify this world, bend it to your design. All it requires… is for you to embrace the void."
The visions deepened, showing him not just the grove, but the world beyond. Cities laid at his feet, their people begging for his protection. The land flourished under his control, no longer at war with the corruption. He was not just a guardian—he was a ruler. And all the while, the void energy surged through him, a constant companion, no longer something to fear but something to wield.
Kael's heart raced. It felt so real. The control, the power—it was intoxicating. He could fix everything. He could end the corruption, not by fighting it but by commanding it. He could save his companions, save the world, all while rising to a power few could ever dream of.
But as the thought crossed his mind, the visions warped. The creatures, once kneeling, began to rise, their eyes hollow and empty, no longer alive but puppets of his will. The trees, though green and flourishing, pulsed with a sickly light, no longer part of nature but enslaved by something far darker. And Kael… Kael stood at the center, alone, his companions nowhere to be seen.
"You could have it all," the voice whispered again, though now it sounded more like a hiss. "But you would stand above them, not beside them. You alone would wield this power."
He tried to push back, but the vision gripped him tighter. He saw the faces of his companions: Lireal, Nyxara, and Aldric, all looking at him, not with trust, but with fear. He could hear their voices, distant, as if calling to him from another world.
"Kael, don't," Lireal's voice echoed faintly, her sharp eyes pleading with him.
"They cannot stop you," the void hissed, the darkness pressing in on him. "They fear what you could become. They are weak. You are not."
The pull was strong—overwhelming. The power, the control—it felt within his grasp. All he had to do was reach out.
But as his hand lifted, the vision cracked. Through the dark haze, a light pulsed—weak but insistent. The pulse of the grove, pure and untarnished by the void. It whispered of balance, of life, of something more natural, more enduring than the fleeting grasp of power.
Kael clenched his hand into a fist and stepped back, trying to wrench himself free of the vision's hold.
"No," he muttered, shaking his head. "I won't become this."
The void's voice roared in anger, and the vision shattered, plunging Kael into a swirling darkness. The power, the grandeur—it was gone, leaving behind only a cold emptiness.
Kael woke abruptly, his breath ragged, body damp with sweat as if he'd just emerged from a fevered nightmare. The fire had dwindled to faint embers, casting dim, flickering light across the campsite. He sat up slowly, trying to shake the remnants of the dream—no, the temptation—that still clawed at the edges of his mind. The void's whispers hadn't vanished; they hovered just out of reach, like shadows waiting to creep back in.
"You alright?"
The voice startled Kael, though it was soft, calm. Aldric sat on a nearby log, his armor glinting faintly in the dying firelight. His sword rested across his lap, but his eyes were fixed on Kael, concerned but steady.
Kael hesitated, wiping a hand over his face. "Yeah… just a bad dream."
Aldric wasn't convinced. "You've been restless all night. This isn't just a dream, is it?"
Kael opened his mouth to brush it off, to tell Aldric not to worry, but the weight of the void's presence was too heavy to ignore. He sighed, shifting uncomfortably. "The void… it's not just in the grove. It's trying to get inside me. It's offering me things—power, control. I can feel it pulling at me, even when I sleep."
Aldric's expression darkened, and he leaned forward slightly. "What did it show you?"
Kael swallowed, the images from his dream still vivid. "It showed me a world where I could control the grove—where I could control everything. The void, the corruption… they weren't enemies. They were tools, power I could wield to fix everything. It felt real. And for a moment, I…" He trailed off, ashamed to admit how close he had come to accepting it.
Aldric didn't speak for a moment, his gaze thoughtful. Then he stood up, moving closer to Kael and lowering himself to sit beside him. "The void is good at that," he said quietly. "It preys on your doubts, makes you think you need it to be strong. I've seen it happen before, Kael. And it's not a fight you can win alone."
Kael looked at him, surprised. "You've dealt with this before?"
Aldric nodded. "Not personally. But in the church, I've seen people tempted by darkness—by power they thought they could control. Some of them even believed they could use it for good, but it never ends that way. It always takes more than it gives."
Kael felt the weight of Aldric's words, his chest tightening with the fear that he might not be strong enough to resist. "What if I'm not enough?" he murmured. "What if I can't stop it from taking over?"
Aldric's gaze softened, and he placed a hand on Kael's shoulder, his grip firm but reassuring. "You won't let it. And neither will we."
Kael looked at him, searching for any doubt in Aldric's face, but there was none. The paladin's faith wasn't just in the Light, but in Kael, too.
"The void wants you to think you're alone in this," Aldric continued, his voice low but steady. "But you're not. We're with you. I'm with you. If it tries to take you, we'll fight it together."
Kael blinked, feeling a warmth in Aldric's words that eased the cold grip of the void still clinging to him. For the first time since the dreams began, he felt like he wasn't fighting this battle on his own.
"I don't know how long I can keep it at bay," Kael admitted, though his voice held a bit more strength now. "But I'll try."
Aldric gave him a small smile, a rare but genuine expression. "That's all we need. And remember—when it feels too heavy, you don't have to carry it alone."