The silence in the chamber was deafening, broken only by the flickering lights casting long shadows across the cold walls. Kaelyn paced, her frustration simmering beneath her calm exterior. "It doesn't make any sense," she muttered, her boots tapping a rhythmic beat on the stone floor.
Mordrek stood at the center, his mind racing. Why did Lysander retreat? He had been there for the artifact, and now that it was safely in their possession, they had been prepared for a fight. And yet…he had left.
Kaelyn stopped pacing and turned, her eyes narrowing as she studied Mordrek. "You're thinking the same thing I am, aren't you?"
He looked up, his face devoid of expression. "Why didn't he push for the artifact?"
"Exactly. It's like he was playing a different game entirely. We know they're after it, so what changed?"
Mordrek's thoughts flickered back to Lysander's words, his gaze momentarily shifting to Lyra. Lysander had looked at her strangely, as if he had seen something in her that made him hesitate. "He was watching us," Mordrek said, more to himself than to Kaelyn.
Kaelyn crossed her arms, her tone skeptical. "You mean he was watching her."
Mordrek's eyes sharpened. "What are you suggesting?"
Kaelyn's gaze flickered to Lyra, who sat silently in the corner, her presence more a shadow than a person. "He looked at her like he knew something we didn't. Something about her."
Lyra's voice was quiet but firm when she finally spoke. "Shadows can be deceptive."
Kaelyn raised an eyebrow. "That's a convenient deflection."
Lyra met her gaze, her expression unreadable. "Convenient, yes. But true. You don't know me, Kaelyn. Neither does he. Lysander thinks he understands more than he does, and that will be his downfall."
Mordrek leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "But can we trust you?"
Lyra's smile was thin, almost amused. "That depends on what you're trusting me with."
The tension in the room thickened as her words hung in the air. Mordrek wasn't sure whether to be reassured or more suspicious. Lysander's retreat had been unexpected, and the subtle threat in his words still lingered.
"He said you were elusive," Mordrek said, his voice probing. "And you just answered with more shadows."
Lyra's gaze shifted to him, her eyes cold but with a glint of something deeper. "I am what I need to be. The rest is for you to figure out."
Mordrek felt a chill run down his spine. There was something about Lyra, something he hadn't fully understood yet, and that unsettled him. But for now, there were more immediate concerns.
Kaelyn, always the pragmatist, broke the silence. "We need to focus on the artifact. The Ascendancy will come back, and we need to be ready. The Void isn't something we can afford to ignore."
Lyra's gaze drifted toward the artifact, her eyes narrowing for just a moment, as if she were weighing something no one else could see. "The Void doesn't just consume. It reveals." Her voice, though calm, carried a weight that drew the others' attention. "We're all walking in shadows, Mordrek. Some by choice, others by fate." She turned her gaze to him, her expression unreadable. "What you seek may not be what you find."
The Void, Mordrek muttered, remembering Lysander's words. They've already tapped into its power, or at least they think they have. We can't afford to be a step behind.
Kaelyn glanced at the artifact, now secured in a protective casing. "But how? We don't even know where to start. If they've already tapped into the Void's power, they could be ahead of us."
The Void is more than they realize, Lyra said, her tone cold. "It can't be harnessed by brute force. It's not just a tool—it's a living entity."
Mordrek's mind turned to the Ashen Plains, a desolate region where ancient forces were said to still linger. It had always been a dangerous place, a graveyard of forgotten battles and lost souls. "The Ashen Plains might hold answers."
Kaelyn frowned. "The Plains are unstable. No one's ventured there in years for a reason."
"But the Void is unstable too," Mordrek replied. "And that's exactly why it could be the key. If we can find a way to control the forces there, we might be able to use it to activate the artifact in ways the Ascendancy can't."
Kaelyn hesitated, her brows furrowing. "It's a gamble."
"Everything's a gamble now," Mordrek said darkly. "Lysander knows where we're going. He might even be able to track us. I've been marked by him before."
Kaelyn's eyes widened. "You never said anything about that."
"I didn't think it was important until now," Mordrek replied, his voice tense. "But if Lysander has some way of knowing where we are, it could explain why they always find us so quickly."
Lyra, still quiet, finally spoke again. "So the Ascendancy is already one step ahead. What are you going to do about it?"
Mordrek didn't answer immediately. He looked at the artifact, then back at his companions. They were running out of time. The Void was looming over them, a threat as much as it was a promise of power.
Kaelyn sighed, rubbing her temples. "So, we head to the Ashen Plains and hope for the best?"
Mordrek nodded, though there was no certainty in his expression. "It's all we have. If we don't act soon, the Ascendancy will use the Void's power to wipe us out."
Lyra's voice softened, almost thoughtful. "Or worse, they'll harness it to reshape everything in their image."
Kaelyn's face hardened at the thought. "Then we'd better move fast."
Mordrek couldn't shake the sense of foreboding hanging over them. The Ashen Plains held dangers they weren't prepared for, but if there was any hope of unlocking the artifact's true power, that's where they had to go.
The shadows in the chamber seemed to shift as they gathered their things, preparing to leave. As Mordrek cast one last glance at Lyra, he couldn't help but wonder about her connection to all of this. Shadows can be deceptive, she had said. But what was she hiding? And how long until they were forced to confront whatever it was?
---
Words of the Forsaken
Shadows hold secrets, but secrets are only dangerous when the light is near. And in the darkness, we find the truths we fear most.
~ Mordrek