The cracks in the sky continued to widen, a gaping wound that bled darkness into the world. No matter how much they fought, the pressure of the Void's presence was ever-looming, like an ancient curse that refused to be lifted. Reazeal stood at the edge of the shattered ground, his eyes fixed on the ominous horizon. His breath was shallow, his pulse quick, but his mind was calm—a calm that masked the storm of uncertainty brewing within him.
Lysara approached him slowly, her boots crunching against the fractured earth. The battle with the shadow creature had drained them both, but it hadn't been enough to defeat the core of the problem. The Herald's defeat, though momentary, had done little to change the fact that the Void was an unstoppable force.
"There's no end to it," Lysara said softly, her voice tinged with exhaustion. She wiped the sweat from her brow, her sword still glowing faintly in the dim light. "Every time we defeat one, another comes. Every time we take a step forward, we're pulled two steps back."
Reazeal didn't answer immediately. He was thinking, trying to piece together the puzzle. The Void wasn't just a power—it was a presence, an unrelenting force that sought to consume everything in its path. It wasn't something they could fight the same way they'd fought the Beasts. No, the Void was different—it was the absence of everything, and in that absence, it held all the power.
"I know," he said finally, his voice steady. "But we don't have a choice, Lysara. This is the path we've chosen."
Lysara nodded grimly, her expression hardening. "Then we'll walk it, no matter how long it takes."
Reazeal turned back to the battlefield, his mind shifting between thoughts of strategy and his own doubts. The battle wasn't over. It would never be over, not unless they found the source of the Void and destroyed it—destroyed the Herald and everything it represented.
But how could they destroy something that was already everywhere? How could they fight a force that was beyond their understanding, let alone their ability to control?
The world around them trembled again. This time, the tremors felt different. There was a sound beneath them—deep, rumbling, like the earth itself was being torn apart. Reazeal's senses went on high alert. He could feel the mana around him—distorted, warped, like the very essence of reality was being twisted.
"I don't like this," Lysara said, her hand instinctively gripping the hilt of her sword.
Before Reazeal could respond, the ground split open beneath their feet. A massive crack formed, widening into a cavernous abyss that stretched down into nothingness. Dark tendrils of energy slithered up from the depths of the chasm, each one like a snake with a mind of its own, crawling toward them with malicious intent.
"The Void is opening its gates," Reazeal muttered, his heart pounding. "This is it. The source is coming."
Without another word, the two of them leapt into action. Reazeal swung Duskcarve, sending a wave of light through the advancing tendrils, but it barely slowed them. The darkness seemed to have a life of its own, shifting and adapting to their attacks.
Lysara moved in tandem with him, her movements fluid, precise. Her sword cut through the tendrils, but more appeared in their place, each one stronger than the last. She gritted her teeth as she slashed again and again, but the tendrils were relentless.
"This isn't enough," Lysara panted. "They're coming faster than we can handle!"
Reazeal's thoughts raced as he blocked another tendril with Duskcarve. It was true—the tide was rising, and they couldn't stop it. He glanced at Lysara, determination hardening in his gaze. "We need to get to the heart of this, now."
Lysara nodded, her face set in determination. "Lead the way."
Together, they pushed forward, charging toward the ever-growing chasm. The tendrils fought against them, but they managed to carve a path, moving swiftly as the abyss loomed closer. With every step, the air grew colder, the ground beneath them more unstable.
Finally, they reached the edge of the chasm, peering down into the yawning darkness. The Void was closer than ever before, its tendrils reaching out like fingers, grasping at the world they knew.
Reazeal swallowed hard. The atmosphere was suffocating. The force of the Void was pulling at him, threatening to unravel everything he held dear. He could feel it in the very air—darkness, hunger, the absence of light.
"This is where it begins," Reazeal whispered, his voice barely audible against the deafening silence.
Suddenly, a pulse of energy shot up from the chasm, an immense wave of darkness that shook the ground beneath them. It was unlike anything Reazeal had ever felt before—a force so pure in its emptiness that it seemed to erase everything it touched.
The pulse hit them, sending both Reazeal and Lysara tumbling backward. The darkness swarmed around them, seeping into their skin, into their very bones. The weight of the Void was pressing down on them, crushing them with the sheer force of its existence.
"No!" Reazeal shouted, pushing himself to his feet. He could feel the power of the Beasts awakening within him, the raw energy surging through his veins. He clenched his fists, channeling the power into Duskcarve. "I will not fall to this!"
Lysara struggled to rise as well, her face pale, but her resolve unshaken. "Reazeal, we have to push through! We can't let this consume us!"
The ground began to tremble more violently as the pulse grew stronger. Tendrils of darkness spiraled upward, forming a massive vortex in the sky above them. Reazeal could see the Herald's influence growing, manifesting in the center of the vortex, its form taking shape—though it was not quite the same as it had been before.
This was not the Herald's true form—it was something more.
A swirling, chaotic mass of dark energy swirled at the center of the vortex, and within it, Reazeal saw the faintest outline of an enormous, distorted figure. It was a silhouette that seemed to pulse with malice, a being of pure darkness and void.
"This is it," Lysara whispered, her voice filled with awe and fear. "The heart of the Void."
Reazeal's heart raced. This was the source of the corruption, the source of all their suffering. If they didn't stop it now, everything they had fought for would be lost. The world, their world, would be consumed by the Void, and all would be left would be a hollow, endless darkness.
But they had no choice. They had to face it.
"Lysara," Reazeal said, his voice steady despite the chaos surrounding them, "we're not backing down. We fight until the end."
She met his gaze, a determined fire in her eyes. "Until the end."
Together, they surged forward, their swords blazing with light as they charged into the vortex of darkness. The power of the Beasts surged within Reazeal, and as the dark tendrils reached for them, he cleaved through them with Duskcarve, carving a path toward the heart of the Void.
The battle was far from over. But they would not stop. Not until the world was saved.
End of Chapter 27.