The darkness was absolute.
Elara felt nothing—no sensation of the world around her, no pulse of the abyss or the flicker of her demonic energy. She was suspended in a void that defied all sense of time or space. Her mind raced, thoughts colliding in a haze of confusion, fear, and uncertainty.
Where am I?
The question repeated in her mind, but there was no answer. Her breath, shallow and quick, felt like it was being swallowed by the abyss itself. Was this the price for tampering with forces too great to control? Had she truly been consumed?
Then, slowly, impossibly, a whisper cut through the darkness—a voice she recognized, but barely.
"Elara… Elara… can you hear me?"
Her heart skipped a beat.
Kael.
She focused all her energy, reaching out with the faint, flickering thread of her power, trying to grasp something, anything, that would pull her back to the world she had known. Her surroundings began to shimmer, ever so slightly, as if the fabric of reality itself was warping in response to her will.
"Kael?" Her voice sounded foreign to her own ears, weak and fragile.
"Elara… you must fight." The voice grew clearer, and though it sounded distant, it was undeniably Kael. "You've crossed the threshold. You're in the Void now. This is not just the abyss—it's a prison, a space outside of everything. If you do not find your way out, you will be lost forever."
She blinked, trying to clear the haze from her vision, but there was nothing to see. Only an endless expanse of nothingness. No light, no shadow. Just the oppressive weight of silence pressing in from all sides.
"No... I can't... I won't be lost," Elara whispered, her voice trembling as she struggled to move, to feel anything at all. But there was nothing to hold onto.
"I'm not strong enough," she added, her chest tightening. The demonic energy inside her, which had always felt like a raging inferno, was now cold and distant, a distant memory of power she could no longer touch.
"You are," Kael's voice said firmly, though the tone was strained. "Listen to me, Elara. You have more strength than you realize. You've already defied fate once. Don't let it take you now."
The words seemed to sink deep into her, and in the stillness of the Void, something began to stir—an ember, small and faint, but unmistakable. Her power, the demonic force that had always been both a gift and a curse, began to burn in the distance, just beyond her reach.
"Focus on it. Focus on what you've become," Kael urged.
Her mind swam with memories—her training in the abyss, the ancient prophecy, the fire in her blood when she first tapped into the demonic energy. She thought of the world she sought to change, of her heritage and the legacy she carried. The weight of it all—her ancestors, her lineage, and the futures of so many—began to anchor her in place.
Slowly, she stretched her will toward the ember, that flickering light in the distance. It was fragile, but it was hers. She had always known this power would come with a price, but she had never imagined it would feel like this. Like she was standing on the edge of everything, and the next step could destroy her.
With a deep breath, she reached out and pulled the ember into herself, feeling the heat surge through her body. It wasn't just demonic energy—it was more, something ancient and primal that made her feel both infinitesimal and infinite at the same time.
The Void quivered.
"Good," Kael's voice echoed. "You're awakening it. Now, center yourself. Control it, Elara."
The world around her began to take shape again, not in any conventional sense, but in flashes of color and light—blinding, dizzying, overwhelming. She had no way of knowing where the Void ended and the realm beyond began. But she could feel it, that flickering thread of reality pulling her toward it.
Her energy began to surge, a wave of power coursing through her veins, tearing away the void with each pulse. The demonic force surged within her, but there was something new to it, something different. The energy was still chaotic, still violent, but now it felt tethered, as if it had found its place within her.
"Elara!" Kael shouted, his voice filled with desperation. "You're breaking through—don't stop!"
She gritted her teeth, the sensation of the Void fighting against her every step of the way. But she refused to back down. With every ounce of her will, she forced the power to bend to her, to shape it into something that would allow her to escape.
And then, with a blinding flash, the Void shattered.
The world exploded into color and sound, overwhelming her senses. She felt herself being pulled in a thousand directions, her mind screaming for clarity. Her body trembled as the power coursed through her like a tidal wave. It was too much. Too much.
She gasped, collapsing to her knees as the world around her blurred into a whirlwind of chaos. And then, just as suddenly as it had all begun, everything stopped.
Elara opened her eyes.
She was no longer in the Void.
But she wasn't sure where she was.
A vast expanse stretched before her—an endless desert of cracked earth and shifting shadows. The air was thick, oppressive, and heavy with an unfamiliar energy. In the distance, something flickered, like a fire on the horizon.
She stood, her legs unsteady, feeling the pulse of the energy still within her. But it was different now. More controlled, more present.
And somewhere deep within her, she felt the faintest echo of Kael's presence, guiding her forward.
But before she could take another step, a voice boomed through the desert, cold and foreboding.
"You've made a grave mistake, Elara."
She froze, her blood running cold. The voice was unfamiliar, but it carried a weight that was undeniable.
And then, a figure appeared on the horizon—a silhouette against the blood-red sky, moving toward her with unnatural speed.
"Who are you?" Elara demanded, her hands crackling with energy.
The figure did not answer. Instead, it raised its hand, and the ground beneath her feet began to tremble.
Elara's heart raced. She had crossed into something far darker than she had ever imagined.
And now, there was no turning back.