The darkness. It was always the first thing, a constant in all his encounters with that domain.
An infinite void that stretched in every direction, without sky, without ground, without direction. A place that seemed to exist outside time and space, a pocket of reality where the laws of the world did not apply.
Kyrian opened his eyes, and before him was the gigantic golden eye. Azhura'k. The colossal iris occupied an absurd portion of the space, like a moon filling the entire horizon. Golden chains crossed its surface like rivers of fire, binding the beast in a place that seemed to exist outside reality, a prison that even time could not erode.
Kyrian remained motionless, observing the ancient creature. That night, however, something was different. Gao Ziyue was not there. He looked around, his eyes sweeping across the infinite darkness. Nothing. No sign of her, no familiar presence, and no echo of her energy.
