The Void Frontier was silent—too silent.
Not the silence of calm, but the silence after something colossal has passed through and left the world holding its breath.
Ethan stood with Eldric, Lyra, and a battered Vahl'Serath on what remained of the floating citadel. The sky was cracked in delicate lines, as if the realm itself feared tearing open again.
Ethan's chest still pulsed with unstable starlight. Each beat felt heavier, sharper—a constant reminder of the Void Sovereign's warning.
The Silent Star awakens… but you are not yet worthy.
Eldric spoke first, his tone unusually cautious:
"We head for the Eternal Rift immediately. The Starcore Sanctum isn't just a place—it's a living archive of the Silent Star's power. But reaching it… is another matter."
Lyra crossed her arms, still shaken.
"The Eternal Rift is unstable. If we take a single wrong step, we'll be pulled into dimensional collapse."
Vahl'Serath growled, his cosmic stone body cracking as he moved.
"And that is precisely why the Sovereign sent you there. Only the worthy can reach the Sanctum."
Ethan took a breath and looked toward the distant horizon, where the faint line of ancient starlight shimmered like a beacon. Even from here, he felt it calling to him—like a forgotten memory tugging at his soul.
"Then we start walking."
---
The Path of Shattered Space
The journey began across floating landmasses—broken islands suspended by fragments of reality. Each step was a test of stability. Sometimes the ground was solid; other times it flickered, half-phased into another dimension.
Ethan almost stepped into a void fissure, but Lyra snapped her fingers, weaving a stabilizing rune beneath his foot.
"Careful! If you fall, you'll drop straight into the Riftstream."
"What's that?" Ethan asked.
Eldric answered grimly:
"Imagine an endless river made of broken timelines and lost universes. If you touch it, you'll dissolve into every version of yourself simultaneously."
Ethan blinked.
"That sounds… painful."
"Unbelievably," Eldric confirmed.
But Ethan noticed something else—the unstable pulse inside him seemed to hum more strongly the closer they got to the horizon's starlight.
---
The Bridge of Echoes
After hours of travel through fractured terrain, they reached a massive canyon.
Across it stretched a shimmering structure—a bridge made of translucent light, blinking in and out of existence.
Lyra's eyes widened.
"That's the Bridge of Echoes. It only appears to those with Starbearer resonance."
Vahl'Serath looked at Ethan.
"Walk."
Ethan stepped onto the bridge.
Instantly, echoes of himself appeared—versions from possible futures, possible failures, possible triumphs—all made of light.
Ethan felt their emotions, their fears, their hopes.
Lyra whispered, "This bridge tests your mind."
Ethan kept walking.
The echoes whispered:
"You are not enough."
"You will fail."
"The Sovereign will consume all."
"You cannot save anyone."
Ethan clenched his fists.
"Shut up."
The Silent Star responded—his pulse flared, scattering the echoes like dust.
The bridge solidified beneath his feet.
He crossed.
---
The Edge of the Eternal Rift
The horizon finally broke open.
Before them lay a colossal wound in reality—
a swirling abyss of starlight, void energy, and collapsing dimensions.
The Eternal Rift.
It stretched endlessly in both directions, humming like a cosmic heartbeat.
Lyra stepped back instinctively.
"I've read about it, but seeing it… this is terrifying."
Eldric nodded.
"The Starcore Sanctum lies somewhere inside that storm. Hidden between collapsed universes. Surviving it will require control over the Silent Star's pulse."
Ethan placed a hand on his chest.
The pulse inside him throbbed, unstable but growing more reactive.
Vahl'Serath approached him.
"There is one more truth you must know before entering."
Ethan glanced up.
"What truth?"
The Harbinger's molten eyes glowed brightly.
"You are not the first Starbearer to enter the Rift."
Ethan froze.
"What happened to the last one?"
Vahl'Serath looked toward the swirling abyss.
"He found the Sanctum."
A pause.
"But he failed to awaken the Second Pulse. And the Rift consumed him."
Lyra's breath caught.
Eldric remained silent.
Ethan stared into the Eternal Rift, feeling its pull, its hunger… and its challenge.
He exhaled slowly.
"Then I'll succeed where he couldn't."
His aura flared—bright, white, unstable.
The Rift trembled, recognizing his presence.
Eldric placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder.
"Once we enter, there is no turning back."
Ethan nodded.
"I know."
Lyra stepped beside him.
"Then let's find the Sanctum."
Vahl'Serath cracked his cosmic knuckles.
"And face whatever remains inside."
Together, they stepped toward the swirling vortex.
The Eternal Rift roared—
accepting them.
Or preparing to destroy them.
---