In the cold and still air of the underground vault, the smell of centuries-old dust and cold stone filled the air. The light from Leng Wei's bracelet cast long, dancing shadows on the countless shelves lined with scrolls, artifacts, and crystal spheres. Many of these items had been left behind, forgotten for all time.
At the center of the circular room, on a pedestal made of black basalt, a crystal floated. It was about the size of a human head and its surface, which had previously been cloudy and lifeless, now shimmered with a deep blue glow. Inside the crystal, as if in a drop of water, strange images flickered and scattered into tiny particles of light.
An elder stood there, his face illuminated by the bluish light. His expression was a mix of inspiration and fear.
— He's been active since you... It sparkled, "the Elder said, without taking his eyes off the crystal. "But the images are chaotic. Flashes. Fragments. I've never seen anything like it. This is not a record of the past. This... window. But into what?"
Leng Wei approached. His blood responded to the proximity of the crystal with a low, insistent hum, like a chord played in the next room. He reached out his hand but did not touch it.
"What are you showing?" he whispered. As if in response, the crystal's glow intensified. The images within condensed, forming a clear but terrifying image.
A vision:
He saw a city unlike anything he had ever imagined. The towers were made of light, not stone, and shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow. No humans or vampires walked the streets, but creatures of pure energy inhabited the city. The sky was an unnatural purple dotted with two golden and crimson suns.
The city was burning, not with fire, but with a black, starless void that emanated from the True Masters. The towers crumbled to dust as the shining essences were consumed by the void.
In the midst of this chaos, he saw him.
A creature similar to the others, but more compact. Its shape resembled that of a human, but it was carved from dark, matte obsidian, with veins of inner golden light running through it. In its hands, it held a weapon that resembled a double-edged crystal blade. The blade seemed to cut through the approaching Void not physically, but rather as if erasing it from reality. It fought not with fury, but with cold, ruthless precision, and it was losing.
The vision vanished as suddenly as it appeared, and the crystal returned to its flickering state. Leng Wei took a deep breath, and the image of "the other" became clear. It was not a half-breed, but a different race and form of life altogether. Their enemy, however, was the same.
"Archons of Radiance," the Elder whispered, his eyes wide with amazement. "Legends... I thought they were just fairy tales, parables. They were older than us. They were said to be children of matter itself, pure spirits of the elements. They disappeared eons ago."
"They haven't disappeared," Leng Wei said gloomily. "Right now, they are just like us."
The Elder nodded. "He's fighting, just like you once did."
Suddenly, the crystal flashed with a blinding white light. A voice, not a voice but a pure image and message, crashed into Leng Wei's mind. Coordinates. Way. Time storage.
Then, a picture appeared: a single mountain of a bizarre shape towering over an ocean of clouds. At the top of the mountain, a dome shone made of the same iridescent material as the City of the Shining Ones.
And immediately, as if in response, a wave of chilling pressure swept through the hall. The shadows in the corners thickened and crept along the walls. The air howled, as if from a wind in an airless space. Several ancient scrolls turned to dust, and the shelves cracked.
A voice from the Abyss sounded in their minds, soundless and all-destroying: "FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE. STOP. ELIMINATE THE SOURCE."
The true owners sensed their presence and tried to reach them, even through the protection of the academy.
Leng Wei raised his hand, and his bracelet on his wrist flashed. His father's sword materialized in his hand with a low rumble, but he didn't attack. Instead, he focused on the image of his mother, the warmth, and the light he sent to the eye. He created a dome of calm radiance around himself and the elder, not a shield of rage but a bastion of will.
The shadows stumbled upon the light and retreated with a hiss, unable to absorb it. The howling stopped, and everything was quiet.
When the pressure subsided, Leng Wei and the elder stood panting, the crystal dimming as if it had exhausted its power.
"They know," the elder whispered. "They know we're looking for allies."
"So much the better," Leng Wei replied, lowering his blade. His eyes burned with determination. "Let them know that their isolation chamber has leaked, we've found a weakness, a crack."
He turned to the elder. "This mountain... time storage. Do you know where it is?"
The elder shook his head slowly, still recovering from the strain. "No. There is no such mountain on any map of our world, but..." He looked at the now-extinct crystal. "If the vision was true, this place may be in another plane of existence or in our world but hidden by powerful charms. The path will not just be dangerous, it may not be possible."
"The impossible is simply a challenge that has not yet been faced," Leng Wei repeated one of his father's sayings, which he had read in his journal. "We will find a way. We must."
After leaving the vault, Leng headed to his room. He had a new purpose now. It was not to fight an unseen enemy, but to seek an ally in the war. To find someone who understood the nature of emptiness better than they did.
Leng knew this journey would be the most challenging he had ever taken. He would leave the Academy, his family, and his people, under the threat of the Heavenly Eye's sword.
There was no other option. The journey must continue.
At the window, he paused to look at the Eye once more.
Inner voice: Did you destroy their city? Are you trying to destroy us? We will find the survivors. And then, then we will show you what life can be when it stands united against nothingness.
He felt that not just determination was growing in his soul, but something more - a mission. And the first step was clear: to gather those who would accompany him on a journey to a place not marked on any map.