Night fell like a curtain of obsidian silk across the Abysswood, the colossal black trees shimmering faintly with a phantom glow. The group had made temporary camp just beyond the Sanctum of Null, its stone form looming behind them like a silent guardian. The air remained unnervingly still—almost respectful, as if nature itself sensed what Aeryn had done inside those ancient walls.
Aeryn sat alone at the edge of the clearing, legs drawn up, elbows resting loosely on his knees. The moonlight painted silver edges across his face. His eyes, freshly freed from the Primordial's influence, were quiet. Not empty—just calm in a way they had never been before.
Selene walked up behind him, tail swinging lazily.
"You're thinking too loud."
Aeryn cracked a small smile. "That obvious?"
"Painfully." She sat beside him, drawing her cloak tighter. "Your aura feels… different. Lighter."
"That's good, right?"
"It is." She tilted her head. "But it's also scary."
Aeryn glanced at her. "…Why scary?"
"Because change always is." Selene rested her chin on her knee. "You severed something ancient. Something most people would have begged to keep for the sake of power."
Aeryn sighed. "Power isn't worth losing myself."
Selene smirked. "Look at you. Saying deep protagonist things."
He chuckled. "Don't start."
"I'll start if I want to."
They stayed there in silence for a while—comfortable, quiet, grounding.
Selene eventually stood and dusted off her clothes.
"Lysandra's been pacing like a worried mother hawk. You should check on her before she snaps a tree in half."
"I'm going," Aeryn said, pushing himself up. "You coming?"
Selene stretched. "Nah. I'm on monster-watch duty tonight. Kael and I made a deal. He cooks breakfast, I don't let us die before sunrise."
Aeryn snorted. "Fair enough."
---
LYSANDRA'S QUIET FURY
Lysandra wasn't hard to find.
Even from across the clearing, Aeryn could feel her mana trembling—not dangerously, but emotionally, like a pot simmering too long.
She stood alone near the fire, arms crossed, spear stuck in the ground beside her. Her silver hair fell loosely around her shoulders, catching the flames' glow like molten metal.
Aeryn approached slowly. "Lys…"
She turned sharply.
"Oh—Aeryn."
Her voice was steady, but her eyes burned.
"You okay?" he asked.
She inhaled deeply. "No."
Aeryn winced. "That's fair."
Lysandra stepped closer, frustration radiating off her.
"You walked into that Sanctum alone," she said, voice low and tight. "You shut us out. You cut the link. You disappeared into silence."
Aeryn swallowed. "I didn't have a choice."
"You always have a choice," she shot back.
He looked down. "If I hadn't done it, the Primordial would've awakened."
"And if you died in there?!" Lysandra snapped. "What then? What would we—what would I—have been supposed to do?!"
Aeryn lifted his head, meeting her gaze.
"I trusted myself," he said gently. "And I trusted all of you to be here when I returned."
Her breath faltered.
"Aeryn…"
He stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"I'm not alone anymore. Not like I was."
Lysandra clenched her fists. "Then stop acting like you are."
"…You're right."
Her eyes widened.
"Wait. I am?"
"You always are."
Lysandra blinked. "Well… that was easier than expected."
Aeryn shrugged. "It's hard to argue with someone who stares at you like she'll kill you if you lie."
She sputtered. "I—I do NOT—"
Aeryn smirked.
Lysandra's anger cracked, just slightly, dissolving into reluctant laughter.
"You idiot," she murmured.
"You're welcome."
---
THE FIRE CIRCLE
Later that night, the entire group gathered around the fire.
Kael stirred the pot with surprising skill. "Dinner in five minutes."
Selene leaned over. "If it tastes like last time, we're hunting you."
Kael scoffed. "My cooking is excellent."
"It nearly killed a Basilisk."
"That was a coincidence!"
Aeryn sat down beside them, Vaelor standing behind the circle like an ominous statue.
Kael nudged Aeryn. "So, how's post-Primordial life feel?"
Aeryn considered. "…Quiet."
Selene nodded. "Makes sense. Your mana feels calmer. More balanced."
Aeryn raised an eyebrow. "Balanced how?"
Selene flicked a finger, sending a ripple of blue sparkles across his chest.
"You used to feel like a storm bottled inside a person," she said. "Now you feel like… a storm with direction."
Kael looked impressed. "That's poetic."
"Shut up," Selene muttered.
Lysandra sat close beside Aeryn, brushing his arm lightly—an unconscious gesture of reassurance.
Vaelor stared into the fire. "Now that the first Primordial influence is severed, you have a window of stability. But it won't last."
Aeryn frowned. "Explain."
Vaelor turned slowly, silver eyes reflecting the flames.
"There are seven Primordials. Each one connected to a fundamental aspect of existence. The one inside you represented Origin— the beginning."
Kael grumbled. "And now we have six more walking cosmic disasters to worry about."
Vaelor nodded. "Correct."
Selene rolled her eyes. "Fantastic."
Aeryn leaned forward. "Where are they?"
Vaelor's wings shifted. "Scattered. Dormant. Bound. But something is changing."
"What?" Aeryn pressed.
Vaelor's voice dropped.
"They're waking up."
A heavy silence swallowed the fire circle.
Kael tightened his grip on his sword.
Selene's tail went stiff.
Lysandra grit her teeth.
Aeryn exhaled slowly. "So we stop them."
Vaelor shook his head.
"You cannot stop what is beyond destruction."
"Then what can we do?" Aeryn asked.
Vaelor's eyes narrowed.
"Gather allies. Learn truths long buried. Prepare for a war older than the sky."
Selene muttered, "No pressure."
Aeryn said, "Where do we start?"
Vaelor lifted his hand.
A map of stars appeared above the fire—six burning points scattered across the illusionary sky.
"One of the Primordials stirs in the south," Vaelor said. "The Primordial of Hunger."
Aeryn's expression sharpened. "Name?"
"Vorath."
Kael winced. "Vorath the Devouring Maw?"
"You know him," Selene said.
Kael nodded grimly. "A myth from the Holy Empire. A monster that eats mana, matter, souls… anything."
Aeryn stood.
"Then we go south."
Vaelor raised a hand. "Hold. You are not ready."
Aeryn frowned. "I just defeated a Primordial fragment."
"You severed a connection," Vaelor corrected. "Facing a full Primordial is a different reality."
Aeryn clenched his fists. "I don't have the luxury of waiting."
"Then you will die."
"Then teach me," Aeryn said.
Vaelor blinked. "Teach you?"
"You're an Archon," Aeryn said. "You fought Primordials. You survived. Train me."
Vaelor stared long and hard, wings rustling like shifting pages of night.
"…Very well."
Selene's jaw dropped. "Wait, seriously? That easily?"
Vaelor shrugged. "It is either I train him, or he dies. I find the first option more efficient."
Kael laughed. "Practical as hell."
Lysandra squeezed Aeryn's arm. "You can do this."
Aeryn looked around at all of them.
His team.
His anchor.
His future.
"I won't let any of you die," he said.
Selene snorted. "You better keep that promise."
Kael raised his bowl. "To surviving the impossible."
They clinked bowls, drank the questionable soup, and let the fire warm their battered souls.
But even amid the camaraderie, Aeryn could feel the world shifting.
Something ancient stirred in the south.
Something hungry.
And it felt him too.
---
TRAINING BEGINS AT DAWN
The next morning, Aeryn stood alone with Vaelor at the edge of the clearing.
The Archon's wings were fully spread, nearly blocking the rising sun.
His presence radiated authority so overwhelming that even the wind bent around him.
"Lesson one," Vaelor said, "Show me your mana."
Aeryn raised his hand. Silver-white energy flowed smoothly like water.
Vaelor frowned. "That is not your limit."
Aeryn pushed harder.
The light grew.
Crackled.
Shifted into an unstable storm.
Vaelor shook his head. "Still not enough."
Aeryn strained.
Lysandra watched in silence from afar, heart racing.
"Push, Aeryn…" she whispered.
Aeryn growled and unleashed everything.
The ground cracked.
The air shook.
A pillar of silver energy burst upward like a beacon.
Vaelor's wings flared open.
"Good," he said. "But you lack control."
Aeryn collapsed to one knee. "I'm—working—on it."
"Not fast enough."
Vaelor flicked his finger.
A blast of black mana slammed into Aeryn's chest, launching him backward into a tree.
He gasped, coughing.
"AERYN!" Lysandra sprinted over, spear ready. "Vaelor!"
"Stay back," Vaelor commanded.
Aeryn pushed himself up. "I'm fine… Lys."
Lysandra hovered protectively but stepped back reluctantly.
Vaelor approached slowly.
"You severed the Primordial," he said, "but that means you severed centuries of inherited instinct as well. You must learn to wield your mana as your own—not as a borrowed power."
Aeryn glared. "Then hit me again."
Vaelor raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
"Do it."
So Vaelor struck him again.
And again.
And again.
Lysandra flinched every time.
Kael winced.
Selene muttered curses at Vaelor under her breath.
But Aeryn kept standing.
Bloodied.
Bruised.
Mana burning.
Standing.
Vaelor nodded after the fifteenth hit. "Good. You learned."
Aeryn coughed violently. "Learned what?"
Vaelor smiled faintly.
"That you refuse to break."
Aeryn wanted to retort, but instead—he laughed.
A genuine, exhausted laugh.
"Then let's keep going."
Vaelor said, "We will. The next lessons will be harder."
Selene called out, "Harder?! He almost died!"
Vaelor shrugged. "Progress."
Kael whispered, "This guy is a nightmare."
Lysandra entered the clearing, kneeling beside Aeryn to wipe blood off his cheek.
"You're insane," she murmured.
Aeryn smiled softly. "I'm getting stronger."
"You better," she whispered. "I'm not losing you."
Aeryn held her gaze. "You won't."
---
A SHADOW FROM THE SOUTH
As the group rested, Vaelor suddenly stiffened.
Selene felt it too—her ears snapped upward.
Kael unsheathed his sword.
Lysandra grabbed her spear.
A wave of cold mana washed over the land.
An aura so oppressive it felt like someone pressing a hand over the entire world's throat.
Aeryn stood, eyes wide.
"That's—"
Vaelor finished for him.
"Vorath."
Kael hissed, "He's moving already?"
Vaelor nodded grimly. "He senses Aeryn's severance. He is coming."
Aeryn's pulse hammered.
Lysandra grabbed his hand.
"Aeryn… what now?"
Aeryn inhaled deeply.
"Now," he said, power gathering around him—
"We prepare."
Vaelor spread his wings.
"We don't have long."
Selene cracked her knuckles. "Then let's make it count."
Kael grinned. "Hell yeah."
Aeryn looked at his companions—
the people he'd die for.
the people he'd kill for.
And spoke the words that began the next arc of their journey:
"War is coming.
And we meet it head-on."