The fall into the abyss wasn't immediate death—
It was a slow, controlled descent.
The three of them slid down a steep slope of fractured stone, sparks kicking out from their boots as they tried to stabilize their momentum. The air grew colder the deeper they went, carrying with it a strange metallic scent, almost like ancient magic dripping down the cavern walls.
Aeryn landed first, rolling into a crouch. His sword hummed with faint silver light, reacting to something below the darkness.
Elyndra landed gracefully behind him, mana vines cushioning her fall.
Aren followed last, flipping midair because of course he did, landing with a smirk.
"Still alive," Aren said. "That's a good start."
Elyndra pressed a hand to the ground. "This cavern… feels constructed."
Aeryn looked around.
She was right.
The walls weren't stone anymore. They were carved.
Massive, ancient symbols spiraled across the dark surfaces—some glowing faintly, others cracked, leaking threads of smoky blackness. The symbols curved like constellations mapped onto the inside of the world.
Aeryn felt his heart skip.
He'd seen some of these shapes.
Inside the visions.
Inside the pulse that had awakened within him.
A light vibration crawled under his skin.
Aren noticed Aeryn's expression.
"Hey. Don't go quiet on me now. What are you sensing?"
Aeryn's hand trembled slightly on his sword.
"The same presence… from before."
"From your surge?"
"Yeah. That… voice."
He swallowed.
"It's deeper."
Elyndra stepped to his side.
"We follow."
So they moved.
The tunnel wound downward like the spine of a giant beast, twisting around itself with no natural symmetry. Every few meters they saw fragments of old murals—depictions of figures with silver halos, eyes like stars, and weapons shaped eerily similar to Aeryn's.
Aren ran his fingers over one mural. "These aren't human."
"They're not elven either," Elyndra added.
Aeryn looked at the carvings again. The figures reminded him of the shape he felt rising inside himself during the surge—beautiful in form, terrifying in presence.
"Whoever they were," Aeryn said quietly, "their magic feels familiar."
Aren gave him a sharp look. "Define familiar."
Aeryn didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Because the truth was beginning to sink its claws into him—
He didn't just feel their magic.
He resonated with it.
---
The First Chamber
The passage widened into a colossal chamber that stretched so high their lights didn't reach the ceiling. Strange crystal growths jutted from the walls and floor—each one glowing with pale, silver luminescence. The corruption veins pulsed weakly between them, like dying veins in a giant body.
Elyndra approached one crystal and touched it gently.
"It's warm," she murmured. "Alive."
Aren raised a brow. "Crystals are not supposed to be alive."
"They're not supposed to hum either," Aeryn muttered.
Because they were humming—softly, in a frequency that matched Aeryn's heartbeat.
A cold sweat slid down his back.
The crystals reacted to him.
Elyndra stepped closer. "It's not harming you. It's… acknowledging you."
Aren crossed his arms. "I'm adding that to the list of things I'm pretending not to freak out about."
The room suddenly shuddered.
A low vibration spread through the floor, causing dust to drift down like grey snowfall. The corruption veins pulsed violently once, then stabilized.
Aeryn drew his sword instantly.
"Something's awake."
"Not something," Elyndra whispered. "Something big."
A second tremor rippled through the chamber, stronger this time.
Aren twirled his blades. "Alright. I vote we break whatever's waking up before it decides we're snacks."
Aeryn stepped forward.
"No," he said. "We find the core."
The pulses of vibration rolled again—this time coming from a massive doorway at the far end of the chamber. It wasn't carved like the others.
It was grown.
Silver crystal branches locked together into a gate, pulsing like a giant heart.
Aren whistled. "Please tell me that thing doesn't open from the inside."
It opened.
Slowly.
With a groaning, ancient noise that felt like time itself bending.
Beyond the gate was darkness—
But not empty darkness.
It pulsed.
Alive.
Breathing.
Elyndra whispered, "The core is beyond that gate."
Aeryn took one step forward—
And the voice returned.
Come.
I waited.
Aeryn froze.
Aren touched his shoulder. "Aeryn. Focus."
"I'm trying."
"You're shaking."
And he was.
He hadn't realized how hard.
Elyndra took his hand.
"You're not alone," she whispered.
Aeryn steadied his breath.
Then he nodded.
They moved through the gate.
---
The Core's Lair
The room beyond was unlike anything above—
A vast subterranean amphitheater carved in spirals.
Every spiral line glowed faint silver.
At the center was a floating mass of twisted darkness—corruption swirling around a core of brilliant star-like light.
The corrupted core pulsed like a dying star.
Dark tendrils stretched from it to the walls, feeding off the cavern's ancient energy.
Aren gave a low whistle.
"This is… bad. Very bad."
Elyndra stepped forward, eyes wide. "It's a sealed entity."
Aeryn stiffened. "…Sealed?"
"Yes. Bound here long ago. But the corruption has been eating at the seal for decades."
Aren's eyes narrowed. "Then the beasts weren't the threat."
Aeryn clenched his jaw.
"The core itself is."
The dark mass pulsed—and a new tendril shot out, lashing toward them.
Aeryn reacted instantly, slicing it mid-air. The silver crack in his sword flared bright, burning the corruption away like fire to dry leaves.
But then—
The core stopped pulsing.
A sound filled the cavern.
Not a roar.
A voice.
One that resonated inside Aeryn's skull.
You return… incomplete one…
Aeryn staggered, grabbing his head.
Aren lunged to his side. "AERYN!"
Elyndra reached for him too—but the moment her fingers touched his hand, Aeryn's aura pulsed violently.
Silver light exploded around them.
Aren was thrown back.
Elyndra barely shielded herself.
Aeryn's eyes flashed silver.
And the core's voice grew louder.
Fragment of the Astral Line… heir of the Seventh Spark… do you know what you are?
Aeryn gasped, falling to one knee.
"I am NOT—"
He choked.
"I'm not what you think."
The core pulsed with a monstrous, distorted laughter.
You cannot deny what sleeps in your veins.
Aren forced himself to stand. "HEY! Leave him alone!"
Elyndra raised her staff, vines spiraling around her. "Your voice is corrupting this place. We won't let you take him."
Take him?
The core's light intensified.
He is MINE.
Tendrils erupted outward—
Dozens—
Hundreds—
All converging on Aeryn.
Aeryn raised his sword, swinging wildly—but the tendrils didn't strike him.
They wrapped around him.
Pulling him.
Dragging him.
Aren sprinted forward, blades flashing. "NO YOU DON'T!"
He cut one tendril. Then another. But ten more shot out, holding Aeryn in place.
Elyndra unleashed a blast of mana, her vines tearing through the darkness, but even she couldn't break them all.
"AERYN!" she screamed. "Fight it!"
He was trying—
Gods, he was trying—
But the voice was pushing into his mind, whispering truths he never asked for.
You are not human.
You were never human.
You are the fragment they scattered—
The vessel they forgot.
The spark meant to reignite the Astral Line.
Return to me.
Aeryn felt something crack inside his chest.
His memories—
His dreams—
His visions—
They all pulsed, aligning.
He felt himself drowning in light and darkness at once.
"No—" he gasped, teeth clenching. "I am… Aeryn. I choose my own path."
The core laughed.
A thunderous, ancient sound.
You cannot choose what you are.
And with one violent pull—
Aeryn was dragged into the core.
Elyndra screamed.
Aren roared his name.
But the silver light swallowed him.
Then…
Silence.
No Aeryn.
No voice.
Just the dying pulse of the corrupted core, glowing faintly.
Elyndra dropped to her knees.
"Aeryn…"
Aren stood frozen for a full three seconds—
Then clenched his blades so tightly the metal groaned.
"Alright," he whispered, trembling with rage.
"That's it."
He stepped toward the core, expression burning with fury.
"I'm getting him back."
Elyndra rose beside him, wiping tears from her cheeks, eyes blazing with determination.
"We both are," she said.
Together—
They stepped into the spiraling light.
Into the core.
Into whatever dimension had taken Aeryn.
They weren't going to let him face that ancient voice alone.
Even if it meant tearing apart the heart of the world.