The battlefield was silent after the explosion.
Smoke drifted across collapsed stone. Soldiers steadied their shields. Students coughed through the dust.
But all eyes went to Aren.
Not because he was injured.
Because the Herald had spoken to him.
Kane placed a steadying hand on Aren's shoulder.
"Focus. Breathe. You're safe."
Aren wasn't sure.
The Herald's final scream echoed in his skull.
RUN.
THE CHAINS…
Aren swallowed hard, trying to force the words out.
"Kane… I need to tell you something."
But before he could speak, Rellin arrived with a squad of elite guards.
"Secure the perimeter," she commanded. "Confirm there are no further anomalies."
Her gaze locked onto Aren.
"You."
She pointed. "Inside. Now."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The debriefing room was small, cold, and fortified with mana seals.
Aren sat across from Rellin and the Council researcher — the same one who'd scanned him days ago.
Kane stood behind Aren like a silent wall.
Rellin began without ceremony.
"What did the Herald say to you?"
Aren hesitated.
Kane nodded at him.
"Tell the truth."
Aren exhaled slowly.
"It… warned me."
The room froze.
The researcher blinked. "Warned you? Heralds don't warn. They destroy."
Aren continued, voice steady:
"It said the chains beneath the city are weakening. It said I must not reach the thing calling me."
Rellin's eyes narrowed.
"…A warning about something beneath the city?"
Aren nodded.
Rellin leaned back.
"Describe the presence."
Aren's pulse quickened.
Should he tell them about the dragon?
The void king chained beneath the city?
The visions?
The mindscape?
Alarm bells went off in his head — the Herald had been terrified, silenced violently by the dragon.
If Aren told them everything…
Would they treat him as a threat?
A vessel?
A weapon to contain?
He chose his words carefully.
"It's powerful. Ancient. And it's calling me. I don't know why."
Silence.
The researcher whispered, "Impossible… There are no recorded void-class entities beneath the city…"
Kane acted like he believed Aren — or wanted to — but the Council eyes around the room hardened with suspicion.
Rellin stood.
"I'll be blunt:
If something underground is influencing you, we must increase containment protocols."
Kane snapped, "He is not the threat here!"
Rellin glared. "We don't know that."
Aren stood abruptly.
"You're missing the point. The Herald wasn't trying to kill me. It was trying to warn me."
The air thickened.
Rellin's voice dropped.
"Warn you about what?"
Aren met her gaze.
"…About something worse than demons."
Silence crashed over the room.
Then Rellin dismissed him.
"This conversation isn't finished. Kane — escort him back."
Aren walked out, feeling the weight of a thousand unseen eyes on him.
No one believed him.
Or worse —
they believed him, and now they feared him even more.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Outside, Kane stopped him gently.
"Aren. Listen to me."
Aren turned.
Kane's expression was strained — frustration and protectiveness mixing together.
"You didn't tell them everything, did you?"
Aren looked away. "…No."
Kane didn't push.
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Be careful what you reveal.
The Council isn't your enemy… but they're not your allies either. Whatever this void presence is… it puts you in the middle of a conflict no one understands."
Aren nodded slowly.
He appreciated Kane more than he could express.
"Thank you."
Kane gave a faint, tired smile.
"You're a good kid, Aren. And that's exactly why I'm worried."
As Kane walked away, Aren felt the tug again.
That low hum beneath the earth.
That voice curling along the edges of his mind.
"You told them nothing…
Good."
Aren stiffened.
The dragon whispered through the stone:
"Do not trust them.
Trust only the void."
Aren clenched his fists.
"No," he whispered. "I'll trust myself."
The dragon's chuckle echoed faintly:
"We shall see."
Aren exhaled shakily.
He needed answers.
He needed strength.
He needed to break the chain the world was trying to place around him — before the one underground broke free of its own.