WHAT LIVES BENEATH THE VEIL
Book Thirteen: The Endless Void
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CONTENT WARNING: This series contains explicit sexual violence, human sacrifice, psychological torture, murder of innocent characters (including children and family members), ritualistic killing, and extreme horror. No character is safe. Read at your own risk.
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Chapter Two Hundred Ninety-Six: The Void Walker's Emptiness
Year 305 – Two Hundred Ninety-Four Years After the Curse
The void walker in the east had walked the void for two hundred ninety-four years.
Not literally—he was only eighty-one. But he had walked as if he had been searching for meaning for centuries. Every day. Every night. Every emptiness of every kind.
He believed he could challenge the queen.
He believed he could win.
He believed he could kill her.
His name was Kaelus—another echo, another coincidence. He was old now, his form fading, his power waning, his emptiness endless.
He had seen many things in his long existence.
He had walked many voids.
He had failed many times.
But he had never faced anything like the queen.
The queen was different.
The queen was darkness.
The queen was eternity.
But Kaelus had found something.
A void stone.
An ancient void stone, torn from the heart of the first void, imbued with the power to consume anything, to erase anything, to nullify anything.
He had hidden it for eons.
He had protected it for eons.
He was ready.
This is it, he thought.
This is the answer.
This is how I consume her.
He did not see the shadows gathering.
He did not hear the whispers growing louder.
He did not feel the darkness closing in.
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The Eastern Void – Morning
Kaelus drifted through the void, as he always did.
The emptiness was vast. The silence was absolute. The darkness was comforting.
Life is hard, he thought.
Life is cruel.
Life is short.
But I am not short.
I am empty.
I am eternal.
Or I was.
Until I walked.
Until I failed.
He did not see the shadows.
He did not hear the whispers.
He did not feel the darkness watching.
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The Ruins – Morning
Liora sat on the throne, listening to the whispers.
Three million and sixty souls now served her. They flitted through the shadows, invisible to all but her, reporting on everything they saw and heard.
They told her about the void walker.
He is empty, they said. He is fading. He is dangerous.
He has a void stone. An ancient void stone. Torn from the heart of the first void.
It can consume anything.
Erase anything.
Nullify any thing.
He believes he can consume you.
He believes he can win.
He believes he can kill you.
Liora's smile widened.
A void walker, she thought.
Empty. Fading. Dangerous.
A void stone that can consume anything.
Erase anything.
Nullify any thing.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
But I am not a thing.
I am not emptiness.
I am eternal.
And no void stone—
No walker—
No emptiness—
Can consume eternity.
She stood up.
She walked down the steps.
The shadows followed.
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The Eastern Void – Night
Kaelus prepared for his journey.
He held the void stone.
It glowed in his hand.
It was cold.
It was alive.
It was hungry.
Tomorrow, he thought.
Tomorrow I go to the ruins.
Tomorrow I face the queen.
Tomorrow I consume her.
He did not see the shadows gathering.
He did not hear the whispers growing louder.
He did not feel the darkness closing in.
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The Void
Liora appeared in the emptiness.
White dress. Black eyes. Pale skin.
"You're here," she said.
Kaelus looked up.
"Who—"
"I am the queen."
"The queen?"
"Yes."
"Please—"
"Shh."
Kaelus raised the void stone.
Liora moved.
Faster than he could follow. Faster than he could react.
Her hand closed around his wrist.
"You won't need that."
"Let go of me."
"No."
Kaelus tried to pull away.
He could not.
Liora's grip was like iron.
"What are you?"
"I am what comes next."
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The Feeding – Kaelus
Liora reached into the void walker's mind.
He tried to resist.
He was empty. Fading. Dangerous.
But she was stronger.
She pushed past his defenses.
She found his memories.
...the voids...
...the emptiness...
...the hope ...
...that he could be the one...
...that he could stop her...
...that he could consume her...
She pulled.
The memories flowed into her.
The voids.
The emptiness.
The soul.
Delicious, she thought.
More.
She pulled again.
He gasped.
His body convulsed.
His eyes rolled back.
She pulled again.
He went limp.
She withdrew from his mind.
She looked down at him.
Still breathing. Still alive. But empty.
The void walker was no more.
Just a shell.
Another victim.
Another name for the list.
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The Void Stone
Liora picked up the void stone.
It glowed in her hand.
It was cold.
It was alive.
It was hungry.
Interesting, she thought.
Very interesting.
She raised the void stone.
She looked at its reflection in her eyes.
Her eyes were black.
Her skin was pale.
Her smile was wide.
This void stone could consume anything, she thought.
It could erase anything.
It could nullify any thing.
But I have no need for consumption.
I have no need for erasure.
I have no need for nullification.
I am the consumption.
I am the erasure.
I am the nullification.
She crushed the void stone in her hand.
The glow faded.
The cold died.
The hunger ended.
No one will ever use it now, she thought.
No one will ever try again.
I am safe.
I am eternal.
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The Three Million Sixty-First Sacrifice
She performed the ritual in the void, surrounded by emptiness and silence.
The whispers watched.
She spoke the words.
She made the cuts.
She collected the blood.
And when it was over—
The darkness roared.
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The Power – Three Million Sixty-One
The fire in her veins burned brighter.
Three million and sixty-one sacrifices. Three million and sixty-one souls. Three million and sixty-one streams of darkness flowing into her, merging with her blood, becoming her.
Three million sixty-one, she thought.
The hunger is quieter now.
But it will return.
It always returns.
She released the spell.
The shadows retreated.
She looked at the body.
A void walker. Empty. Dead.
No one is safe from me, she thought.
No one.
Not even the empty.
She smiled in the darkness.
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The Disposal
There was no body to burn.
The void walker dissolved into the void.
His essence scattered into the emptiness.
No one saw her.
No one ever saw her.
She walked back to the ruins as the sun rose, smelling of smoke and blood and darkness.
She washed her face in a broken fountain.
She braided her hair with her fingers.
She wore a white dress she had found in a forgotten wardrobe.
She practiced her smile.
Eyes wide. Innocence.
Mouth soft. Gentleness.
Head tilted. Curiosity.
Perfect, she thought.
She sat on the throne.
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The Empty Throne
The throne room was open to the sky.
No walls. No roof. No protection.
Just Liora.
And the whispers.
You are alone, they said.
Yes, she thought.
But I am not lonely.
I have you.
I have all of you.
Forever.
She closed her eyes.
She listened to the whispers.
They told her about the world.
The new kings. The new heroes. The new legends.
They told her about a young woman in the north. A star eater. Cosmic. She had been consuming stars for centuries, growing more powerful with each one, her hunger insatiable.
She believed she could challenge the queen.
She believed she could win.
She believed she could kill her.
Liora smiled.
Let her eat, she thought.
Let her grow.
Let her believe.
I have time.
I have forever.
And when she comes—
I will feed.
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End of Chapter Two Hundred Ninety-Six