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 Three Hundred: The Dimension Hopper's Truth
Year 309 – Two Hundred Ninety-Eight Years After the Curse
The dimension hopper in the east had hopped dimensions for two hundred ninety-eight years.
Not literally—he was only eighty-five. But he had hopped as if he had been exploring infinite realities for centuries. Every day. Every night. Every dimension of every kind.
He believed he could challenge the queen.
He believed he could win.
He believed he could kill her.
His name was Nexus—another echo, another coincidence. He was old now, his form shifting, his knowledge vast, his power boundless.
He had seen many things in his long existence.
He had explored many dimensions.
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 Nexus had found something.
A dimension key.
An ancient dimension key, carved from the heart of the first reality, imbued with the power to open any door, to access any place, to unmake any enemy.
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 unmake 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 Dimensions – Morning
Nexus drifted through the dimensions, as he always did.
The realities shifted. The doors opened. The knowledge was boundless.
Life is hard, he thought.
Life is cruel.
Life is short.
But I am not short.
I am vast.
I am eternal.
Or I was.
Until I hopped.
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-four 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 dimension hopper.
He is vast, they said. He is shifting. He is dangerous.
He has a dimension key. An ancient dimension key. Carved from the heart of the first reality.
It can open any door.
Access any place.
Unmake any enemy.
He believes he can unmake you.
He believes he can win.
He believes he can kill you.
Liora's smile widened.
A dimension hopper, she thought.
Vast. Shifting. Dangerous.
A dimension key that can open any door.
Access any place.
Unmake any enemy.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
But I am not an enemy.
I am not a place.
I am eternal.
And no key—
No hopper—
No dimension—
Can unmake eternity.
She stood up.
She walked down the steps.
The shadows followed.
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The Eastern Dimensions – Night
Nexus prepared for his journey.
He held the dimension key.
It glowed in his hand.
It was cold.
It was alive.
It was opening.
Tomorrow, he thought.
Tomorrow I go to the ruins.
Tomorrow I face the queen.
Tomorrow I unmake 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 Dimensions
Liora appeared in the doorway.
White dress. Black eyes. Pale skin.
"You're here," she said.
Nexus looked up.
"Who—"
"I am the queen."
"The queen?"
"Yes."
"Please—"
"Shh."
Nexus raised the dimension key.
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."
Nexus 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 – Nexus
Liora reached into the dimension hopper's mind.
He tried to resist.
He was vast. Shifting. Dangerous.
But she was stronger.
She pushed past his defenses.
She found his memories.
...the hops...
...the dimensions...
...the hope ...
...that he could be the one...
...that he could stop her...
...that he could unmake her...
She pulled.
The memories flowed into her.
The hops.
The dimensions.
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 dimension hopper was no more.
Just a shell.
Another victim.
Another name for the list.
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The Dimension Key
Liora picked up the dimension key.
It glowed in her hand.
It was cold.
It was alive.
It was opening.
Interesting, she thought.
Very interesting.
She raised the dimension key.
She looked at its reflection in her eyes.
Her eyes were black.
Her skin was pale.
Her smile was wide.
This key could open anything, she thought.
Any door.
Any place.
Any reality.
But I have no need for doors.
I have no need for places.
I have no need for realities.
I am the door.
I am the place.
I am the reality.
She crushed the dimension key in her hand.
The glow faded.
The cold died.
The opening 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-Fifth Sacrifice
She performed the ritual in the dimensions, surrounded by doors and darkness.
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-Five
The fire in her veins burned brighter.
Three million and sixty-five sacrifices. Three million and sixty-five souls. Three million and sixty-five streams of darkness flowing into her, merging with her blood, becoming her.
Three million sixty-five, 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 dimension hopper. Vast. Dead.
No one is safe from me, she thought.
No one.
Not even the vast.
She smiled in the darkness.
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The Disposal
She burned Nexus's body in a pyre of dimensions.
The fire was hot. The smoke was thick. She worked quickly, efficiently, scattering the ashes before dawn.
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 were quiet now.
The heroes had stopped coming.
The armies had stopped marching.
The kingdoms had stopped hoping.
There was no point.
Everyone knew what happened to those who challenged the dark queen.
They died.
Or worse—they were consumed.
Their souls added to her collection.
Their power added to her strength.
She was unstoppable.
She was immortal.
She was a god.
And the world had learned to live with her.
Not in peace—there was no peace.
In fear.
In silence.
In the desperate hope that if they did not draw her attention, she would leave them alone.
She did not.
She never did.
The hunger was eternal.
And she fed.
But somewhere, in the darkest corner of the universe, something was stirring.
Something ancient.
Something powerful.
Something that had been waiting for this moment for eons.
Something that was not afraid of the queen.
Something that wanted to consume her.
Liora smiled.
Let it come, she thought.
Let it stir.
Let it believe.
I have time.
I have forever.
And when it comes—
I will feed.
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End of Chapter Three Hundred
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END OF BOOK THIRTEEN: THE ENDLESS VOID