Eldric commanded the taciturn leviathan forward toward the grey star in the distance. It took much more time to reach than the others had, though one could not guess the difference in distance from afar.
Eldric stared down his destination intently. He had a strange feeling that he would find what he was looking for there.
He had been getting quite a few strange feelings lately—it was... suspicious.
In any case, the dull star was much closer now, its radiance coating the world in a boring grey. As they drew nearer, the blinding light gave way, revealing a humble attic beneath.
A small lantern illuminated the cramped room. Shadows danced across the wooden floorboards as the faint flame flickered.
The attic's contents were mostly obscured by the dark. All Eldric could make out was an old table on which the lantern rested, and several rows of worn wooden cabinets lining the walls.
The leviathan drew close enough for Eldric to enter. He patted it once on the back and stepped off.
The second his foot made contact with the oak flooring, Eldric felt an overwhelming sense of euphoria.
His body was finally centered again, pulled down by the welcoming clutches of gravity. It made him realize just how many mundane things he took for granted.
He stood motionless for a moment, enjoying the comfort of weight, before taking a deep, air-filled breath.
He exhaled loudly. "Ah... that's the stuff."
"You should give it a shot too, buddy." He turned to look at his eerie companion, only to find the boundless black replaced by an unassuming wooden wall, decorated with a completely ordinary door.
Eldric gaped. "What the—"
There was no sign of his terrifying friend either. He stared at the wall, then approached the door.
His hand carefully reached for the handle and pulled it open. Behind it laid a lightless space. One could easily mistake it for the eternal black of the void, but it was just a very dark hallway.
He closed the door, eyes wide, before an idea popped into his head. He approached the wall and phased through it. Sure enough, he found himself back in the endless abyss, his toothy friend staring at him with soulless eyes.
Eldric chuckled. "Hey there. Did you miss me?"
The void rippled in response—rejection.
'Ouch.'
He made his way back into the small attic, feeling better now that he knew he could leave if he wanted to, and looked around. There was nothing to investigate except the small, worn cabinets. Crude writing had been etched into each of them.
"Expedition thirteen, expedition fourteen, expedition fifteen..."
He went through them one by one before settling on the most recent: "Expedition fifty-four."
He opened the small cabinet, only to find it completely empty. "Huh..."
Then he opened the one before it, and the one before that, and so on. After the tenth, he stopped bothering. He let out a large sigh. "They're all empty, aren't they..."
From behind him came a calm, deep voice in response. "No. It's just a safety measure. They're actually quite full."
Eldric nodded. "Makes sense..."
He suddenly jumped back, turning toward where the voice had come from. "What the hell—"
On the ragged chair behind him sat a lean man with straw hair and strange amber eyes, he was dressed in a white uniform, lined in a stylish gold, Valtherra's insignia etched onto his breast pocket.
He looked to be in his late twenties and had the mystical attractiveness of a high-ranked Sigiled, only enhanced by the faint orange light flickering across his sharp features. The man's head tilted slightly. "Heaven, actually..."
Eldric gulped, recognizing the man—not from his appearance, but from his voice. It was the one responsible for sending him flying a few days ago, he remembered it well. "S-Sir Corvyn."
The man gave him a curt nod. "Lord Valthorne."
Eldric paused. "Excuse me?"
The handsome man raised an eyebrow. "Is that not your name? Eldric Valthorne? It's what the Sybils told us."
What the hell was a Sybil? And why were they going around giving him pompous last names? Why would they even know about a small, insignificant common boy in the first place?
Eldric shook his head. "No... just Eldric."
He didn't really know what to do. He'd been busted—and so quickly as well. Would he be punished? It didn't look like it. If anything, the man before him seemed rather accommodating.
The Herald nodded. "Very well then, 'just Eldric.'" He smiled faintly at his own joke before continuing. "What is it that you're looking for?"
Eldric blinked. "Um—I apologize, Great Herald, but am I in trouble?"
This time it was Corvyn's turn to blink. "Trouble?" His confusion shifted into a slight smile. "Yes, one would assume that, wouldn't they? But no, you're not in any trouble, child."
Eldric let out a small sigh of relief. He wanted to ask why not, but decided not to push his luck. Instead, he asked another, simpler question. "How long have you known?"
Sir Corvyn tilted his head—his confusion doing nothing to mask his stern charm. "About what?"
The Sigiled's nonchalance toward the entire situation was more than a little disorienting. "About my, uh... presence here, I guess."
Corvyn smiled, replying with a half-laugh. "Son, we sensed you the second you started snooping around the fortress."
Eldric scratched the back of his head. "That bad, huh?"
Sir Corvyn shook his head. "What did you expect? That you'd infiltrate the most powerful military force in the Bastion undetected? We even left the back door slightly open for you."
After a second, he cleared his throat. "What we didn't expect was that you'd ignore it and just... come in through the roof." He coughed. "Nor did we expect you'd somehow survive the abyss, brave it, and befriend a Void-spawn on your way here."
'Void-spawn? So that's what the big fella's called.'
The handsome Sigiled continued, "In any case, you're here now, and I've received orders to help you find whatever it is you're looking for."
'Orders?' Eldric found it hard to believe someone even higher ranked than a Herald was pulling the strings. It looked like he'd gotten himself involved in something much larger than himself—without even lifting a finger.
Eldric opened his mouth to speak, but Corvyn raised a hand, interrupting him. "Don't bother asking more questions. I'm just a Major—I wouldn't be capable of answering most of them anyway."
He paused before adding, "Not that I would reply to the ones I could answer. The Garrison still has to maintain some confidentiality. Almost no outside party has ever managed to make it this far into the fortress. Consider yourself quite lucky."
Eldric stared at the man for a while, utterly awestruck at how well this was going. He was half-expecting to be dragged out of the place tied to a stake. Instead, the Garrison was offering to help him rob them. Things were sailing far too smoothly—it only made his hairs stand taller.
The man looked at him curiously. "Go on then, what are you looking for?"
Eldric looked around suspiciously before responding. "Migrathis... I heard you found some scriptures regarding it."
The Herald smiled. "I see..."
The wooden chair squeaked beneath him as he rose. Wordlessly, he made his way toward the cabinet labeled "Expedition Fifty-Three".
Eldric had already checked it, confirming it was empty. He watched with curiosity as the Sigiled Major opened the cabinet—and instead of bare wood, two items laid inside.
A piece of black metal, molded into an opulent T-shape, and a worn piece of parchment. Corvyn took both and handed them to him. "Here you are. Take your time."
Eldric looked at him nervously.
The man raised an eyebrow, his bangs shifting slightly across his forehead. "What? You weren't planning on leaving with those, were you?"
Eldric felt a bead of sweat trail down his chest. "What? Me? Of course not..."
Corvyn didn't seem convinced but gave the boy space anyway. "You can choose to share what you find with us—or not—if you can understand anything in the first place."
Eldric nodded, then turned to the two items. He started with the parchment. It didn't really feel like he had a choice—the words written on it seemed to beckon him, glowing with a strange, dull light... reminiscent of the radiance that had led him here in the first place.
{ Migrathis
To you, whoever you may be, wherever you are, whenever this may reach you. You may be young, or you may be old—I can only hope that it is the former. When you came into this world, you were confused; all of us were, at first. But fear not, for you are here for a reason—a purpose.
You see, this world is ending. Reality itself has begun to unravel, as the void seeps in. Do not misunderstand—the abyss is not evil; it is simply law.
Evil, however, lies within another's palms. A man whose mind yearns for slaughter, whose intestines digest suffering, whose lungs filter out peace and spit it into oblivion. He is the one who will bring about the end—he is The Usurper. The world may have already been restored; I cannot say. But in the case that you are still needed, I humbly ask you to lend a hand to those of this world—human or otherwise.
—To you, who has known several lives, From I, who has known the same.}
Eldric slowly read the writing, clutching the paper tightly in his hands.
Corvyn looked at him with concern. His voice was stern. "Easy. You'll rip it."
Eldric muttered under his breath, "English... this is written in English."