The capital's skies were calm—but only above the surface.
Beneath Vel Talem's golden walls, within the vast and forgotten Labyrinth Sector, something ancient had begun to stir. Sensors blinked erratically. Steel groaned against pressure that shouldn't exist. And buried in the deepest chamber, a sealed crystal coffin… cracked.
The Void Pulse had awakened.
Elsewhere – The High Council Chamber
A projection floated above the Council's circular table: grainy footage of a dark mist devouring an abandoned research outpost.
"Same energy signature. It's evolving," said General Ardyn, tone clipped. "This isn't a natural mutation. It's calling to something."
"Calling?" Lady Aranel frowned. "To whom?"
"Not whom," came a new voice—one that made the room fall silent.
Kael stepped into the chamber, flanked by Riven and two Guardians. His expression was calm. Almost too calm.
"It's not calling to anyone," Kael said. "It's answering something."
The Council stared.
"You've encountered this before?" Lord Maelos asked.
"Not directly," Kael said. "But back when I unlocked the second layer of my core… I felt it. That same pulse. A hunger, buried deep—something that doesn't just consume energy… it erases identity."
Silence.
"The plague isn't just growing," Kael finished. "It's preparing."
Cut To – Training Grounds, Edge of Vel Talem
Riku and Zein sparred on a floating platform, the impact of their attacks cracking the stone beneath them. Near the edge, Seris sat alone, reading a strange report—one intercepted from a hidden sector.
"Seris?" Zein called. "You alright?"
"Yeah," she murmured, but her face was pale.
"Something's wrong," Riku noted. "What is it?"
She turned the tablet around.
"One of the bodies found near the Void outbreak site… it had a partially formed gravity core. Just like Kael's."
Final Scene – Unknown Location
In a dark corridor filled with flickering red lights, masked figures moved around a massive machine. One of them stepped forward and placed a hand on the core-like structure at its center.
It pulsed once. Then again.
"Soon," said the masked figure. "The Voidborn won't be the only one of his kind."
And the room glowed with black lightning.