Chapter 13
The next morning came dull and gray, a mist hanging low among the trees.
Draziel stood at the edge of the camp, staring into the thick forest, his expression unreadable. Ryann and Sylas exchanged a glance before approaching.
"You didn't sleep, did you?" Ryann asked gently.
"I couldn't," Draziel muttered. "Something's changed. It's like… the world feels different now. Or maybe I do."
Sylas narrowed his eyes. "Your aura. It's heavier. Darker. Like it's bleeding into everything around you."
Ryann nodded slowly. "The Void isn't just a domain. It's a presence. If it's truly awakened in you… it won't be easy to control."
A distant *chime* echoed through the woods.
They froze.
Draziel's eyes flicked toward the sound. "That wasn't natural."
"Nope," Sylas said, already reaching for his blade. "And we're not alone."
A ripple passed through the ground—then another, closer.
The trees to their left twisted unnaturally as a figure emerged. Cloaked in a jagged ensemble of metal and bone, their face was obscured by a mask etched with a singular eye.
"Draziel Vale," the masked figure said, voice smooth like oil. "The mark is upon you. You've been claimed."
Draziel stepped forward. "Who are you?"
"I am *Ashreth*, Warden of the Hollow Echoes. And you've stirred what should've stayed buried."
Without warning, the trees behind the figure erupted—more masked figures stepped through the veil of reality itself, wielding warped, spectral weapons. Veilcasters—drawn by the awakening of the Void.
"Back away slowly," Sylas muttered.
"No," Draziel said calmly. "They want me. I'll give them a reason to be afraid."
The air thickened.
As Ashreth raised a hand to strike, Draziel's shadow stretched unnaturally beneath him—then *snapped*, rising like a clawed serpent.
His voice was cold. "You've mistaken me for something manageable."
The ground cracked.
Void energy surged from him—less a blast, more a distortion. Space itself *bent*, throwing two of the masked attackers into a nearby tree where their bodies crumpled and vanished into dark mist.
Ashreth stood firm, but even he staggered back a step.
"You shouldn't be able to do that," he hissed.
Draziel's eyes glowed with a deep, shifting violet.
"Then you're already too late."
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Great — here's how we build that tension right before all hell breaks loose:
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Ashreth's stance didn't falter, but something behind the mask twitched — a flicker of unease. His spectral blade pulsed with corrupted energy, but even that seemed to dim in the wake of Draziel's awakening.
Sylas tightened his grip on his twin daggers. "That's… new," he muttered, not taking his eyes off Draziel. "Since when can your *shadow* snarl?"
Draziel didn't answer. The dark tendrils slithering around his feet trembled, responding to his rising pulse.
Ryann stepped forward, her hand glowing faintly with stabilizing magic. "Draziel, listen to me. This domain—it's still unstable. If you push it further, it might consume more than just them."
Ashreth tilted his head. "You think *this* is power? No… this is corruption. And you will *drown in it.*"
The other Veilcasters began spreading out, forming a loose circle.
Draziel narrowed his eyes. "I've drowned once before. I came back different."
Ashreth let out a soft click of his tongue. "He speaks boldly. But you reek of imbalance."
Suddenly, a deep pulse rang through the clearing — like a heartbeat made of void and static. The sky overhead flickered. Not lightning. Not magic.
*Void tremor.*
A crow fell mid-flight. The trees bent inward.
Sylas took a sharp breath. "Okay, now I'm worried."
"Worried?" Ashreth echoed mockingly. "You should be begging."
He raised his hand.
The Veilcasters' blades ignited with voidfire.
Ryann whispered, "They're stalling."
Draziel clenched his fists, but the tendrils recoiled slightly. Something inside him… resisted. As if the Void itself was watching, waiting, testing him.
*"This power… it's not entirely mine."*
But it would answer to him — or it would destroy him.
Ashreth's mask flared with runes. "Enough."
He thrust his blade forward.
*Everything exploded into motion.*
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The first clash was soundless.
Ashreth blinked across the clearing, blade aimed straight for Draziel's throat. But as steel met skin, something *shifted*—and Ashreth's sword phased through air.
Behind him, Draziel's voice echoed low and cold.
*"You're too slow."*
Ashreth turned just in time to meet a coiled tendril of Void wrapping around his arm. The moment it touched him, his form shimmered—*illusions unraveling.* Not all of him was real.
"Impressive," Ashreth hissed, "But still wild. Untamed."
The tendril convulsed, and Ashreth snapped the illusion — disappearing in a scatter of runes.
All around them, the other Veilcasters struck.
*Ryann* called up a radiant shield, deflecting a volley of spectral knives that shattered on impact like glass. "Sylas—right flank!"
Sylas didn't need telling. He was already there, blurring between enemies, blades flashing in an arc of silver and smoke. One caster dropped, clutching his ribs.
But then a figure rose behind Ryann — shadow melding into flesh.
She spun too late—
*CRACK.* The blow sent her tumbling across the field, her barrier collapsing.
"RYANN!" Draziel moved on instinct, Void tendrils lashing in every direction. They carved through illusions, distorted the air, even bent the path of incoming magic. But each use came with a price — his head throbbed, and the shadows around him grew more aggressive, as if they wanted to act *on their own.*
Ashreth reappeared above him, mid-air, twin blades drawn.
"You don't control the Void," he sneered. "It controls *you.*"
The blades dropped—
*BOOM.*
Draziel raised both arms, forming a swirling sigil of Void energy. It caught the strike—but shattered seconds later, throwing him backward. He slammed into the dirt, gasping.
Sylas appeared beside him. "You're bleeding again."
"I noticed," Draziel gritted. "That blade wasn't normal."
"None of them are."
Ryann staggered toward them. "The ritualists. They're fueling Ashreth. We need to break their link—"
Before she could finish, a Veilcaster hurled a bolt of essence at her.
Draziel caught it mid-air. The energy should have burned him—but instead, it *melted* into his hand.
His veins pulsed black.
He *absorbed* it.
Everyone froze.
Even Ashreth paused mid-strike.
Ryann stared. "That's not possible."
Draziel slowly rose, his eyes gleaming with a dim, dangerous glow. "Maybe the Void chose me."
Ashreth's mask tilted slightly. "Or maybe it *broke* you."
"I guess," Draziel whispered, letting the shadows spiral down his arms, "we'll find out."
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