Chapter 23
As they made their way through the jagged corridors of broken stone and ash-choked wind, Draziel walked in silence, his mind still tethered to the memory of the night before.
The Void had answered him.
But it had not bowed.
He recalled the sensation — that cold, endless pull that had swallowed the obelisk's energies whole, that had whispered countless voices in unison, all screaming and yet silent. In that moment, he had wielded it — not perfectly, not entirely — but enough to know it was a power unlike any domain he had ever known.
It *devoured*. It did not bend to harmony or balance.
And it took *much* from him.
He had felt it then — the exhaustion in his bones afterward, the ache in his core as though his very essence had been siphoned to fuel something ancient and insatiable.
Now, walking ahead of Ryann and Sylas, he made a silent vow:
*The Void would be his trump card.*
Only when the sky burned or the earth crumbled would he call upon it.
Until then — control, patience, and restraint.
But still… it *hungered*.
Even now, he could feel it nudging at his thoughts, trying to leak into his awareness — the way a predator watches, waiting to be unchained.
"Still thinking about it?" Ryann asked softly beside him.
He glanced at her, and for a moment, his eyes reflected a deeper shade — the faint shimmer of black-violet veins flickering just beneath the surface.
"Yes," he said simply. "But it's not time yet."
They continued down the narrow slope, past shattered statues and broken runes embedded into the rock, signs that they were nearing the ancient temple ruins.
Above them, a murder of dusk-crows scattered — disturbed by something ahead.
Sylas grunted, gripping his staff. "Tell me we're not walking into another cursed hole."
Draziel stopped at the edge of a cliff ledge that overlooked a sunken platform far below — cracked steps, broken archways, and in the center… a temple door sealed with glowing sigils.
"No," he said.
"We're walking into *answers*."
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The descent into the temple's forgotten ruins was steep, flanked by jagged stone and eerie carvings barely visible under the moss and dust. Faded symbols adorned the walls, etched in a language none of them recognized. Yet something about them pulled at Draziel — like memories buried in the marrow of his soul.
The moment they crossed the broken threshold, a deep hum echoed beneath their feet. Ryann paused, hand instinctively reaching for her satchel of glyph-infused remedies.
"You feel that?" she whispered.
"Yeah," Sylas muttered. "The kind of silence that listens back."
They moved in carefully. The air was thick with ancient magic — some of it dormant, some stirring with their presence.
The corridor opened into a massive underground chamber. Pillars rose like obsidian trees, cracked and scorched. And at the center of the vast hall stood a pedestal, atop which floated a fractured crystal — black, humming with unstable energy. Chains of forgotten runes hovered midair, flickering as though caught between worlds.
Draziel stepped forward.
The Void stirred.
This was a *conduit*. Or what was left of it.
As he approached, the sigils began reacting — warping into spirals of violet flame. A vision slammed into him:
*A being wreathed in shadow, wielding the Void as a blade. A war. A seal. A betrayal.*
He staggered back.
"Draziel?" Ryann called, catching him.
He shook it off, breathing heavily. "This place was once a gate… to something beyond the Rift."
Sylas narrowed his eyes. "That crystal. It's reacting to you."
He reached for it — and the chamber *shuddered*. Cracks spidered through the walls. Statues groaned. The air warped.
"Step back," Draziel warned.
But it was too late. The crystal flared — and from the broken stone surrounding it, *Guardians* emerged. Constructed from obsidian and arcane chains, they moved with inhuman grace.
Four of them.
Each bound by a different elemental force: fire, storm, earth, and shadow.
Draziel clenched his fists. The Void itched to rise, but he resisted.
"This is a trial," he muttered.
And with a glance to Ryann and Sylas — they prepared for battle.
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