The silence that followed Kaelen's declaration was thick they were all in thoughts, broken only by the faint, ethereal hum of the hidden chamber. The weight of their ambition was a physical pressure in the air. They were no longer discussing battle strategies or political maneuvers, they were proposing to unmake a pillar of creation.
It is a monumental theory, Kaelen, said Azaroth the Undying. But it is predicated on a shadow. We know souls transition. We can feel the energy release. But the mechanism... we have no proof of a 'gatekeeper'. We are building a trap to force such a fundamental principle into a form it was never meant to hold… the consequences could be… unpredictable. He looked up, his dark eyes reflecting no light. We may not be creating a key, but a weapon that destroys the lock, and the door along with it, it's a risky bet.
"Or we open a door to a higher plane," Zyphara the Stormcaller countered, the air around her crackling. "For centuries, we have accepted the limits of our perception. But our potential is limitless! Why should we be bound by a law we do not fully comprehend? This is the next, the only, step in our evolution." Her gaze swept across the others, challenging them. "Are we not the masters of the arcane? We have quantified the unquantifiable. This is no different."
"That is precisely the point," Kaelen replied, his tone unwavering. "We are not hunting a known beast. We are hunting the unknown force that governs the greatest mystery of our existence. We know the energy is channeled. Something must be doing the channeling. We will lure it and give it form. Whatever it is a spirit, an elemental, a conceptual entity we will make it tangible."
Valtherion of Emberfall let out a low chuckle. "The lass has fire. I like it." He slammed a fiery fist on the table, making the schematics tremble. My people have spent millennia forging our legacy in flame and steel. But all things fade. What we seek is a power that cannot be quenched by time. I care not for its name or nature. I see only the result the very source of transition, ours to command.
Lady Sylvaris of Valrathia had been quiet, her keen mind assessing the risks with a biomancer's precision. "Azaroth speaks true of the danger," she said softly. "But consider the alternative. We see a fraction of the spectrum. We hear a single note of the Song. This 'Shepherd,' this Transitional Entity we theorize… to interact with it, to even perceive it, would be to finally see the true face of the universe. To be able to preserve a soul… it is a temptation that transcends morality. She looked at Kaelen, her decision made. "We have spent our lives studying life. Now, we must meet its curator.
One by one, the others gave their assent. Ophira, who had seen the precipice in her visions but not what stood upon it. Seraphine, who longed to weave the thread of this ultimate mystery. Zareth, who saw the ultimate truth to be unmasked. Solrian, who feared the coming darkness but believed their new light could illuminate it. And Isolde, for whom this was the ultimate endurance test against the universe itself.
Kaelen nodded, a grim smile playing on his lips. The alliance was sealed. The ten greatest Menancers of the age were united in a single, world-shattering purpose. They were not hunting a known deity or a documented spirit. They were aiming their will at the invisible.
In the week that followed, the Architects and their most trusted apprentices worked with an efficiency born of absolute conviction. Their meeting had been the spark, now came the meticulous forging of the weapon.
The components for the cube were gathered from the farthest, most desolate corners of the world. Valtherion and his Pyromancers purified the raw void iron in the heart of the volcano in their kingdom, their chants steady against the roar of the magma. Zyphara and her Aeromancer assistant braved the silent storm wracked peaks of he sky reaches to capture the resonant 'silence', a harrowing process that cost one of the apprentice his life to the thinning air.
Below the ground the Geomancer apprentices, under the watchful eye of isolde's Cryomancers, worked in the lab carved from permafrost to stabilize the Cube's core, using ice to contain the violet null energy. Lyra and her apprentices alongside Nereus's aides worked in tendem, the mancer's understanding of life force and the mastery of primal flows allowing them to forge the cube's, a perfect matrix of stabilized negation.
Under the supervision of kaelen, the Cube was assembled. It is perfect, he whispered.
Bu how can we be sure the Cube will even work on such a being? Asked Lady Sylvaris, we have theories but no proof of concept.
A grim smile touched kaelen's lips. "We test it". He gestured to one of his senior apprentices,a young man named Malrik who was monitoring the chamber's energy flows. Malrik step into the center of the room.
The apprentice, confused bet obedient did as he was told. Kaelen informed all that Malrik had Basic nullification Magic, he's still learning I I think it's a great opportunity for you to use your powers and resist that of the cube if you succeed your power may duplicate itself. Kaelen produced a smaller palm size of the cube activating the null field he stated.
The effects was instantaneous and horrifying. The light in Malrik eyes seemed to dim. He staggered, his hands flying to his head.
"I… i can't…" he gasped, his voice a strained whisper. He tried to take a step back but his movement was slow like the force of the world was pressing in and making hi so heavy. He opened his mouth to speak again but no sound came out. His face was filled with panic as he realized he could no longer even hear his own voice. The magical aura that surrounded him simply vanished, snuffed out like a candle. After terrifying seconds, Kaelen deactivated the device. Malrik collapsed to his knees, vomiting, his body was trembling uncontrollably from the sensory shock and the violent disconnection from the world and deprived from the magic that was natural to him as breath.
It works, Kaelen said coldly, ignoring his apprentice agony. It creates a pocket of reality where magic and the fundamental laws of energy do not exist. If our "gatekeeper" is a being of pure magic or energy, it will be affected.
The demonstration had been brutal but it was convincing. The doubt in the room evaporated and was replaced by a chilling resolve.
Very well, rumbled Valtherion of Emberfall. The trap works but how do we bait it? How do we lure this… entity to a specific location?.
Zyphara nodded.
Ophira turned her gaze towards the group. The celestial paths converge… on a death, a soul of immense power and influence.
Seraphine the weaver of fates, smiled, a knowing smile. The tread of destiny are woven tightly around the old king of Frosthold. Alaric the Luminescent. He fades by the hour. His palace is built upon the most potent ley nexus. His passing will be the bait.
Kealen eyes were cold, "Perfect. The death of a mighty king. The ultimate sacrifice to our ascension. We will be there among the guests at his castle who are celebrating his long reign and victories since a banquet will be thrown in his honor so the mourning should be with joy and not sadness. When he will give his last breath we will activate the cube.
The plan was set. They were no longer just theories, they were hunters preparing to venture into the unknown to capture a god, a demon or something entirely beyond their comprehension.