Day fifty-nine. Morning light filtered through the trees as the camp was broken down.
One week of monitoring the original zone was complete. Data was collected. Expansion patterns were documented. The Genesis Codex held comprehensive records of everything observed.
"We have to find the others," Draven said simply. Raziel confirmed twenty-three zones existed across the continent. They needed to see more, compare the different types, and gather broader data.
Before leaving, they clearly marked the original zone with white stones arranged in a visible pattern. Sylvara double-checked the Codex records. "All measurements saved. Growth patterns documented. We can return anytime for comparison data."
"Good," Draven replied. "This is our baseline. Everything else gets compared to this one."
Feyra looked back at the purple-white mist. "It feels wrong leaving it. Like abandoning a problem."
"We are not abandoning," Zor assured. "We are expanding the investigation. We cannot solve a continental crisis by watching a single zone."
"How do we find other zones?" Feyra asked as they started walking west. "The continent is huge."
"Earth communion," Malvorn explained, his magnitude zero perfectly maintained. "Spatial tears disrupt the planetary fabric. I feel those cracks through the earth itself. Like sensing a wound in living flesh. The range is limited—maybe fifty kilometers maximum detection. But it is better than random searching."
"So we travel in search patterns," Draven said. "We cover the ground systematically. When Malvorn detects a tear, we investigate."
"I am already sensing," Malvorn confirmed. "Two potential tears detected northeast. Approximately forty kilometers distant. We investigate the nearest one first."
---
Day sixty. Afternoon. They approached the second zone.
It was immediately obvious that this one was different. Worse.
The purple-white mist was visible from a kilometer away. It was not a faint glow like the original zone, but a thick pillar of corruption rising into the sky like smoke from a massive fire. An oppressive atmosphere radiated outward, and the temperature dropped drastically even at a distance.
"That is much larger," Sylvara observed. "The original zone was maybe two hundred meters in diameter. This one looks to be five hundred, maybe more."
"Bigger tear," Malvorn confirmed. "The spatial fabric is more damaged here. The corruption seeping through is heavier. The expansion rate is probably significantly faster."
They approached the boundary cautiously. Draven's Genesis Codex barrier activated. Malvorn's Overlord immunity was absolute. The pack stayed close but ready.
Movement inside the mist. Large. Fast. Predatory.
A Spider emerged. King-tier originally, but corrupted now. Mutations were visible everywhere: extra eyes growing randomly across the carapace, purple veins glowing through the exoskeleton. Lord-tier strength radiated from its enhanced physiology.
It attacked immediately, eyes empty white, driven by madness and hunger.
Combat was brief. Malvorn restrained the beast with overwhelming earth control. Draven delivered the mercy kill with his blade. The Spider's body dissolved into the corruption within seconds.
"It is a different species than the Thunder Wolf," Sylvara noted, documenting. "But the same pattern. King-tier corrupted to Lord-tier strength. Same empty eyes. Same madness. The pattern is consistent across different beasts."
"Which confirms Raziel's information," Draven said quietly. "This is happening everywhere. All species are vulnerable."
They moved twenty meters deeper into the zone, documenting the expansion rate.
Then Feyra froze. "There is something ahead. Bodies. Human bodies."
They found the remains of three travelers—merchants, based on the torn pack remnants scattered around. They had been caught by the zone expansion and killed by the corruption.
The scene was a nightmare.
The bodies were torn apart. Not by beasts, but by themselves and each other. There was evidence of violent madness: self-inflicted wounds across arms and faces; bones broken from throwing themselves against trees repeatedly; blood everywhere. One had clearly tried to gouge out their own eyes.
The corruption destroyed the mind first, and then the body. Horror was complete.
"How long?" Draven asked quietly, his voice tight.
"Minutes," Sylvara assessed clinically, though her voice shook. "Based on the corruption density and human physiology, exposure would cause consciousness breakdown within three to five minutes. Madness is immediate. Death follows shortly after."
"They could not escape," Velnar observed grimly. "The zone expanded too fast. It killed them before they could run."
Feyra turned away, unable to look anymore. "This is what happens to humans. They just... die. Horribly."
"Could we explore deeper?" Malvorn asked. "Find the center? Look for a mechanism to close this?"
Draven considered the heavy corruption and the thick mist. "Too dangerous. Even with Codex protection, this much corruption might overwhelm us if we go too deep. We need a safer zone for a deep exploration experiment."
"There is another tear detected," Malvorn said. "Thirty kilometers south. Smaller signature. Less corruption. Potentially safer."
"Then we investigate that one next," Draven decided. "We need a zone we can actually explore completely without dying."
---
Day sixty-one. Afternoon. The third zone was found.
This one was immediately different. Better.
The purple-white mist was barely visible until they were within a hundred meters. It was a faint glow rather than a thick pillar. The atmosphere was oppressive but manageable.
"It is much smaller," Sylvara assessed. "Maybe one hundred meters in diameter. Tiny by comparison."
"Smaller tear," Malvorn confirmed. "Less corruption seeping through. Lighter density. Slower expansion rate probably. Relatively speaking, it is safer."
"Relatively being the key word," Zor cautioned.
"But potentially explorable," Draven said thoughtfully.
They circled the perimeter. "No beasts detected," Malvorn reported. "No corrupted animals inside. No King-tier presence active currently."
"This makes it an ideal candidate for a deep exploration attempt," Draven said.
"You are going inside? Deep inside? To the center?" Feyra asked nervously.
"That is the plan. Malvorn and I will enter this zone. We will go deep, all the way to the center if possible. We need to look for the spatial tear source. We need to look for any weakness we can exploit."
"The rest of us will be in the Genesis Codex sanctuary," Draven stated firmly. "You will be completely safe there. No corruption can reach you. Lord-tier defense is not sufficient here. The deeper we go, the heavier the corruption becomes."
Velnar clicked acceptance. "Wisdom over bravery. We understand. You two investigate. We wait safely. That is logical."
Sylvara nodded reluctantly. "Document everything. The Genesis Codex will record through your bearer bond. We will analyze the data when you return."
"Be careful," Feyra said quietly. "Both of you. Come back."
"Always," Draven promised.
The Genesis Codex opened the sanctuary doorway, a golden-green portal shimmering. The pack entered one by one. The doorway closed.
Just Draven and Malvorn remained. Two figures facing the corruption zone, ready to discover the truth.
---
They crossed the boundary together. The Genesis Codex barrier flared around Draven. Malvorn's magnitude zero remained perfectly stable.
They continued deeper than they had gone before. Seventy meters in, the atmosphere worsened significantly. The pressure was crushing. The cold was absolute. The mist was so thick Draven could barely see Malvorn walking beside him.
Ninety meters. The Codex barrier strained noticeably. It was holding, but working harder. Adhivar's power maintained the protection, but the cost was increasing.
One hundred twenty meters. Then—light. Not the purple-white mist light. Different. Brighter. Harsh. Wrong on a fundamental level.
They emerged into a small clearing at the zone's exact center.
There it was. The spatial tear. Reality itself was cracked and bleeding.
Space was fractured. Visible. Tangible. Golden cracks spread through the air like shattered glass frozen mid-explosion. Light blazed from the cracks, and energy seeped through the fractures—corrupted mana made visible as a thick, purple-white liquid.
The spatial tear hung suspended three meters above the ground. It was roughly circular, five meters in diameter. Cracks radiated outward from the central point where reality had broken completely.
Draven stared. This was the source. This was where the corruption entered the world.
"Can we close it?" he asked quietly, his voice hushed.
Malvorn approached carefully. His earth communion extended toward the tear. He froze, shock visible even in his crystalline features. "Draven. Look beyond the tear. Look at what is on the other side."
Draven focused on the space beyond the golden cracks. Through the fracture. Past the broken reality.
Darkness.
It was not the absence of light. It was not shadow. It was absolute, total, infinite darkness. A void without end. Nothing existed beyond the tear except endless black stretching to infinity.
And that darkness... moved. Slowly. Deliberately. Like a living thing. Like a conscious entity. Like a presence aware and watching.
Fate's curse. Surrounding the entire planet. Encircling Theia like a shroud. The spatial barrier normally kept the curse separated from reality, but the tears were forming. The darkness was seeping through where the barriers had weakened.
The fear was primal. Overwhelming. Realizing the scope of the curse. Understanding the cosmic-scale punishment personally for the first time.
"We cannot close this," Draven whispered, his voice shaking. "Can we? This is not something we can fix. This is too big."
Malvorn's voice was equally grim. "No. We cannot. Spatial tears are cracks in reality. They would require cosmic-level power to seal. Power beyond Overlords. Maybe beyond anything in Theia."
They tried anyway. Malvorn attempted to seal the tear with earth manipulation, but the corruption flowed through the stone like it did not exist. Draven attempted commanding through the Genesis Codex. Adhivar's response was clear: Beyond capability. Apex-tier insufficient for cosmic-level repairs.
They could not close it. They could not stop it. They could not fix it.
"We are leaving," Draven said finally. Defeat was in his voice. "There is nothing we can do here. No solution to find. Just darkness. Just the curse. Just impossibility."
---
They returned to the zone boundary. The Genesis Codex opened the sanctuary. The pack emerged immediately.
"What did you find?" Sylvara asked eagerly. "Could you close it? Stop the corruption?"
Draven's expression answered before words did. "No. We found the spatial tear. We saw what is beyond. And we cannot close it. The problem is cosmic scale. It is beyond our capability."
Silence. Hope was dying.
Draven described the spatial tear. The golden cracks. The infinite darkness beyond. Fate's curse surrounding the entire planet.
"So we cannot stop the zones from forming," Feyra said quietly. "We cannot close the ones already existing. What can we do?"
"We do not know yet," Draven admitted. "Deep exploration eliminated one potential solution. Now we know closing individual tears is not the answer. We need a different approach. Maybe stopping the zones is not possible. Maybe solutions exist that we have not discovered yet."
Velnar clicked thoughtfully. "Ancient principle. When a direct solution fails, an indirect solution must be sought. We cannot close the tears? Then perhaps we can prevent the tears from forming. Or perhaps we can strengthen the reality barriers. Different approaches for the same goal."
"Exactly," Draven agreed. "We keep investigating. We keep gathering data. Just because this attempt failed does not mean all attempts will."
They had the grim knowledge of the cosmic scale of the curse, but they had also gained a fierce resolve. They would find a different way.
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