Eris slept, but it was not a peaceful sleep.
The Sevenfold Core inside him pulsed faintly, like a small star trapped behind his ribs. Each time it throbbed, it sent a ripple through his dreams—pulling him deeper into somewhere he had never been.
He opened his eyes.
He was no longer in the training chamber.
No walls.
No sky.
No ground.
Just darkness.
Not empty darkness, but thick—alive—like ink swirling around him.
Eris swallowed. "This… isn't real."
A voice answered.
"Real… is relative."
Eris spun around, heart pounding. He saw nothing—only shapes shifting in the black fog, like shadows pretending to be alive.
"Who's there?"
The voice spoke again—soft, deep, and layered, as if many beings were speaking together.
"You awakened what was meant to stay dormant a little longer… Descendant."
Eris froze.
No one except Kaelion and the Clan spirits ever used that word with him.
"Why are you calling me that? Who are you?"
Silence.
Then, the fog split open like curtains.
A colossal face formed in the darkness—only an outline, barely visible. Two red eyes opened slowly, staring down at him.
Not glowing violently…
Not attacking…
Just watching.
"You carry the Sevenfold Core…
But you also carry something else."
Eris felt his throat tighten. "Something else?"
The huge face leaned closer, and the darkness trembled like trembling water.
"A remnant of power… older than the Clan of Seven."
Eris shook his head. "I don't have anything like that."
The being chuckled—a deep, echoing sound that made the void vibrate.
"You do not know yourself… yet."
Eris took a step back.
"Are you Asmodeus?"
The being paused… then laughed again, louder.
"No. I am far beyond that demon."
The fog thickened.
"Asmodeus fears me."
Eris swallowed hard.
"So who are you?"
The red eyes narrowed.
"A Watcher."
The word hung in the air like a blade.
Eris whispered, "Watcher of what?"
"Of fate.
Of anomalies.
Of beings who break the pattern of destiny."
It drifted closer until its breath made the void ripple.
"And now… I watch you."
Eris's heart hammered.
"I didn't ask for that."
The voice responded softly:
"And yet… here you stand.
A child shaped by seven souls.
A vessel of a core that should not exist anymore.
A spark of a future that terrifies the old powers."
Something touched Eris's shoulder.
He jerked and spun—
—but nothing was there.
The face drifted upward, receding slightly.
"Grow.
Fight.
Struggle.
Your path will amuse me… for now."
The darkness began to collapse inward, pulling everything with it.
Eris shouted, "Wait! Why me? What do you want from me?!"
The voice responded as the world shattered:
"To see what you become."
Everything dissolved—
—and Eris woke up gasping, sitting up in the training hall.
Kaelion was kneeling beside him, shaking his shoulder.
"Eris! Hey—breathe. What happened?"
Eris stared at him, sweat running down his face.
"I… I saw something.
Something with red eyes."
Kaelion's expression changed instantly.
A flicker of alarm.
Fear.
And recognition.
"Describe it."
Eris told him everything in short breaths.
When he finished, Kaelion stood up slowly, his jaw clenched.
"We need to accelerate your training."
Eris blinked. "Why?"
Kaelion turned away.
"Because if that is watching you…
You don't have much time."
Eris felt a cold chill run through him.
"What was that thing?"
Kaelion whispered without turning back:
"A Watcher of the Void."
Eris's eyes widened.
Kaelion's next words made his blood run cold—
"And if it has taken interest in you…
Then the One Being won't be far behind."