The Shadowborn Dominion is located in the void . A place so isolated that the other races call it the void because it leaks of cursed energy. Both the Shadowborn civilization and monsters roam there.
Black monoliths jutted from a molten sea of shadow, veins of silver and violet coursing through them like the pulse of a living heart. The air was heavy, ancient, humming with the faint rhythm of something slumbering far below.
At its center stood the Throne of Veins, a colossal citadel made from the fossilized remains of a god. It breathed faintly, walls throbbing with slow, dark light — as if the whole fortress was alive, dreaming.
Within, a vast council had gathered — masters, nobles, assassins, and warlords of every race. Their cloaks were made of mana, their masks of bone and blackened gold. Even among monsters, none dared speak aloud.
Because tonight, the Transcendents were awake.
Reality bent and three thrones descended from the void.
Vaelth, the Eater of Imaginations, appeared first — tall and graceful, his features too symmetrical to be real. His eyes shimmered with collapsing stars, his voice soft almost uninterested . He had black eyes and midnight hair . His veins grew up to his neck not in a kind of disgusting way a kind that seemed to fit his pale skin . He was a transcendent but he was on the low tier .
"The mortal realms grow restless," he said. "They gather their prodigies for the coming era — yet beneath their shining academies lies what belongs to us."
Beside him, shadows coalesced into a woman of terrible beauty. Nythera, Devourer of Light. She also had midnight hair and a gothic look. Her skin wasn't pale , she has brown skin and her veins decorated her body it gave her a look of dangerous but beautiful.
Light bent around her and died; her skin shimmered faintly with trapped radiance, veins glowing like the last sighs of dying suns. She to had reached transcendance but was in the low tier to.
"The Seed of Eternity," she whispered, voice like silk woven from graves. "Hidden beneath Elarion Academy, sealed by those who fear what they cannot comprehend."
Then came the laugh — childlike, too bright for this realm.
A boy stepped through the mist barefoot, silver hair glowing faintly in the gloom. He couldn't have been more than ten, his smile cherubic — until you noticed the black veins crawling up his throat, pulsing softly like a heartbeat. His childlike form had killed a lot of soldiers ,he might look innocent but was in mid tier almost high tier transcendence and believe or not he was the leader . Anything he says goes . This can be the true definition of looks are deceiving.
Rhazar, the Decay of Innocence.
"So we're stealing from children now?" he sang, swinging his legs as he hopped onto the council table. "How cute. I like this plan already. Can I keep one or two alive? Maybe the pretty ones?"
None answered. Even the air felt afraid.
Vaelth turned his dark gaze toward him.
"You'll be infiltrating the academy," he said calmly. "As one of them. Blend in, observe, eliminate the prodigies."
Rhazar's grin widened. He jumped down, spinning once on his bare feet, almost dancing.
"Ohhh, I love it. A school full of fragile dreams and shiny futures… I can't wait to watch them crack."
Vaelth's tone sharpened.
"Rhazar, I have got to ask why did you choose this form? You know your decay leaks through that vessel. You cannot contain it for long especially with how powerful you are everything around you wilts. You are over a thousand years old, Rhazar."
The boy blinked, all innocence and mischief.
"Because no one suspects the child," he said sweetly. "It's delicious watching fear bloom on faces that thought they were safe."
He tilted his head, smile widening until it almost split his face.
"And besides… Clara's son is entering the academy this year."
His voice dipped into a whisper, playful and cruel.
"I want to see what kind of man her little boy became after she frantically begged me to spare his life . It was fun watching her as she fought the corruption and still tried to protect him . Maybe I'll even play with him before I kill him."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Nythera's eyes glowed faintly — pity, curiosity, and hunger all at once.
"Clara Valencrest's blood still stains your hands, Rhazar."
He giggled. "Oh, I know. I kept the scent and maybe her head. "
Vaelth stood, voice cutting through the air like a blade.
"Enough. We already possess the Crown of Dust — her sacrifice was not in vain."
He turned toward the gathered council of mixed races and factions. "Each of you will infiltrate the surface. Disguise yourselves among the humans instructors, merchants, guards, servants even as students taking the exams . You will locate the Seal Chamber beneath Elarion Academy."
A masked elf raised his head.
"And the Seed of Eternity? What shall we do when it is found?"
Nythera's smile was cold and exquisite.
"You will not touch it. You will only signal us. That power is not meant for creatures still bound by flesh."
The ground trembled as Vaelth's voice deepened.
"Five fragments would remain . When the seven reunite, our King shall awaken. The Architect will crumble, and the nameless god will rise once more "
The crowd bowed as one. Their voices merged in eerie unison:
"For the nameless god "
Rhazar twirled a tiny dagger, eyes gleaming like starlight on a tomb.
"For the fun of it," he whispered, grinning.
Vaelth and Nythera vanished into shadow — leaving the childlike Transcendent laughing softly, his voice echoing through the halls of bone:
"See you soon, little Valencrest."
And somewhere above, in the waking world, a faint ripple crossed the veil — the first sign that the war had already begun.