Into the Unknown
The war for the continent was over.
But the battle for the future had only begun.
For days, Zorathian scouts searched the remains of Everfrost's strongholds, ruins, and frost-covered wastelands, looking for any trace of Kael'thir.
Nothing.
No body. No magic residue. No signs of movement.
It was as if the Emperor of Everfrost had vanished from existence.
The TCS issued a grim report.
[ VOID PRESENCE LEVELS: LOW BUT ACTIVE ]
Kael'thir's whereabouts: UNKNOWN
Void Influence: Slowly spreading in isolated locations
Potential Rift Openings: Possible in the next 6 months
Alex, standing in the war council chamber, clenched his fists.
Darius leaned against the table. "So what, we just wait around until he decides to show up again?"
Elara, arms crossed, shook her head. "We need to be proactive. If we don't hunt him, he'll come back stronger."
Finn, looking exhausted, muttered, "If he's fused with the Void, he's already becoming something else."
Aldric exhaled. "Then we have to stop him before he's beyond stopping."
Alex nodded. "Then we head east."
---
Beyond Zorath's newly claimed empire, there lay a place untouched by civilization.
The TCS displayed the new mission parameters.
[ MISSION UPDATE: EXPEDITION INTO THE FORBIDDEN LANDS ]
Destination: The Shattered Wastes (Unmapped Territory)
Potential Threats: Unknown
Objective: Find traces of Kael'thir & investigate Void activity
Elara studied the map. "No one's gone that far and returned."
Darius grinned. "Sounds like a challenge."
Finn, however, looked uneasy. "This isn't just some forgotten wasteland. There are things in the dark there."
Alex met their gazes. "That's why we're going."
---
The expedition departed at dawn.
Alex led a force of 300 elite soldiers, including Darius, Elara, Finn, and Aldric.
The TCS activated long-range Void detection, monitoring for anomalies.
Zorath's army remained behind, fortifying defenses in case of another attack.
As they entered the Shattered Wastes, the land changed.
The sky grew darker, even in daylight.
The wind carried whispers—faint, distant, but impossible to ignore.
The TCS issued a warning.
[ VOID DISTURBANCE DETECTED ]
Source: 15 km ahead
Energy Signature: Weak, but active
Probability of Rift Activity: 78%
Elara's eyes sharpened. "We're not alone out here."
Darius tightened his grip on his weapon. "Good. I was getting bored."
Alex exhaled. "Stay sharp. This isn't Everfrost anymore."
And so, the hunt began.
---
The Shattered Wastes were unlike anything Alex had seen before.
The landscape twisted unnaturally, jagged black stone formations jutting from the ground at impossible angles. The further they traveled, the more reality seemed… wrong.
Rocks floated in midair, shifting ever so slightly when no one was looking.
Shadows stretched longer than they should, even with no source of light.
Whispers drifted through the air—soft, unintelligible, but constant.
The TCS issued another warning.
[ VOID PRESENCE STRENGTHENING ]
Distance to Disturbance: 8 km
Environmental Stability: Degrading
Mental Effect on Troops: Mild disorientation reported
Elara whispered, "This place isn't natural."
Darius let out a slow breath. "Yeah, no kidding."
Finn, scanning the area with his arcane sight, flinched. "It's like reality itself is… unraveling here."
Aldric studied the land ahead. "And yet, Kael'thir went this way."
Alex didn't respond. He could feel it—the pull of something waiting for them beyond the horizon.
And whatever it was, it wasn't human anymore.
---
By the time they reached the source of the disturbance, the land had fully changed.
The ground beneath their feet felt brittle, like thin glass. Strange cracks in the air pulsed with shifting light, revealing glimpses of something else beyond this world.
Then, they saw it.
A rift.
A tear in reality itself, pulsing with Void energy.
The TCS issued a new classification.
[ VOID RIFT IDENTIFIED ]
Size: Small (2 meters wide)
Activity Level: Stable but growing
Presence of Kael'thir: Residual energy detected
Elara tightened her grip on her bow. "We found it."
Finn, eyes wide, whispered, "But we weren't the first ones here."
Alex followed his gaze.
Scattered around the rift were bodies.
Everfrost warriors, frozen mid-motion, their faces twisted in terror.
Their armor was intact, but their bodies… hollow, drained of something vital.
It wasn't just death. It was erasure.
Darius scowled. "That's a bad sign."
Aldric, kneeling beside one of the corpses, murmured, "Something came through this rift. And it didn't just kill them—it took something from them."
Alex stepped closer to the rift.
That was when the whispers changed.
They spoke.
Not just sounds—words.
And they spoke his name.
"Aaaalex… We have been waiting."
The TCS flashed an urgent warning.
[ VOID ENTITY DETECTED – UNKNOWN LEVEL ]
Status: Watching
Hostility Level: UNDEFINED
Threat Potential: IMMEASURABLE
The air around the rift rippled.
Something was looking back.
Alex's pulse quickened.
They weren't just hunting Kael'thir anymore.
They had stepped into something far greater.
And it had noticed them.
---