Chapter 19: Into the Void

Kael'thir dove headfirst into the rift, his wings folded tight against his body as the fractured sky collapsed behind him.

The moment he crossed the threshold, reality ceased to exist as he knew it.

There was no wind.

No gravity.

No sky.

Just an endless expanse of shifting darkness, threaded with veins of violet light that pulsed like the faint heartbeat of a dying god.

Time itself felt fractured here—moments stretched into eternity, then snapped back into mere seconds.

Kael'thir's wings instinctively flared open, trying to stabilize himself, but the void responded differently.

There was no resistance.

No up.

No down.

Just… infinite space.

His instincts screamed that this was wrong, that nothing should exist here—

But Kael'thir didn't listen to instincts anymore.

Not blindly.

He was beyond that.

More than a beast.

More than a dragon.

He was a force now, one that didn't need to understand the rules to break them.

His claws flexed, his body humming with mana as he forced the void to obey him.

A ripple spread out from him, bending the darkness slightly, enough to create a sense of direction.

Enough to remind the void that he was here.

And he wasn't afraid.

As he pushed deeper, the void began to change.

Shapes flickered at the edges of his vision—fractured echoes of worlds long devoured, civilizations reduced to ash, memories scattered like dust.

Structures floated in the distance, crumbling ruins suspended in nothingness, their architecture alien and ancient.

And amidst the ruins—

Figures.

Not like the ones he had fought in the sky.

These were different.

Real.

Tangible.

Their forms were twisted, humanoid but wrong—limbs too long, faces blurred as if reality itself refused to define them.

They didn't move like living things.

They glitched, appearing and disappearing in fragmented bursts of motion, as if the void itself struggled to contain them.

Kael'thir's pupils narrowed.

Not prey.

Not beasts.

Something else.

Guardians?

The first one moved.

A flicker—here, then there—closing the distance in less than a breath.

It struck without warning, a jagged limb slicing toward Kael'thir's chest with enough force to shatter stone.

But Kael'thir was faster.

His claws flashed, meeting the strike midair.

The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the void, distorting the space around them like ripples on water.

Kael'thir snarled, his wings beating once to propel him forward, his jaws snapping at the creature's distorted head.

He expected it to dodge.

It didn't.

His fangs sank in—

But there was no flesh.

No bone.

Just… empty space.

The creature flickered, vanishing from his grip and reappearing behind him, its limb slicing across his back.

Pain flared—sharp and cold, unlike any wound he'd felt before.

It wasn't just a cut.

It was like the creature had carved into him and the space he occupied simultaneously.

Kael'thir roared, twisting midair, his tail lashing out with enough force to collapse a mountain.

The strike connected this time, sending the creature spiraling through the void, its form flickering wildly as it struggled to stabilize.

But Kael'thir didn't wait.

He chased.

The battle was chaos.

Kael'thir moved through the void with speed and precision, his body adapting to the shifting rules of this broken realm.

The creature fought like nothing he'd ever faced—its attacks targeting not just his body but the very space he existed in.

Every clash distorted reality around them, creating temporary pockets of gravity, time loops that lasted mere seconds, and fractures that tried to pull them apart.

But Kael'thir was relentless.

Unyielding.

For every trick the creature used, he adapted.

For every distortion, he learned.

Until finally—

He was faster.

Stronger.

His claws found their mark, raking through the creature's chest with enough force to tear apart its very existence.

The creature didn't bleed.

It shattered.

Like glass breaking under pressure, its form fractured into countless pieces, each fragment dissolving into the void.

Kael'thir hovered there, breathing heavily, his body marked with faint cuts that didn't bleed but burned with the ache of distorted reality.

But he was still standing.

Still breathing.

Still hungry.

As the echoes of the battle faded, Kael'thir felt it—

A pull.

Stronger now.

More insistent.

Deeper into the void.

He didn't hesitate.

With a single beat of his wings, he followed.

The void began to shift again as he flew, the darkness giving way to faint glimmers of light—not stars, but fragments of shattered realms, floating like debris in an endless sea.

And at the center of it all—

A structure.

Massive.

Ancient.

A floating citadel forged from black stone and veins of pulsating violet light.

It radiated power, thick and suffocating, like the lingering breath of a god long dead.

Kael'thir's heart raced—not with fear, but with anticipation.

This was it.

The source of the rift.

The key to everything he'd felt since devouring the warrior's mana.

Answers.

Power.

Both waited for him inside.

He landed on the citadel's fractured surface, his claws scraping against the stone as he advanced cautiously.

The structure was silent, but not empty.

He could feel eyes watching him from the shadows, though nothing moved.

Not yet.

Kael'thir's tail flicked in irritation.

If there was a threat, he wanted it to reveal itself.

He didn't like waiting.

So he roared, his voice shaking the very foundation of the citadel.

A challenge.

A declaration.

"I'm here. Face me."

The silence stretched—

Then shattered.

Dozens of figures emerged from the darkness, their forms similar to the one he'd fought before but larger, more defined.

Each one radiated power, their bodies flickering between states of reality and unreality.

Kael'thir grinned.

Finally.

A real fight.

The battle erupted like a storm.

Kael'thir tore through them with ferocity, his claws rending both flesh and space itself, his wings creating shockwaves that sent enemies spiraling into the void.

But they were strong.

Stronger than the first.

They fought with coordination, their attacks precise, designed to overwhelm him from every direction.

But Kael'thir thrived in chaos.

Every wound he took, he learned.

Every enemy he killed, he grew stronger.

Their mana was different—tainted with the void, but still nourishing.

Still fuel.

And Kael'thir devoured it all.

By the time the last creature fell, the citadel was in ruins, fractured pieces floating in the void around him.

Kael'thir stood alone amidst the wreckage, his body marked with faint scars that shimmered with violet light.

But he was still standing.

Stronger.

Faster.

Closer to whatever truth lay hidden in this place.

At the heart of the citadel, he found it.

A throne.

Massive, carved from obsidian, veins of violet mana pulsing through it like lifeblood.

And seated upon it—

A figure.

Tall.

Armored.

Their face hidden behind a mask of dark metal, eyes glowing faintly beneath.

Kael'thir's instincts screamed.

This was different.

Not like the others.

Not an echo.

Not a guardian.

A rival.

The figure spoke, their voice deep and resonant, filled with something Kael'thir hadn't heard before—

Not fear.

Not arrogance.

But recognition.

"You finally arrived."

Kael'thir's grin was feral.

"Then stand up and die."

And with that, the final battle of the citadel began.