Chapter 14: The Outside World – The Price of His Name

The Guild Syndicate's war room buzzed with subdued activity. Despite the air-conditioning, the room felt oppressively heavy, like a storm about to break. High Enforcer Lysan stood with his arms crossed, his sharp eyes fixed on a holographic projection of the Soulweave Network. Velis, the Guild's archivist, sat at a nearby console, scanning through layers of information scrolling across her screen. 

The map displayed before them wasn't encouraging. Red zones flickered ominously across Elysium—areas where Void activity had destabilized minor Gateways. Each fluctuation risked gaping rifts, feeding the chaos that threatened both worlds. 

Velis's calm voice broke the silence. "Another breach has been reported near the Eastern Wastes." 

Lysan didn't react immediately. He simply inhaled deeply and spoke in an ice-cold tone. "And no sign of him?" 

Velis shook her head, swiping her hand to expand the map. "Nothing. No sightings, no transmissions. And, once again, no body." 

"Then how the hell is he still alive?" Lysan said, his frustration boiling over. He gestured sharply at the map. "Even if he somehow survived the Void explosion, he hasn't returned to Earth. He hasn't slept in weeks. Why hasn't the psychosis killed him already?" 

Velis didn't look up from her screen. "It doesn't make sense. Every human tethered to the Soulweave System requires the sleep cycle. Elysium's mechanics demand it. Without returning to Earth, the strain on his mind and soul should have fractured him by now." 

"What about his body?" Lysan pressed. "Could something beyond the Void have intervened? Stabilized him?" 

Velis hesitated, her fingers pausing mid-swipe. "There's no record of that ever happening. When someone dies in Elysium, their body is either destroyed outright by the Void's corruption, or they break apart during travel. Elias's case doesn't fit any known pattern." 

Lysan's gaze didn't leave the projection. "So he should be dead." 

"That's the logical conclusion." 

"And yet…" Lysan let the words hang in the air, the weight of them chilling the room. 

Velis narrowed her eyes slightly. "He's alive somewhere. We know this because the Void activity is spreading—each breach aligning with zones he worked on before his disappearance. If his experiments truly altered his connection to the Soulweave, then it's possible he's no longer bound by its rules." 

Lysan laughed humorlessly. "So what? He rewrote the laws of existence? Stop playing games, Velis." 

"I'm not," she said calmly. "We've never seen anything like this before. The rules might not apply to him anymore."

The silence in the war room was broken by the static of a communication crystal lighting up at Velis's console. An officer's face materialized in the blue glow, his expression tense. 

"High Enforcer Lysan," the officer began, "updates on Varian's known associates. We've confirmed Orin and Liora were last seen in the southern ruins near the Ashen Hollow region. We're dispatching additional units to track them down." 

Lysan nodded curtly. "Good. If those two know anything about Varian's location, wring it out of them. I don't care how." 

The officer hesitated. "Sir, there's… another matter we need clarification on." 

Lysan's eyes narrowed. "Speak." 

The officer's tone dropped slightly. "The Soulweave System's monitoring nodes flagged irregularities. Normally, when a sleeper in Elysium dies, their Earth body's connection is severed, triggering an automatic notification. Varian's connection should have collapsed weeks ago, but…" 

"But it hasn't," Velis finished, her voice grim. 

"No, ma'am," the officer confirmed. "His soul tether is… still active, faint, but consistent. His tether is neither stable nor entirely severed. It's... like it's caught somewhere in between." 

Lysan's frown deepened, a cold knot forming in his stomach. "So he's alive… or something close to it." 

Velis's fingers danced across her console, pulling up data on the Soulweave's known anomalies. "If Elias has somehow avoided the psychosis inherent to overextended Elysian stays, we need to know how. This could change everything about how humanity interacts with Elysium." 

"This changes nothing," Lysan snapped. "It just raises more questions. We need him found. Alive if possible—dead if necessary. These Void breaches won't wait for us to figure things out." 

While the Guild Syndicate consolidated its forces, Elysium's NPC rulers were far less coordinated. At the Emberhold Council Chambers—the capital of Emberhold, one of Elysium's divine NPC kingdoms—a heated debate raged. 

King Varen, his fiery red armor reflecting the glow of the chamber's enchanted torches, slammed his fist against the obsidian table. "The Void is spreading faster than your Guild Syndicate can contain it!" His voice echoed through the room. "If you cannot solve this mess, Emberhold may have to act independently to protect its borders." 

Seated across from him, Velis—acting as the Guild's representative—remained calm and composed. "Your Majesty, measures are already in place to neutralize the breaches. Our operatives are working tirelessly to track the source." 

"To track him, you mean," Varen spat. "The human you've allowed to destabilize the Gateways in the first place. Admit it, Syndicate—you've lost control of your own system." 

Velis's gaze sharpened. "The breaches are an unprecedented phenomenon, Your Majesty. Elias Varian's involvement is speculative, but we believe he holds the key to understanding—" 

"And why hasn't he returned to Earth, hmm?" Varen interrupted. "He should be dead by now if your so-called Soulweave System worked the way you claim. Yet here we are, entire provinces overrun by Voidspawn while you chase ghosts!" 

Velis's diplomatic mask slipped slightly, irritation flashing in her eyes. "Interference from the Void disrupts the natural order of both worlds. It's possible his connection to Earth has been corrupted." 

"Possible?" Varen barked, leaning forward. "You gamble with possibilities while my people die! Fix this, or I will send Emberhold's forces into Guild-controlled zones if that's what it takes to keep my kingdom safe." 

Velis didn't respond immediately, her expression hardening. "I assure you, the Guild is doing everything within its power to resolve this matter. Your cooperation would be appreciated." 

The council chamber fell silent, the tension heavy. 

Varen sat back, his eyes narrowing. "One month. If your Guild hasn't resolved this by then, Emberhold will take matters into its own hands." 

In the dense forests of Elysium's southern regions, Orin and Liora crouched low behind a fallen tree, their breaths harsh and uneven. The shimmering hum of Guild Aether scanners echoed faintly in the distance. 

"Shit," Orin muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. "They're getting closer." 

Liora didn't look up, her hands working quickly as she mixed powdered reagents into a small vial. "They're tracking our Aether signatures. Give me a second to mask them." 

Orin glanced behind them, his sharp eyes scanning the shadows for movement. "We shouldn't even be in this mess. All this… for Elias." 

Liora shot him a look. "We owe him. He's saved us more times than I can count." 

"And now he's gone, probably dead, while we're running for our lives," Orin shot back. "Does that sound fair to you?" 

Liora didn't answer immediately. Her focus remained on the vial in her hands, shaking it until the contents began to glow faintly. "Fair? No. But it's the right thing to do." 

Orin sighed, leaning back against the tree. "If he's alive, he better have a damn good explanation for all this." 

While the Guild, Nightspires, and NPC kingdoms scrambled for answers, the Void continued its silent advance. Breaches multiplied across Elysium, each one spreading corruption further into the fabric of both realms. 

In the shadow of a fractured Gateway, the Unbound gathered in ritual. Their leader—a figure veiled in darkness—addressed the acolytes, their voice reverberating with power. 

"The Voidstorm draws closer," they intoned. "The Gateways are failing, the balance collapsing. Elias Varian's disappearance is no coincidence. He is a harbinger—a sign of the change we have awaited." 

The acolytes murmured in agreement, their voices blending into a low chant. 

"The Guild hunts him out of fear," the leader continued. "But we… we will find him, and through him, we will reshape the worlds." 

The Void shard at the center of the circle pulsed, its violet light casting twisted shadows across the cavern walls. The leader's voice grew colder. 

"Prepare yourselves. The walls will fall, and when they do, only the Void will remain." 

Back in Nova Haven, Lysan stared at the holographic projection of the Soulweave Network. His mind churned with questions that had no answers. 

"Why hasn't he returned?" he muttered under his breath. "If the Void didn't kill him, and the Soulweave hasn't fractured… then where the hell is he?" 

Velis, standing nearby, glanced at him. "If we don't find him soon, it may not matter," she said quietly. "The Void doesn't wait." 

Lysan didn't respond. Somewhere out there, Elias Varian was alive—or something close to it. And if they didn't find him soon, the instability he left behind might consume them all.