CHAPTER 32

The Rift Beyond Reality

The Celestial Omen

The night wind whispered across the ruins of Eldoris, carrying the scent of embers and damp earth. Lyra stood at the highest tower of the palace, staring at the fractured sky.

"Find me."

The whisper still echoed in her mind. Eryx's voice had been distant, otherworldly—as though it came from beyond the veil of reality itself.

Kael approached from behind, his sword strapped across his back. "You heard something last night." It wasn't a question.

She nodded, gripping the cold stone of the balcony. "It was Eryx. I don't know how, but… I know he's alive."

Alden joined them, arms crossed. "Selene believes the rift Malaga created still lingers. If that's true, then Eryx might not be dead—he might be trapped."

Kael frowned. "Trapped where?"

Lyra's celestial mark pulsed. She closed her eyes, reaching out to the energy. For a moment, the world blurred around her, and she saw it—a glimpse beyond reality. A vast expanse of endless void, where the stars hung in unnatural stillness. And there, barely visible through the distortions of space—a figure standing at the edge of time itself.

She gasped, stepping back.

Alden steadied her. "What did you see?"

She caught her breath. "A place that shouldn't exist." She turned to them, her voice firm. "We need to go there."

Kael raised a brow. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

Selene entered then, her dark robes trailing behind her. "I might have an answer to that."

 The Gateway of Stars

The Celestial Gateway was buried deep beneath the palace—a forgotten relic of an age when mortals and celestial beings coexisted. Lyra and her companions descended into the hidden chamber, torches flickering against the ancient carvings that lined the walls.

Selene traced her fingers over an inscription. "This is one of the last remaining gateways to the Astral Plane."

Kael's expression hardened. "The Astral Plane is a myth."

Selene's lips curled in a knowing smile. "And yet, here we stand."

Alden stepped forward. "If this is a passage to the realm beyond, how do we open it?"

Selene turned to Lyra. "Your mark is the key."

Hesitant, Lyra placed her palm against the stone altar. The moment her fingers made contact, the chamber trembled. The symbols along the walls lit up in golden light, and the air crackled with celestial energy.

A swirling portal of shifting stars and shadows began to form in the center of the room.

Kael's jaw tightened. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Lyra stepped toward the portal, determination burning in her eyes. "We don't have a choice."

With one last breath, she stepped through.

The world twisted.

Lyra felt herself pulled through the fabric of reality, weightless yet bound by invisible forces. Stars blurred past her, whispers of forgotten voices echoing in her ears.

Then—solid ground.

She landed hard on a surface that wasn't quite stone, wasn't quite air. Around her stretched an endless void, a shattered realm of floating islands and celestial storms.

The others materialized beside her, groaning from the impact.

Alden was the first to rise. "Where… are we?"

Selene gazed at the unnatural horizon. "The space between worlds."

Kael scanned the surroundings. "And where's Eryx?"

Before anyone could answer—a dark shape loomed in the distance.

Lyra's breath caught as the figure emerged from the swirling mist.

It was Eryx.

But something was wrong.

His once radiant silver eyes were now black voids, and celestial chains wrapped around his body, anchoring him to the rift itself.

His voice came in a broken whisper. "You shouldn't have come."

Lyra stepped forward. "We came to save you."

Eryx shook his head violently. "No. This place… it's alive. It won't let me leave. And now…" His head lifted, his hollow gaze locking onto hers. "It won't let you leave either."

The sky above them rippled violently. Shadows poured from the cracks in the realm, forming into monstrous shapes—twisted echoes of celestial beings, their hollow eyes burning with hunger.

Kael drew his sword. "Tell me we have a plan."

Lyra met Eryx's gaze. "We break the chains."

Eryx's expression twisted in pain. "You don't understand."

The air trembled.

Then, a deafening roar filled the void as something colossal rose from the darkness—a creature made of pure nothingness, a being of the void itself.

A cold realization dawned on Lyra.

Eryx wasn't the prisoner.

He was the key.

The Void born Awakens

The celestial chains that bound Eryx were not restraining him—they were containing him. The moment they were severed, something far worse would awaken.

Eryx's voice was strained. "Malaga was never the real threat." He lifted his bound hands. "I was."

Lyra's heart pounded. "That's not true."

Eryx's eyes burned. "It is. I wasn't just taken I was changed. When Malaga opened the rift, he unlocked something inside me." His hands clenched. "And if I leave this place… it will escape too."

The monstrous entity began moving toward them, its form shifting like liquid darkness, eyes burning with a hunger that could consume worlds.

Selene whispered, "That's not just a creature." Her expression darkened. "That's a god."

A Void born.

Kael cursed. "We're not ready for this fight."

Lyra met Eryx's gaze, then turned to the creature. The choice was clear.

They had come to save Eryx. But now, they might have to destroy him.

The Impossible Choice 

The Void Born's screech rattled the very fabric of the Astral Plane. The endless void warped and twisted, the ground beneath them trembling as the monstrous entity loomed closer.

Eryx stood before Lyra, still bound by celestial chains, his once-silver eyes dark and void-like, reflecting an unfathomable abyss.

"You have to end this," he repeated, his voice raw. "Kill me, and the chains will seal the rift again."

Lyra's fingers tightened around the hilt of her blade. The celestial steel shimmered, resonating with her heartbeat, pulsing like a dying star.

Alden stepped forward. "We don't have to do this."

Kael, however, was already bracing for battle. "We don't have time for doubt! That thing—" He pointed at the Void born, its swirling mass of darkness now forming jagged, elongated limbs, "isn't waiting for us to decide!"

Selene whispered, "It's feeding off the rift's energy. If it becomes whole, there's no force in any realm that can stop it."

The Void born took another step forward. The stars behind it blinked out, devoured by its sheer existence.

And then—it spoke.

A voice like the death of galaxies, hollow and ancient, filled the space between worlds.

"You are too late, Star born."

Lyra flinched as the name echoed through her soul. Star born?

She turned to Eryx, but his expression remained grim. His voice was barely above a whisper. "It knows what you are. It knows what we both are."

The Void Born's body rippled like a storm of living shadows, its many mouths splitting open. "One must fall. The gate must break. The cycle must continue."

Lyra felt it then—the truth sinking into her bones.

Eryx wasn't just its prisoner. He was its counterbalance.

The celestial chains were more than shackles; they were a lock on the rift itself. To sever them would mean freeing him—but also freeing what lay beyond.

But to leave him bound?

He would never escape.

Her throat tightened.

Eryx saw the hesitation in her eyes. His jaw clenched, but his voice was soft. "Lyra."

She looked at him, her vision blurring with unshed tears.

"I made my choice long ago," he murmured. "You have to make yours now."

Kael cursed under his breath. "Lyra, if you're going to do it, do it now!"

The Void born lunged.

A storm of shadow and starlight crashed down upon them.

Lyra moved on instinct. She spun, her celestial blade clashing against the Void Born's monstrous limb. A shockwave rippled outward, sending Kael and Alden stumbling backward. Selene raised her staff, chanting, trying to hold the realm together as it fractured around them.

The Void born snarled, its many eyes focusing on Lyra. "You are bound to fate. To undo one is to unmake all."

Lyra ignored it. Her mind was set.

With a cry, she turned to Eryx.

She lifted her blade, hesitated for only a breath.

Then—she struck.

The celestial chains shattered.

A burst of blinding light erupted from the point of contact, consuming everything.

The Void born let out a shriek of triumph.

Eryx collapsed forward, gasping as his body pulsed with pure celestial energy. His back arched, and his entire being glowed like a newborn star. The power inside him, sealed for so long, was finally unleashed.

Lyra fell to her knees, her body wracked with exhaustion. The force of the rift-breaking threatened to consume her.

Kael grabbed her, holding her upright. "What did you do?"

Alden's voice was hoarse. "She freed him."

But at what cost?

The Void born stood tall, its form fully manifest. The celestial chains that had bound Eryx had also been holding it back.

And now—nothing stood in its way.

Eryx rose slowly; his gaze no longer empty, no longer weak. He turned, facing the Void born, his hands now wreathed in Starfire.

For the first time in centuries, Eryx was free.

But so was the darkness.

And only one of them would survive.