WHISPERS OF THE UNKNOWN

Well then, here I was — all alone at the entrance of the Golden Gates.

For the first time in my life, I was entering the Beast Rims alone.

Officially, anyway. (We don't talk about the other times.)

The afternoon sun hung lazily in the sky, stretching golden beams across the land like it was blessing my reckless decision.

My stomach was comfortably full — a rare feeling before a mission.

Lunch had been good.

Really good, actually. I'd cooked it the night before with Lavya's help, trying to make something that tasted like home...

Not that anyone got to properly enjoy it.

Everyone had been too tense, the looming weight of that discussion pressing down on us like an invisible hand.

Even the clinking of spoons against plates had sounded unnatural, forced, and irritating as Adrianna had reacted when I clashed my spoon against the plate. 

They'd eaten because I'd made the effort, because they knew I'd notice if they didn't.

But the laughter, the teasing — the little things that made our house feel warm when we had lunch the same day — were missing. 

I hadn't blamed them.

I hadn't even blamed Rebecca or anyone else.

It was just how things were now.

The moment I finished my meal, I knew I couldn't linger any longer.

If I stayed, I might start doubting. Might start reconsidering... I'm a self-preserving man after all. 

And that was something I couldn't afford.

So I left quietly. 

Sia — shockingly — hadn't protested.

Not much, anyway.

She'd stood by the door, arms crossed, a familiar shadow in her crimson eyes... but she hadn't said the words that could have stopped me.

The words I'd half-feared, half-hoped to hear.

Maybe she finally understood...

You can't cage a storm forever.

It'll either break free or destroy the cage itself.

I loved that woman.

More than anything in this world.

Ever since my eyes first landed on her—battered, tired, standing taller than giants—she had been my 'the one'. 

But love doesn't erase frustration.

And her constant, smothering worry for me, for an eighteen-year-old, fully trained, strong-as-hell me, had started to feel like chains wrapped in silk.

Maybe... maybe now she was finally trusting me to cut my own path through the world.

Or maybe she was just too tired to fight the inevitable, which I hope was true, I want her to worry about me, obviously, but not too much that'll make it suffocating.

Either way, I would honour her faith and love. 

Or die trying.

The sun was bright, harsh enough that I had to squint sometimes, but the air itself was gentle.

Warm against my skin in a way that almost felt like a farewell.

A few patches of my skin were exposed, peeking through the joints of my armour and the light folds of my travelling robes.

The black-and-grey armour absorbed the sun's heat greedily, but thanks to the internal lining, I barely felt it.

A pointless little observation, maybe, but I liked noticing things like that.

It made the world feel more real.

Made me feel more real.

The knight-in-charge barely glanced at me when I handed over my permit.

A signature, a bored nod, and I was through.

No fanfare. No final warnings.

Good.

I didn't need another reminder that most people thought walking into the Rims alone was suicide.

I sprinted toward the Manisk sector the moment I crossed the threshold.

No hesitation.

Speed was safety.

The buffer zone stretched out before me like a cracked, half-forgotten plain.

Here, the mana levels were low, manageable — designed that way on purpose.

Weak, docile beasts roamed the fields in small groups: mana-rabbits, dusk-hounds, a few vine-creepers nibbling lazily at the brittle soil.

None of them so much as glanced at me.

Above, I caught the flash of Aerial Knights — glints of armour against the endless blue sky.

They were the invisible shield that kept the buffer zone secure, blasting down anything too big, too fast, or too aggressive.

Edward and his team were probably among them right now, tirelessly circling like falcons over a dying battlefield.

At the far end of this "safe" zone were the cliff regions — jagged natural barriers where the land itself rebelled against invaders.

Stronger beasts rarely crossed the cliffs.

Why would they?

There were no real prey here; Should you cross the cliffs and head towards the empire and the walls.

Only thin, unpredictable mana currents, and constant harassment from knights above... like harassment is a toned-down word because the knights literally bombard the entire area if there's a spotting.

If they ventured into the buffer, even its initial entrance, they starved.

If they lingered around, they died.

Simple ecosystem.

Brutal.

Efficient.

Human.

Adjusting the strap on my sword, I quickened my pace.

My armor — with its new layers of dulled grey along the joints and chest plates — felt almost too light today.

Almost like I'd left something behind.

But I hadn't.

Crimson Ultima was there at my side — a blade that had been through hell and worse with me.

Its new colour scheme — a stormy dance of blue and grey — looked better than I had dared hope.

Sleek, quiet, and powerful.

A reminder of everything I had survived so far.

Onto the mission.

Mana thrummed eagerly through my veins, responding to my intentions before I even fully summoned it.

Faster than average, but not dangerously fast —

Not yet.

At this speed, barring interruptions, I could reach the Manisk region in roughly three hours.

A little more, if I needed to activate Absolute Zero early.

That ability — that second skin of stillness — was my greatest edge out here.

Once activated, I would vanish from every sense but sight.

No heartbeat.

No breathing.

No aura.

Invisible, untouchable...

hopefully.

Because the Wraith I was hunting...

It didn't play by normal rules.

The rumors said it had been seen for weeks now — drifting through the deeper Rims, slipping past patrols, ignoring humans, ignoring bait.

When the hunters from that vile faction, the ones who thought they could tame anything if they spilt enough blood —

challenged it...

It hadn't fought back.

Hadn't defended itself.

Hadn't even reacted.

Which was, honestly, a thousand times more terrifying than open hostility. 

Maybe it was a beast species.

Maybe even a humanoid beast species — like the Knightcrawlers or the Valgura.

Maybe its ability to phase through matter — both living and dead — was a defence mechanism.

A biological trait, not a skill.

Theories flooded my mind as I ran.

If the Wraith's body was made of something close to living shadow or darkness, maybe it didn't dodge attacks at all.

Maybe it became intangible the moment a strike landed.

A reflex.

A survival instinct.

But then — if it couldn't touch anything while phased — how did it fight? I mean, there has to be some sort of retaliation, right? 

Could it phase only parts of itself?

Could it turn solid in flashes, just long enough to strike, then vanish again?

The thought sent a sharp ripple of unease down my spine.

Maybe it was like my Absolute Zero.

An ability that could be switched on and off. 

But where my skill merely masked me from senses...

The Wraith rewrote reality itself. Plus, Absolute Zero took time to turn off, unlike the turn-on, which can be done immediately if I'm willing to bear the pressure, the load within my chest that feels like someone is trying to grab the insides of my chest with an iron fist. 

'Maybe I can guess it more accurately if I engage it in an actual combat, or even witness it with my own eyes and my senses, that can provide some intel others may not be able to perceive... or simply missed out on.'

Theories.

Guesses.

And if even half of them were true...

I wasn't just walking into danger today.

I was sprinting headfirst into something humanity didn't understand.

Something that didn't fear us.

Something that we didn't even notice us.

A living void — a shadow given hunger and shape... even curiosity, I suppose.

I breathed out slowly, feeling the mana around me shift as my mind quieted.

Not fear.

Not now.

Just focus.

Every step carried me deeper into the unknown.

And honestly?

I wouldn't have had it any other way.