Chapter8:Sylviaris's Shadow.

The air in Emberfall's underbelly reeked of damp stone and corroded metal. Veythar's boots sank into the muck of the abandoned aqueducts, his Void Core pulsing a dull, warning rhythm. Beside him, Thalion's grip on his broadsword was white-knuckled, the cursed vines on his arm twitching like living things. Rune trailed behind them, her golden eyes flickering uneasily in the dark.

Sylviaris had led them here-to a fissure in the city's foundations where Valenor's latest rift festered.

*"He's not just tearing the realms apart,"* she'd said, her shadow stretching unnaturally against the guild's walls. *

"He's mining them. Every rift is a vein, and the Void Cores are his ore."*

Now, as the trio navigated the labyrinthine tunnels walls began to*breathe*.

The fissure yawned ahead, its edges jagged and weeping violet light. But it wasn't the rift itself that froze Veythar's blood-it was the *walls*.

The stone *moved*.

Tendrils of shadow slithered across the surface, coiling like roots, pulsing in time with the rift's heartbeat. Thalion swore, yanking Rune back as one lashed out, grazing his boot. The leather sizzled, eaten through in seconds.

"Acid?" Thalion growled.

"Worse," Sylviaris murmured, emerging from the darkness behind them. Her. silver hair glinted in the rift's glow, her violet eyes alight with something

between fascination and hunger.

"Void rot. The rifts aren't just openings- they're infections. And Valenor's letting them fester."

Veythar's Core flared in response,casting sharp, cold light over the tendrils. They recoiled, hissing. *Like Flicker used to*, he thought bitterly. The memory of the Void Beast's fading whimper coiled in his chest.

Sylviaris stepped forward, her shadow stretching toward the rift.

"Watch closely, Core-bearer."

The tendrils *parted* for her.

Thalion's sword was at Sylviaris's throat before Veythar could blink.

"Explain."Now.""She didn't flinch.

"I told you-knowledge has its price." Her shadow writhed, twisting into something clawed and serpentine.

"I've walked the Void longer than you've breathed. Did you think I did it unscathed?"Rune gasped.

"Your shadow... it's *one of them*."Sylviaris smiled.

"A juvenile, once. Now? A willing partner."

The revelation struck like a hammer. Veythar's mind raced-*Flicker could have grown. Could have been more.* But Sylviaris's bond was different. Her shadow wasn't a beast on a leash. It was *her*.

"You're not just studying the Void," Veythar realized.

"You're *part* of it."

Sylviaris's laugh was low, dangerous.

"And so are you, Core-bearer. Whether you admit it or not."

---

The rift pulsed, vomiting forth a swarm of insectoid Beasts-Valenor's scouts. Thalion moved first, his blade cleaving through chitinous hides, but the creatures kept coming, their numbers endless.

Rune staggered, clutching her head.

"He's *here*-"

Valenor's voice slithered from the shadows.

"Ah. The stray hounds finally found the hunt."

The dark. Treasure Hunter. emerged from the rift,His gaze locked onto Veythar's Core. "I'd thank Sylviaris for leading you to me, but we both know she serves only herself."

Sylviaris's shadow lashed out, striking Valenor's shoulder. He barely flinched, the wound sealing instantly with blackened tendrils.

"Petty," he sneered.

Veythar ignited his Core, its light carving through the swarm.

"Why the rifts? What are you *mining*?"

Valenor's grin was a blade. "Not what. *Who.*"The rift *screamed*.

A colossal shape stirred within-a silhouette of jagged edges and dying stars, its presence crushing the air from Veythar's lungs.

*The First Void Beast.* The one the legends called *The Devourer*.

"The Citadel isn't just a forge," Sylviaris hissed, her shadow recoiling. "It's a*cage*. And he's trying to break it."

Valenor spread his arms. "The Shattered Realms were never meant to be*fixed*. They were meant to be *consumed*." His gaze burned into Veythar's. "Your Core is the key. The last piece."

Thalion roared, charging-but Valenor vanished into the rift, his laughter echoing. The Devourer's silhouette faded, but its hunger lingered, a hollow ache in Veythar's bones.

Rune collapsed, her golden eyes dimming.

"It's... calling to me," she whispered.

Sylviaris's expression was unreadable.

"Because you've touched purity. And the Void *hates* it."

Veythar hauled Rune upright, his Core's light flaring defiantly. "We seal the rift. "Now.*"

--"

The ritual was brutal.

Veythar channeled his Core into the fissure, its light clashing with the Devourer's pull. Thalion fought back the swarm, his cursed arm blackening with every strike. Rune's gold energy flickered, a fragile dam against the tide.

And Sylviaris? She *watched*.

As the rift sealed with a final, shuddering gasp, her shadow stretched toward Veythar, whispering:

*"You can't outrun what you are."*

Then she was gone, leaving only the echo of the Devourer's call-and the Citadel's coordinates, scorched into the stone at their feet.

---

Back in Emberfall's ruins, Thalion bandaged his arm, the vines now creeping past his elbow. Rune slept fitfully, her dreams haunted by gold and violet.

Veythar stared at the Citadel's mark, his Core pulsing with grim resolve.

"We end this," he muttered.

"Thalion nodded, his sword hand steady. "Together

Somewhere in the dark, Sylviaris's shadow laughed.

Power had a price. And the Void always collected.