The Traitor's Shadow

The archive chamber was filled with glowing tablets and had quartz shelves engraved with the sigils of the Dawn War: Serathys, Lumara, and Vyrathys, but never Zorathys. Compared to yesterday's council hall meeting, the gatekeeper meeting was smaller, and Sylra's goal was to hide their shrine scout from the council. The only people inside were trusted gatekeepers: Torren, flanking the door; Kael, holding a bind rune tablet; Sylra, her fiery braid a beacon of resolve; and three others: a quiet scout named Taryn, a surge specialist named Joren, and a veteran stabilizer named Mira. Lirien's void-touch was an accusation without words, and her absence was a wound.

With her voice sharp, Sylra stood at a table etched with runes. According to Marcus's journal, the tenth gate is in Nullvox and is watched over by a traitor. The shrine's our key to finding it. Today we search the archives—records of the Dawn War, sigils from shrines. Kael, you and Taryn start with the High God tablets. Joren, Mira, look over the gate logs. Torren and Marcus, join me.

The fragment in his satchel hummed as Ethan's rune pulsed. The truth in the journal was a spark, but he was tormented by Valthor's whisper—"Ethan," which no one in the archives had noticed. Was it a void-trick, or was Valthor aware that he was actually Ethan Cole? He suppressed the thought and concentrated on Sylra's strategy. His voice was low as he looked at the gatekeepers and said, "What if the traitor is already here?"

Sylra's eyes narrowed. Then we observe one another. Although Valthor's acolytes were close to Lirien's quarters, she was void-touched. No one outside this room is trusted.

Before anyone could react, the door to the chamber swung open, and Valthor Drayce entered, his silver robes gleaming and his smile as sharp as a blade. With their eyes focused on Ethan's satchel, two acolytes stood on either side of him, their runes dim but ready. As if Aetherion itself had shrunk, the air grew heavier and the runes of the gatekeepers flickered.

"Spreading lies, Marcus?" Valthor's voice was smooth, venomous. "Tales of a traitor in Nullvox and rumors of a tenth gate are dangerous for a gatekeeper who is so… new to his position."

With his surge rune sparking, Ethan's heart stopped. Marcus had died to reveal the corruption of the Council, and Valthor's charge echoed that secrecy. "It's not lies," he said, taking a step forward and speaking steadily in spite of his fear. "The journal is clear; someone is watching over it for the void, and the tenth gate is in Nullvox."

Glancing at the satchel, Valthor's eyes shone brightly. "A journal? Marcus's scrawls, of course. He sparked unrest with his recklessness, and now you follow in his footsteps. The Council forbids such rumors. Marcus, turn in the journal, or else you will be judged."

Sylra's blade flashed, barring Valthor's path. "You don't command us, elder. Marcus is the gatekeeper, and we have the authority to judge the journal."

With a growl in his voice, Torren moved to Ethan's side. Valthor, you were never trusted by Marcus. The void was allowed to fester, according to the elders, who concealed the truth of the tenth gate. Lies are nothing new to you.

Valthor's smile remained unwavering, but his eyes grew piercing, like a predator assessing its prey. Bold statements, Torren. Marcus died as a result of his mistrust. Be careful you don't share his fate." Turning to Ethan, he spoke in a low, questioning tone. "Marcus, you have sparked a storm. The gates are agitated, and people are drawn to your legacy."

Marcus's memory surged like a tide, and Ethan's rune flared, the shard pulsing wildly, and a shadow flickered in his mind—a void-vision. The sky of Nullvox was choked with ash, the plain was dark, and a gate was throbbing with void-energy. "The shrine is the key, but the traitor guards the gate," said a cloaked figure in front of it, their rune faint and their voice a whisper. As the vision dimmed, Ethan felt Marcus's agony burning in his chest, as though the emptiness had also ripped through him.

With Sylra's hand supporting him, Ethan stumbled. "Marcus, what's wrong?" she hissed, her eyes darting to Valthor.

Ethan's voice was tight as he lied, "Nothing," the weight of the vision crushing him. Although the face of the traitor was obscured, Marcus had seen him and sensed the betrayal of the void. Was it Valthor who alluded to impossible knowledge with the whisper "Ethan"? Or Lirien, in disarray at the call of the void?

As though he could feel the echo of the vision, Valthor's eyes lingered. He repeated his taunt from the archive, saying, "Train well, Marcus." "The void is patient." His presence hung over the room like a shadow as he turned, his acolytes trailing behind.

Starlight hummed through the archives, but the gatekeepers' silence weighed more heavily. They had been shaken by Valthor's accusation, and his threat had tightened the noose. The tension was broken by Sylra's voice, which remained unwavering. "We don't stop. Taryn and Kael, get on the tablets. Mira, Joren, gate logs. Torren and Marcus, we are looking through the shrine's records. Now."

While Ethan nodded and steadied his rune, Marcus's void-vision continued to haunt him. The whisper of the traitor and the cloaked figure were a warning, a piece of the puzzle Marcus had sacrificed his life for. The air was heavy with dust and starlight, and he followed Sylra to a shelf of shrine tablets, their sigils glowing dimly.

"Valthor is afraid," Sylra said softly as she looked at a tablet. "His goal is to silence the journal. That indicates our closeness."

With his eyes fixed on the chamber door, Torren's hand was resting on his hammer. "Regarding the elders, Marcus was correct. Not only is Valthor dishonest, but he is concealing something." "And Marcus, what was that vision you had?"

As the ash-choked sky in the vision became clear, Ethan's heart raced. His voice was low as he said, "Marcus saw Nullvox." "A traitor, a gate, and a cloaked figure." They claimed that although the gate is guarded, the shrine holds the key.

Having forgotten her tablet, Sylra's eyes widened. "A void-vision? Marcus never brought it up. What prevented him from naming the traitor if he saw them?"

With the journal's warning—"guarded by a traitor"—burning, Ethan shook his head. "I have no idea. Its face was obscured. But there is a connection between Lirien's distance and Valthor's charge."

Torren spoke in a somber tone. Although Lirien is void-touched, Valthor is the one with the strings. Marcus suspected him and claimed that his acolytes were keeping an excessive amount of eye on the gates.

They searched the tablets and discovered tidbits of shrine mythology, such as messages connected to Zorathys and references to a "forbidden shrine" that had been sealed following the Dawn War. With the shard in his satchel flaring, one tablet, engraved with a starburst sigil, pulsed when Ethan touched it. "This," he said, humming his rune. "It's about the shrine's seal. A key—perhaps a shard—is required."

Sylra had a bright smile on her face. "Your shard? We will be one step closer to the tenth gate if it opens the shrine. Acolytes of Valthor, however, are observing. We have to act quickly."

A scream came from the edge of the chamber before they could make plans. Blood trickling from his arm, Kael stumbled from the tablet shelves, his bind rune dim. He exclaimed, "Voidspawn!" and gestured toward a dark niche. "It was unexpected!"

A Voidspawn lunged up, a writhing mass of shadow with lashing tendrils, and Ethan's surge rune flared, his blade drawn. Torren's stabilizing rune weaved a lattice, pinning the creature, while Sylra's dagger danced, her surge rune blazing on her tattoos onto her dagger, cleaving a tendril. Ethan's blade sliced through the darkness as his starburst surged, but the scream of the Voidspawns rocked the archives, causing tablets to break.

"Hold it!" With her lattice joining Torren's and starlight straining against the void, Sylra yelled. The Voidspawn's core was sealed by Kael's bind rune, which ignited. Ethan's surge pushed his blade through, causing the creature to dissolve into ash.

As the gatekeepers' breaths became labored and their runes dimmed, the chamber became quiet. Kael's voice was shaking as he gripped his arm. "It wasn't a breach. Someone let it in."

With the journal's warning ringing, Ethan's blood went cold. The archives were no longer secure because a traitor had been involved.

Back in the gatekeeper hall, Sylra covered Kael's arm with bandages while wearing a mask of rage. Their search for the shrine had been delayed by the Voidspawns attack, and Valthor's accusation loomed over them like a darkening shadow. While Mira, Joren, and Taryn whispered to one another, their trust eroding, Torren stood watch, his hammer at the ready.

"That Voidspawn was summoned by someone," Sylra said softly. "The acolytes of Valthor were in the vicinity. Or Lirien, who has not yet been located."

Marcus's void-vision replayed the whisper of the traitor, the cloaked figure, and Ethan's rune pulsed. With a heavy satchel, he remarked, "The traitor guards the gate, according to the journal. They are aware that we are near the shrine if they are present."

His eyes met Torren's, weighed down by recollection. "Marcus died as a result of his misplaced trust. Despite his suspicions, he never had evidence of Valthor. That vision—you're seeing what he saw. Trust it, Marcus."

Sylra's tone was determined. "We move at dawn. Torren, Marcus, you will be in charge of the archive search. Kael, Taryn, guard gate three. Keep an eye out for Valthor's acolytes, Mira and Joren. We track down the traitor and locate the shrine."

The shard's light in his satchel remained steady as Ethan nodded. As if the void were whispering back, the hall's runes suddenly flickered, causing a slight tremor to ripple through Aetherion.