The Path Forbidden

As she followed the route on the map, Sylra's blade shone and her emerald eyes glowed fiercely. Nullvox is the endgame, but the undercroft's shrine belongs to us, Marcus. The void is awake, and the tenth gate is present. We can't wait."

Torren's scarred hand remained steady on his blade as his stabilization rune glowed. "Valthor's acolytes know we're close. Gate Three's barely holding as the ichor spreads. We proceed to either Aetherion Falls or Nullvox."

With a trembling rune hand, Lirien spoke in a whisper. "The void's watching, Marcus. The shrine holds the key, but Valthor is protecting something more significant."

Ethan's heart thumped, the warmth of the shard calling for resistance. "The tenth gate is in Nullvox, guarded by a traitor," the journal stated, striking against Valthor's warning from the Council chamber, which was a covert threat to abandon the tenth gate. A shrine to seal the void, a gatekeeper's vow, and a forbidden path were among the memories that resurfaced for Marcus. With a firm voice and a void-resistance lattice sparking from Torren's training, Ethan stated, "Valthor wants us to stop." "I'm going to Nullvox. The shrine is our opportunity to put a stop to this."

With her defiant surge rune blazing, Sylra nodded sharply. "We're with you, Marcus. Gatekeepers don't bow to the Council's lies."

Torren's lattice rune remained steady as his eyes glinted. "Marcus, I have witnessed the hunger of the void. We follow your lead. To Nullvox."

Lirien's anxious eyes darted to gate three, where the void-ichor pulsed in its quartz. "I'll go," she said, her voice cracking, "but there, the void is stronger." "Be ready."

In defiance of Valthor's shadow, Ethan held onto the shard, its light a promise. The call of the shrine was louder than the prohibition on the route to Nullvox. The sigil on the map whispered, softly but sharply, as they had planned, "The shrine awaits." The hum of the void grew louder, Aetherion shuddered, and the shadow of the traitor drew nearer than before.

The training ground was scarred by tremors, its quartz pillars cracked, its runes flickering like dying stars, and the dawn light barely broke through Aetherion's haze. With the shrine map in his satchel and the warmth of the shard pulsing through him, Ethan stood alongside Sylra and Torren. With her dagger in hand and her gaze averted from the ichor-stained arch of gate three, Lirien hovered at the edge. With their faces tense with fatigue, Kael, Mira, Joren, and Taryn stood watch at the gate, their stabilization runes straining against the corruption of the void.

The silence was broken by Sylra's voice as she brandished her blade. "Nullvox is a week's journey, Marcus. Our first step is the shrine in the undercroft, which is where the key to the tenth gate is kept. We shall be plagued by Valthor's acolytes. We need a plan."

Because of Torren's training, Ethan's void-resistance lattice flared, its nodes stable, and the weight of the journal grounded him. "The map depicts the altar in the undercroft, which is a Zorathys sigil. Prior to Nullvox, we require its power if it opens the tenth gate. Valthor's warning indicates his fear that we will discover it."

With his lattice rune weaving starlight, Torren's blade shone brightly. "The tenth gate has been concealed by the Council for years. Valthor's not just an elder—he's a puppet. Someone's pulling his strings, and it's not Aetherion."

Lirien spoke in a low voice as her rune wavered. She whispered, "Zorathys," her gaze flitting to the ichor. "This is his mark: the void-ichor. Marcus, it is dangerous at the shrine. It's what Valthor wants to control."

Marcus's memories flashed as Ethan's shard pulsed: a prohibited shrine, a gatekeeper's sacrifice, and a seal to bind Zorathys. With his rebellious surge rune igniting, he declared, "Then we take it first." "Valthor's warning won't stop us. The undercroft's now, Nullvox next."

Sylra's voice was steely, and her eyes narrowed. "We'll need more than runes. The undercroft's deep, and the ichor's spreading. Kael's team holds gate three—we four go in. Lirien, no secrets."

With her rune-hand shaking and her glassy eyes unreadable, Lirien nodded. Although she said, "I'm with you," she continued to look at gate three, the hum of the void spiking as though in response to her fear.

Torren's voice was grim as his lattice pulsed. "We pack light—blades, runes, the shard. The void's awake, and Valthor's acolytes won't wait. Marcus, you carry the map. It's your lead."

Ethan's determination solidified, and the shards shine brightly. The first battle was at the shrine beneath the undercroft, but the path to Nullvox was already established.

With void-ichor pulsing through its walls and the predatory hum of the void permeating the air, the quartz stairwell of the undercroft plunged into shadow. With the sigil on the map glowing in his satchel and the starlight from the shard piercing the darkness, Ethan took the lead alongside Sylra, Torren, and Lirien. Zorathys's ragged sigils flickered beneath the stain of ichor, and the runes along the walls were cracked, their starlight dim. The shudder from gate three reverberated here, more powerful, as though the void itself protected the shrine.

Her blade was ready as Sylra's defiant surge rune blazed. "The altar—a starburst seal—is indicated on the map. Marcus, the shard is our key." "Remain alert."

Torren countered the spread of the ichor by weaving starlight into his glowing lattice rune. A tendril of ichor curled from the wall, and he slashed it with his blade, warning, "The void's stronger here." "It knows we're close."

Lirien's dagger shook, her anxious gaze darting to the ichor, and her rune flickered. Her voice was strained as she whispered, "The shrine is ahead." "But the void's watching. It wants the shard."

With its nodes stabilizing his center and the warmth of the shard rebuffing the whisper of the void, Ethan's void-resistance lattice pulsed. Memories of a shrine, a seal, and the blood of a gatekeeper resurfaced in Marcus's mind. He moved forward, the glow from the map leading them to a chamber of quartz, with an altar in the middle that was dominated by Zorathys's starburst sigil, pulsing with void-energy.

Suddenly, the undercroft shook, the ichor surged, and a Voidspawn formed out of the darkness. It was bigger than the archive, with thick void-ichor tendrils and a pulsing black-green star at its core. As Ethan's lattice flared and his blade slashed, the tendrils were held at bay by the shield that the starlight created. Sylra's defiant surge erupted, causing a shockwave of starlight as her strike cleaved a tendril. Another lattice was pinned by Torren, its nodes becoming more rigid, and a third was sealed by Lirien's bind rune, her hands trembling and her eyes glassy from void-touch.

"Marcus, the altar!" With a gasp, Lirien's rune faltered, and her voice spiked with the hum of the void. "The shard—now!"

With the altar blazing and the chamber filled with starlight, Ethan pressed the shard to the sigil. As the Voidspawn screamed and its core cracked, three of Valthor's acolytes appeared in the shadows, their runes blazing with void-tainted energy and their silver cloaks glinting. "The shrine's ours, Marcus," one hissed, his blade slashing, aimed at Ethan's satchel.

The acolyte struck Sylra's surge, causing the undercroft to tremble as starlight clashed with void. While his blade sliced through the other acolyte's rune-hand, Torren's lattice bound their legs. With his blade cutting a tendril and the shard's glow pushing back the ichor, Ethan's void-resistance held. Despite her nervous glance at the altar, which showed fear, Lirien's bind rune faltered, but she broke her voice and sealed another tendril. "Marcus, get it done!"

The sigil on the altar broke, exposing a quartz tablet with a map of Nullvox's tenth gate etched on its surface. The tablet's outline was frayed and throbbing with Zorathys's energy. As the Voidspawn fell, its core turning to ash, one of the acolytes sprang forward, slashing at Ethan with his void-rune. By intercepting Sylra's blade and shattering his rune with her surge, the acolyte fled into the darkness, his curse resounding, "Valthor will end you."

The tablet glowed, its map a beacon, but the void's hum deepened, a whisper rising from the sigil: "The shrine awaits." Ethan's energy was depleted, the shard's light was intense, and his lattice flickered. The path to Nullvox became more obvious but also more dangerous as the undercroft shook, and the ichor retreated but did not disappear.

The map on the tablet lay open in the gatekeeper hall, its Nullvox path a ragged line across the wastes of Aetherion. Ethan's lattice rune faded, his breath ragged, the shard's warmth a vow against the void. With her blade clean but ready, Sylra had a fierce look in her eyes. "Valthor's acolytes knew we'd find the shrine. Marcus, they are in dire straits. Nullvox is next."

Torren's voice was grim as his lattice pulsed. "The ichor continues to spread. Gate three's holding, but the tenth gate's fraying. The pawn makes daring moves, either to Valthor or nearer."

With her rune dim and her anxious glance at gate three haunting, Lirien sat apart. "The void warned us," she whispered. "The shrine's the key, but Nullvox… it's where the pawn waits."

With a steady glow from the shard, Ethan's hand gripped the journal more tightly. Nullvox was indicated by the cloaked figure of the void-vision, the shadow of the pawn, and Valthor's acolytes.

"I'll walk the forbidden path," he thought.

Once more, the sigil whispered, "The shrine awaits," as the map on the tablet glowed. With the hum of the void rising and the traitor's shadow like a blade ready to strike, Aetherion shuddered.

Sylra's voice was steel. "Dawn, we march for Nullvox. Marcus, Torren, Lirien—prepare. The void's warning won't stop us."