The fire crackled behind Klein, its warmth pressing against his back as he stepped into the cool embrace of the night. The forest around him was alive with the sounds of rustling leaves and distant animal calls, a symphony of nature that felt so familiar.
Lina was where he had left her, crouched in the dirt, her fingers tracing intricate patterns into the ground. The sigil she was drawing had grown to an impressive size, nearly six feet across, its lines swirling and intersecting in ways that seemed to defy logic. The markings were strange yet familiar, reminiscent of the symbols that Klein had seen on his own body when he had first awakened.
"Hey," Klein said, his voice cutting through the stillness of the night. He approached her slowly, his boots crunching against the dry earth.
"Yes?" Lina replied without looking up, her hand moving in a rhythmic, almost hypnotic motion. Her focus was absolute, every fiber of her being drawn into the sigil.
"Are you nearly finished?" Klein asked as he paused beside her. "Roland and his group have almost finished setting up camp—they're just about to start eating."
"Yes, I am," Lina said, her voice calm and measured. "But I don't require food." Her finger made one last, decisive stroke through the center of the sigil, and she paused, her eyes scanning every line and curve with meticulous care.
Klein hesitated, his gaze flickering between Lina and the distant glow of the campfire. "Well, they have an extra tent. Are you okay with us sharing one?"
"That's fine," Lina said, rising to her feet with a fluid grace. "It's finished, you'll need to channel essence into the circle for it to work."
Klein frowned, his brow furrowing. "One issue with that," he said, his tone tinged with frustration. "I don't have pathways. Meaning I can't channel essence."
Lina turned to him, her expression unreadable. For a moment, she simply studied him, her piercing gaze seeming to strip away the layers of his being. "How much do you know about the Aetheral Hearts?" she asked, her voice low and deliberate.
Klein blinked, caught off guard by the question. "Not much," he admitted. "Just the stories that Elizabeth used to tell the girls."
"Stories?" Lina echoed, then without warning, she reached down and tore a strip of fabric from the hem of her cloak. The sound of ripping cloth was sharp in the quiet night. She held the strip between her fingers, letting it dangle precariously over the sigil. The moment the fabric touched the dirt, it began to glow with a soft, ethereal blue light. The runes of the sigil snaked their way up the fabric, their lines twisting and shifting like a living being.
"I know they're supposed to be the embodiment of nothingness," Klein said slowly. "Although that never really made sense to me."
"That's true," Lina said, her eyes locked on the glowing fabric in her hand. "Seven artifacts beyond compare. How many do you know?" She turned to him and added, "Arm up."
Klein raised his arm. "A few," he said, his voice hesitant. "There was a chalice that could drain life energy and make the user stronger."
"The Heart of Consumption," Lina said, her fingers deftly tying the fabric around Klein's wrist. The runes pulsed faintly, their light casting eerie shadows on his skin. "Any others?"
Klein thought for a moment, his brow furrowing in concentration. "A sword," he said finally. "One that could cut through anything—even time itself."
"The Heart of Erasure," Lina said, tightening the knot with a practiced ease. "As long as you wear this, the sigil will be active." She paused, her gaze locking onto his. "Any others?"
Klein's mind raced, fragments of stories and half-remembered tales swirling in his thoughts. Then, like a spark igniting in the darkness, a memory surfaced. "An orb," he said, his voice tinged with uncertainty. "One that grants incredible magical energy."
"The Heart of Oblivion," Lina said, her tone darkening. "An orb said to connect to the very abyss itself." She placed her hand flat against Klein's chest, her palm resting over his heart. Her touch was cool, and beneath it, he felt a subtle hum—a vibration that seemed to resonate through his bones. "An orb that just so happens to be sitting in your chest."
Klein's pulse quickened, a sharp ache blooming beneath her hand. "What do you—"
Before he could finish, a wave of energy pulsed from her palm, sinking deep into his chest. The sensation was immediate and overwhelming—a surge of cold that wrapped around were his heart should be and squeezed. His breath hitched, and his knees threatened to buckle, but Lina's hand held him steady, an unyielding anchor against the rising tide of power.
"Stay still," she commanded, her voice both calm and unrelenting. Her fingers pressed harder, and the energy intensified, sending sharp, electric jolts through his veins.
He felt it then—a presence waking within him. The Heart of Oblivion, dormant and silent until now, stirred in response to Lina's magic. His chest burned, not with heat, but with an emptiness so profound it felt like his soul was being hollowed out. His vision dimmed, and the edges of reality frayed, colors bleeding into shadows.
"What... what are you doing?" His voice cracked, splitting into a chorus of overlapping echoes—raw, layered tones that sounded utterly alien to his own ears.
"I need to awaken it," Lina said, her focus unyielding. "But this is not enough." Her hand glowed faintly, and the cold within him sharpened, crystalizing into sharp shards of pain. "You need to connect to it, Klein. Reach out to the orb—feel its presence. It is not just inside you—it is you."
The words struck him hard. His instincts rebelled against it, a primal fear clawing at his mind, but the pull of the orb was undeniable. He closed his eyes, letting go of the world around him, and focused inward. His breathing slowed, each inhale drawing him deeper into himself.
And then he fell.
Not physically, but inwardly. Darkness swallowed him whole, and he drifted in a void where light and sound were smothered. Shadows whispered around him, their voices twisted and ancient, speaking in a language that gnawed at his sanity. His thoughts unraveled, pulled apart by the gravity of the abyss, and he felt himself slipping, his very essence stretching thin as if the void intended to consume him entirely.
"Klein." Lina's voice pierced the darkness, sharp and commanding. "Focus, do not lose yourself."
A pinprick of light cut through the shadows, and he lunged for it, clinging to the sound of her voice. The world snapped back into focus, harsh and unrelenting. He found himself on his hands and knees, his breath coming in ragged gasps, cold sweat dripping from his brow. The forest around him felt distant, the earth beneath him cold and unyielding.
"What… what did you do?" His voice was a fragile thing, tremulous and frayed.
Lina withdrew her hand, and the chill that had invaded him receded, leaving an echo of emptiness in its wake. Her expression remained impassive, but her eyes held a flicker of something—curiosity, perhaps, or caution. "I needed to awaken it. Now you understand. The Heart of Oblivion is now a part of you. It breathes with your soul, and it will demand more as you grow stronger."
"Essence pathways are metaphysical," she continued, her voice as steady as ever. "They're produced by the soul, meaning I am unable to create them." She took a step back, her gaze never wavering. "However, you have access to something far more powerful. Aether."
The word hung in the air like a blade suspended by a thread. "Aether?" Klein echoed, his voice a ghost of itself. Aether—the force that powered the Aetheral Hearts, the embodiment of nothingness, capable of erasing anything it touched.
"Yes," Lina said, her tone shifting, a mix of teacher and executioner. "Think of Essence as a river—controlled, predictable, flowing through pathways. Aether, on the other hand, is an ocean. Unpredictable. Unforgiving. It doesn't flow; it consumes." Her lips curved into the barest hint of a smile. "Just try not to kill both of us while you're learning to wield it."
With that, she stepped past him and began walking back toward the camp, her footsteps soft but deliberate.
Klein remained where he was, his hands pressed against the cold earth, his body trembling. His mind raced, struggling to process the void he had just glimpsed. Beneath the surface of his skin, the Heart of Oblivion pulsed—a dark, rhythmic beat that thrummed with the echo of the abyss.
---
The walk back to camp was short, the fire's glow grew brighter as Klein approached, its light casting long shadows across the clearing. Roland's group was bustling with activity, their movements quick and efficient as they set up tents and prepared for the night. The air was filled with the sounds of clinking metal, rustling fabric, and the occasional burst of laughter.
Klein's gaze swept over the group, taking in their faces and the subtle dynamics at play. Roland, was driving a Gravesilver spike into the ground to secure a tent. Beside him worked Garrett, a wiry man with a perpetual smirk that seemed to say he knew something no one else did. He was cracking a joke under his breath, his tone light but his eyes sharp. Elias, the youngest of the group, fidgeted nervously with the straps of his pack, his movements jerky and uncertain. On the other side of the fire, a tall woman with long black hair and ornate robes was arranging supplies with the help of a smaller, cloaked figure. Though her appearance suggested an air of wisdom, her movements told another story—quick, jittery, and slightly uncoordinated. She fumbled with a pack strap, muttering under her breath as if rehearsing a line before speaking. Beside her, the cloaked figure worked in silence, their face hidden beneath the shadow of their hood, a steady contrast to her anxious energy.
As Klein drew closer, he noticed the tension in the air—subtle but unmistakable. It was in the way Roland's men glanced at the cloaked figure, their expressions a mix of curiosity and unease. It was in the way the black-haired mage kept her distance, her posture stiff and guarded. And it was in the way the cloaked figure sat alone on a crate, their presence a silent challenge to the unspoken rules of the group.
Klein's stomach churned as he realized what—or rather, who—was causing the tension. The moment the cloaked figure removed their hood, revealing soft green skin, pointed ears, and golden amber eyes, the air seemed to grow heavier.
"What's going on here?" Klein whispered, leaning closer to Lina.
"Tensions between humans and goblins have escalated since you've been gone," Lina replied, her voice low. "The goblins took most of the blame for the influx of night creatures."
"What?" Klein said, his voice rising in disbelief. "Goblins can barely use magic. That doesn't make any sense."
"It didn't have to," Lina said, her tone flat. "The kingdom needed someone to blame, and most people had never even seen a goblin. They live in the Tovar Woodlands, far from most human settlements. They were the perfect scapegoat."
Klein's chest tightened as he glanced at the goblin girl, her golden eyes reflecting the firelight. Memories of Kar and his family flooded his mind—their kindness, their generosity, the way they had treated him like one of their own. He remembered Kar's laughter as they shared stories by the hearth, the way his wife, Mira, had always made sure Klein had an extra helping of stew, and the playful antics of their children. They had been good to him, and now, seeing this girl ostracized and alone, he felt a surge of anger.
Before he realized what he was doing, Klein was on his feet, his steps carrying him across the camp. The others stopped what they were doing, their eyes following him with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. Roland's hand twitched toward the hilt of his sword, and Garrett muttered something under his breath. Even the black-haired mage paused, as she watched Klein's approach.
Lina rose as well, falling into step beside him, her presence a silent show of support.
The goblin girl looked up as Klein approached, her expression a mix of confusion and wariness. Her hand slipped under her cloak, no doubt reaching for a weapon, but Klein stopped a few feet away, his hands raised in a gesture of peace.
"Care if we join you?"