The ground trembled beneath Steven's feet as the storm above him raged with unnatural fury. His grip on his staff tightened, every fiber of his being screaming for him to react. But the power before him—something ancient, something terrible—was unlike anything he'd ever encountered.
From the swirling darkness, a figure slowly emerged. A woman, draped in ethereal light, but with eyes that glowed with an unsettling intensity. She was familiar, yet strange—her presence filled the air with a weight that Steven could feel deep in his bones.
"Who are you?" Steven demanded, his voice rough, the tension in the air choking him.
The woman's gaze softened slightly. "You don't recognize me? How strange… I am Seraphis."
"Seraphis?" He frowned, trying to piece together the fragments of his memory. "I've never met you before."
"You have," she replied cryptically. "But it wasn't in the way you think."
Steven's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? What's going on here?"
She sighed, her expression distant as if she were reliving something long past. "Steven, you are walking a path you do not fully understand. The Absence is not just an enemy—it is the unraveling of everything. You feel it, don't you? The pull, the weight. It's within you."
"Inside me?" His heart pounded. "What are you talking about? I've felt something strange, something pulling at me, but—"
"It's the Absence," she cut him off. "And it's looking for you. No, it's already found you."
His mind reeled. "Why me? Why is it after me?"
Seraphis stepped closer, her eyes never leaving his. "Because you are part of the Codex. You are bound to it. And the Absence, Steven… it is the fracture. The crack in the reality the Codex was meant to protect. You—" She hesitated. "You are the key to stopping it. Or perhaps, becoming its final undoing."
Steven stepped back, confusion and fear bubbling inside him. "What are you saying? I'm supposed to stop it? How? I don't even understand what it is… or how to control my own powers. How can I fight something that unravels reality itself?"
Seraphis met his gaze, her eyes intense and unwavering. "You can't. Not yet."
Before Steven could respond, a low rumble echoed from the distance. The air grew thick with a heavy pressure, and the ground beneath them seemed to warp as dark tendrils of energy began to spiral out of the sky.
"What the hell is that?" Steven muttered under his breath.
Seraphis' face darkened. "The first harbinger."
The creature descended from the swirling storm, its form flickering and shifting, not quite solid. Its eyes glowed like burning coals, and its voice was like a thousand whispers combined, speaking directly into Steven's mind.
You are not ready, Steven Lethal.
The voice resonated within him, echoing deep into his soul, making him feel small, insignificant.
Steven's hand tightened around his staff, summoning the only magic he knew to defend himself. "I'm not afraid of you!"
The emissary's form flickered again, this time materializing right before them. "Fear is a luxury you no longer have."
Seraphis stepped forward, her expression steely. "It will take everything from you, Steven. The Absence is like a shadow—it consumes, it destroys, and it does not stop. You need to understand your connection to the Codex if you're to survive."
Steven shook his head, his mind a blur. "I don't have time to figure it out now! This thing is going to kill us!"
"Then fight it," Seraphis said simply, her voice calm but heavy with the weight of experience. "And survive long enough to understand."
The emissary lunged, its dark tendrils reaching out like writhing serpents. Steven didn't have time to hesitate. He hurled a burst of energy from his staff, the blast colliding with the creature in an explosion of light and darkness.
The force of the blast sent Steven stumbling backward, but the emissary barely flinched. Instead, it turned its gaze on him with renewed malice.
"You are weak," it whispered.
"No," Steven snarled, summoning more power, more strength. "I won't be weak."
Seraphis' voice cut through the noise, piercing the fog of panic in Steven's mind. "Focus, Steven. You are more than just this fight. The Codex is a tool, a guide, but it is your will that will shape its power. You must embrace what you are."
The emissary howled, its shadowy form expanding as it charged forward again, this time faster than before.
Steven gritted his teeth and called upon every ounce of his power. "I will stop you!"
With a defiant cry, he unleashed a devastating surge of magic, the energy coursing through him like a torrent, wild and unrestrained. It collided with the emissary, the blast illuminating the landscape in a burst of blinding light.
The creature let out a guttural scream as it began to dissipate, its form unraveling in the wake of Steven's magic.
Seraphis watched in silence, her expression unreadable. "That… that's only the beginning. The Absence will not relent."
Steven, panting heavily, wiped sweat from his brow. "I don't care how many times it comes. I'll keep fighting."
Seraphis regarded him with a faint, sad smile. "You're more like him than I thought."
"Who?" Steven asked, confused.
She didn't answer immediately. Instead, her eyes shifted toward the horizon where the storm still raged.
"You're not just fighting the Absence, Steven. You're fighting the truth of your existence. The Codex… your powers… They are all part of a grand design. And that design will either save you—or consume you."
Steven clenched his fists, his mind spinning with the weight of her words. "I'll figure it out. I have to."
Seraphis nodded, her form beginning to fade. "Time is not on your side, Steven. The Absence is already watching."
As she disappeared into the ether, Steven turned toward the swirling storm, determination filling his chest. There was no turning back now.
The true battle had only just begun.
---
To be continued