Steven staggered back from the vision, gasping. The world around him faded into focus—the Circle of the Veiled Moon, Elareen, Atheron—all watching in silence. But he no longer felt like just himself. The fragment he now held pulsed in his palm, alive with searing energy.
It wasn't just a Codex piece—it was a memory. A living shard of the world's origin.
"You saw it, didn't you?" Atheron asked quietly.
Steven nodded. "The Rift... It's not just a wound in space. It's alive. Watching us. And waiting."
Atheron's voice dropped to a whisper. "The Absence is no mere force. It is a being. One born from the first failure of the universe. And you, Steven… you are its opposite. That's why it hunts you."
Steven's hand clenched around the fragment. "Then let it come. I'm not running."
Atheron looked to Elareen. "He is ready."
She stepped forward, laying a hand on Steven's shoulder. "Then go. Take the Moon Gate—our ancient path to Erindor. But beware… the Rift tests more than strength. It tests truth."
The Circle gathered, forming a circle of lunar energy. Ancient runes lit the sky. Steven stepped into the Moon Gate as it shimmered open, revealing a swirling vortex of light and shadow.
And with one breath, he stepped through.
---
He emerged in silence.
The air was thick with magic. The sky above him was a jagged dome of stars fractured like broken glass. The Rift stretched before him—a canyon of colorless light, humming with impossible energy.
Whispers danced on the wind.
Steven…
He turned. No one.
The landscape twisted as he walked. Mountains inverted. Shadows rose like sentinels. Gravity swayed like waves.
Then… a voice.
"You do not belong here."
A woman stood atop a black stone monolith. Her eyes were silver, her skin tattooed with runes that shifted like living language.
"I'm Steven Lethal," he said. "I came to stop the Absence."
She descended without moving. One moment above him, the next beside him. "You wield the Codex. You carry a sliver of Infinity. But do you understand what that means?"
Steven met her gaze. "I don't need to understand everything. I just need to stop it."
She smiled sadly. "That's what I said. Before I became what I am."
The Rift trembled behind them.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I was the first Spellcaster. The first to face the Rift. My name… is Lyssaria."
And as she turned to face the Rift, it opened.
Revealing a city made of lightless towers, floating in nothingness.
The Domain of the Absence.
---
To be continued