Morning in the sanctuary brought no relief, only a sharpening of the crisis. The air was heavy with unspoken fear, a tangible thing that settled alongside the dust and the chill. Rations were cut again, smaller than a child's hand could cover. Bellies ached with hunger, but the gnawing fear felt worse.
Captain stood near the fire pit, his face a mask of grim resolve, lines etched deep by worry. Gus and several other key survivors stood around a salvaged table, a tattered map spread out, discussing options in low, tense voices.
"Send another patrol? With what supplies? And who goes?" Gus's voice was rough, pragmatic, cutting through the tense air. "We lost the best hunters with the first one."
"We can't just wait here to starve," a woman countered, her voice tight with desperation.
"Rushing out blindly is suicide," Gus shot back, his eyes hard. "The Void is restless when it's taken something."
The debate was a harsh symphony of dwindling hope and brutal practicality. Kael sat in his corner, clutching his empty belly, listening. He didn't understand all the words, but he understood the tone – the fear, the desperation, the heavy weight pressing down on them all. The ache of the Bedel in his chest throbbed in rhythm with the group's anxiety. He wished, with a fierceness that burned hotter than his hunger, that he could help.
Just as the Captain raised a hand, about to make a difficult decision – perhaps sending more people to risk their lives, or condemning them all to harsher rationing – a feeling surged through Kael. It wasn't the gentle pull of Vispera this time, but an urgent, undeniable clarity. A message, sharper than any he'd felt before, directly tied to the crisis.
There. The feeling pulled at him, focusing his mind with startling intensity. Need. Help. There.
It was a direction. Outwards. Towards where the patrol had gone. Vispera wasn't just guiding; she was sensing. Sensing the missing patrol, sensing their need, or sensing something related to The Void's actions out there.
Driven by Vispera's urgent message and his own desperate wish to help the weary faces around him, Kael acted. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the ache in his legs. All eyes turned to him, the low debate ceasing abruptly.
He pointed, a small, trembling finger aimed towards the entrance, towards the desolate grey world outside. He tried to speak, the words catching and breaking in his throat. "Th-there... They... need..."
Confusion rippled through the group. Gus's eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. The Captain watched him, a flicker of surprise on his stoic face.
Kael felt their gazes, their confusion, their suspicion. He needed them to understand. He needed to help. Drawing on the desperate hope and Vispera's insistent pull, he focused the energy within him. It wasn't a defensive reaction this time; it was an attempt to show, to communicate the urgency of Vispera's message.
A clearer, more defined pulse of golden light erupted from his small form, emanating outwards, not a destructive wave, but a beam aimed towards the entrance. The air around him shimmered, and for a fleeting second, the sounds of the sanctuary dulled, replaced by the eerie silence of The Void, centered on him.
The room exploded with gasps and startled cries. People recoiled, fear flashing in their eyes.
"What was that?!"
"A light! From the child!"
"The Void! It's the Void!" Gus roared, his face contorted with fear and rage. "I knew it! He's tainted! A curse!"
The light vanished, the normal sounds of the sanctuary rushing back in, louder now in contrast. But the silence around Kael lingered for a breath, a terrifying pocket of The Void's influence.
And then, the Bedel struck. Not just a memory loss. This was different. More profound.
A wave of absolute, crushing emptiness washed over Kael, stealing not just a specific memory, but the very capacity to feel joy. The warmth of a happy memory, the simple pleasure of playing – it was gone. Replaced by a chilling, flat void where that emotion should be. His small body convulsed, his breath hitched, and he crumpled to the floor, sobbing, not just from the pain of loss, but from the terrifying realization that a fundamental part of him had just been erased.
Elara was the first to reach him. "Kael!" she cried, pushing past the stunned survivors, dropping to her knees beside him. She saw the raw agony on his face, the tremors wracking his body. She felt the coldness emanating from him, a physical manifestation of the Bedel.
The Captain stood frozen for a moment, staring at the spot where the light had been, at the trembling child on the floor, at Gus's furious, fear-filled face. His hand went to the weapon at his belt. The child had power. Dangerous power. And a terrible secret.
Outside, beyond the heavy door, a low, resonant thrumming began, a sound that vibrated through the stone of the tower, a pulse that seemed to come from deep within The Void itself, drawing closer. Kael's use of power had been noticed.
The crisis over the missing patrol was still unresolved, but a far greater, more terrifying crisis had just begun within the sanctuary walls. Kael's secret was out. And the price for revealing it was steeper than anyone could have imagined.