The wind carried the scent of burning wood and blood, though no fire remained. The remnants of the last battle had barely settled, but Ashen knew—this was only the beginning.
Standing at the cliff's edge, his golden eyes scanned the horizon, where storm clouds swirled unnaturally.
The world was still fractured, and despite their victory over the Voidbringer, an unease lingered in the air, as if something far worse had been disturbed.
Seren approached, her silver hair catching the dying sunlight. "You feel it too, don't you?" she asked softly.
Ashen let out a slow breath. "Yes. The battle may be over, but the war is not."
Before either of them could say more, hoofbeats thundered up the mountain path. A rider, clad in tattered armor, arrived at their camp, his body covered in dirt and dried blood. He slid off his horse, gasping for breath.
"Master Ashen!" the man cried, his voice hoarse. "The Eastern Territories… A village has vanished. Not destroyed—gone! There is nothing left but a void where it once stood."
Silence fell over the gathered warriors. Vanished? Not even ruins or bodies left behind?
Ashen's expression darkened. "Tell me everything."
The messenger wiped the sweat from his brow. "Last night, we heard screaming. By the time we arrived, the entire village had disappeared. Not burned, not attacked—just… erased. And the ground where it once stood…" He hesitated, shuddering. "It pulses. Like a living wound in the earth."
Seren's eyes flickered with alarm. "That's not normal destruction. That's… a force beyond mortal comprehension."
"We leave at once," Ashen declared.
The Journey East
Their company set out before dawn, traveling with urgency. The Eastern Territories were days away, and though they pushed their mounts to the limit, a sense of dread grew with each passing mile. Along the way, they encountered refugees—survivors who spoke of shadows moving on their own, of whispers echoing from the empty village site.
By the fourth day, they reached the ruined settlement. What they saw sent chills down their spines.
Nothing remained.
The land itself was missing. Where homes and people had once existed, there was now only an unnatural void—a gaping black chasm that pulsed like a living thing. It wasn't just emptiness; it was wrong, as if existence itself had been torn away. The edges of the crater shimmered, distorting the air, and an eerie hum resonated from the abyss.
Seren stepped forward, kneeling at the crater's edge. She placed her hand on the ground and closed her eyes, her spirit energy reaching out.
Then, she gasped and recoiled, eyes wide with horror. "Something was taken from this place."
Ashen's hand instinctively gripped his sword. "Taken?"
"Not just destroyed," she whispered. "It's as if the essence of this village—its people, its existence—was consumed. There is something ancient at work here, something beyond our understanding."
Before anyone could respond, the air shifted. A sudden, unnatural chill swept over them. The hum from the crater grew louder, turning into a chorus of whispers. Shadows coalesced within the void, forming vague figures—twisting, writhing shapes that flickered between existence and nothingness.
Then, they spoke.
"The Seal is breaking…"
Their voices overlapped in an eerie symphony, ancient and malevolent. The ground trembled.
Ashen's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"
The figures did not answer. Instead, they lunged.
The Battle of the Vanished Village
The first wave came without warning. Shadows surged forward, their forms shifting between smoke and solid matter, claws lashing out. Ashen barely had time to draw his sword before one was upon him. He slashed, and his blade passed through the creature, but instead of being cut, it howled—an inhuman wail that sent shivers down his spine.
Seren raised her staff, summoning a barrier of light. The shadows recoiled, shrieking, but they did not dissipate. They circled, waiting for an opening.
"We can't fight them like normal enemies!" she shouted. "They're not made of physical matter!"
Ashen grit his teeth. If they couldn't cut them down, then they needed to seal them away.
"Focus on purification!" he ordered. "Seren, prepare a binding spell!"
Seren nodded, beginning a chant. Meanwhile, Ashen and the others fought to hold the shadows back. Each strike slowed them, but they did not fall like normal foes.
Then, the largest shadow emerged. Its form was barely stable, shifting between a humanlike figure and a monstrous void of nothingness. It had no face, only a mouth that stretched open in an unnatural grin.
It spoke in a voice that resonated deep within their souls.
"You are too late."
Ashen barely had time to react before it raised a clawed hand. The crater pulsed. A wave of dark energy erupted, sending him and his companions flying.
The last thing he saw before the world went black was Seren reaching toward him, her silver eyes filled with fear.