Chaos erupted.
The sanctuary, moments before a place of tense discussion, fractured into shouts and gasps. Faces contorted with shock, fear, and outright panic. The air, thick with debate, was suddenly choked with terror.
Kael lay on the floor, his small body wracked by tremors, the echo of the great Bedel still tearing through him. He heard Gus's enraged roar above the din, accusing, damning.
"What was that?! A light! From the child!"
"The Void! It's the Void! He's tainted! A curse!"
Fear spread like a physical contagion. People recoiled, some stumbling back, their faces pale and horrified. Whispers of "Void-touched," "dangerous," "get him out" rippled through the chamber.
Through the chaos, Elara was already at his side. She didn't hesitate, pushing through the panicked survivors. "Kael!" she cried, her voice sharp with urgency, dropping to her knees beside him. She reached out, her hands steady as she carefully touched his shoulder. "Are you alright? What happened?"
She saw the raw agony on his face, the way his body trembled uncontrollably. She felt the unnatural cold radiating from him, a chilling counterpoint to the warmth of the fire nearby. It was the physical aftermath of the Bedel.
"He's dangerous, Elara! Get away from him!" Gus roared, stepping forward, his hand gripping the rough handle of his club. His face was a mask of furious fear. "He brought the Void inside!"
"He's just a child! Look at him, he's hurting!" Elara snapped back, shielding Kael with her own body, her gaze defiant as she faced Gus and the fearful crowd.
The group was splitting – some backing away in terror, some siding with Gus's accusations, others frozen in shock, looking to Captain for guidance.
Captain stood amidst the turmoil, his eyes scanning the scene – the panic in his people, Gus's incitement, Elara's protective stance, and the trembling child on the floor. He felt the tension in the air, the shattering of their fragile security.
And beneath it all, he felt that low, resonant thrumming vibrating through the stone walls – The Void outside, reacting to Kael's power. It had gotten louder.
"Silence!" Captain's voice, though not a shout, cut through the noise with absolute authority. The room fell into a tense, uneasy quiet, broken only by Kael's ragged breathing and the distant thrumming.
Captain walked slowly towards Kael and Elara. Gus stood his ground, muttering, "He's a curse, Captain. We have to cast him out."
Captain knelt, his eyes meeting Elara's determined gaze for a moment, then settling on Kael. He saw the child's obvious suffering, the profound disorientation in his eyes. But he also remembered the light, the way it had pushed back the darkness for an instant. He felt the faint, unnatural cold radiating from Kael, the echo of power and its terrible cost.
He looked back at the frightened faces of his people, at Gus's accusing glare, at the trembling that still hadn't left Kael's small form. Casting him out now, with The Void reacting outside, might be a death sentence not just for the child, but for anyone sent to do it, or for the sanctuary itself if it drew more attention. But keeping him here, a child with such volatile, dangerous power...
His face hardened with the weight of decision.
"Gus is right," Captain said, his voice low, causing Kael's heart to sink. "He's dangerous. We don't understand this power."
Elara's grip tightened on Kael's shoulder.
"But," Captain continued, holding up a hand to silence Gus's triumphant huff, "we don't throw out the unknown into the teeth of the storm. Not when the storm is already reacting." He gestured towards the walls, where the subtle vibration of The Void's thrumming was felt by everyone. "His power drew attention. Casting him out might draw more, and closer."
His eyes returned to Kael. "We will keep him separate. Under guard." He looked at Elara. "You seem to... handle him." It was a grim acknowledgement of the connection he'd witnessed. "You can attend to him. No one else approaches without my order."
Kael, still reeling from the Bedel, barely registered being lifted. Elara stayed by his side, helping to support him. Gus watched with furious suspicion as two other survivors, hesitant but obedient, helped Captain guide Kael away from the main chamber.
They were taken down a narrow, damp corridor to a small, empty storage room. It was colder here, darker. The heavy wooden door creaked open. There were no windows. A single, flickering lamp hung from the ceiling.
He was set down on a pile of old blankets in the corner. Elara knelt beside him immediately. The door closed with a solid thud, the sound of a bolt sliding into place echoing in the small space. Imprisoned.
Outside the thick walls, the low, rhythmic thrumming of The Void felt closer, more insistent now. It vibrated through the stone, a constant reminder of the power that had just been unleashed, the price that had been paid, and the world's reaction.
Kael lay curled on the blankets, shivering, the horrifying emptiness of the Bedel (the lost capacity for joy) a gaping wound in his soul. He looked at Elara's face, illuminated by the dim lamp, her eyes filled with concern and a new, active determination. He heard the heavy bolt outside. He felt Vispera's presence, weaker now, but still there, a faint warmth against the cold void within. And he heard the relentless, low thrumming of The Void, drawn by his light, waiting outside his new prison.
His journey had taken an unexpected turn.