The sanctuary groaned around them. Not the creaks of settling stone, but the stressed, fearful sounds of a structure under assault. The low thrumming of The Void intensified, vibrating through the floor and walls of their small room, a constant, physical pressure.
Outside their door, the sounds of battle escalated into a terrifying cacophony. Shouts, screams, the clash of metal on something hard and unyielding, the wet, tearing sounds of flesh. Heavy impacts shook the entire tower, sending dust and debris raining down from the ceiling.
Kael huddled under his blanket, his small body trembling. He could only hear and feel the fight, trapped in his isolation. The sounds were terrifyingly clear – the desperate cries of the survivors, the unnatural roars and guttural noises of the attacking Void manifestations. He heard Gus's voice, shouting orders and curses, then cut off by a sickening crunch. Elara flinched beside him, her face pale with terror.
"What... what are they?" she whispered, her voice barely audible above the din.
Kael didn't know. He only knew they were the creatures of The Void, the ones that had swallowed his village, the ones drawn by his light. His chest ached, not just from the Bedel, but from a suffocating helplessness. He had the power, the light, but he was locked away, useless. The irony, the crushing weight of it, was a torment.
He felt Vispera's presence, weak but agitated. A frantic energy pulsed from her, a feeling of urgency and despair. She was sensing the attack, the danger to the people, but she too was trapped, unable to push him to act as she had before. The Bedel, his isolation, it was hindering even her.
Heavy scraping sounds echoed from the corridor outside their room – something large and rough dragging against the stone. It was followed by splintering wood. They were trying to break through doors, breaching inner layers of the sanctuary.
Elara scrambled back from the door, her eyes wide with panic. She looked around the small room, searching for a way out, a weapon, anything. There was nothing. Just bare stone walls, a locked door, and a single lamp.
The thrumming from The Void outside intensified, becoming a deafening pulse that seemed to vibrate through their very bones. The lamp above flickered wildly, threatening to go out.
A section of the wall near the corridor entrance bulged inward with a sickening crack, fine dust sifting down. Something massive was pushing from the other side.
Kael watched, frozen by fear and helplessness. His Bedel ached, dulling the sharp edge of panic, but the horror was profound. He was a prisoner in a failing sanctuary, unable to defend himself or the people who had given him momentary shelter.
More screams, closer this time, echoed through the walls. The sounds of human voices thinned, replaced by the guttural roars of the Void creatures. The battle was moving deeper inside the sanctuary.
A heavy impact hit the door of their room, rattling the lock, making the wood splinter. Then another, and another. The creatures knew they were here. Or perhaps they were just breaking through every barrier.
Elara let out a small cry, stumbling back, pressing herself against the opposite wall. Her eyes were fixed on the door, wide with terror.
Kael felt Vispera's presence flare, a desperate, internal urging. It wasn't "fight" this time. It was... Hide. Survive. An instinctual command to simply endure.
The door groaned, wood cracking loudly. Splinters flew inwards. The heavy bolt was bending, threatening to break.
The chapter ends with the sounds of the sanctuary's last desperate defense, Void creatures breaching inner areas, and the door to Kael and Elara's isolated room about to be broken down, leaving them face-to-face with the horrors of The Void within their confined space.