Within a Hollow Heart

Chapter 71: Volume 2, Chapter 15: "Threads of Darkness"

The crystal's glow was a soft pulse in Cole's hand as they left the heart of the Citadel of Ash behind. Though the air remained thick with the void's influence, the weight pressing down on them seemed slightly less suffocating now. Each step forward brought them closer to the outside world, but the looming sense of dread still clung to the edges of their thoughts.

Marcus led the way, his sword ready, his eyes scanning the darkened halls of the Citadel. Selene walked beside him, her own blade in hand, her steps careful but confident. Elara stayed close to Cole, her gaze often drifting toward the crystal, as if afraid it might explode into uncontrollable energy at any moment.

Cole couldn't stop glancing down at the strange object in his hand. The moment he had touched it, he had felt something change—not just in the room but inside himself. The connection to the Veil, the fragile threads of reality, had become more pronounced. He could sense them, feel the way they wove through everything, holding the world together.

But the void was there too. Always lurking.

"You still feeling all right?" Elara asked quietly, breaking the silence as they moved through another narrow corridor.

"Yeah," Cole replied, though there was an edge to his voice. "It's... strange. I can feel the void, but I can also feel the Veil. Like they're both pulling at me."

Elara nodded, her expression thoughtful. "That crystal is a fragment of something much larger—something tied to the void but also the Veil. The Guardians must have discovered it when they first started studying the Knots. It's no wonder the Severed wanted it so badly."

"What do you think they were trying to do with it?" Cole asked, his mind racing with possibilities.

"They're using it to weaken the Knots," Elara said. "To pull the Veil apart. If they had succeeded here, they could have torn open a massive breach in the Veil, letting the void pour through uncontrollably."

"But why?" Cole pressed. "Why would the Severed want the void to consume everything? What's the point?"

Elara's expression darkened. "The Severed believe the void represents a kind of purity. To them, the world as it exists is flawed, corrupted by the chaos of life. They think the void will cleanse everything, reset reality, and create something new—a world without chaos, without pain. But what they don't understand is that the void is destruction. It doesn't create. It only consumes."

Cole felt a chill run down his spine. The Severed's twisted ideology was even worse than he had imagined. They weren't just trying to destroy the world—they believed they were saving it.

"They're delusional," Selene muttered, overhearing their conversation. "If the void takes over, there won't be anything left to save."

"Which is why we have to stop them," Marcus said, his voice firm. "This crystal is the key. If we can understand how the void is manipulating the Veil, we can repair the damage they've done—and stop them from doing it again."

The corridor widened as they approached the entrance to the Citadel. The massive stone doors that had once sealed the structure were now cracked open, allowing a faint sliver of light to filter in from the outside. The sight of it should have been comforting, but instead, it only heightened the tension.

As they stepped outside into the cool air, the landscape beyond the Citadel stretched out before them, a bleak and desolate wasteland. The trees that had once marked the edge of the forest were twisted and blackened, their leaves long since withered away. The ground was dry and cracked, the void's influence having leeched the life from the land.

"It's worse than I thought," Marcus muttered as he scanned the horizon. "The void's been spreading faster than we realized."

Elara's gaze swept over the barren landscape, her expression grim. "This is what happens when the Knots start to fail. The void seeps into the world, draining it of everything. If we don't stop it, this will be the future of every place touched by the Veil."

"Then we can't waste time," Cole said, his grip tightening on the crystal. "We need to find the next Knot and stabilize it."

"Agreed," Marcus replied, his eyes narrowing. "But we need to be careful. The Severed are going to come after us. They know we have the crystal now, and they won't let it go easily."

"Let them come," Selene said, her voice hard. "We've faced them before. We'll face them again."

But as they started to move, something stirred in the distance—a faint shimmer in the air, like heat rising from the ground. Cole stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the disturbance.

"Do you see that?" he asked, his voice low.

The others stopped, following his gaze. The shimmer seemed to grow stronger, and as it did, a figure began to materialize, stepping out of the distorted air as if emerging from another plane of existence.

It was one of the Severed.

The figure was cloaked in dark robes, their face hidden behind a mask that gleamed with the dull light of the void. Their very presence seemed to warp the air around them, the threads of the Veil vibrating with tension as they stepped forward.

"You've come far," the Severed said, their voice echoing with a hollow resonance. "But you've only delayed the inevitable. The void will consume all."

Cole's heart pounded in his chest as he tightened his grip on the crystal. "We're not letting that happen."

The Severed chuckled darkly, their masked face tilting slightly as if amused by Cole's defiance. "You think you've won something here? The void is eternal. It cannot be stopped by the likes of you."

Marcus stepped forward, his sword ready. "You're wrong. We've already stopped you once, and we'll do it again."

The Severed raised their hand, and the air around them seemed to twist and writhe. Dark tendrils of energy shot out from the ground, coiling around the Severed's figure as they prepared to strike.

But before they could move, Cole felt a surge of power from the crystal in his hand. It pulsed with a sudden intensity, the light growing brighter as the threads of the Veil responded to its presence.

The Severed hesitated, their masked face turning toward the crystal. "You... have it."

Cole didn't waste a second. He raised the crystal, and as he did, the air around him seemed to ripple. The threads of the Veil became visible for a brief moment, shimmering like strands of light. He could feel them, tugging at his mind, waiting for him to act.

With a surge of instinct, Cole reached out to the threads, weaving them together with the crystal's power. The Severed's tendrils of dark energy recoiled, the void's influence momentarily disrupted as the threads of the Veil tightened.

The Severed staggered back, their voice filled with fury. "You will not stop the void!"

But Cole pressed forward, the crystal pulsing in his hand as he focused on the Severed's connection to the void. The threads of the Veil wrapped around the dark energy, pulling it back, binding it.

The Severed let out a scream of rage as the void's influence was torn from them, their form flickering like a dying flame. For a moment, they seemed to dissolve into the air, their figure unraveling as the threads of the Veil sealed their connection to the void.

And then, with a final pulse of light, the Severed was gone.

The air around them settled, the tension easing as the void's presence faded. Cole lowered the crystal, his heart still racing as he tried to process what had just happened.

"You did it," Elara said, her voice filled with awe. "You used the crystal to sever their connection to the void."

Cole nodded, though his hands were still trembling from the effort. "I didn't know I could do that."

"Neither did they," Marcus said, his voice filled with grim satisfaction. "But we need to keep moving. The Severed won't stop coming after us now that they know what you can do."

Selene sheathed her blade, her expression serious. "They're getting desperate. That means we're getting closer to something important."

Cole looked down at the crystal in his hand, its glow now soft and steady. The power it held was immense, but it was also dangerous. If the Severed were willing to do anything to get it back, then they were walking into even greater danger than before.

But for the first time, Cole felt like they had a real chance.

They weren't just fighting to hold back the void anymore.

Now, they had the power to stop it.

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