And stars, she was beautiful. Even here. Even racing toward the heart of cosmic annihilation. The bond between us pulsed steadily, grounding me against the madness pressing from every side. Ahead, Nox Eternum stretched endlessly across the void. Ihad been born inside the Abyss. But I had never truly traveled through it before. There had never been a reason. The surviving Arkhevari stayed near the stable borders, fighting containment wars against the Mmuhr’Rhong wherever they emerged. No one willingly approached the core.
Not unless they wished to die. Today, however, death was already hunting all of us. So we flew deeper. Far deeper than any sane being should. The darkness thickened around the ship like living smoke. Outside the viewport, broken worlds drifted through the void. Fragments of civilizations long consumed by the fracture. A shattered moon rotated silently beside us, its molten core exposed to the stars. Ruined cities floated nearby in frozen debris fields, ancient towers cracked open like bones picked clean by time.
I felt Naeris' awe through the bond. And beneath it, grief. So much death.
The ship lurched hard enough to throw sparks from the overhead panels.
“Instability wave!” Nadine shouted from behind us.
Dravok’s hands tightened on the tactical console. “Adjusting trajectory.”
Zapharos stood at the control like an ancient god guiding a vessel through the end of creation itself. Golden light flickered beneath his skin every time the Abyss struck against the shields. The Harrowed One knew we were coming now. I could feel him. The pressure against my mind increased with every passing moment. Whispers scraped against the edges of my consciousness.
Turn back.
Too late.
She will die here.
I bared my teeth.
Not today.
The ship plunged through another violent current. Reality twisted outside the viewport. For one impossible second, I saw another version of the ship beside us, burning, shattered, drifting lifeless through the void. Then it vanished.
Ella swore softly. “The Abyss is trying to disorient us.”
“No,” Dravok contradicted grimly. “It’s trying to stop us.”
A roar thundered through the darkness outside.
Mmuhr’Rhong.
Thousands of them.
They poured across the void like a living tide, their monstrous forms streaking between drifting debris and shattered worlds. And they were not alone. Golden light exploded against the darkness. Arkhevari warriors. The remaining legions had gathered. I stared in stunned silence as entire formations of Arkhevari hurled themselves against the Mmuhr’Rhong swarms to clear our path deeper into Nox Eternum.
They knew. Somehow, they all knew what this meant. What waited ahead. For the first time in millions of years, they fought not merely to survive, but to finally end it.
The battle outside became apocalyptic.
Arkhevari light blazed across the Abyss like newborn stars. Entire squadrons collided against shadow creatures in bursts of celestial fire while shattered planets drifted silently around them. One Arkhevari warrior detonated in a wave of golden energy that vaporized hundreds of Mmuhr’Rhong at once. Another fell screaming into darkness. And still the others pushed forward. Holding the line. For us.
Emotion hit me unexpectedly hard. These warriors had spent eternity dying slowly in forgotten corners of the universe while believing hope itself was gone. Now they fought like beings reborn. Because hope had returned.
Naeris’ hand found mine across the space between our seats. I gripped it instantly. Her pulse raced against my palm. Not fear. Determination.
The ship shook violently again. Warning sirens screamed throughout the cabin.
“Hull integrity dropping,” Nadine warned sharply.
Outside, the darkness thickened further. Until finally it came into view. Far ahead in the endless black. A world. Or what remained of one. Earth Prime.
Elysium.
The original cradle of humanity. My breath caught. The planet hung suspended inside the heart of Nox Eternum like a dying ember trapped within endless shadow. Massive fractures split its surface apart, glowing faintly with molten gold beneath layers of darkness. Around it, reality itself seemed broken. Continents drifted partially detached from the planet. Oceans floated upward into the void. Lightning split open empty space. And at the center of it all, a towering vortex of darkness spiraling endlessly above the ruined world.
The Harrowed One.
