Eccar and Aesa watched Erend closely.
The subtle tightening of his jaw, the way his eyes sharpened and then grew distant, it was enough. Whatever he was reading from the administrator of his power, it was not trivial.
They exchanged a brief glance. No words were needed. Both of them decided to wait.
If it was serious, Erend would speak when he was ready.
anwhile, Erend withdrew inward into his own mind.
The frozen plateau and the howling wind faded to the edge of his awareness as his focus settled fully on the System interface.
"You expected this?" he asked.
There was no emotion in his ntal voice, only calculation.
A response appeared almost imdiately.
[Yes. We have observed signs that the Void Architect has begun to stir again.]
Erend’s thoughts sharpened.
"But why now?"
A short pause followed.
[We have not yet determined the precise trigger.]
The answer did not satisfy him.
He remained silent for a mont, analyzing everything that had happened in recent months. The sudden resurgence of power. The collapse of Zerathul. The disturbance within the Dungeon. The talk about the missing Creation from Khepra-Ankh.
Sothing had changed. It had awakened the Void Architect.
"What actually triggered the Void Architect’s resurgence?" he pressed.
There was another pause. Then Veyrun gave a reply.
[One probable factor is Zerathul’s rise to power. His ascension and subsequent actions may have acted as a catalyst.]
Erend frowned slightly. It was just like what he had predicted.
"Zerathul’s rise... made the Void Architect want to awaken?"
[It is possible. Zerathul drew upon power that was not fully his own. Such an act may have destabilized dormant balances. It may have signaled an opportunity.]
Opportunity. The word echoed in his mind.
If Zerathul had stolen fragnts of the Void Architect’s authority... then perhaps his rebellion had not only weakened his forr master. It may have stirred it awake like right now.
And now that Zerathul had died, what remained?
Erend let out a long sigh.
"What do you suggest we do?" Erend asked.
His ntal voice remained steady, but the tension beneath it did not go unnoticed.
[We will implent an adjustnt to the System’s security protocols. The Void Architect will no longer be able to access your mind. Do not worry. No matter how powerful he is, he cannot bypass the Creator’s System.]
A quiet relief settled inside him.
At least he would not have to constantly guard his thoughts anymore. The idea that sothing ancient and unseen could slip into his consciousness had weighed on him more than he admitted.
He still did not know how strong the Void Architect truly was. That uncertainty alone was enough to make him wary.
"What about the missing Creation?" he continued. "The Void Architect claid he had its coordinates. But Khepra-Ankh said that in his forr world, there was a gate that constantly spawned monsters. He believed that was where the missing Creation resided."
There was a pause.
Erend sensed it again, that faint impression of vast calculations unfolding sowhere beyond his perception, inside Veyrun’s chanical domain.
Then the response ca.
[The entity Khepra-Ankh referred to is not the missing Creation. It is sothing else entirely. A gate that continuously spawns monsters is most likely connected to the Chaos Realm.]
Erend slowly nodded.
So it circled back to Chaos Realm again.
"I see. Then which location should we visit first?"
[You will proceed to the coordinates provided by the Void Architect first. Additionally, establish communication with him if possible. We require a stable link to track his movents.]
"Okay. I got it."
[We will continue monitoring you. The System’s security is stable. Rember that.]
The connection severed.
The frozen wind rushed back into Erend’s awareness. He blinked several tis, then looked at Eccar and Aesa.
He told them everything. Eccar and Aesa listened without interrupting.
The wind howled across the frozen plateau, but none of them felt it anymore. The cold had beco background noise compared to what Erend had just revealed.
"So the gate in Khepra-Ankh’s forr world isn’t the missing Creation," Eccar said slowly.
Erend shook his head. "No. Veyrun confird it. That gate is most likely connected to the Chaos Realm. Not the Creation we’re looking for."
Aesa’s brows tightened. "Then the Void Architect will tell us the real coordinate?"
"Not necessarily. We don’t know where he wanted us to go yet," Erend replied. "He just said he had the coordinates. And Veyrun wants us to follow them first."
Eccar’s gaze sharpened. "They want you to establish contact with him as well?"
"Yes."
Silence settled between them again.
This was no longer just a matter of searching for a lost fragnt of power. It had beco sothing strategic. The Void Architect was moving. The System was responding. And Erend, Eccar and Aesa stood in the middle of it.
Aesa crossed her arms, frost gathering faintly around her fingers before she suppressed it. "If Veyrun wants you to maintain contact, then the System is planning to track him through you."
Erend nodded once. "That’s what it sounds like."
"And you’re fine being the bait?" Eccar asked.
Erend did not answer imdiately.
Far beneath his calm exterior, the weight of that word settled heavily.
Bait.
The Void Architect had always spoken to him with unsettling familiarity. He had given him the coordinates.
Was he being guided? Or positioned?
"I don’t like it," Erend admitted quietly. "But if the Void Architect is truly awakening, we can’t stay blind. If we avoid him, we lose information. If we approach him, we risk being used."
"I guess we need to approach him carefully. With the System watching," Aesa said.
Eccar gave a low breath. "We also have our Ti power now, even though it was still unstable."
That shifted the focus.
All three of them felt the subtle deep within their cores. The fragnts of Krono’s power had been quiet for so ti.
But recently... It had begun to stir.
"At least we got that ti power. I think we’re going to be alright." Erend smiled at them.
But deep inside their heart they know that it was not enough. They need more than that to be able to move forward confidently.
—
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