The rift did not open as quickly as Eccar had expected. Its progress was agonizingly slow. That jagged tear in reality seed to resist its own existence. Even after ten minutes it had grown to barely a ter in length and beco a thin shimring slit in the fabric of space-ti.
Eccar watched intently with his breaths now that beco uneven. Yet, the slow progress of the rift brought him no calmness. It just made his anxiety worse. The strange energy emanating from the tear pulled at him like an invisible force beckoning him forward with an almost magnetic allure. However, at the sa ti, there was another sensation like an unseen hand pressing against his chest and warning him to stay away.
The conflicting forces twisted inside him and making him unnerved.
He gritted his teeth as the tug-and-push sensations grew stronger, their intensity making it hard to breathe.
"What do you want from ?"
he said in his mind to anything behind the rift. The energy didn't answer, of course.
The six Avatars of the gods and goddesses remained in their positions, arms raised high, their power swirling around them like tornado. Their expressions impassive and no words co from their mouth.
The black-coated Avatar stood closest to Eccar with his cold gaze fixed on the rift and he look unbothered by the slow pace of its expansion.
Eccar's eyes darted between the Avatars and the rift.
"Do they even know what they're doing?"
he wondered bitterly.
The chamber thrumd with energy and the runes lining the walls glowed brighter with each passing mont, pulsing in sync with the rift's subtle movents.
The crimson orb of his blood still hung in the air and feeding into the rift like a steady stream. Eccar could feel its connection to him like a link between the life force it drained and the chaotic energy it birthed.
As the minutes crawled by, the pressure in the room is getting higher. The rift's faint edges wavered and pulsed, its dark interior flickering with glimpses of sothing.
Eccar couldn't see clearly through the slit but what little he could make out sent a chill down his spine sohow. Shadows swirled within and moving with a purpose he couldn't understand.
The push and pull from the rift grew more erratic. Eccar winced, his chains rattling as he instinctively jerked against them.
From his peripheral vision, he noticed Krevak stepping closer to the rift again. "It's taking longer than anticipated," Krevak muttered, addressing the other Avatars.
The silver-coated Avatar's eyes flicked to Krevak, her gaze sharp.
"Patience," she said coolly. "The gateway will open fully in ti. Rushing the process risks destabilizing the link and more complications."
Krevak hesitated, then nodded and stepped back, though his tension was so clear.
Eccar's attention returned to the rift, his body trembling under the strain of the forces acting on him. A bead of sweat rolled down his face, mixing with the blood already staining his skin.
"What's waiting on the other side?"
he thought.
Find adventures on empire
"And why does it feel like I already know it?"
The rift flickered a little bit brighter for a mont and for that briefest mont, he thought he saw sothing — or soone — looking back at him. A pair of glowing eyes stared through the tear, their gaze piercing straight into his soul.
Eccar's heart skipped a beat, his breath hitching as a wave of recognition struck him. Those eyes… they were familiar, yet still alien.
The Avatars said nothing, their focus unwavering as the rift continued its slow expansion. Whatever lay beyond, Eccar realized, was far more than he had prepared for.
---
anwhile, in the underground holand of the resistance, the air buzzed with the tension of preparation. Soldiers and leaders moved purposefully through corridors. The resistance was gearing up for what could be their most critical battle, every action steeped in determination and anxiety.
Inside the war room, Erend and Saeldir sat at a roughly hewn stone table. Plates of food that look simple and unremarkable sat before them. The al didn't look particularly appetizing. Its just a mix of roasted roots, tough at, and bitter greens but neither of them complained. They ate in fervor.
Erend's thoughts kept wandering. It had been hours since he'd last heard from Eccar and the absence of any updates gnawed at him.
"He should've contacted by now."
Anxiety curled in his chest but he forced himself to push it down. "
No, Eccar knows what he's doing. I have to trust him."
Saeldir glanced at Erend from the corner of his eye. The Elf's expression remained calm but he had noticed the slight furrow in Erend's brow and the way his grip tightened around his fork. Choosing not to comnt, Saeldir continued eating. He cant do anything for now beside just waiting like him.
The quiet was suddenly shattered. Not by sound, but by sensation. Erend froze mid-bite, his breath hitching as a strange indescribable feeling gripped him. It wasn't pain but a tugging sensation deep within his chest as though sothing was pulling at his soul. His fork clattered to the plate as he placed a hand over his heart.
"What is it?" Saeldir asked. He set his utensils down, his attention fully on Erend.
"I…" Erend hesitated, his hand trembling slightly. "I don't know. Sothing's… wrong. I can feel it."
Closing his eyes, he focused on the feeling and trying to discern where its coming. The tug was faint but persistent like a distant cry calling out to him. His thoughts imdiately turned to Eccar. Without wasting a mont, he attempted to reach out to him through their telepathic link.
"Eccar, can you hear ?"
he called in his mind.
There was no response, only an unsettling void where their connection should have been.
"Eccar!"
he tried again but still nothing.
Instead of Eccar's voice, another ssage echoed in his mind and a line of text appeared in his vision. This one wasn't from Eccar but from the System itself.
[Main Quest Updated!]
[Main Quest: The
Sularaen Dragnar
is opening.]
[Objective: Go inside the
Sularaen Dragnar
.]
Erend's eyes shot open, confusion and unease spreading across his face. He didn't recognize word
Sularaen Dragnar
, but the ssage made his blood run cold. The System's updates were rare thesee days and always significant. If it had intervened now it could only an one thing: sothing catastrophic was just happening.
"What's happening?" Saeldir asked. He could see the tension in Erend's features.
"The power…" Erend muttered. He swallowed hard before looking at Saeldir. "It's given a new task. It said sothing is opening —
Sularaen Dragnar
. I don't know what it ans, but… It feels connected ."
Saeldir's expression darkened. He rose from his seat, his movents fluid and deliberate. "I also have no idea what is it. But If the power is involved, we can't ignore it. What do you propose we do?"
Erend clenched his fists and thinking. He could still feel that strange tug, growing stronger with each passing mont. His instincts scread at him to act.
"I need to find out what's happening," he said. "If this is connected to Eccar and us, then he could be in trouble. I think I have to go now."
However, before Erend could act more. Eccar's voice finally ca.
"Erend. I'm alright. Don't go just yet."
---
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