Erend froze in his place when he suddeenly hear Eccar's voice echoed in his mind and breaking the tension that had been building like a stormcloud about his condition. The ssage had co so suddenly that he almost doubted it was real. Yet there it was. He can hear his voice clear and steady.
"Erend,"
Eccar said, with strained voice.
"I'm alright. Don't go just yet."
Saeldir who watching Erend closely also stiffened. The Elf Archmage could sense the importance of whatever happened in this mont. Without a word he leaned forward with gaze locked on Erend and just waiting.
Erend exhaled a shaky breath.
"Eccar. Where have you been? What's happening over there?"
A pause followed, brief but filled with an unspoken weight. When Eccar spoke again, his words carried a tension that sent chills down Erend's spine.
"Sothing's opened here, they really use my blood to open it,"
Eccar said.
"It's a rift on the ti and spae… a doorway. I don't know how else to describe it. It's strange and it's familiar at the sa ti. I… I can't explain it fully."
Erend's heart raced as Eccar's words resonated with the inexplicable tug in his chest.
"I feel it too,"
he admitted.
"Few seconds ago I feel like sothing's pulling at my soul. Like… it's calling to ."
"Is that true?"
Eccar asked, his tone urgent now.
Erend nodded, even though he knew Eccar couldn't see him.
"Yes, it's true. Whatever this is, I'm sure it's tied to us. To the Dragonborn. Only us can feel it."
Eccar's voice grew quieter, tinged with a mix of confusion and fear of the unknown.
"Then it must be. This has to be the place. The place where the Dragonborn…"
He trailed off, as though unable to finish the thought.
Then Erend using that chance to told Saeldir the short version of his converstation with Eccar. Saeldir stepped closer to Erend with eyes narrowed and crossed his arms.
"If this doorway is as you both describe, then I'm sure its really what you think it is," he said carefully. "We must approach this with caution. That rift could be more dangerous than you think it is."
Erend looked at Saeldir, his expression conflicted. "I know. But if it's connected to us only then we can't ignore it for too long. We can't be too careful anymore. Eccar's there and sothing is pulling at as well. I have to act."
Saeldir considered this for a mont before nodding. "Very well. But we can't rush in blindly. If you're going to investigate this doorway, I will need to prepare sothing."
"Wait,"
Eccar's voice interrupted again suddenly.
"Don't co yet. I don't think it's good ti. There are also six human figures that I think have the power of the gods — they're still opening it now. I think… We need to wait until its fully open. And Erend, be careful. Their power is pretty strong."
"They still doing it now?"
Erend asked.
"Yes. They're opening the rift. But the energy — I feel that it's alive and it's watching."
"Alive? Watching? What does that an?"
"I don't know,"
Eccar admitted, his voice tight.
"But I can feel it. Whatever's behind this rift, it's waiting for us — for the Dragonborn."
"Then this could be a trap—or worse,"
Erend said.
Eccar let out a dry chuckle, humorless.
"I wouldn't rule that out. But there's sothing else, Erend. When I looked deeper into the rift, I saw… eyes. Glowing eyes, staring back at . I sohow think they know ."
Erend's mind churned as Eccar's words echoed in his thoughts. The revelation about the
eyes
left him unsettled.
"Eyes? What do you an? Whose eyes? What exactly did you see?"
he asked.
"I don't know,"
Eccar admitted.
"They were glowing, watching through the rift and then its gone."
Erend frowned, his confusion deepening.
"That doesn't make any sense."
"I don't know either,"
Eccar repeated, his voice quieter now, almost hesitant.
"All I know is that the pull is growing stronger, and the longer I look at the rift, the more I feel like it's calling ."
Erend exhaled sharply, trying to make sense of it. He glanced at Saeldir. Saeldir's expression held a mixture of concern and expectation, though he remained silent, waiting for Erend to share what he'd learned.
"What do we do now?"
Erend asked.
"Like I said, we wait.
I think the rift isn't ready yet. Its incomplete. Let them finish opening it. Whatever's on the other side, we need to see it fully before making our move. It feels like we'll only get one shot at this."
Erend felt a pang of hesitation.
"Are you sure about this,? If we wait too long, they might have the upper hand—or worse, sothing could happen to you."
"I'm fine,"
Eccar assured him.
"And you're feeling it too, aren't you? That pull, that undeniable force. If we go in now, we risk losing our chance. Just… trust on this. Wait a little longer."
Erend clenched his fists, his inner conflict mirrored in the tightness of his jaw. Eccar was right—he felt it too, that pull that seed to gnaw at the edges of his consciousness and demanding his attention. It seems dangerous but it was also impossible to ignore.
After a mont, he nodded to himself.
"Alright, we'll wait. But if anything changes, anything at all, let know imdiately."
"I will,"
Eccar said, his voice steady despite the tension hanging between them.
With that, the telepathic connection fell silent. Erend blinked, returning to the present where Saeldir stood patiently.
"What did you learn?" Saeldir asked.
Erend hesitated, piecing together what to say. "Eccar says the rift isn't fully open yet. He wants us to wait."
Saeldir's brows furrowed slightly. "And what do you think?"
"I agree," Erend said firmly.
The Elf nodded.
Erend nodded. His mind still spinning with Eccar's words. The eyes, the pull, the connection to the Dragonborn. Whatever lay beyond the rift, he knew one thing for certain: it would not leave their lives the sa as before. He will finally found the secret behind his power so he have to wait.
---
Eccar stood motionless and still chained. His eyes fixed on the rift before him. It had widened slightly and now it spanning a ter in diater, yet the darkness within seed boundless.
The glowing eyes that had been watching him monts ago had gone now and only leaving behind a silence that felt heavier than the air around him. Mix of curiosity and unease gripped his heart while he wondered what those eyes were and why they seed to know him.
The oppressive aura emanating from the six figures whose power had held the rift open began to falter. Eccar could see it clearly now that their energy dimd like flas struggling against wind that blowing hard. Their stance grew sluggish and they exchanged glances. Then a silent conversation passing between them. Then as if reaching a mutual understanding they nodded to one another and stopped their ritual for a mont.
The sudden absent of power left the space eerily quiet. Eccar's gaze flicked to the six figures. Their faces were pale and strained. Their bodies showing the toll of the effort they'd expended. Yet Eccar don't spared them a thought because right now his attention was locked on the rift. Continue reading stories on empire
The void now appeared like black a tear in the fabric of existence. Its edges shimring faintly with an otherworldly color. Beyond that tear was nothing but darkness that look absolute and empy. He tried to peer deeper and try to discern any shape or form hidden within that black space but there was nothing he can see. And yet, he couldn't look away. His curiosity gnawed at him like a relentless force that urging him to co closer.
Then it ca suddenly. A sound, soft and fleeting at first like the brush of a feather against the edges of his mind.
It was a whisper. No, a chorus of whispers. The words were unintelligible and their aning buried beneath layers of distortio but the source was unmistakable. Eccar knew that they ca from the rift.
Eccar stiffened. The whispers grew louder, resonating in his mind. He felt the weight of the sound that not physical but pressing against his soul. It was invasive, alien, and yet… compelling.
He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to take a step back.
"What is this…?" he muttered under his breath, though no one was around to hear him. The whispers didn't stop. Instead, they seed to beco more chaotic and nurous.
Suddenly, the whispers shifted. They no longer swirled chaotically in his mind, but instead began to coalesce into fragnts of aning. It wasn't words exactly, but a sensation, a deep and ancient knowing that pressed itself into his consciousness.
"You should not be here... not yet."
The feeling struck him like a cold wind. It wasn't spoken aloud, nor was it entirely clear, but its essence was undeniable.
---
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