There was an icy fear that reached out to ensnare his senses as he stood at the gate. He felt that familiar cold blowing at him, and the darkness that lay beyond. The young blood mage took several steadying breaths, and looked to the woman who stood beside him. She knew. Just as he did, she knew all too well. The Void and its denizens had swallowed up their world once years ago. Now it seemed as though it had followed them across time and space and threatened this world. 

Jace looked at Rynn. "It's been a long time… I hoped to never have to see this place again…" he told his sister softly. "And without the others… Rynn… can we even do this?" 

It was rare to see Jace afraid of a challenged. But in this world, their powers were not what they had once been. And now there was just the two of them. Once before there had been many, they had been part of a team. But now their teams had whittled down to merely them… Gideon had been the latest tragedy, and that had not even been to the Void. 
"I guess there is no choice. We forever will have to face this evil. Nowhere for us to run…"

It was back. That unrelenting fear of the dark.

That’s not true.

She had never really thought about it, but the fear had never left. It had always been there, in the back of her mind, an unrelenting force that was just waiting to be unleashed at the opportune moment. With everything that they had gone through, with every ounce of progress she had made, she thought she could handle anything that came her way. But it was a farce. A lie to herself. There would always be that darkness in the back of her mind that would reduce her to nothing more than a helpless child.

The Void. It was not their Void, but everything about it felt the same. The deafening silence. The oppressive atmosphere. The strength being drained away with every second that passed. This was, undeniably, the world that threatened to consume all. Across the landscape, she could see and feel the presence of beings that dwelled here, waiting for their moment to invade Revaliir.

“Jace,” she said shakily, not able to meet his gaze. “I can’t…” Tears were welling at the corner of her eyes. “I can’t do this again. This is too much.” Finally, she tore her gaze away from the twisted landscape, meeting the eyes of her brother. Rynn was shaking uncontrollably. “Why? Why does this keep happening!? I thought the entire reason we did what we did was to prevent this!” She fell to her knees, the tears finally breaking free and streaming down her face.

“I can’t lose everything again Jace…” She felt broken. Scared. Afraid. Everything about the situation felt hopeless. The same as last time. It can’t be stopped. It can never be stopped. And deep down, Rynn wondered if they had brought it here, somehow. That they, of the Alzrahi line, were somehow cursed to be the catalyst of the Void.

Finally, she looked up to her brother, sniffling. “What can we even do at this point? Can we even fight it?”

"What choice is there Rynn? We either fight and help contribute to a win or a loss… or we turn our backs and let it play out as it is intended to. Either way, whatever is going to happen will happen. But do you really feel you could live with yourself knowing that Gideon went in there to fight on, and you stayed behind? Aeolus… at least this world's Aeolus, is fightning, no doubt about that. This world is our home now. We can't just let it vanish," Jace said, despite the fact that he was visibly shaking. Memories of what had happened flooded his mind and made him want to double over and throw up. Everything he had ever feared was spilling out of the Void again and he wanted nothing more than to run and hide. 

But he couldn't. He couldn't risk losing this world too. He couldn't lose Horae Island. It had only just started to feel like home again. 

"Maybe we aren't the catalyst… maybe we are just drawn to where it is going to strike next. Natural guardians against its destructive force," he pointed out thoughtfully. He looked at Rynn. "You've connected with the heart of the Himirian Star. You have more power now than ever before. Your source is so much closer to you than it has ever been. We can do this."

Jace’s words, while true, were not much help at first. Rynn stayed silent for a time, gazing at the path that lay before them. The darkness that felt so familiar, as if welcoming them back home. The ultimate irony. The place she feared the most in her life felt the most like home to her. That brought a dark chuckle to her as she pushed herself up on her feet. Do it. If not for myself, then for the people here. Just as our father….and our father’s father. Even if it is to be a losing battle…

“You know…you sounded a bit like Dad just now,” Rynn said between sniffles. “Always talking about how what he and Uncle Rzek did was for something greater than them. Win or lose, it was always about the effort.” She wiped her face with her sleeve. “I never really understood it, honestly. I don’t know if I do now…” She took a breath in, and exhaled. Every part of her wanted to run away. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to run. She was shaking, and barely able to stand.

“You know…I met someone. A woman named Kythe. I like her a lot…she reminds me of Mother…” She glanced over to her brother, tearing her gaze away from the black abyss. “She’s a nice person. And so is Gideon. And you…none of us deserve this.”

“I can’t stop shaking.” Rynn held out her hand for Jace. “Can you…at least lead the way…” His statement about her power was not entirely wrong. But even now she felt as though she lacked the confidence to wield the power correctly. But her time with Kythe had given her some experience in how a true draconic shift was meant to be. Not painful…but something joyous and freeing. And now, she would need to call on that power…

By no means was she ready for this. But to protect the world…she would have no choice but to fight. Jace was right. Win or lose…they were here now.

Jace smiled and took his sister's hand in his claw and held it tight. She would realize he was shaking too. His nightmares kept resurfacing, and he kept seeing flashes of what had transpired so long ago. 

But things were different now. "Together," Jace insisted. "For our new friends, and this new realm we call home now. Until the end. Let's catch up to Gideon and show the Void that we have no intentions of letting it win," he said, casting her a grin that would have been equally reminiscent of their father. Still shaking, but resolve up, Jace squeezed his sister's hand and gently but firmly lead the way into the Void. 

The darkness was definitely familiar, consuming and crushing. Passing through the Void had always been his least favorite mode of travel, though sometimes it could not be helped, he remembered that. It had often felt like hours trying to navigate the breach between realms, but sometimes had only truly lasted a mere second. Everything was distorted, time, and space, and the further they got from the World Tree of Revaliir, the worse it would become. 

It was silent at first. It usually was. It was likely that the majority of the Void denizens were marshalled elsewhere, likely where a large force was meeting them head-on in combat. Or they could have just been biding their time watching. Either was a plausible situation. Jace was on high alert as they walked, his hand never far from his blade. At that moment, their biggest priority was to find Gideon. 

Rynn knew better than to call out for Gideon in the darkness, despite everything inside of her wanting to hear him respond. She tried her hardest to reach out and feel into the Void, but just as the last time they had traversed such a place, their powers were limited. At best, she could only feel a few meters away. Even sensing Jace’s mana was a struggle, which only reinforced the thought that she should keep him close in sight. She had heard many rumors about the Void here, but had not done much of any research into how it worked, or what it contained.

“Where do you think he went?” she asked. “I’ve heard of a city here…but other than that, I don’t know of any landmarks that Gideon could have rushed to.” She frowned. They had fought just before the assault on Revaliir had started. The two had said some things to each other, many of which Rynn regretted. She wanted, at least, the opportunity to apologise to him.

“I just hope we catch him in time…”