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Chapter 4 - ECHOES OF THE VOID RIFT

A chill wind rattled the banners of the Astral Academy's outer walls as the seven cadets gathered at dawn beneath the arched gateway leading into the Forest of Whispers. Their breaths formed misty clouds beneath pale sunlight, and each heart pounded with the same mixture of anticipation and unease.

Aelros stood before them, arms folded in his white cloak. Behind him, the seven Pillar Gates from their lesson yesterday glowed faintly—each now dormant, a silent reminder of the powers awakening within these young souls. Today's trial would be the first true test of their teamwork: closing a fledgling Void rift that had opened in the forest's depths.

> "The Void does not open rifts in the Academy grounds," Aelros said, voice low and measured.

"It seeks weak points—places where fear, anger, or sorrow have saturated the land. Yesterday you each resonated with your Pillar alone. Today, you must harmonize."

He paused, his pale gaze settling on each cadet in turn.

> "Failure will cost lives. Success will teach you unity."

With that, he led them through the grandeur of carved stone into the green shadows beyond.

---

Entering the Forest

The canopy above filtered sunlight into emerald patterns on the mossy floor. Birds called in distant branches, but as they pressed deeper, the noise drained away until only a tense silence remained.

Lyra Caelthorn, still glowing with residual light-glyph energy around her palm, glanced at Ryke Valen marching beside her. He spat on the ground, flames flickering faintly around his knuckles.

> "You alright?" she whispered.

"Never been more," he muttered back, voice low.

Behind them, Sera Noxvale's dark eyes surveyed shifting shadows. Elias Thorne clutched his summoned-list scrolls, and Riven Maelros flexed his fingers against the weight of gravity. Nyra Veyl and Erias Morn trailed at the rear, their dual affinities drawing uneasy glances.

Aelros halted at the mouth of a limestone gorge carved over centuries by trickling water.

> "The rift lies within," he said. "Once you see it, the Void's hunger will echo in your mind. Resist. Support one another. Begin."

---

The Rift Revealed

Ten paces into the gorge, the air turned cold. A deep, resonant hum thrummed against their eardrums. The stone walls pulsed with violet veins, and at the gorge's center yawned a dark fissure—blacker than the deepest night, swirling with inky mist that licked at the air.

> VOID RIFT

Dimensions: Roughly three meters wide, two meters tall.

Emissions: Psychic tremors, memory leakage, localized gravity distortions.

Nyra stepped forward, eyes wide. The Rift whispered words she couldn't quite grasp—memories half-remembered, faces she had never seen, and the cold emptiness of oblivion.

> "Stay focused!" Aelros's voice cut through the haze.

"You have one minute before the Void's pull becomes too strong. Close it."

The cadets exchanged glances. Fear rippled through them—this was no simulation. The Void was alive, and it wanted them.

---

Strategy and Discord

Lyra raised her voice first. "We need... a barrier." She began chanting the Light Pillar's incantation, weaving a half-formed shield before the Rift. But the Void's hunger shredded it instantly, the light flaring then extinguishing as if never there.

Ryke stepped up next, fire blazing. He hurled a flaming punch at the Rift's edge, hoping to cauterize the wound in reality. Instead, the Void absorbed the heat, crackling like a star collapsing, and surged outward, sending them staggering backwards.

> Rift Pulse (repel): 8 meters, wind blast, minor concussive effect.

Sera circled to the flank, shadows pooling at her feet. She reached out to weave a Darkness veil, but the Rift seemed to swallow her tendrils whole, spitting them back as dissolving motes of ash.

Elias murmured under his breath, tracing summoning runes in the air. A pack of spectral wolves emerged, snarling and charging the Rift. But they vanished halfway, drawn into the void's maw as if the Rift was a trap rather than a wound.

Nyra clutched her head as disjointed images flashed before her eyes—her own birth, the moment her soul first touched the Void. Erias watched silently, then reached out to cover Nyra's trembling arm with his.

> "Focus on now," he said softly. "We're together."

Riven bellowed, slamming his fists to the stone. Gravity spiked, pulling at the Rift, constricting its edges. The ground cracked. The fissure groaned as if in pain—but did not close.

> Gravity Bind (partial): slowed Rift expansion by 20%.

---

Aelros's Intervention

Aelros moved like a ghost among them, guiding without touching. First, he placed a hand on Lyra's shoulder.

> "Balance your fear with purpose. Remember the Luminous Pillar's clarity."

Lyra inhaled, steadied her voice, and summoned a series of precise light runes—tiny starbursts that orbited the Rift's perimeter like a luminous fence.

Next, Aelros clasped Ryke's shoulder. "Harness the flame within, not the flame around you."

Ryke closed his eyes, felt the steady burn of his heartbeat, and exhaled. The fire in his fist reformed into a molten ribbon that wove between the starbursts, sealing gaps and reinforcing the barrier.

Aelros glanced at Sera. "Darkness is not absence, but protection."

She nodded once, summoning a cloak of shadow beneath the ribbon of flame and light—creating a layered wall of absence and presence that the Void hesitated to consume.

"Elias," Aelros said, reaching for the summoner's runic band. "Echo the bond."

Elias closed his eyes, spoke the name of his chosen spirit—Vaelir. The dragon's roar echoed as it reformed around the Rift, its scales shimmering emerald against the swirling black. It pressed its great head against the darkness, soul-to-soul, binding the Rift in place.

Finally, Aelros turned to Riven. "Anchor their wills."

Riven's gravity spike deepened, pressing the convergence of light, flame, shadow, and spirit into the Rift's heart—pinning it as the opposing energies collided within.

The cadets felt the slow inhale of the Void as it struggled against their unity. For a breath, the Rift trembled, its edges fraying.

Then—

> VOID RIFT COLLAPSE

A brilliant pulse of white light as the layered barrier imploded upon itself, sealing the fissure.

---

Aftermath and Reflection

Silence fell. The stone walls no longer pulsed. The cold vanished. The forest seemed to sigh in relief.

Lyra slumped to her knees, tears of pure joy running down her cheeks. Ryke dropped to one knee, chest heaving, fire dissipating into harmless embers. Sera and Erias exchanged a faint smile, the first crack in their stern facades. Elias's summoned spirit faded, leaving behind a single emerald scale. Riven slumped against Aelros's side, muscles trembling.

Aelros looked at each in turn, pride warming his gaze. "Today, you learned that power alone is useless. Only unity brings victory. Remember this bond—steel your minds against fear and doubt."

He turned away, voice softer now. "Well done."

The cadets gathered around the sealed spot, now just a smooth patch of stone glowing with residual runic light. Together, they placed hands there—seven hands, each bearing a spark of their Pillar's energy. In that moment, an unspoken promise was forged: they would stand as one, against any darkness, void, or calamity the world unleashed.

Above them, the sky briefly cracked with silver light—a ripple from the hidden Gate of Origen, acknowledging this new unity.

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