Four hours passed in meditation. Kael sat cross-legged in his warehouse hideout, focusing on his breathing while his Void Energy fully restored. His minor wounds had healed completely thanks to his enhanced Vitality, the cuts and bruises fading as if they'd never existed. By the time he made his way to the Temple District, the twin moons hung high in the night sky, painting the ruins in silver and crimson light that gave the abandoned structures an otherworldly quality.
The Temple District had been abandoned for fifty years, ever since the Purge of the Old Gods when the new imperial dynasty had declared the ancient faiths heretical and burned their temples to the ground. Once, twelve different faiths had maintained grand temples here—the God of Storms, the Goddess of Harvest, the Twin Deities of Sun and Moon. Now, only crumbling stone and faded glory remained, monuments to forgotten powers. The city guard never patrolled this area—too many stories of ghosts and lingering curses, too many reports of people who entered and never came out.
Perfect place for an illegal market.
Kael's Void Sense guided him through the rubble, detecting the faint traces of magic that lingered in the stones. Most of the temples had collapsed entirely, reduced to piles of broken stone and shattered statues with their faces worn away by time and weather. But one structure remained partially intact—a massive edifice dedicated to a deity whose name had been physically carved out of every inscription, chiseled away with such thoroughness that not even a letter remained.
The Forgotten God. Even the Temple District's curators didn't know who this deity had been, only that their worship had been so thoroughly erased that even memory itself seemed to reject their existence.
As midnight struck, marked by the distant bells of the city's central clock tower echoing across the silent ruins, reality shimmered like heat rising from sun-baked stones. A doorway that hadn't existed moments before appeared in the temple's ruined facade—perfectly black, absorbing all light that touched it like a wound in the fabric of reality itself.
Kael approached cautiously and knocked three times, the sound seeming to echo in dimensions beyond the physical.
The darkness rippled like disturbed water. An eye opened in the center of the door—not human, but something far older and more alien. It studied him with an intelligence that made his Void markings tingle in response, recognizing kindred power.
"STATE YOUR PURPOSE," a voice emanated from everywhere and nowhere, vibrating through his bones rather than his ears.
"I seek to purchase items and information," Kael said clearly, remembering Shadow's warning about lying. The door could detect falsehoods, and those who lied were apparently erased from existence entirely.
The eye examined him for a long moment, its pupil dilating and contracting as if tasting his soul. "THE VOID WALKS AMONG US AGAIN. INTERESTING. TEN THOUSAND YEARS SINCE THE LAST VESSEL. ENTRY GRANTED. KNOW THE RULES: NO VIOLENCE. NO THEFT. NO NAMES. VIOLATIONS RESULT IN IMMEDIATE EXPULSION FROM EXISTENCE."
The emphasis on "existence" made it clear this wasn't metaphorical. People who broke the rules didn't just get kicked out—they ceased to be.
The door opened with a sound like reality tearing.
Beyond lay impossible space that defied the laws of physics Kael understood. The interior was far larger than the ruined temple could contain—a vast bazaar stretching into darkness that seemed to have no end, illuminated by floating orbs of pale ghostly light that cast no shadows. Vendors occupied stalls made of shadow and moonlight and materials that shouldn't exist, hawking wares that ranged from mundane to reality-defying.
Kael stepped through, and the door sealed behind him with a finality that suggested leaving wouldn't be as simple as entering.
[QUEST COMPLETE: THE SHADOW MARKET]
[Reward: 200 EXP, Market Access Unlocked]
[Special Status: First-Time Visitor - All vendors will offer one free piece of information]
Dozens of beings browsed the market, and Kael quickly realized humans were the minority here. He saw creatures with too many limbs moving in unsettling coordination, beings made of living crystal that chimed softly as they walked, shadowy figures that existed in the spaces between perception and only became visible when viewed from the corner of his eye. All of them moved with purpose, examining goods, negotiating in whispers and languages he didn't recognize.
"First time?" A small creature resembling a fox made of smoke and embers appeared beside him, materializing from nothing. "You have that look. Wide eyes, trying not to stare at the wrong things. Don't worry, you'll fit in eventually. The Shadow Market accepts all who can pay. Well, all who can pay and follow the rules."
"Where do I find the Whispering Merchant?" Kael asked, forcing himself to focus on his objective rather than the impossibilities surrounding him.
"Ah, seeking the specialist already. Smart move for a newcomer. Straight through, third row, look for the stall that's always just out of your direct line of sight. You'll know it when you don't see it." The smoke-fox grinned, showing too many teeth arranged in too many rows. "Tell him Slink sent you. He owes me a favor, though he'll deny it."
The creature vanished in a puff of smoke before Kael could respond, leaving behind only the faint scent of burning cedar.
He navigated through the market, passing stalls that sold everything imaginable and things that shouldn't be imaginable. Enchanted weapons whispered promises of power and glory to anyone who passed close enough. Vials contained distilled emotions—liquid joy, crystallized sorrow, bottled rage. Books bound in materials he couldn't identify and didn't want to guess at. One vendor offered "genuine dragon scales from the last dragon"—likely fake, but in a place like this, you could never be certain. Another sold memories, extracted from willing donors and preserved in crystalline form, allowing buyers to experience lives they'd never lived.
"Techniques for sale! Master-tier cultivation methods! Limited time offer, only three thousand gold!"
"Forbidden artifacts from the Divine War! Get them before the gods notice they're missing!"
"Pet demons, fully trained and house-broken! Guaranteed mostly obedient!"
The sheer variety was overwhelming, and Kael had to force himself to stay focused on his mission. He followed the smoke-fox's cryptic directions. Third row. Stall that's always just out of sight.
He found it—or rather, it found him. One moment he was walking between two vendors arguing about the quality of their basilisk eggs, the next he was standing before a stall that he could have sworn hadn't been there a second ago. The merchant was hidden beneath layers of dark robes that seemed to be woven from shadow itself, their face completely concealed. Only their hands were visible—ancient and withered, covered in tattoos that shifted and changed as he watched, forming new patterns every few seconds.
"The Voidborn," the merchant said, their voice like wind through autumn leaves, carrying the weight of ages. "I've been expecting you. Lyra Ashford sends her regards and her hopes that you'll survive long enough to be useful. And Slink, apparently, though that troublesome fox always sticks his nose where it doesn't belong and claims favors that don't exist."
"You know what I am?" Kael asked, surprised by how much these people seemed to know about him.
"I know what you're becoming," the merchant corrected. "The Void chose well—someone with nothing to lose and everything to prove. Someone consumed by rage but not blinded by it. A dangerous combination that could reshape this world or destroy it entirely." The Whispering Merchant gestured to their wares with those ancient, tattooed hands. "I deal in items for those who walk unconventional paths. Your System makes you unique in this era, but you're still limited by mortal constraints. Resources. Knowledge. Time. I can help with that. For a price, of course. Everything has a price."
The stall's display shifted as he spoke, reality bending to show items that made Kael's Void markings pulse with recognition, his power responding to kindred energies.