The three days leading up to the meeting were the most intense of Astraeus's life. He threw himself into the Ascension Protocol with a renewed sense of urgency. If he was about to meet another Reality Anchor, he wanted to do so from a position of strength, not weakness.
He informed Guildmaster Crane of the mysterious message. The guildmaster agreed it was a risk, but a necessary one. "If there are other Anchors, we need to know who they are, what they're capable of, and whether they are friend or foe. The fact that they contacted you, and not the other way around, suggests they have a significant intelligence network. Be cautious."
Crane offered to provide covert backup for the meeting, but Astraeus refused. The message had been clear: "Come alone." If this was a test of trust, he needed to show good faith.
His training sessions became even more brutal. In the combat simulation chamber, he no longer fought just constructs; Crane programmed the chamber to replicate the reality-distorting effects of the Ethereal's presence. Astraeus learned to fight in environments where gravity shifted, where the air was as thick as water, where his own senses could not be trusted.
[SKILL IMPROVED: RESISTANCE (REALITY DISTORTION) (1/100)]
In the resonance chamber, he didn't just harmonize with the crystal; he began to actively influence it, learning to project his own will into the chaotic energy and bring it into alignment with his own. It was a delicate, dangerous dance, but it was teaching him control on a level he'd never imagined.
[SKILL IMPROVED: INTERMEDIATE ETHEREAL MANIPULATION (120/200 → 150/200)]
And in the library, he devoured every text he could find on Reality Anchors, dimensional theory, and the Ethereal Realms. He learned that Anchors were not just passive stabilizers; they could actively project their influence, creating zones of stable reality even in the most chaotic environments. He learned that Ethereals were not a monolithic race, but a collection of diverse beings with different goals and motivations. And he learned that the bond he shared with Kha'Zul, while unique in its specifics, was an example of the "complementary diversity" the first guildmaster had written about—a necessary fusion of opposing forces to achieve a greater whole.
You're finally starting to get it, Kha'Zul said during one of their late-night study sessions. I am not your prisoner. I am your other half. Your darkness to your light. Your chaos to your order. Without me, you are incomplete. And without you, I am just a force of mindless destruction.
"So we need each other," Astraeus murmured, the words feeling true for the first time.
We always have. You're just now smart enough to realize it.
On the night of the meeting, a storm rolled into Thornhaven. Rain lashed against the windows of his room at the Copper Bell as he prepared to leave. He dressed in simple, dark clothing, his new Journeyman's badge hidden beneath his cloak. His essence-conductive sword was strapped to his back, a comforting weight.
"Ready?" he asked his shadow.
As I'll ever be. Just try not to get us both killed. Again.
Astraeus slipped out of the inn and made his way through the rain-slicked streets of Thornhaven. The Old Stone Bridge was on the outskirts of the city, an ancient structure that had stood for centuries, spanning the river that flowed down from the mountains.
He arrived a few minutes before midnight. The bridge was deserted, the stone slick with rain, the river a churning torrent below. He stood in the center of the bridge, his senses on high alert, his essence a coiled spring ready to be unleashed.
Midnight came and went. For a moment, Astraeus thought it might have been a hoax, a cruel joke. But then, he felt it—a subtle shift in the air, a presence that was both like and unlike his own. It was the distinct signature of another Reality Anchor.
A figure emerged from the shadows at the far end of the bridge. It was a woman, tall and slender, with long, silver hair that seemed to absorb the dim light. She wore the dark, practical gear of a hunter or a scout, and she moved with a silent, predatory grace. Her face was sharp and intelligent, her eyes a startling shade of violet.
She stopped about twenty feet away from him, her gaze analytical, assessing. "You came," she said, her voice cool and clear, cutting through the sound of the storm.
"You invited me," Astraeus replied, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
"I did." She took a step closer, and he could feel the power radiating from her, a calm, steady presence that was the mirror opposite of his own more volatile energy. "My name is Elena. And like you, I am a Reality Anchor."
She's strong, Kha'Zul noted. Older than you. More experienced.
"How did you find me?" Astraeus asked.
"We have our ways. There are not many of us left, and we make it a point to know where our fellows are. Especially new ones." Her violet eyes flickered to his shadow. "And you are a very… unusual new one. I've never seen an Anchor bonded to a demon before."
"It was a condition of my resurrection."
"So I gathered." She didn't seem shocked or afraid, merely interested. "Does it serve you well?"
Tell her I'm a delight, Kha'Zul quipped.
"He has his moments," Astraeus said, a faint smile touching his lips.
Elena's expression remained serious. "I didn't come here for pleasantries, Astraeus Ren. I came here to warn you. The attack on Thornhaven, the coordinated rifts—it was a test. A probe. The enemy is gathering its forces, preparing for a major offensive. And its primary targets will be us."
"The Reality Anchors."
"Yes. We are the lynchpins of this world's defense. If we fall, the barriers will collapse, and this reality will be consumed. The enemy knows this. And it has already begun to move against us."
She held out her hand, and a small, glowing crystal materialized in her palm. "This is a communication crystal, keyed to our network. It will allow you to communicate with the other Anchors. There are seven of us, spread across the continent. We are all that remains of a network that once numbered in the hundreds."
Astraeus took the crystal. It was warm to the touch, humming with a faint, resonant energy.
"We are fighting a war on multiple fronts, against an enemy that is more powerful and more organized than anything we have ever faced," Elena continued. "We need every asset we can get. And you, with your Demon King, are a very powerful asset indeed."
"What do you want from me?"
"For now? To listen. To learn. To grow stronger. And to be ready when we call. Because we will call. And soon."
She turned to leave, her form already beginning to melt back into the shadows.
"Wait," Astraeus said. "Who is the enemy? What are we fighting?"
Elena paused, her back to him. "We don't know its name. We only know its nature. It is a being of immense power, an Ethereal Lord that seeks to unmake reality itself. We call it the Architect of Ruin."
And with that, she was gone, leaving Astraeus alone on the bridge in the pouring rain, the glowing crystal in his hand the only proof that she had ever been there at all.
The Architect of Ruin. The name sent a chill down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold.
He had a name for his enemy now. And he had allies.