The morning after their quiet celebration, Astraeus woke with a clear head and a new sense of purpose. He was an Apprentice of the Thornhaven Mage Guild. He had a team, friends who knew his darkest secret and stood by him regardless. He had resources. For the first time, he felt like he was on solid ground, not just scrambling to survive.
He dressed in a fresh set of robes—simple, gray, but clean and untorn—and headed down for breakfast. The common room was quiet, the morning rush having already passed. He ate alone, his mind already on the day ahead. The promotion to Apprentice had unlocked new privileges, and he intended to use every single one of them.
His first stop was the guild hall. He walked through the bustling main hall, no longer feeling like an outsider. A few mages nodded to him in passing, their expressions ones of respect. News of the Voidborn nest, and his role in sealing it, had clearly spread.
He bypassed the main library and headed for the third floor, his heart beating a little faster with anticipation. He found the crimson door of the restricted section, its silver runes seeming to hum with contained power. As he approached, his new Apprentice badge, pinned to his robe, flared with a soft light. The runes on the door glowed in response, and with a soft click, the heavy door swung inward.
He stepped inside, and the door sealed silently behind him. The air here was different—cool, dry, and heavy with the scent of old parchment and ancient magic. The library was smaller than the main hall, the shelves carved from a dark, polished wood that seemed to absorb the light from the enchanted lamps. The books themselves radiated a palpable energy. These weren't just collections of words; they were artifacts, vessels of power and knowledge that had been deemed too dangerous for general consumption.
Careful, Kha'Zul warned, his mental voice a low hum. Some of these texts contain knowledge that can damage an unprepared mind. They are locked away for a reason. Don't read anything that makes your essence recoil instinctively. Your magic knows a threat even when your mind doesn't.
"What am I looking for?" Astraeus whispered, his voice hushed in the reverent silence.
Start with the fundamentals. You sealed two rifts through brute force and my assistance. That is not a sustainable strategy. You need to understand what you are fighting. Find books on dimensional theory. Learn how reality is constructed, and you will learn how to mend it more efficiently.
Astraeus moved through the silent shelves, his fingers tracing the spines of ancient tomes. Many were in languages he didn't recognize, their titles written in elegant, alien scripts. But enough were in the common tongue. He found a section dedicated to planar and dimensional studies and began to browse.
He pulled out two books that seemed promising: "Dimensional Mechanics and Barrier Theory" by an Archmage named Theron Vale, and "Creatures of the Void: A Comprehensive Study" by a Scholar Mira Blackwood.
He settled at a heavy oak reading table, the only other person in the room an elderly mage who was so engrossed in a massive, iron-bound tome that he didn't seem to notice Astraeus's arrival. Astraeus opened the first book, "Dimensional Mechanics."
It was dense, filled with complex diagrams and mathematical formulas that described the very fabric of reality. According to Archmage Vale, reality existed in layers, like the skin of an onion: the physical world, the ethereal realm where essence flowed, and the void beyond, a place of non-existence where cosmic horrors slumbered. Dimensional rifts were tears in these layers, weak points where the void could bleed through.
This is a gross oversimplification, Kha'Zul commented, his tone dismissive. But it's a useful model for a limited mortal mind. Continue.
Astraeus spent two hours absorbing the theory. He learned that the barriers between dimensions were not static walls but dynamic, fluctuating membranes that could be weakened by massive releases of magical energy, strong emotional trauma, or simply the slow decay of time. He learned about dimensional frequencies, the unique vibrational signature of each reality, and how a rift was essentially a dissonance in that frequency.
He came to a chapter on sealing techniques and found a description of a method called the Resonance Seal. Instead of forcing a rift closed with raw power, it involved matching the rift's dimensional frequency and using a counter-frequency to gently coax it into closing itself. It was described as an elegant, efficient technique that required immense control and a deep understanding of dimensional mechanics.
That, Kha'Zul said, his interest piqued. That is worth learning. Brute force is the tool of a child. Control is the weapon of a master. Study this.
Astraeus focused on the chapter, memorizing the complex essence patterns, the mental frameworks, the delicate balance of control required. It was like learning to tune a complex instrument by ear, feeling for the subtle vibrations of reality itself.
[SKILL LEARNED: RESONANCE SEAL (DIMENSIONAL) (1/100)]
He knew it would take weeks, maybe months, of practice to master, but the knowledge itself was a revelation. He finally understood why his sealing had worked, not just how.
He then turned to the second book, "Creatures of the Void." The tone of this text was entirely different. It wasn't a dry, academic treatise; it was a bestiary of nightmares, filled with chillingly detailed descriptions and terrifyingly realistic illustrations.
He saw the creatures he had fought in the Blackwood, classified as "Lesser Voidborn" or "Void Stalkers," the foot soldiers of the void. But then he turned the page and saw what came next. Greater Voidborn, creatures that could warp reality around them, turning a forest into a labyrinth of shifting trees and impossible geometry. Void Horrors, beings that were less creatures and more living rifts, spreading corruption and madness wherever they went.
And at the very back of the book, in a chapter marked with a stark warning, were the Void Lords.
The illustration was a simple, abstract sketch of a being of pure darkness, a humanoid shape made of roiling chaos and countless burning eyes. The description was brief and terrifying.
"Entities of near-godlike power, capable of consuming entire worlds. A single Void Lord's manifestation would be an extinction-level event. There is no known defense. May the gods have mercy on us if one ever fully crosses over."
Those are what you'll face eventually, Kha'Zul said, his voice a low, grim hum. Not yet. You're nowhere near ready. But as the barriers continue to fail, stronger entities will cross over. It's inevitable.
"How do you kill a Void Lord?" Astraeus whispered, his throat dry.
You don't. You survive it. You endure. You hope it grows bored and moves on. Or you become strong enough to make it see you not as food, but as a threat.
Astraeus closed the book, his hands trembling slightly. The scale of the war he was fighting, the true nature of the enemy, was beginning to dawn on him. This wasn't about winning battles. This was about staving off annihilation.
He sat there for a long time, the silence of the library pressing in on him. The knowledge he had gained was a heavy burden, a weight on his soul. But it was also a weapon. He understood his enemy better now. He understood the stakes.
He knew what he had to do. He had to get stronger. Not just for himself, not just for his friends, but for the world.
He left the library, his mind buzzing with new, terrifying knowledge, and headed for the training grounds. The time for study was over. The time for work had begun.
He found an empty corner of the yard and began to practice. He didn't focus on combat spells, on fireballs or essence blades. He focused on control. He shaped his essence into complex, intricate patterns, holding them steady, feeling the subtle ebb and flow of the energy. He practiced the mental frameworks of the Resonance Seal, trying to feel the faint, almost imperceptible hum of the dimensional barriers around him.
It was frustrating, exhausting work. But he kept at it, hour after hour, until the sun began to set and his essence reserves were completely depleted. He was tired, he was sore, but he was also satisfied. He had taken the first step on a new path, a path of control, of mastery. A path that might, just might, lead to victory.