As we continued along the river, an oppressive silence settled over us, broken only by the sound of rushing water and our labored breaths. Every step felt heavier than the last, as though the void’s influence sapped not just the forest but us as well. I tried to focus on the orb in my hand, its steady hum a reminder of why we couldn’t falter. Still, the weight of everything pressed hard on my mind.
“You holding up?” Logan asked from beside me, his voice low yet steady. His golden eyes swept over my face, concern lurking behind his confident veneer.
I nodded, though my hand tightened around the orb until my knuckles ached. “I’ll be fine. We don’t have time to stop.”
“You don’t have to carry all of this alone, you know,” he said, his voice soft enough that only I could hear. “We’re in this together.”
I glanced at him, surprised by his sincerity. “Sometimes, it doesn’t feel that way.”
“Yeah, well,” he muttered, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. “Maybe we just need to do a better job of proving it.” His voice dropped, almost a whisper. “You’re stronger than you think, Audrey.”
Before I could respond, Mal’s sharp whistle cut through the tension. “Hold up.” She crouched low, her knives back in her hands, and gestured for us to stop.
“What is it?” Liam asked, stepping beside her, his spell-casting hand twitching in anticipation.
Mal pointed ahead where the river curved sharply, disappearing into dense undergrowth. The air around the bend shimmered unnaturally, as though the very fabric of reality were warping. I felt the orb hum harder in my hand, responding to the disturbance.
“Void pocket,” Mal said, her voice taut with caution. “It’s thin here-like the boundary between dimensions is cracking.”
“Fantastic,” Liam muttered, the glow of his runes dim as if even they struggled against the void’s presence. “We either avoid it and risk losing more time or go through the pocket and face whatever’s waiting on the other side.”
“Going around isn’t an option,” Logan said, straightening. His sharp eyes scanned the area, his body tense and ready. “The longer we’re out here, the more likely we run into another voidspawn pack-or worse.”
“I hate when you’re right,” Mal muttered. She twirled one of her knives in her hand, then jabbed it into a nearby tree for good measure. “Fine. Through the creepy pocket of doom it is. But if I die, I’m haunting all of you.”
I shifted the orb in my grip, feeling its energy pulse faster as if reacting to our decision. “If the orb is responding, maybe it can guide us through safely.”
Liam gave a doubtful glance at the orb. “Safely isn’t exactly what I’d call anything involving the void, but if it’s attuned to you, that might give us an edge. Just… be careful. Too much exposure could destabilize it.”
“I don’t think we have another choice,” I said, my voice firm. Despite the orb’s reassurance, my stomach churned as we approached the shimmering bend.
Logan moved to the front, his tall figure cutting an imposing silhouette against the warped air. “Stay close. If anything moves, we take it down together.”
One by one, we slipped into the void pocket. The world around us shifted instantly. The air grew thicker, pressing against my skin like an invisible force, and the river seemed to stretch unnaturally long and dark, its currents moving in sluggish, unnatural rhythms. Shadows twisted in the corners of my vision, slipping through the dense underbrush.
Liam murmured spells as he walked, light flaring faintly around us to keep the encroaching darkness at bay. Mal’s knives glinted in her hands, her stance tense and ready. Logan stayed close to me, his steps fluid as if expecting an attack at any moment.
“Do you hear that?” I asked in a hushed tone, my voice barely carrying over the eerie stillness.
Everyone paused. Then I heard it again-a faint whispering, low and indistinct, as though it came from all directions at once. It wasn’t like any sound I’d ever heard before, almost like… words twisting in the void.
Mal swore under her breath. “I’ve had enough creepy whispering for one lifetime.”
“It’s the void,” Liam said, his face pale as he cast another rune into the air. “It’s not fully sentient, but it adapts. Learns. This… could be a trap.”
“Perfect,” Logan muttered. “Keep moving. Don’t listen to it.”
As we pressed on, the whispering grew louder, weaving in and out of my thoughts like an unwanted intruder. My head began to ache, and it felt as though the orb in my hand was heating up, warning me.
“I don’t like this,” Mal said, her voice uncharacteristically shaken. “It’s trying to get in my head.”
“Focus,” Logan growled. “Ignore it. Use it as a reminder to fight harder.”
But it wasn’t so easy to ignore. The whispers formed coherent words in my mind, a voice smooth and persuasive: You’re not strong enough. You’ll fail them. Everyone will fall, and it will be your fault.
“Shut up,” I hissed, my fingers tightening around the orb. Its energy pulsed strongly, snapping me out of the voice’s hold. The whispers dimmed, as though the orb was shielding me.
“Everything okay?” Logan asked, glancing over his shoulder.
“Fine,” I lied, my voice steadier than I felt. “Let’s just get out of here.”
We pushed forward, but the void wasn’t done with us. Shadows moved, forming grotesque shapes with glowing eyes-smaller than the voidspawn we’d faced earlier but just as menacing. They appeared out of the trees, blocking our path and chittering in an unnatural rhythm.
“They don’t look tough,” Mal said, though there was a hard edge to her voice.
“That’s because they’re a distraction,” Liam muttered. “They’ll keep us here until the pocket collapses.”
“We don’t let them,” Logan said, stepping forward. His claws extended, and his golden eyes glowed brighter. “Take them out quickly. No hesitation.”
The creatures charged. Logan met the first wave head-on, tearing through them with brutal efficiency. Mal was a whirlwind of knives, her strikes precise and deadly. Liam’s spells exploded like bursts of sunlight, scattering shadows and lighting the dense undergrowth.
The orb in my hands vibrated violently as I focused its energy. A surge of light shot out, disintegrating several creatures in an instant. The power was intoxicating, almost overwhelming, but I clung to control, forcing myself not to lose grip on reality.
For every creature we destroyed, more seemed to rise, their forms flickering as though born of the void itself.