Broad-shouldered and dressed in gatekeeper gray, Torren stood a few paces away, his weathered face glowing softly from his starlight blade. "Focus, stranger," he said, his voice low but firm. "There is more to a bind rune than lines. It's intent, woven into starlight. It will wane if you hesitate, just as your surge did during the battle." A glimmer of worry appeared in his normally stoic eyes, as though he perceived Marcus's ghost in Ethan's unsure demeanor.
After swallowing the lump in his throat, Ethan nodded. Taryn's scream, the Voidspawn's ichor-soaked claws, and his own delayed surge that had failed to save her were all replayed in his mind during the exchange. Although Torren's direct remarks were painful, they were accurate. Despite the memories that seeped into his own, he was not yet Marcus: Marcus etching runes in the darkness, his hands steady, his mistrust of the Council a silent fire. Ethan held the rune-scribe, a thin instrument of gleaming crystal, and crouched in front of a practice slab Torren had prepared, its surface marked with faint lines of guidance.
"Begin with the anchor rune," Torren said, gesturing to a glyph that looked like a spiral. "It grounds the bind. Then layer the surge rune—sharp, like a blade's edge. Don't force it; instead, channel your starlight through the scribe. Let it flow."
With a slight tremble in his hand, Ethan pressed the tip of the scribe against the slab. A thread of starlight sparked from his fingers, etching the spiral of the anchor rune, and the rune on his palm warmed, synchronizing with the tool. It glowed dimly, steadily at first, but faltering as Ethan's thoughts strayed to the elder's silky charge against Valthor during their interrogation in the Starlit Sanctum: Your inexperience misled your judgment. The edges of the rune became blurry as it flickered.
Ethan retreated, muttering, "Damn it." The rune became unstable, and the slab hummed, its starlight fading.
With his arms crossed, Torren created sharp shadows with the glow from his blade. "You have your mind elsewhere. Taryn's passing, or Valthor's words?" He did not wait for a response. "Marcus kept his runes unhindered by doubt. The gates are trembling, so you can't either."
Ethan clenched his jaw. Torren's directness brought back memories of a training session in the same plaza years prior, where Marcus was writing runes and Torren was shouting corrections. With a sharper-than-intended voice, he said, "I'm trying. I didn't request this."
Although Torren's eyes narrowed, his voice grew softer. "Stranger, none of us request the gates. Marcus didn't. Taryn didn't. But you're here because you were picked by the rune on your arm. Thus, either etch or move aside." He pointed at the slab. "Again."
Ethan let out a breath and regained his hold on the scribe. He concentrated on the anchor rune, visualizing Marcus's arm and using the memory of their accuracy to guide his own. This time, the spiral was bright and steady, and the starlight flowed more smoothly. He moved to the surge rune and used his palm to channel the rune's warmth as he carefully carved its angular lines. Pulsing like a far-off star, the bind rune was complete, its light steady but dim.
With a rare sound of approval, Torren grunted. "Better. Although it's not Marcus's work, it will hold. Stabilize gates against void-taint by binding runes that connect them to starlight. It will be necessary if the tremors get worse." He paused, looking at the runes that flickered on the First Gate. "They're not natural. Marcus was aware of this. That's why he died."
Even though it was cold, Ethan stood and wiped perspiration from his brow. Are you certain that the tremors are connected to the tenth gate? The words, which were taken from Marcus's note that Sylra had discovered in the Sanctum's records, felt weighty. The same mystery—a gate the Council denied, a truth they feared—had been hinted at by Torren's star-shard cipher, which was concealed in Marcus' bedroom.
Torren grew gloomy. Marcus was researching how the gates came to be and the work of the High Gods. The Ninegates were forged by Serathys, Lumara, and Vyrathys in order to lock Zorathys in Nullvox. The tenth gate isn't listed in the documents. However, the tremors began when Marcus approached an object in the spires. As though the runes in the plaza might overhear, he lowered his voice. "Valthor is at the center of the Council's concealment of it."
As Ethan's rune pulsed, a memory flashed through his mind: Marcus in a shadowed spire, hearing Valthor murmur about a "void's echo" outside the gates. Additionally, the elder's questioning and his calculating smile were replayed. Half to himself, Ethan uttered, "Valthor is afraid." "He believes I'll discover what Marcus did."
The silence was broken before Torren could respond by a gentle footfall. With her acolyte robes catching the gate's glow, Lirien Thalor stepped out of the shadows of the plaza. Although she had pulled back her pale hair, her eyes darted anxiously, just as they had on the first day in Aetherion when she had saved Ethan from the void-tremor. Her voice was light but strained as she said, "You're out late." "Training, or hiding from the Council?"
The rune on his arm cooled, and Ethan stiffened. Marcus's memories contained a glimmer of doubt, a moment when Lirien hesitated during a mission, looking at Valthor's tower, but her rescue had saved him. This ambiguity still tormented him. "Training," he stated warily. "What has brought you here?"
Lirien looked at the runes on the First Gate, which were fluttering like the edge of a storm. "A rumor," she uttered, her voice trailing off. A gate was reported by acolytes in Pyrehold, but it was tainted. Though stronger than here, void-energy is leaking through. According to them, it is not a Ninegates. She stopped and fixed Ethan's eyes on hers. Although it sounds like something else, they are referring to it as a fracture. Something that the Council will not identify.
Ethan's heartbeat accelerated. Marcus's remark regarding the tenth gate was echoed by a void-tainted gate located beyond the Ninegates. Torren moved closer, a faint hum coming from his blade. "The gates of Pyrehold are stable," he remarked, wary but vigilant. "Who made the rumor?"
Despite her fingers twisting the hem of her robe, Lirien shrugged. Through the network of star-shards, a warden. Although it's quiet, it's growing. Valthor is in charge of the team that the Council is sending to look into this. Her gaze shifted once more to Ethan. "You're being watched. Following the altercation, Valthor is certain that you are unstable.
Torren clenched his teeth. Valthor's evasive. In the same way that he buried Marcus's warnings, he will bury any defiled gate. His gaze shifted to Ethan. "That cipher needs to be decoded. It may help to explain this fracture if it indicates the shrine.
With a nod, Ethan felt the weight of the star-shard cipher in his cloak, a silent urgency. Lirien's rumor seemed too timely and convenient given their training. Marcus's skepticism reappeared when Lirien reported to Valthor following a mission, her eyes avoiding his, her voice low. Was this a rumor she was spreading to see how they would respond, or was she actually warning them? Because he had been trained to expose the lies of a cult, Ethan's Earth instincts begged for caution. His tone remained neutral as he said, "Thanks for the heads-up." "We'll investigate it."
After a moment of hesitation, as though anticipating more, Lirien nodded. "Exercise caution. Neither the Sanctum nor the gates are secure. With her footsteps blending into the hum of the plaza, she retreated into the shadows.
With an unreadable expression, Torren watched her leave. "She feels anxious. Overly anxious. Marcus didn't have complete faith in her, did he?"
Ethan gave a sharp shake of his head, recalling Lirien's hesitation. "No. Although he believed her to be faithful, something wasn't quite right." As if she were divided. He stopped, looking directly at Torren. "Do you suppose she works for Valthor?"
Torren let out a grunt. "I believe she is afraid. People choose sides out of fear. Keep your distance from her." He pointed at the slab. "After we decode that cipher, one more bind rune is required. There is not much time left if Lirien's rumor is accurate."
Ethan dropped to his knees once more and used steadier hands to etch another bind rune. The surge rune was precise and sharp, while the anchor rune flowed smoothly. The scribe glowed brighter than before as starlight pulsed through it, and the bind was sturdy enough to secure a gate. Torren gave a nod, but his gaze remained fixed on the First Gate, its fading runes serving as a silent alert to the tremors that Lirien's rumor had intensified.
The gatekeeper's quarters were a labyrinth of quartz passageways, with faint runes etched on the walls that glowed in the darkness like embers. Ethan and Torren crept into Marcus's old room, a sparsely furnished room glowing softly from a single star-shard lamp. Perched on a low table, its runes pulsing faintly, was the cipher-shard Torren had discovered, etched with a High God cipher. With her starlight blade leaning against the wall, Sylra Veyne waited there, her fiery hair a striking contrast to the cool tones of the room. She had been looking through Marcus's Sanctum notes with a somber expression.
As they went inside, Sylra said softly, "Lirien's rumor changes things." "A void-tainted gate in Pyrehold? It isn't a fracture. In the event that it is not one of the Ninegates, it is a bleed." She looked at the shard of cipher and trailed off.
Ethan placed the shard next to Marcus's notes, and as the rune on his arm warmed up, it matched their luminosity. His words were heavy as he concluded, "The tenth gate. Marcus's note said the truth lies beyond it. It is evidence that the Council has been lying if this rumor is true."
With his blade humming a steady rhythm, Torren leaned against the wall. Despite managing gate operations in Aetherion, Valthor is in charge of the Pyrehold team. Like he did with the tremors here, he will conceal it. He has the authority to monitor all nine of the main gates in his capacity as a warden. We must decipher that cipher before he buries this as well.
Ethan was given a piece of parchment from Marcus's notes by Sylra, which had void-energy smudging the edges. "The shrine note was attached to this. It is connected to Serathys's runes and functions as a partial cipher-key. Prior to his death, Marcus was on the verge of breaking it." With a fierce yet steady gaze, she met Ethan's. "His memories were palpable in the Sanctum. Do you sense them right now?"
Ethan's rune throbbed hotter as he accepted the parchment. The Council fears the tenth, he whispered as he closed his eyes and allowed Marcus's memories to come to life. He saw a spire chamber, crystalline pillars singing in Serathys's voice, and Marcus etching a cipher under the stars. Although the memory was broken, the runes of the cipher shone in his head, their pattern matching the etchings on the shard. Grabbing the scribe from training, he opened his eyes and started drawing the lines of the cipher on a piece of blank parchment.
Intricately layered, the runes resembled a lock with several keys. Under the guidance of the memory, Ethan's hand moved with Marcus's accuracy, creating angles and spirals that hummed with starlight. First faint, then clear, words were formed: Serathys's echo is held within the shrine. The Council fears the tenth. The words burned into his mind as he came to a halt, the scribe quivering in his grasp.
"The echo of Serathys," Sylra murmured, peering over his shoulder. I take it that the shrine is an oracle? An immediate connection to the High God. Not surprisingly, the Council sealed it.
Torren's hand tightened. "What about the tenth gate? Reed was aware of its existence. The Pyrehold team of Valthor isn't looking into it. Anyone who approaches them will be silenced."
Ethan's rune blazed, and another memory flashed through his mind: Marcus confronting Valthor in a Sanctum hallway, accusing him of concealing gate records, with Valthor's icy smile. With a low voice, Ethan stated, "The Council is afraid of the tenth." Valthor buried the gate after learning about it, which is why Marcus wrote it. That is the reason he was killed.
Sylra's gaze grew strained. Should Pyrehold's gate be the tenth or a fragment of it, the void-taint will be spreading. It's possible that Zorathys's influence is seeping through, and Valthor is permitting it to occur. With its runes flaring, she snatched up her blade. "We must get to that shrine before Pyrehold's tracks are covered by Valthor's team."
Torren nodded, staring intently. "The cipher's a map, or part of one. We will find the spires if we decode the remaining information. The archives of the Sanctum, however, are no longer reliable. Valthor is observing."
With the deciphered words weighing heavily on his mind, Ethan gripped the parchment tightly. "The Council fears the tenth. It was more than simply a gate; it was a secret Marcus had sacrificed his life for, a truth that threatened the foundation of Aetherion." Pursuing cult lies made Ethan's life on Earth seem far away, but his instinct to reveal the truth was the same. The tremors, Lirien's rumor, and Valthor's gaslighting were all parts of a puzzle, and the shrine held the secret.
Ethan said, "Lirien," as he suddenly remembered her anxious look. "She was aware of Pyrehold's gate. She is likely to inform Valthor about us if she is providing him with information."
Sylra clenched her jaw. The woman is not a warden ut an acolyte. Although she has little access, she is close to Valthor's assistants. At one point, Marcus trusted her, but he stopped. She is not involved in this.
With the hum of his blade rising, Torren pushed off the wall. "We start at sunrise. In addition to the cipher not being fully decoded, the spires are a day's hike. Marcus, you'll etch more bind runes tonight. We will require the spires if we encounter void-taint in them."
The rune on his arm throbbed like a second heart as Ethan nodded. The cipher's words, Lirien's rumor, and the plaza's training were all strands of a conspiracy that predated Aetherion's gates. He was starting to carry his anger and resist Valthor's deceit, even though he still hadn't come to terms with the fact that he was Marcus Reed. The Council feared the truth that accompanied the shrine's waiting.
The spire-path, a ragged outline in the starry sky, loomed beyond the walls of Aetherion. With the bind rune slab glowing dimly beneath his scribe's fingers, Ethan made his way back to the gate-plaza by himself. With Marcus's memory directing his hand, he etched another one, the surge and anchor runes flowing more smoothly. Lirien's rumor of a void-tainted gate, the cipher's warning, and Valthor's shadow over it all made the First Gate flicker, reflecting his uneasiness.
A tremor shook the plaza as he completed the rune, causing the runes on the gate to flare violently. Ethan stumbled and let the scribe fall out of his grasp. The gate emitted a low hum that sounded like the whisper of emptiness, and for a brief moment he saw it—a crack in the arch, a thin strip of black ichor leaking through, vanished as the tremor subsided. His rune burned, and he could still clearly hear Marcus say, "The tenth gate is waking."
The bind rune's glow remained steady despite the tremor, and Ethan stood with his heart racing. Lirien wasn't merely spreading a rumor. The gate of Pyrehold was just the first step toward the actual void-taint. While Valthor's group would bury it, Ethan refused. He was determined to find the truth about the shrine, Serathys's echo, and the tenth gate, no matter the cost.
The plaza was quiet once more as he collected the slab and scribe, but the flicker of the gate remained like a warning. Dawn was hours away, and the spires called. The darkness in Aetherion started to deepen.