Under the dawn of Aetherion, the training grounds of the Crystal Spire burned brightly, a plaza of obsidian where altars of starlight roared like suns in cages. Ethan Cole stood at the center of Marcus Reed's body, his sweat-soaked acolyte tunic flaring on his shoulder as the gatekeeper sigil flared.
Raw from Valthor's icy probe in the Council chamber, starlight pulsed, a jagged pulse ripping at his nerves: "Are you… stable?" It was the journal's cryptic warning that struck Marcus's fear—Valthor's gaze, a void swallowing light—"The traitor walks among us." Opposite him, his mentor Torren Kade loomed with eyes like forged iron and a starlight blade. Then Torren growled, "Resolve, stranger." "The strong are separated from the weak by the surge rune."
The strain of his transmigration was visible as Marcus's body buckled beneath his alien soul and Ethan's muscles screamed. In order to bind the Ninegates during the Dawn War, Serathys created the surge rune, a starlight lattice with three lines and a spiral core that served as a gatekeeper's weapon against void-breaches. Although its power could close multiversal rifts, it came at a high cost. Ethan was haunted by Nullvox's whisper, Lirien's anxious looks, and Valthor's threat, but he held onto his blade to quench the fire in his chest. He would fight for his position even though he wasn't Marcus.
"Engage!" Torren let out a roar and lunged, his blade forming a helix of starlight. Ethan dodged, sparks exploding, steel screaming. His arm burned as he traced the surge rune in midair, its spiral flickering as starlight surged through his sigil. Pain stabbed his chest, vision blurring—Marcus's memory surged: Starlight flaring, Valthor's snarl—You'll burn! Boots skidding on obsidian, Ethan sidestepped Torren's downward slash and countered, rune igniting.
Torren twisted, deflecting the blast with his own rune-lattice, slicing Ethan's forearm as starlight burst, a shockwave cracking stone. Ethan continued to trace a second surge rune despite the sharp pain and welling blood. Its spiral blazed, blade flaring, and he struck, starlight clashing with Torren's, a thunderclap shaking altars.
With his boots gouging stone, Torren stumbled and then lunged once more, his blade leaving comet-like runes in its wake. Slashing Ethan's thigh, he screamed, "Wild, stranger!" and splattered blood. With the power of a furnace in his veins, Ethan roared as he traced a third surge rune. Its runes flared red as the explosion of starlight threw Torren against an altar. Ethan maintained his stance, rune steady, blood dripping, even though his vision swam and his chest heaved. Torren got up, smiling ferociously. "The stranger's madness, Marcus's fire. One more—keep it under control!"
With the Crystal Spire's role as the First Gate radiant in its power and its starlight core pulsing, Ethan staggered to an altar. When the High Gods—Serathys, Lumara, and Vyrathys—forged the Ninegates to contain Zorathys's chaos during the Dawn War, its runes, which Serathys had etched to secure the gate, hinted at that time. A remnant of that conflict, the surge rune used starlight to heal multiversal wounds, but excessive use could result in soul-burn, which is a gatekeeper's worst enemy.
With his chest acting as a crucible and starlight streaming in, Ethan's fingers traced its pattern. Marcus's memory flashed, the pain seared: runes failing, Valthor's void. With the spiral blazing and the plaza flooded with light like a nova, Ethan concentrated. The rune stabilized, pain ebbing, mastery earned at a cost.
Torren's eyes were shining as he held onto his shoulder. "You're a blade—untempered, stranger, but a blade. You will either be broken or saved by that rune. With blood smearing his tunic and the surge rune echoing a heartbeat, Ethan nodded. Torren's "stranger" stung, acknowledging his impostor status and the weight of his covert transmigration.
With her acolyte tunic immaculate and her eyes darting like a cornered beast's, Lirien stepped out of the shadows. She hissed, "Marcus," in a tight voice. "We talk. Now. Alone." "What aren't you telling me?" was the unanswered question that lingered as Sylra watched from the sidelines, her silver hair catching the dawn, tense, her doubt crystal clear since Valthor's warning of hidden shadows. Ethan gave a calm signal and followed Lirien to a cave, its windows breaking the starlight. Since black ichor had discolored the Ninth Gate during the void-tremor, Nullvox's whisper clawed, colder. Ethan's suspicions were heightened by Lirien's shaking hands and apprehensive looks that suggested she was Valthor's spy and the traitor he was looking for.
Marcus's hand was close to his blade, and Ethan said, "Speak," his drawl concealing fear. Lirien's voice was a whisper as her eyes darted. "Your theory, Marcus. The tenth gate. You gave it away prior to your fall.
Marcus's memories were silent on any tenth gate, their jumbled fragments providing no clarity, and Ethan's heart was racing. With caution, he bluffed. "Lirien, it is hazy. Lay it out."
Her voice was shaking as her eyes lingered and then fell. "You claimed that Zorathys, the Betrayed God, was sealed by the tenth gate, which is actually Nullvox's core. In the Dawn War, 'He' defied the High Gods, Vyrathys, Lumara, and Serathys, causing his chaos to shatter realms. Beyond the Ninegates, in Nullvox, a prison-realm whose seals were woven with their starlight, they bound his essence.
Star-eaters and voidspawn are his pieces, seeping through crevices and born of his fury. You thought that someone was breaking the seals to release him because the tremors indicated that his prison was deteriorating. She hesitated, trembling. "Marcus, you went too far. That's the reason you fell.
Before the fall, Ethan's mind whirled and Marcus's fear roared: Valthor's menacing voice. Nullvox, a multiversal abyss where starlight died, was created by the treachery of Zorathys, a god whose chaos was the reason the Ninegates existed. Serathys's stronghold, the gates, strained under the pressure of the void, their runes fading as ichor spread.
Lumara's vision of hidden shadows was connected to Lirien's words, which made it clear that the traitor's objective was to release Zorathys and bring down the multiverse. With her anxious murmurs echoing Valthor's cryptic words of treachery, was Lirien warning him or enticing him? Although her fear was genuine, the traitor's shadow loomed, and her timing betrayed deceit.
"What's the point of spilling this now?" Ethan's voice was low and pressed. "What's shifted?"
Lirien faltered in her gaze. "The tremors, the ichor—they're increasing. Someone is helping, and Zorathys is stirring. I assumed you would need to know." The blade of her hesitation sliced through. Fear coiling, Ethan nodded. The mystery was altered by the truth of the tenth gate, and the sabotage of the void-tremor was an indication of more sinister plans.
The air was broken by a scream, and altars were burning red. A warden ran to Torren, spear sparking, armor scorched, blood gushing from a gash. "Void-skirmish!" he roared. "Massive swarm at the Ninth Gate—two Star-eaters, fifty souls, and collapsing relays!" "Face a storm," Torren said, flashing his blade. Sylra, Marcus, come with me! Lirien, call forth the acolytes. With the stranger's weight bearing down on him, he grabbed Ethan's attention and rushed to the gates.
With her eyes fierce and her starlight blade drawn, Sylra joined Ethan. She said, "Don't falter, Marcus," with uncertainty still present and her questions unanswered. With starlight flickering, they hurried to the Shadowrend Bastion, the Ninth Gate, with its imposing obsidian arch. The gate's function in defending Aetherion was eroding as void-ichor pulsed like black rivers and the ground shook. Rune's power was like a live coal, and Ethan's wounds were still fresh as his heart thudded. With Zorathys's influence stirring in the ichor's spread, a huge swarm screamed chaos.
When the relays in the gate sparked, ichor flooded. There was a rush of fifty Voidspawn, slashing shard-limbs, winged shriekers, and massive brutes. With their void-maws consuming starlight and their hunger resonating like a god's voice, two Star-eaters towered. There was a gaping chasm in the ground where void-energy split the obsidian. A rune-lattice was woven by Torren's blade, cleaving five Voidspawn and spraying ichor. He screamed, "Marcus, seal the relays!" while avoiding a Star-eater's snarl.
With void-chasm yawning next to him and fingers tracing the surge rune, Ethan leaped to a relay altar. His chest was burned by starlight, the pain was blinding, and blood was streaming from his wounds. A Voidspawn dove with wings, its claws tearing flesh as they raked across his back.
With ichor splashing, Sylra's blade cut it off, and her yell, "Marcus, focus!" cut through the confusion. With ichor recoiling and starlight flooding relays, Ethan's rune burned. The rune flared nova-brightly as Ethan held his ground against a Star-eater that lunged, its maw tugging at his light. The relays were humming as the breach started to close.
Voidspawn surged, blood streaming from a brute's claw that grazed Ethan's side. He slashed, cleaving the beast as his blade ignited due to surge rune. With ichor staining her, Sylra battled next to him, blade in hand, silver storm. Stunting the second Star-eater with his rune-lattice, Torren engaged in combat.
"Stranger, finish the seal!" he yelled, his nose bleeding profusely. With starlight exploding, Ethan traced a last surge rune in midair, completely sealing the breach. Its core was struck by Ethan's rune-powered slash, causing ichor to flood as the first Star-eater charged. The second was ripped apart by Torren's lattice, scattering the swarm and causing their screams to fade.
As the hum of the gate slowed and the starlight returned, Ethan fell to his knees, his vision dimming and his blood pooling. With frenzied eyes, Sylra pulled him up. She said, "Marcus, you're a fool," her voice breaking as worry trumped uncertainty. Ethan gave a small smile. "Fool's still standing."
Torren stepped forward, face grim, blade dripping. "That swarm was summoned, stranger. With Zorathys's hand behind it, Nullvox famines. His eyes shifted from Ethan to the gate. "The traitor's near. Keep your runes sharp." Torren's warning was echoed by Lirien's words, "Zorathys, tenth gate," and Ethan nodded.