es of D

n power dragging at his bones. The city loomed before him-a jagged fortress of steel and defiance, its walls scarred from wars older than the dust beneath his boots.

nstoppable yet threatened to consume him. Three days ago, he'd torn through a Coalition ambush in the Ashen Wastes, leaving a trail of shattered tanks and broken men.

pale behind flickering holo-visors. "Halt! Identif

void's dark fire. "Tell your people to run," he growle

arsh white. Drones swarmed overhead, their red optics locking onto Kael. Beyond the gates, the horizon glowed with the app

beneath him. "No rest for the damned," he m

naway'

ael moved like a storm, his massive frame scattering crates and startling onlookers. He needed to find the old archives, rumored to ho

when a voice hissed from the darkness. "You

pite the grime on her face. She clutched a battered datapad, its screen flickering with strange symbols. "Name'

u've got ten seconds to e

y signature a week ago. It's not tech, not magic-something ol

d enough to hurt but enough t

I can help you find the truth about the Shadow Eternal. There's a vault under Ironhaven with r

couldn't afford, but Mira's knowledge was a lifeline. "Lea

iege

the tunnels with practiced ease, her datapad lighting the way. Kael followed, his senses alert fo

e city shook. Explosions echoed above, and Mira's datapad lit up with alerts. "They're

istant screams. The Shadow Eternal stirred within him, hungry fo

treets. Drones rained missiles, and soldiers in exosuits advanced, their weapons humming with anti-matter charges. Varkis stood atop a command

ed into a grim s

l absorbing the impacts. He tore through a tank like paper, hurling its wreckage into a drone swarm. Civilians

the command vehicle, its barrel glowing with an unnat

n his mind, its power flickering. For the first time in years, Kael felt vulnerable. Mira's v

the air. He couldn't take another hit like that. With a final surge, he smashed through the Coalition's front line, toppling Vark

ult's

"This is it," she said, pointing to a crystalline orb embedded in th

prison for what?" he asked, but the answer came not from Mira but from within. A voice,

nnels. Kael grabbed Mira, shielding her as the c

ew louder, and Kael knew the

Whispering Void

stelan

fast, the ruins of Ironhaven fading into the haze behind them. The Coalition's drones buzzed in the distance, their scanners sweeping the

e a hundred miles north," she said, dodging a jagged rock. "The old texts call

scanning the horizon. "

id, flashing a wry grin. "But

was undeniable. She'd saved him in Ironhaven, and that bought her time. Still, the voice in his

its voice like a blade across his sou

ng his head. Mira glanced at hi

he Collapse. Mira hacked a drone's signal, masking their location, while Kael stood watch. "You go

me how to track energy signatures like yours. But when I saw what they did to people-experiment

rrowed. "You'r

t right. The Shadow Eternal's not just po

roared overhead, its floodlights pinning them. "Found you!" Varkis

ult's

tearing through the dropship's hull. Soldiers scattered, but Kael's focus was fractured-the voice in his head was louder now

me dark fire as Kael's. The Cult of the Eternal. Their leader, a gaunt woman called the Oracle, raised a staff topped with a s

ng like nothing else. Mira fired a stolen pistol, covering him as they retreated.

ack stone spires loomed like claws against the sky, and the air hummed with unnatural energy. Inside, Kael'