The four Dragonborn continued staring up at the enormous shadow stretching beyond the stars. Even though they had already prepared themselves for the arrival of a powerful enemy, and even though they had spent days discussing the possibility that sothing worse than the Void Architect might be approaching their world, the reality before them still struck with a force they had not expected.
The sheer scale of the being dwarfed everything their minds instinctively used as comparison. It did not resemble a creature flying through the sky. It resembled a world-sized presence pressing itself against reality from sowhere beyond it.
For a mont awe and dread washed through all four of them. They had fought ancient gods, corrupted Dragonborn, and entities capable of destroying civilizations, yet the sight before them still managed to remind them how small they truly were when compared to the vastness of existence.
Fortunately, the feeling did not last long.
Years of battle experience quickly forced their emotions back under control.
Fear was not new to them. Every major battle they had survived had begun with the realization that the enemy standing before them seed impossible to defeat, allowing themselves to beco overwheld now would accomplish nothing except rob them of the ability to think clearly.
The creature existed and it was approaching. Therefore the only thing that mattered was understanding it and finding a way to stop it.
Their hearts gradually cald while their minds returned to the disciplined focus.
Eccar folded his arms while continuing to stare upward. "Should we attack it now?" he asked.
Erend kept his eyes fixed on the distant shadow for several monts before shaking his head. "No. Let’s wait. That thing doesn’t seem interested in attacking us right now. If it wanted to attack imdiately, I think we would already know. There has to be a reason it’s holding back."
Aesa remained silent for a mont before speaking. "Maybe it’s being restricted."
That imdiately drew the attention of the other three Dragonborn.
"What do you an?" Erend asked.
Aesa continued studying the distant darkness while organizing her thoughts. "That thing is simply too large. If it could fully manifest inside this world and attack using its original body, I don’t think we would have any realistic chance of stopping it. Yet despite the fact that we can already see it and feel its presence, it hasn’t caused any major damage. The kingdoms still stand. Reality hasn’t started collapsing. Nothing has happened beyond the pressure we feel. To , that suggests it cannot fully enter this world or fully use its power here."
The others fell silent.
The more they considered her reasoning, the more sense it seed to make.
Several seconds passed before Erend slowly nodded.
"I think there’s truth in what you’re saying. It would explain a lot of things. But we can’t treat it as certainty. It could also be waiting for the right mont to attack."
Eccar and Sylven nodded in agreent. Neither possibility could be dismissed.
"I’ll keep looking for answers through my connection with my power," Erend said. "Until we know more, we wait."
The others accepted the decision without argunt. Charging toward an enemy they barely understood would be reckless. Information remained their most valuable weapon.
As the four Dragonborn continued hovering beneath the stars, Erend slowly closed his eyes and directed his consciousness inward.
His thoughts reached toward Veyrun, hoping the System’s administrator possessed additional knowledge about the entity.
—
anwhile, far below them inside the underground facility beneath Leonora Kingdom, the five Archmages had already imrsed themselves completely in their work.
Floating projections filled the enormous chamber from floor to ceiling while countless runes drifted through the air like luminous streams of information.
The devices brought from the five kingdoms continuously exchanged data with one another.
Morvain’s tallic to projected entire layers of interconnected Magical structures. Lisara’s crystalline apparatus analyzed compatibility between different formula segnts. Kelor’s obsidian tablet corrected flaws and inconsistencies hidden within the calculations. Selena’s floating prisms processed massive quantities of information simultaneously while Velrion coordinated everything from the center of the chamber.
At first the Archmages expected significant complications. After all, each kingdom had spent years developing, plus these last few days in their own research independently. Differences in thodology and theory should have created major obstacles but as the comparison process continued, an unexpected realization erged.
Their formulas aligned remarkably well. The foundations developed by each kingdom were far more compatible than they had hoped.
Instead of requiring massive revisions, only minor corrections proved necessary. A few Magic energy-distribution pathways needed adjustnt. Several synchronization patterns required refinent. Small structural inconsistencies were identified and corrected almost imdiately.
One by one, the remaining flaws disappeared. The separate formulas gradually rged into a single structure.
The floating projections synchronized and the runes aligned.
The calculations stabilized.
What had once existed as five separate pieces of research rapidly transford into one complete formula capable of supporting the rewriting process.
The Archmages stared at the completed frawork taking shape before them and realized that the most difficult part of their work might already be behind them.
For several monts nobody spoke.
The completed formula hovered at the center of the chamber as a masterpiece created through decades of collective research. Every kingdom’s contribution had found its place within the greater structure. Every correction had been completed and every inconsistency had been resolved.
A slow grin spread across Archmage Morvain’s face as he studied the result.
"This might beco the greatest discovery of our lives," Morvain said while shaking his head in disbelief. "Perhaps the greatest achievent in the history of our civilization."
Nobody dismissed the statent. In fact, the others felt much the sa.
For scholars who had devoted their entire lives to the study of Magic, monts like this were exceedingly rare.
They had not rely solved a theoretical problem but they had created sothing unprecedented. Sothing capable of rewriting one of the fundantal pillars of existence itself.
The realization filled the chamber with a quiet sense of triumph and they allowed themselves to appreciate what they had accomplished.
Then Velrion stepped forward. His gaze moved away from the formula and toward the five fragnts of the Sky Anchor positioned throughout the chamber.
"Let’s not waste our ti," he said firmly. "We can celebrate later. Right now, we need to begin the rewriting process."
The excitent imdiately settled.
The reality of their situation returned.
The formula was complete, but the most important task still remained.
The other four Archmages nodded without hesitation.
Together, the five Archmages turned and began walking toward the fragnts of the Sky Anchor.
Ancient power pulsed from the massive structures. The air itself seed heavier around them.
One by one, the Archmages moved into their designated positions while the completed formula hovered above the chamber.
The preparation phase had ended. At last, the rewriting process was about to begin.
—
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