The explosion of Magic energy did not remain confined within the underground chamber. The mont the big fragnts rged with the three others, an enormous wave of light erupted from the center of the ritual.
It was not rely invisible Magic energy. The energy beca visible.
A colossal sphere of transparent light expanded outward like a growing bubble. Countless colors flowed across its surface. Silver, blue, gold, violet, green, and crimson intertwined together while runes also flickered briefly within the expanding shell before fading away again.
The sphere continued growing. It passed through stone, reinforced barriers, and countless Magical arrays designed to contain energy. Nothing stopped it.
Deep beneath Leonora Palace, the expanding sphere surged upward.
A mont later the palace itself beca engulfed by the growing bubble of light. Several enchanted lamps flickered violently. Magical devices throughout the palace briefly activated on their own.
The entire structure rumbled.
Not enough to damage the building but enough for everyone inside to feel it.
Throughout the palace grounds and the cities around it, knights, servants, mages, and healers imdiately stopped what they were doing.
Many of them had spent the entire evening treating wounded soldiers and repairing the damage caused during the invasion earlier that day. Now all of them felt a wave of power unlike anything they had ever experienced swept through their bodies.
Heads turned toward the palace and they saw it. An enormous transparent sphere composed of countless colors erged from beneath the palace and continued expanding across the night.
The sight looked almost unreal. The glowing bubble continued growing larger and larger until it covered the entire palace district.
Then suddenly it vanished. The light disappeared completely. But the energy remained.
Everyone could still feel it spreading through the city.
"What was that?" one knight asked while staring at the palace.
"I don’t know," a nearby mage slowly lowered his hand from his staff and admitted. "I’ve never felt Magic energy like this before. It feels similar to ordinary Magic... but sohow far greater."
Others quickly noticed sothing even stranger. Several wounded soldiers blinked in surprise when they saw their injuries had begun healing faster. Their exhaustion faded and their bodies felt lighter.
The energy seed to fill every part of them.
A senior knight standing nearby slowly smiled. Relief appeared on his weathered face. "The Archmages must have started the rewriting process. At last. Soon all of this will be over."
The people around him visibly relaxed.
The fear and tension that had dominated the kingdom since the invasion finally began to ease.
With five Archmages working together and four Dragonborn protecting the world, everything would surely be fine.
At least that was what they believed.
None of them knew that an even greater threat still lingered beyond the stars.
—
Far above Leonora Kingdom, Erend remained suspended within the night sky. His eyes stayed closed. His expression remained tense.
Eccar, Aesa, and Sylven floated nearby while waiting for him to finish communicating with Veyrun.
The silence gradually beca uncomfortable. Several tis Sylven glanced upward and saw the enormous shadow still stretched beyond the stars. Silent and motionless, and watching.
Its presence alone created a pressure that even he found difficult to ignore. The ancient Dragonborn frowned. Sothing about the creature made his instincts restless.
More minutes passed, then suddenly Erend’s eyes opened.
A voice had finally answered him. Inside his mind, Veyrun’s familiar presence appeared.
"What do you know about that thing in the sky?" Erend imdiately asked.
"It is the being I’m talking about. It is clear now that she is here. She has finally arrived." Veyrun said.
Erend’s expression darkened.
"There is information regarding that entity within the Creator’s database." The System Administrator said.
Then the information began flowing into Erend’s mind.
"That being is known as Nyssara."
The na alone carried an unsettling weight.
"Her complete title is Nyssara, the Devourer Beyond Creation. She is one of the Outer Predators."
Erend frowned. "Outer Predators?"
"Entities that exist beyond normal reality. They are not gods or normal creations. They are organisms that evolved within the void beyond worlds."
A chill ran through Erend.
Veyrun continued. "According to the Creator’s records, Nyssara has consud multiple worlds throughout her existence. Entire worlds, dinsions, and civilizations disappeared after encountering her."
Erend remained silent.
The information continued. "She possesses the ability to consu Magic energy, spiritual energy, dinsional structures, and even conceptual constructs. The larger her prey becos, the stronger she grows."
Erend felt his stomach tighten. "How powerful is she? Can we fight her?"
"Unknown." Veyrun answered imdiately.
That answer worried Erend even more.
"The Creator never recorded Nyssara’s full capabilities because direct confrontation was avoided whenever possible. However, available estimates place her among the most dangerous known entities recorded within the database."
Erend slowly looked toward the distant shadow. His jaw tightened. "What about her weaknesses?"
"None confird."
For several seconds, Erend simply stared at the darkness stretching beyond the stars.
The weight of the situation settled heavily upon him. The Void Architect was already a threat capable of destroying worlds.
Now they faced sothing even older. Sothing that consud worlds themselves.
Erend slowly exhaled. The gravity of the situation beca impossible to ignore.
"Can you analyze her powers now?" Erend asked. His eyes remained fixed upon the distant shadow beyond the stars while he waited for an answer.
Veyrun remained silent for several monts.
"Perhaps," the System Administrator finally replied. "But it will require ti. A significant amount of ti."
Erend frowned. That was not the answer he had hoped for.
Then Veyrun continued. "More importantly, based on the information currently available, you and the other three Dragonborn are not capable of defeating her in your present state."
The words struck harder than Erend expected. For a mont he simply stared into the darkness. Every piece of information he had received seed worse than the last.
Nyssara possessed unknown limits with no confird weaknesses. The Creator himself had avoided direct confrontation. And now Veyrun was telling him that even four Dragonborn working together would not be enough.
A feeling of frustration slowly ford inside his chest.
"So what are we supposed to do?" Erend asked. "Just give up?"
"No." The answer ca imdiately, firm and certain.
Erend blinked. "No?" he repeated.
"You must negotiate with her."
The response caught him completely off guard. For several seconds he thought he had misunderstood.
"Negotiate?"
"Yes."
Erend remained silent.
Far above him, the enormous shadow continued drifting.
Veyrun continued speaking. "Nyssara is not a mindless destroyer. According to the Creator’s records, she possesses intelligence and a certain level of arrogance. She makes decisions. She calculates risks and rewards. That ans communication is possible. If you can establish an agreent with her, she will be bound by the conditions of that agreent so she will be unable to freely unleash her full power upon this world."
Finally sothing resembling hope appeared. A small hope. But hope nonetheless.
"If that happens you and the other Dragonborn will still have a chance."
Erend paused. His gaze slowly lifted toward the enormous shadow once more.
The situation remained terrifying. But now a path forward has appeared.
Perhaps a narrow one. But it was still a path.
—
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