---
Opening Scene
Valiscar lay in ruins, the golden light of the setting sun mixing with creeping shadows, painting the sky in streaks of crimson and ash.
Dust swirled through the air, carrying the scent of smoke, stone, and the faint metallic tang of shattered buildings.
The sky's wound widened, whispering through the void. Its voice reached even the ears of the four standing in the heart of the city: Ael, Lyra, Serapheon, and Kael.
Each figure paused, their eyes meeting in silent calculation. The world seemed to hold its breath.
---
Flashback: Kael's Origin
Kael's memory unfolded like a tattered manuscript:
A dimly lit room, young Kael watching two adults argue over the nature of fate.
One voice declared, "Fate is law. You cannot change it."
The other hissed, "Even law can be flawed if someone dares to erase it."
He glanced at his parents just as a golden thread of fate illuminated the room, revealing every loss he was destined to witness.
The first time he picked up a blank sheet of paper, he wrote a single mark—and for the first time, he felt freedom.
The flashback stretches across pages of thought, detailing every sorrow Kael witnessed and the yearning for a world untouched by pain.
---
Return to Present
The echoes of the past faded, leaving only the wind and the dark whispers above.
Kael lifted his silver quill and pointed it at the ground; shadows uncoiled, forming tendrils of pure energy.
He spoke to Ael:
> "You will understand… a world without pain can only exist if every memory, every bond, even love itself, is erased."
---
Philosophical Confrontation
Ael's fists clenched, his voice firm:
> "Then there is no hope. Without pain, love, or dreams, nothing has value!"
Lyra interjected, trembling but defiant:
> "I know you think you are doing good, but protection doesn't mean erasing everything."
Kael paused, perceiving a perspective he had never understood. The shadow of doubt flickered in his eyes, however briefly.
---
The Battle Erupts
Serapheon rose, summoning his golden cross that descended like judgment from above.
Ael raised his blank page:
> "The chains that bind me weigh nothing!"
The golden cross shattered as if it were paper in the wind.
Kael retaliated, erasing the meaning of gravity and air, sending the ground beneath into a floating battlefield.
The fight escalated into a full-scale aerial clash:
Ael used erasure to protect the innocent.
Kael erased everything that opposed him.
Serapheon struck from all directions, his golden threads binding, piercing, and attempting to immobilize both Erasers.
The action sequences stretch over multiple pages, detailed with energy surges, floating debris, and precise depiction of each character's powers in motion.
---
Closing Hook
The black quill, fallen from the void, began to tremble.
A thousand eyes opened within the rift in the sky, gazing down upon the battlefield like an unyielding jury.
A voice echoed in every mind:
> "Who among you is worthy to wield the Quill of Nothingness?"
Ael glared at Kael, his chest heaving, sweat dripping from his brow.
Lyra wrapped her arm around him, whispering:
> "Can we save this world… or are we stepping into emptiness?"
The chapter ends with the black quill floating above the battlefield, tendrils of energy and golden light spiraling around it—poised to ignite the next confrontation.
---