Shadows rippled violently at Lucien's feet as he and Kairo approached the heart of the valley. The corrupted figures moved with precision, yet there was a subtle hesitation in their rhythm, a recognition that something far beyond their understanding had arrived.
From the center of the gathering emerged a figure, cloaked in darkness that seemed to twist and breathe, a presence both familiar and alien. Lucien's pale eyes widened. "Mother…"
The figure tilted her head, a cruel smile tugging at her lips. Her eyes glowed faintly with a light that seemed wrong, a reflection of the White's corruption twisted into something new. "Lucien," she said, voice both tender and poisonous. "You've grown… as I hoped."
Kairo's hand hovered over the hilt of a blade, but he said nothing. Even the Second Shadow could sense the subtle warping of energy around her — a power that resonated with Lucien's own in ways he did not yet understand.
Lucien stepped forward, shadows coiling around him, ready to test her. "What happened to you? The White… it shouldn't have touched you like this."
Her smile widened. "Oh, Lucien. You misunderstand. The White is not the only void. There are others… and I have learned to embrace them. To master them."
Before Lucien could react, she lifted her hand. Shadows erupted from the ground, twisting into forms that mimicked Lucien's own movements, his fighting style, his control of the White itself.
Impossible… he thought. His own power reflected back at him. "You… how?!"
She laughed, low and melodic, the sound carrying both familiarity and menace. "You are the Sole Exception, yes… but you are not the first. Not even close. You were chosen, yes, but I… I was the first in our bloodline to touch the voids beyond the White. Everything you learned… it began with me."
Kairo stepped closer, eyes narrowing. "What are you saying?"
Lucien's heart tightened. "She… she wasn't corrupted by chance. She… chose this. She learned the void in ways I never imagined."
The corrupted figures around them began to converge, but their movements were strangely deferential, almost reverent toward her. Lucien realized with a chill: these were not enemies in the traditional sense—they were her disciples, her extensions.
Suddenly, she raised her hand higher. Shadows formed a massive barrier between her and the two, pulsating with power that distorted the very air.
"And now," she said, her voice echoing unnaturally across the valley, "it is time for the Sole Exception to learn… that he is not alone. That the world you believe you know… is only the beginning. There are forces far greater than the White. Forces older than you, older than this era. And you… my son… are just a piece of something much larger."
Lucien's shadows surged forward instinctively, coiling, preparing to strike—but she vanished. One moment she stood before him; the next, she had divided into multiple forms, each moving in perfect synchronization, each a reflection of Lucien himself.
"Mother…?" he whispered, pale eyes narrowing.
Kairo's expression darkened. "This… this is no ordinary corruption. She has… mastered something beyond comprehension."
The valley trembled, shadows stretching impossibly, energy twisting the air. And from the sky above, a dark rift tore open, faint light leaking through, distorting reality itself.
Lucien's voice was low, almost a growl. "The White… it wasn't alone. There are others."
The shadows that were his mother's forms merged with the rift, vanishing into it. A faint, echoing laughter carried through the air.
Kairo gripped Lucien's shoulder. "We need to follow her… but this… this is only the beginning."
Lucien's pale eyes narrowed, a cold, determined light burning within. "Then we prepare. Whatever comes through that rift… I will face it. And I will reach her… no matter what it takes."
The rift pulsed ominously, a portal to unknown voids. And in that instant, the world seemed to hold its breath.
The true scale of the danger… and the secrets of the void… had only just begun to reveal themselves.