The rift pulsed above the valley, a jagged tear in the sky, light and shadow twisting in impossible ways. Lucien's pale eyes studied it, shadows at his feet coiling like serpents eager to strike. Kairo remained beside him, silent, energy tensing as if sensing the rift's pulse in their own body.
"This… isn't just a portal," Kairo said quietly. "It's a threshold. Whatever lies beyond could reshape everything we know."
Lucien's lips pressed into a thin line. "The White was only one layer. This… is something else entirely. And my mother… she has been here before."
The wind—or the strange absence of it—stirred faintly around them. Lucien stepped closer to the edge of the rift, letting his shadows ripple, probing, testing. The air was thick, alive, each pulse of the rift resonating with something he recognized but could not fully grasp.
Kairo tilted their head. "You feel it too, don't you? That… familiarity. Like fragments of your own power reflected back."
Lucien nodded slowly, voice low. "Yes. The voids… they are not all the same. Each has its own law, its own nature. And she… mastered one I haven't yet touched."
A subtle shiver ran down Lucien's spine as the first of the guardians emerged. They were massive, humanoid but warped, energy radiating from them in arcs that made the ground tremble. Each step they took left faint scorches in the earth, and their eyes glowed with unnatural light.
Kairo unsheathed a blade, shadows wrapping around its form. "These aren't just defenders," they muttered. "They are sentinels. Designed to prevent intrusion. Or perhaps… to test those who dare enter."
Lucien's shadows expanded, forming tendrils that reached toward the guardians, feeling, probing, analyzing. Not just brute strength… law, order, control. Each one bound to a principle beyond the White.
The lead guardian shifted, raising a massive arm. Energy rippled outward, bending space subtly. "Intruder… step forward," a voice boomed, metallic and echoing unnaturally. "Only those who understand the voids may proceed. All others shall fall."
Lucien's gaze met Kairo's. "We understand more than they realize," he said, tone calm but cold. "We adapt. And we survive."
Kairo nodded, shadows swirling in tandem with Lucien's. "Then let's see what this rift truly hides."
As they stepped forward, crossing the threshold, the world warped. Light fractured, gravity shifted in subtle pulses, and the very air seemed alive. Around them, the guardians moved with precision, testing their reactions with every heartbeat.
Then, just as they passed the halfway point, the ground beneath Lucien's feet twisted, forming a mirror-like surface. Shadows rose from it, coalescing into figures that mirrored his own form, movements perfectly synchronized.
Lucien froze. This… isn't real… yet it is.
Kairo's grip tightened on the blade. "They are not illusions… they are manifestations. Tests of skill, presence, and… perhaps even soul."
The mirrored shadows lunged in perfect unison. Lucien's cloak rippled, shadows flaring. "So it begins," he murmured. "Not just a fight… a lesson."
And somewhere deeper, within the rift, faint whispers echoed. "The Sole Exception… you are not alone. And neither is she. Welcome to the other voids."
The world fractured further, reality bending. The guardians advanced, mirrored shadows struck, and Lucien realized: the rift was not just a path to his mother, but a crucible. One that could reveal power, truth, and danger beyond imagination.