Three days after the synchronized attacks, Aerthalia decided to take direct action. A small task force was dispatched to Vireth, one of the worst-affected Fractura zones — where magic no longer functioned, and civilians had vanished without a trace.
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🚁 Restricted Investigation Team
Deployed:
Angeline – the only Void user capable of movement within a non-magic zone.
Real – a terrain expert and tracker, assigned to protect Angeline physically.
Myra – to assist and examine Void’s effect on dimensional distortion.
Two senior guards – equipped with ancient non-magical artifacts.
They landed amidst the ruins. The city felt… too quiet. No birds, no wind, not even the hum of magitek.
> “This isn’t a dead city… it’s a slowed one,” Myra murmured. “Time flows strangely here.”
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🌫️ The Non-Magic Zone
As they crossed the threshold, Angeline felt a crushing weight on her chest. All magic within her ceased — except the Void.Voidstep still worked… sharper than ever.
> “Void isn’t magic,” Angeline whispered. “It’s a fracture.”
In the center of the city, they saw it — a shadow, standing still, facing a crumbling wall.
> “It’s waiting…” Real muttered.
Suddenly, the shadow turned.Its face… was Angeline’s.But with hollow eyes and a smile far too wide.
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⚔️ Fight: Against Herself
The shadow moved like Angeline — only stiffer, crueler. Every strike mirrored a corrupted version of Voidstep.
> “They’re not just copying you… they’re stealing your echoes,” Myra shouted.
Angeline fought back, but every strike was countered by a darker version of herself. In that clash, she began to understand:
Synthetic shadows were fragments of reality, stolen from her own Voidstep.
The more she hesitated, the stronger the mimic became.
> “You are not me,” Angeline whispered, closing her eyes.
And then, she stepped — not to strike, but to erase the false reflection.
A wave of dark light surged — and the mimic vanished.
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🧠 Crucial Discovery
In the ruins of an old arcane church, they uncovered a Void circle — ancient, primitive, and not of modern Umbra Concordia design.
> “This isn’t the beginning of Fractura…” Myra whispered.“It’s something ancient that’s been reawakened.Maybe this place… was cracked long before we ever knew what Void truly was.”
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🔚 End of Chapter
Back in Aerthalia, Angeline held a fragment of Voidstone retrieved from the center of the zone.She didn’t know why — but it felt like more than just a stone.
> “We haven’t seen the core of Fractura,” she said.“We’ve only seen its reflections.”
Real stood beside her.
> “Whatever comes next… I’ll be with you.Even if the next shadow wears my face.”
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