🌑 Chapter 36: On the Brink of Nothingness

Location: Secret meditation chamber in Aerthalia, filled with protective magic circles and dimensional binding spells.Time: Midnight—when the world sleeps, and the boundaries between realities grow thin.
> “If you go in there… there’s no guarantee you’ll return,” Calhoun warned.


> “But if I don’t… we may never find a way to close Fractura,” Angeline replied.



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🌀 The Ritual Begins
Alongside Real, Myra, and a few selected mages, Angeline sat at the center of the Void circle.Her ancestral charm and the Void stone from Vireth merged into a single resonant field.
As the incantation was chanted, the world began to tremble. Light vanished—not because it dimmed, but because it was no longer needed.
> “Welcome… to the place before form,” whispered an ancient voice.



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🌌 Void Primeval: The Origin Dimension
Angeline opened her eyes.
She stood in a world with no sky, no ground, no time. Everything existed, yet without form. Shadows walked—not on surfaces, but through memories.
> “Is this… my mind? Or something deeper?”


Figures began to appear. Not humans. Not monsters. But echoes—of previous Void heirs.Among them… a tabaxi with heterochromatic eyes.
> “We all failed to close the rift,” they said. “But you… you might be the first to choose.”



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💔 The Temptation of the Void
A cracked-violet light emerged—offering her absolute power.
> “Take this. No more wars, no more blood. With it, all will submit.”


But Angeline saw through it—it wasn’t true strength. It was conquest, distorted. The same tool used by Umbra Concordia.
> “I don’t want the world to submit. I want it to remain whole.”


As she rejected the offer, the illusion shattered… and the core of the Void dimension revealed itself:A black flower, slowly blooming over the nothingness.

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🌱 A Gift from the Void
In return for refusing corruption, the Void granted her something no other heir had ever received:
The Sacred Void Stigma — a pattern of dark light etched into the back of her hand.
> “With this… you don’t just open rifts. You can close them.”



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🔚 End of Chapter
When Angeline returned, she awoke with ragged breath.
Real pulled her into a tight embrace. Myra checked the mark on her hand with silent awe.
> “What did you see in there?” Real asked.


> “Something older than time. And emptier than death,” she answered.“But I’m… no longer afraid.”