Within a Hollow Heart

Chapter 169: Volume 2, Chapter 113: "Echoes of Lost Guardians"

The morning air was bitterly cold as they left the outpost, their breath visible in the icy fog that clung to the landscape. The sun had barely risen, casting a pale, muted light over the snow-covered plains. The outpost, now nothing more than a silhouette in the distance, faded from view as they trudged forward toward the Guardian archive.

The trek was silent, each of them lost in their thoughts. Cole kept his eyes on the horizon, his mind still wrestling with the revelations of the previous night. The Severed, exiled Weavers who had turned against the Guardians, were actively working to tear apart the Veil. It was hard to believe that people, not just the void, could be behind the destruction they had witnessed. But the evidence was mounting, and the feeling that they were facing something far more dangerous than they had ever anticipated weighed heavily on him.

"How far is this archive?" Marcus asked, his voice cutting through the silence. He adjusted the straps of his pack, his eyes scanning the distant mountains that rose in jagged peaks against the horizon.

"Not far," Elara replied, though her voice carried an edge of uncertainty. "The records say it was built into the side of the mountains, hidden from sight. It's one of the few places the void hasn't reached yet."

"Let's hope it stays that way," Selene muttered, her hand resting on the hilt of her blade. "The last thing we need is another ambush."

They continued onward, the landscape gradually shifting as the snow gave way to rocky terrain. The mountains loomed larger now, their jagged peaks cutting into the sky like the teeth of some ancient, slumbering beast. As they approached the base of the range, the air grew colder still, the wind howling through the narrow canyons that crisscrossed the mountainside.

Elara stopped suddenly, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the ground ahead. "Here," she said, pointing to a barely visible path that wound its way up the mountain. "This is the way to the archive."

The path was treacherous, narrow and steep, with loose rocks shifting beneath their feet as they climbed. Cole's muscles ached with the effort, but he forced himself to keep going, driven by the knowledge that the answers they sought could be just beyond the next ridge.

As they neared the top, the wind picked up, whipping around them in frigid gusts. The path leveled out, and they found themselves standing before a massive stone doorway, half-buried in snow and ice. The entrance to the Guardian archive.

"It's still intact," Elara said softly, her voice tinged with awe. "After all these years..."

Marcus stepped forward, brushing the snow away from the door's surface. The stone was carved with intricate symbols, similar to the ones they had seen in the other ruins, though these were faded with age. He pushed against the door, but it didn't budge.

"It's sealed," Selene said, stepping up beside him. "We'll need to find another way in."

Elara knelt before the door, her fingers tracing the symbols. "No," she said, her eyes closing as she reached out with her mind. "The seal is connected to the Veil. It's a Guardian ward, meant to keep out the void."

"Can you break it?" Cole asked, though he already knew the answer.

Elara nodded. "I can, but it will take time. The ward is still strong, even after all these years."

Marcus glanced around, his eyes scanning the surrounding area. "We'll keep watch. If the void-touched find us here, we need to be ready."

Cole and Selene took up positions at the edges of the clearing while Marcus stayed close to Elara, his sword at the ready. The wind howled through the mountain pass, sending flurries of snow swirling around them as Elara focused on the door. Her hands moved slowly, carefully, as she wove the threads of the Veil, unraveling the ancient ward one piece at a time.

The minutes stretched on, and with each passing moment, Cole's nerves frayed further. The mountains felt oppressive, as if the weight of the world was bearing down on them. Every gust of wind sounded like a whisper, every shifting rock like the approach of an unseen enemy.

Finally, with a soft click, the seal broke.

The stone door creaked open, revealing a dark tunnel that led deep into the mountain. A faint, musty smell wafted out, the scent of a place untouched by time.

"We're in," Elara said, her voice quiet with relief.

Marcus nodded. "Let's move quickly. We don't know how much time we have."

They entered the archive, the stone walls towering around them as they descended into the darkness. The air grew colder as they went deeper, and the tunnel opened up into a vast chamber, its ceiling lost in shadow. Shelves lined the walls, filled with crumbling books, scrolls, and artifacts from a time long forgotten.

"This is incredible," Elara whispered, her eyes wide with wonder as she surveyed the chamber. "These records... they could be the key to everything."

Marcus, ever practical, stepped forward. "Start looking. We don't have much time."

They spread out, each of them searching the shelves for anything that might shed light on the Severed or the void's influence on the Veil. Cole moved through the chamber, carefully sifting through the ancient scrolls and books, most of which were too fragile to handle. The Guardians had left this place behind in a hurry, but the sheer volume of information was overwhelming.

As he worked, Cole's mind kept drifting back to the voice he had heard in the threads of the Veil—the desperate plea for help. Whoever had spoken, they had been connected to the Veil in a way that even Elara didn't fully understand. And if there were more like them, more people trapped between the void and reality, then they were running out of time to save them.

"Here!" Elara's voice echoed through the chamber, and the group quickly gathered around her.

She stood before a large stone tablet, its surface etched with the same ancient symbols that covered the walls of the archive. But unlike the other texts, this one was still clear, its meaning intact.

"It's a record of the Severed," Elara said, her eyes scanning the symbols. "It talks about their exile, about how they were cast out for trying to control the void."

"And?" Marcus prompted, his voice tense with anticipation.

Elara's brow furrowed as she continued to read. "It says they believed the void was the key to reshaping the world, to bending reality itself to their will. They were searching for a way to merge the void with the Veil, to create a new kind of power—one that could rewrite the very fabric of existence."

"That's insane," Selene said, her voice sharp with disbelief. "No one can control the void. It destroys everything it touches."

"That's why the Guardians exiled them," Elara explained. "But it seems... they didn't stop. They kept working in secret, gathering knowledge, manipulating the Veil from the shadows. And now, they've found a way to return."

Cole's heart raced as the implications of her words sank in. The Severed weren't just trying to tear the Veil apart—they were trying to fuse it with the void, to create something entirely new. Something far more dangerous than either force on its own.

"We have to stop them," Marcus said, his voice filled with resolve. "If they succeed..."

"They won't," Elara interrupted, her voice firm. "We'll find them. And we'll stop them before they can finish what they started."

Cole nodded, his resolve hardening. The Severed had been working in the shadows for too long, but now, they were out in the open. And they weren't going to stop until they had rewritten reality itself.

As they gathered the records and prepared to leave the archive, Cole couldn't shake the feeling that they were standing on the edge of something far bigger than they had imagined. The Severed were more dangerous than they had ever thought possible, and the void was only the beginning.

The battle to protect the Veil was just beginning.