Chapter 13: The Ashen Citadel Rises
Above the stars, beyond the shattered veil, a citadel stirred. Constructed from stone mined in forgotten realms and kept aloft by chains of reality itself, it pulsed with faint golden cracks—wounds left behind by Veyrith's revolt against the pantheon.
A single name echoed across the cold halls, spoken not by voice but by memory.
"Nightfall."
▣ The Assembly of the Veiled Thrones
Twelve thrones sat in a circle, each veiled by shimmering curtains of divine essence. The gods within them did not speak. They waited. Watched. And trembled.
Only one among them dared rise.
A woman clad in robes made from starlight and silence stepped forward. Her face was obscured by a mask shaped like a cracked moon.
"The anomaly walks the Rift," she said, her voice layered with truth and prophecy. "And the Hollow Moon Order has failed."
"Failed," another echoed with scorn. "You said the ritual would bind him."
"No," she corrected. "I said it would awaken him. There is a difference."
The thrones shifted uneasily.
In the center of the circle, a pool of voidglass showed Shen standing beside Lian Yue in the ruins of Nightreach. The sigil of Veyrith burned faintly behind his back—an afterimage only the divine could see.
"He has claimed the Echo," the masked goddess whispered. "And Veyrith watches."
▣ Meanwhile, On the Mortal Plane...
Nightreach lay eerily quiet.
The Hollow Moon Order's presence had been erased by the backlash of the failed summoning. The sky, while still cracked, had begun to seal itself slowly—as if ashamed of what had been exposed.
Lian Yue knelt beside a ruined glyph-stone, her fingers glowing with pale light as she drew sigils to trace the energy flows left behind.
Shen stood nearby, staring at the fading mark in the sky.
"You saw the Citadel," she said.
He nodded. "Not clearly. But I felt it watching."
[Voidbound System Update: Divine Interference Detected.]
[Nullbrand Path Progression: 12%]
[Codex Fragment Detected Nearby: Source - Forgotten Warden]
"A Warden," Shen said quietly. "One of the Pantheon's old keepers."
"Buried beneath the Ashen Trenches," Lian Yue added. "South of here. If we get there before the gods send their proxies..."
Shen didn't hesitate. He began walking.
▣ Journey to the Ashen Trenches
The road to the Trenches passed through long-forgotten lands, once scorched by divine wars. Ghost cities whispered from beneath the dust. Ruins floated slightly above the ground, held in place by time-bent gravity.
Along the way, Shen encountered a traveler.
A boy with eyes too old for his face. He carried a lantern that held a star within it.
"You're being watched," the boy said.
"I know."
"Then remember this: Not all who gaze upon the void do so from above. Some look up from beneath it."
Shen said nothing, but as he walked past, the lantern in the boy's hand flickered.
[You have seen a glimpse of the Lanternbearer - ???]
[New Entry Unlocked in Codex Nullum: "Those Who Watch From Below"]
▣ At the Ashen Trenches
They arrived at dusk.
The sky above the trenches was unnaturally still. Wind did not blow. Light did not bend.
And something ancient slumbered beneath the surface.
Lian Yue knelt again, tracing the edges of a sigil circle hidden in the rock.
"This is where they buried him. The Forgotten Warden. Keeper of the First Pact."
[Voidlink Reacted: Sealed Entity Detected Beneath. Initiate Subversion?]
Shen placed his hand on the sigil.
[Initiating... Standby.]
A crack formed in the earth, and black light erupted.
Chains. Dozens. Snapping upward like tendrils.
And from the depths, a voice boomed:
"Who dares unbind the Warden of Ash?"
Shen's eyes narrowed. "I am Shen Nightfall. And the gods should start trembling."