Prelude: A Fracture in Peace
Harmonthal stood radiant beneath twin moons, its crystal towers humming with harmonic resonance. For the first time in centuries, factions once divided by war and belief coexisted: abyssal scholars worked beside divine clerics, and frostlight engineers sketched designs with flameforged scribes.
Yet on the eve of the Solstice Alignment — a rare celestial event where all Echo Beacons pulsed in synchrony — the sky dimmed.
And did not brighten.
The Eclipse
It began subtly. The Echo Beacons flickered.
Then one by one, they blackened.
Arkaia collapsed in the central plaza, her harmonic field convulsing.
Kael caught her, eyes widening as her anchor fractured.
"It's not just a celestial eclipse," Lira said, breath shallow. "Something is severing the beacons."
SAGE triggered:
[Alert: Multiversal Interference | Source: Null-Origin Singularity Detected | Threat Class: Omega]
From the edge of the world, a third moon appeared.
But it was no moon.
It had teeth.
The Voidgate Opens
A rift tore above the Eastern Barrens. From it spilled constructs of obsidian glass and creatures made of folded time — beings untouched by shadow or light.
[New Faction Identified: The Nihilum | Nature: Anti-Existence | Motive: Consumption of All Resonance]
Their leader? A figure cloaked in entropy, face hidden behind a mirror that showed not reflection — but erasure.
[Name: Veyrith | Title: The Unseen One | Class: Null Ascendant]
He spoke only once:
"Echoes must die."
The First Clash
Kael led the charge alongside Zar, Elandriel, and Mareth. Harmonthal's defenders held strong — but the Nihilum were not beings meant to be fought. Blades passed through them. Magic dissolved.
Only Arkaia's song — fractured as it was — slowed their advance.
Riven sacrificed his core to collapse the first wave.
But it wasn't enough.
The eastern wall fell.
Lira stood on the breached rampart, eyes glowing with fury.
"This world is written in music. So let us scream."
She unleashed a counter-harmony that ruptured three Nihilum constructs.
But Veyrith watched.
Unmoving.
Unimpressed.
Retreat and Reckoning
Kael ordered a strategic retreat to the lower sanctum. Arkaia remained comatose, pulsing with unstable resonance.
SAGE offered a chilling analysis:
[Resonant Collapse Probability: 78%]
"They came for the song," Elandriel whispered. "To end its memory."
Kael stared at the Lucent Core.
"Then we give them a new one."
He raised his blade — not in defiance, but in creation.
"Lira. Evea. Begin composing the Anthem of Opposition."
The Anthem Begins
Using fragments of the Skygrave, tones from the Starforge, and echoes of Aurethiel's bells, a new composition formed: not a spell, but a declaration. A narrative.
A song that would resist silence.
And Arkaia, unconscious still, began to sing it in her sleep.
The third moon pulsed.
Veyrith flinched.
The war was not over.
It had just changed key.