Erend stood alone within the southern forest, surrounded by the aftermath of what had once been a brief but violent encounter. But his focus had already moved far beyond the fallen beasts scattered across the ground.

The air still carried faint traces of distortion. The subtle currents of energy lingered enough for him to study, and he remained still as his senses extended, carefully tracing the remnants that had seeped into the environment.

Time passed without him noticing, his attention narrowing entirely on the task as he moved from one point to another, examining the patterns left behind in the soil, the trees, and even the fading essence within the creatures themselves.

He crouched briefly beside one of the bodies. His gaze steady as he reached out and let his own power brush against the residual energy embedded within it.

It responded faintly with instability, as if it had never belonged there in the first place.

That alone confirmed what he had already begun to suspect. This was not natural corruption born from the world itself.

Erend straightened slowly, his expression tightening as his thoughts aligned.

This isn’t native. The realization settled deeper the more he compared it to what he already knew.

The structure of the energy, the way it behaved, the instability it carried, it was not entirely unfamiliar. He had felt something like it before in the Creation.

His gaze hardened slightly as the connection formed clearly in his mind. The similarity was not exact, but it was close enough that it could not be ignored.

Whatever was affecting this world, it was tied to the same origin, or at least something that had interacted with it.

"If that’s true..." he said under his breath.

Then another possibility surfaced, one that immediately made his expression grow heavier.

The Void Architect.

Erend remained still as the thought fully took shape. His mind moved through it carefully.

The Void Architect had told him that he did not yet know the state of his Creation, that he was still waiting for Erend’s answer. That was what he had claimed.

But that did not mean it was the truth.

What if he was lying...?

Erend’s gaze lowered slightly, the weight of that possibility pressing down on him more than the battle ever could.

If the Void Architect already knew where the Creation was, if he had been aware from the moment Erend entered this world and made contact with it, then everything changed.

It meant this was not a coincidence. It meant this could have already been set in motion by him.

"What if he knew... because of me?"

The thought lingered longer than the others.

Erend sighed heavily, his shoulders lowering slightly as a sense of regret settled beneath his calm exterior.

If his presence had revealed the location of the Creation, if his actions had accelerated whatever was now spreading across this world, then this was not just an external threat anymore.

It was something he had caused.

He remained standing there in silence for a moment. The forest around him still and uneasy, before his expression steadied again.

The direction ahead became clearer. Whatever the truth was, he could not afford to hesitate now.

Erend remained still for a moment longer after his thoughts settled, before he let out a long breath and let his focus shift outward again.

The connection between him, Eccar, and Aesa formed almost instantly the moment he reached for it. Their presence was clear within his awareness despite the distance that separated them across the world, and without hesitation he pushed his intent through that link.

"We need to regroup," Erend said, his voice carrying steadily through their minds. It sounded firm with urgency. "There’s something wrong. I’m sure you two also already knew the change in the air. This isn’t isolated."

The response came quickly.

"I was about to say the same thing. The mountain range is in chaos. This isn’t normal behavior. Something’s affecting everything here." Eccar said. His tone carried a clear edge of seriousness beneath it.

Aesa followed not long after with a faint irritation that now also carried something heavier beneath it.

"Youre right. The desert beasts crossed into the forest. They’re not holding territories anymore and just attacking anything in sight." She paused briefly before adding, "This isn’t just beast aggression. It feels forced by energy from the outside world."

Erend listened to both of them in silence for a brief moment, the confirmation settling immediately. They had all seen it. They had all reached the same conclusion from different parts of the world.

"Okay. Then it’s confirmed," he said. "This is spreading. We need to meet."

There was a brief pause before Eccar spoke again. "Where do we meet?"

"The forest near Leonora City," Erend replied. "It’s familiar, and it’s close enough to the city but nobody would be there. I think."

Aesa did not argue.

"Fine," she said simply.

But even as the agreement settled between them, Erend felt something else through the connection. It was subtle, not spoken directly, but it lingered beneath their voices in a way that was difficult to ignore.

Both of them held something back. A heavier emotion than just reporting what they had seen.

They wanted to say a more serious matter. There would be time for that when they met. Maybe they already knew that this disturbance could be caused by them.

"Then don’t waste time," Eccar added, his tone sharpening slightly. "We’ll meet there."

"I’m already moving," Aesa said.

The connection dimmed slightly as their focus shifted back to their own movements.

Erend did not wait any longer. He raised his hand as space in front of him began to distort. The familiar pull of his power formed a portal that cut cleanly through the air.

The edges shimmered with lighting and fire as the connection stabilized, revealing the distant forest near Leonora City, a place they had already used before and knew well enough to avoid unnecessary attention.

Without hesitation, Erend stepped forward.

The forest around him vanished instantly as he crossed through, leaving behind the southern wilderness and the unsettling traces of corruption that lingered within it.

He emerged moments later into the familiar terrain near Leonora City.

—