Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-One: The Child Beyond the Gate
Silence consumed the chamber.
Heavy silence that's very dangerous and unmoving.
Luke stood near the glowing windows clutching Astrael tightly while Aurelion remained completely frozen beside him.
The ancient dragon's silver eyes had widened with something Luke never expected to see from such an old being.
Fear.
Lucien noticed immediately.
He then stepped protectively closer to Luke, infernal shadows stirring faintly around his body.
"You know who she is."
It was not a question.
Aurelion remained silent for several moments.
Then slowly lowered its massive head.
"I KNOW WHAT SHE IS."
The answer somehow sounded worse.
Luke's chest tightened slightly.
"She looked scared."
The dragon's ancient eyes shifted toward him quietly.
"OF COURSE SHE DID."
The sanctuary winds moved uneasily through the chamber.
"SHE WAS BORN INSIDE A DYING REALM."
The Father of All stepped forward slowly.
"There were rumors after the sealing…"
His expression darkened deeply.
"…that some children were left behind when the gates closed."
Luke looked toward him sharply.
"Children?"
The old creator nodded once.
"When the realms were abandoned, not every evacuation succeeded."
The words hit like physical blows.
Luke stared at him in disbelief.
"You left people there?"
Pain crossed the Father of All's face instantly.
Lucien looked away quietly.
Because even he had no defense for that.
Aurelion finally spoke again.
"THEY WERE CALLED THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN."
The chamber lights dimmed faintly around the ancient dragon's voice.
"OFFSPRING OF REALMS TOO CORRUPTED TO SAVE."
Luke's grip around Astrael tightened.
"But they survived."
"SOME."
Aurelion's expression became darker now.
"MOST DID NOT."
The Luminals around the chamber dimmed sadly.
Luke felt sick.
Not because of war.
Not because of monsters.
But because somewhere across existence…
children had been abandoned alone for thousands of years.
The boy slowly looked toward the sanctuary windows.
"She could see me."
The Father of All frowned thoughtfully.
"That should not be possible through a sealed realm."
Astrael pulsed gently in Luke's hands.
Aurelion noticed immediately.
Then the dragon's expression slowly changed.
Realization.
"…The seals are weakening."
The chamber became deathly still again.
Lucien's voice dropped dangerously low.
"Because of the Primordials?"
Aurelion nodded once.
"THE VOID'S MOVEMENT IS DAMAGING THE ANCIENT BARRIERS."
Luke swallowed hard.
"So if the seals break…"
The Father of All answered quietly:
"The corruption inside the Wounded Realms spreads back into creation."
"And the Primordials gain pathways into the realms again," Lucien added grimly.
Luke looked down at Astrael silently afterward.
The sword glowed softly.
Almost anxiously.
Like it recognized the danger already.
the chamber doors burst open violently and several Luminals rushed inside chirping frantically while sanctuary guardians followed close behind.
One guardian immediately knelt before the Father of All.
"My lord."
The older guardian looked visibly shaken.
"There has been another disturbance at the eastern barrier."
Lucien's expression hardened instantly.
"What kind of disturbance?"
The guardian hesitated briefly.
Then answered carefully:
"A voice."
The room became still.
The guardian continued nervously.
"Several Luminals gathered near the outer sky bridge and began responding to something beyond the sanctuary."
Luke's heart immediately sank.
Because he already knew.
The girl again.
Without waiting, Luke moved quickly toward the chamber exit.
Lucien caught his arm instantly.
"Absolutely not."
"She's trying to reach us."
"She could also be a trap."
Luke hesitated.
Because logically…
Lucien was right.
But the feeling inside the Heart told him otherwise.
The voice had not felt evil.
It felt lonely,Terribly lonely.
Aurelion suddenly stepped forward.
"WE SHOULD SEE THIS."
Lucien narrowed his eyes immediately.
"That is exactly what people say before disasters happen."
The Spirit Guide sighed deeply.
You truly were born pessimistic.
"I survived because of it."
Minutes later, they arrived at the sanctuary's eastern sky bridge.
The moment Luke stepped onto the massive bridge platform,every Luminal gathered there turned toward him instantly.
Hundreds of tiny glowing creatures floated silently near the outer barrier overlooking endless skies beyond creation.
And at the center of them…
a single crack floated in midair.
Tiny.
Barely visible,but wrong.
The air around it shimmered unnaturally with silver distortion.
Luke's breathing slowed.
Because beyond the crack…he could hear someone crying softly.
The sanctuary guardians looked deeply unsettled.
One whispered quietly:
"It started singing to them."
Lucien looked ready to destroy the entire sky bridge immediately.
But before anyone could react further,
the crack suddenly widened slightly.
And a pale silver eye appeared within the darkness beyond it.
Everyone froze instantly.
The girl stared silently through the fracture between realms.
She looked exhausted.
Thin.
Afraid,but very alive.
Luke took one careful step forward.
The girl's expression shifted immediately upon seeing him.
Relief.
Almost desperate relief.
Then weakly through the fractured barrier between worlds
she whispered:
"…you came."
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Two: Through the Fracture
The sanctuary sky bridge became completely silent.
No one moved.
No one even breathed properly.
Because staring through the fracture between realms…
was a living survivor from the Wounded Realms.
A child abandoned by creation itself.
The silver-eyed girl looked fragile beneath the flickering distortion surrounding the crack.
Her pale hair fell messily around her face while faint silver markings glowed weakly beneath her skin like dying moonlight.
She could not have been much older than Luke.
Yet her eyes looked ancient with exhaustion.
Luke's chest tightened painfully.
Because nobody that young should carry eyes like that.
Lucien immediately moved slightly in front of Luke.
Protective instinct.
Automatic.
The girl noticed instantly and flinched backward within the darkness beyond the fracture.
That single reaction told Luke everything.
She feared powerful beings.
Probably for good reason.
Luke carefully touched Lucien's sleeve.
"She's scared."
Lucien's expression remained hard.
"She is an unknown entity from a corrupted realm."
The girl lowered her gaze weakly after hearing that.
And somehow that hurt more than if she had argued.
Aurelion slowly stepped closer toward the fracture.
The ancient dragon's massive eyes narrowed carefully.
"CHILD."
The girl stiffened immediately.
The moment she saw Aurelion fully, shock spread across her face.
"…A Keeper?"
The dragon froze.
So did the Father of All.
Because she recognized the ancient title.
Meaning the stories of the old guardians somehow survived inside the Wounded Realms.
The girl suddenly dropped to one knee inside the darkness beyond the fracture.
Not from worship.
Weakness.
Luke immediately stepped forward.
"Hey"
Lucien grabbed him instantly.
"No."
"But she's hurt!"
"And we do not know what crossing that fracture could do."
Luke looked frustrated now.
"She's not a monster."
Lucien's expression softened for the briefest second.
Because Luke always looked at suffering first before danger.
Exactly like Celestia.
The silver-eyed girl slowly lifted her gaze again.
This time she looked directly at Luke.
"…You carry the Heart."
Her voice sounded quiet and cracked from exhaustion.
Luke hesitated briefly before nodding.
The girl's eyes watered slightly afterward.
"You really came…"
The words shattered something inside the bridge's atmosphere.
Because they sounded like someone who had stopped believing rescue existed a very long time ago.
The Father of All carefully stepped closer to the fracture.
"What is your name, child?"
The girl hesitated briefly.
As though she had not spoken it aloud in years.
Then softly:
"…Elyssara."
The moment the name left her mouth—
Aurelion's eyes widened sharply.
The ancient dragon inhaled slowly.
Then whispered something almost inaudible:
"…the moonborn line survived."
Luke frowned slightly.
"What does that mean?"
But before Aurelion could answer—
the fracture suddenly trembled violently.
Every Luminal shrieked sharply at once.
The sanctuary winds darkened instantly.
And something moved behind Elyssara in the darkness.
Lucien reacted immediately.
Infernal flames exploded around the bridge while Astrael ignited in Luke's hands automatically.
Elyssara turned in terror toward the darkness behind her.
Then everyone heard it.
Breathing.
A massive shadow slowly emerged behind the girl within the ruined realm.
Not fully visible.
Just enough to reveal:
enormous glowing eyes,
jagged void-like horns,
and a body seemingly made from living corruption.
The bridge trembled violently.
One sanctuary guardian whispered in horror:
"…Primordial."
The creature stared directly through the fracture at Luke.
And smiled.
Elyssara stumbled backward in panic.
"It found me...."
The creature lunged instantly.
Luke moved before thinking.
"Astrael!"
The ancient sword erupted with golden light as Luke slashed toward the fracture instinctively.
A beam of radiant Balance energy exploded through the crack between realms.
The entire sanctuary shook violently.
Inside the Wounded Realm, the golden light struck the monstrous entity directly.
The creature screamed.
Not in pain alone.
Fear. Real fear.
The corruption around its body burned violently as the creature recoiled backward into the darkness.
Then Astrael's light expanded rapidly around Elyssara like a protective shield.
The fracture snapped shut immediately afterward.
Silence crashed over the bridge.
Luke staggered slightly, breathing hard.
The sword slowly dimmed in his hands.
Every Luminal in the sanctuary flickered anxiously now.
Lucien caught Luke before he lost balance completely.
"What were you thinking?"
Luke stared shakily at the place where the fracture disappeared.
"She was going to die."
The Father of All looked deeply unsettled now.
Because what just happened should have been impossible.
Luke had projected Astrael's power through a sealed realm.
Across ancient barriers.
Across cosmic exile.
Even Aurelion looked disturbed.
The ancient dragon slowly turned toward Luke afterward.
Its voice lowered dangerously.
"THE VOID HAS ALREADY FOUND THE WOUNDED REALMS."
The realization spread instantly through everyone present.
The Primordials were not waiting anymore.
They were hunting.
And the Wounded Realms,weak, isolated, forgotten, had become feeding grounds.
Luke slowly looked down at Astrael afterward.
The blade still glowed faintly.
Warm.
Protective.
Then suddenly a tiny silver object appeared near Luke's feet with a soft metallic sound.
Everyone froze because it had not been there before.
Luke carefully picked it up.
A broken silver pendant.
Cold to the touch.
Ancient. And engraved upon it…
was the same symbol glowing faintly beneath Elyssara's skin.
The symbol of a crescent moon wrapped around a star.
Aurelion's expression darkened deeply upon seeing it.
Then softly, almost fearfully, the ancient dragon whispered:
"The Heirs of Lunareth truly survived…"