As Aleric spoke, it became clear that his rise to godhood had hinged on his control over the artificial life he created. His path had seemed straightforward: once elevated to the rank of god of Progress, Aleric would have wielded the authority to command his creation. Yet, the turmoil in his eyes betrayed a different story.

Thiara, standing beside Aurelion, was lost in her thoughts. The terms “Creatures of the Void,” “Ruler of Knowledge,” and “Veil of Obscurity” echoed relentlessly in her mind. The information was so profound that it overshadowed everything she had known. The very concept of something existing beyond the gods was a revelation she had never imagined.

She began to piece together fragments of her knowledge. The ongoing conflicts—the struggle between the Lord, the Goddess of the Sky, and the Lord of Shadows; the battles between Goddess of Wisdom-Athena, the God of War- Vidhvansh, and the God of Solace—suddenly made more sense. The powers of the Sun, Sky, Shadow, resonated with each other. Similarly the authorities of Death, Darkness, and War. The gods were locked in a desperate struggle for a chance to ascend beyond their current status. This realization brought clarity to the puzzles she had long struggled to understand.

Her thoughts turned to the Old Sun God. Was he the being above the gods that the new information implied? Legends spoke of him being supreme even among deities, but she had dismissed these as mere myth. Now, in retrospect, it seemed there was more truth to the old tales than she had believed.

She pondered the betrayal of her Lord and the enigmatic end of the old sun God. How had the Lord managed to kill the Sun God, and what had truly transpired on that fateful day? The secrets of that era were tightly sealed, specially about the role of her lord, who had remained silent about the events of that time.

Aleric’s dejected tone brought Thiara back to the present. “And then it happened,” he said, his voice trembling with a mix of shame and regret.

“I was working on a new project when I discovered anomalies within the artificial life I had created. Before I could comprehend what was happening, it broke free from my control, escaping even the most rigorous restrictions I had imposed. My powers were insufficient to contain it.”

Aurelion, though already aware of Aleric’s involvement, was taken aback by the depth of the revelation. The implications were significant; Aleric’s artificial life, now a rogue entity, was likely the hidden sage causing turmoil.

Aleric’s confession grew more frantic. “I had no idea what had triggered this escalation. The artificial life’s power surged inexplicably, and it fled from my continent. Despite the escape, I managed to track it to the headquarters of the Seekers of Origin.”

Aleric’s head hung low, and he continued, “As I approached the seekers, the connection with it was severed, and I sensed its consciousness fading as if it had died. I assumed it was truly gone.”

He paused, his voice breaking with emotion. “But how wrong I was.”

Aurelion remained impassive, though his golden eyes gleamed with curiosity and calculation as he observed Aleric’s growing desperation. Thiara, on the other hand, was struck by the change in Aleric’s demeanor as he mentioned the Seekers of Origin.

Aleric’s voice grew more distorted, resonating through the silent chamber. “When I entered the Order, I witnessed something astonishing. There was a being formed of pure light and information, absorbing the unique attributes of the knowlege authority at an alarming rate. I saw it, a purple eyes at its center, gradually merging with this entity.”

Aleric’s eyes were haunted as he recounted the scene. “The artificial life I had created was integrating with the voids corruption faster than I could have imagined. It seemed it would be complete within a week or two.”

He swallowed hard, his gaze reflecting a profound fear. “I attempted to intervene, but as I approached, something appeared behind it, as if sensing my intentions.”

The room was steeped in the haunting resonance of Aleric’s distorted voice, his confession hanging heavy in the air. Thiara felt a shiver run down her spine, her eyes widening in sheer horror as the world around her began to dissolve into oblivion. A phantom of a black door materialized behind Aleric.

The sight of the black door filled her with an overwhelming sense of dread. It was as though a cataclysmic event loomed on the horizon, should Aleric continue his revelations. The pressure of this ominous feeling bore down on her, making her tremble and sweat uncontrollably.

Desperately, she turned to her lord, hoping for a reaction. Aurelion’s face was etched with a gravity she had never witnessed before. His solemn expression only deepened her fear. She wanted to intervene, to stop Aleric from continuing, but Aurelion’s intense gaze held her in place.

Aleric, oblivious to the growing tension and the ominous black door taking shape behind him, continued his account. 

“It was a door that resembled a black stone tablet,” he said, his voice steady despite the eerie atmosphere. “On it, a mural caught my eye—an inverted tree.”

As Aleric described the door, the phantom image became increasingly vivid, as if it were striving to manifest fully into reality.

“There were nine branches on this inverted tree…”

“Enough!” Aurelion’s voice thundered, cutting through the air with authority. He rose swiftly from his seat, his presence imposing as he approached Aleric in an instant.

Before Aleric could react, Aurelion pressed his index finger against Aleric’s forehead, halting his speech. 

“Light!” Aurelion commanded, his voice ringing with finality.

A blinding flash of light erupted from the contact, engulfing Aleric and the forming black door behind him. The intense brilliance washed over the room, dispelling the phantom and dispelling the ominous presence.

As the light dimmed, Aleric slowly regained consciousness, the oppressive weight of the vision lifted. He looked at the fading black door with a deep sigh, the reality of the situation sinking in. 

Aurelion’s thoughts were grim as he observed the vanishing apparition. ‘The breach in veil!’ he mused. ‘Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse.’

'Void!,' Aurelion thought.

It was something, Even the gods, in all their infinite wisdom and authorities know little about It is the one thing that eludes their comprehension, the dark force that makes even the divine tremble. What little they do understand fills them with a dread so profound that they dare not speak of it. The Void is not simply an empty space—it is a devouring nothingness, a realm where existence unravels, where reality itself frays at the edges and vanishes into an endless abyss.

It seeps through the cracks in the reality, silently slipping between worlds, corrupting all it touches. No force can halt its creeping advance. While light and life struggle to persist, the Void waits, hungering, patient, and inevitable.

It was one of the reasons the gods sought greater authority even after attaining godhood, for they knew there was something greater than themselves lurking just beyond their reach.

Aurelion retracted his finger from Aleric, his expression darkening. His brow furrowed as the weight of what he sensed settled heavily upon him. This situation was becoming far more dangerous than he had anticipated.

It involved the one thing Aurelion had vowed to avoid at all costs—the Void, a force capable of bringing even gods to their knees. This wasn’t his first encounter with its corruption. He recalled vividly the authority of Death, once a peerless power, consumed and lost to the Void within the depths of the underworld. Gods who lingered too long in that darkness were inevitably claimed by the endless abyss, their divinity stripped, their essence dissolved.

Yet there was still hope—a narrow path to salvage the situation. The Void’s influence over the Eyes of Sage did not seem as overwhelming as it had been over the Scythe of Death. And with his newly acquired humanity, Aurelion believed he had the leverage to resist. There was a chance—however slim—that he could still prevail.

His gaze shifted toward Aleric, scrutinizing him closely. To Aurelion’s relief, there were no signs of corruption or mutation. Whatever ordeal Aleric had endured with the Seekers of Origin, it had not yet taken root in his soul. If the Void’s grip had been stronger, Aleric would have already succumbed to its dark influence. In that scenario, Aurelion would have had no choice but to strike him down before the corruption spread further.

Aleric shivered, his pale face drained of color, brown eyes wide with terror. “What… what happened to me?” he whispered, his voice faltering under the weight of his fragmented memories.

His figure swayed unsteadily, realization dawning like a cruel revelation. Aleric’s breath hitched, and his expression twisted in disbelief and fear. “How did I forget?” he muttered, voice trembling. “That black door… the one with the mural…”

His words spilled out in a rapid, disjointed stream. “It was there—behind the artificial life I created. It shouldn’t have been, but… it’s responsible. It’s responsible for all of this…”

Aleric’s muttering became frantic again, as if he were speaking to ghosts only he could see. His eyes, wide with a growing madness, fixated on something beyond Aurelion’s presence. Lost in the spiral of his unraveling thoughts, he seemed to forget even the divine figure standing before him. The terror gnawing at his mind consumed him, dragging him deeper into the abyss of his own memories.