Chapter 37: The Void Lord's Wrath and the Resistance of the Echo
As Kael's defiant words echoed before the Void Lord's pitch-black fortress, the battle inevitably began. This ancient being, who called himself "Lord Malakor," was in a league far beyond Morian. He wielded a massive sword composed of pure dark energy, creating waves of energy that tore through space with each swing. The rotten ground around him was filled with shadow creatures that attacked Kael and Aslan at his command.
Kael immediately took a defensive stance. The Chitauri core burned like an ember in his palm, granting him both strength and the ability to anticipate the Void Lord's movements. His first move was to distract Malakor and give Aslan room to maneuver. He sent his energy-enhanced bullets to the weakest points of Malakor's armor. The bullets were not easily absorbed like his previous servants, but the Lord's armor was incredibly durable.
Aslan took advantage of the momentary gap Kael had created and plunged into the shadow creatures. His blades flashed like silver lightning, neutralizing these dark servants one by one. But they were too many, and Malakor was quick to summon new creatures.
Lord Malakor responded to Kael's resistance with a scornful laugh. "Brave but foolish, Echo Bearer," his mental voice boomed. "The fragile seal of the Creators is not a grain of sand against the infinite power of the Void. And you are no better than an ant trying to protect that grain of sand." Malakor swung his massive sword at Kael.
Kael dodged the blow at the last moment, but the shockwave from the sword knocked him back. There was no way he could engage in a direct power struggle with this being. He had to use his wits and his speed. The whispers from the Chitauri core and the flickering light of the Star Compass that pointed to that weak point inside the castle guided him. He had to reach the seal.
"Aslan!" Kael shouted. "We must enter the castle! The seal is inside!"
Aslan nodded as he struggled with the creatures surrounding him. Kael made a risky move to draw Malakor's attention to himself. Using his ability to manipulate echo energy, he began to draw energy from the rotten earth and ruins around him. This was extremely dangerous; drawing energy from this land contaminated with the energy of the Void risked contaminating his own soul. But he had no other choice.
He sent the chaotic energy he had gathered in a wave toward Malakor. The Void Lord was momentarily stunned by the unexpected attack; the collision of his own dark energy with the "dirty" energy Kael was channeling caused small explosions all around him. This gave Kael and Aslan a few seconds to escape to the castle.
Malakor roared after them. The fortress's massive, pitch-iron gates towered before them. The gates were sealed with dark runes of the Void. Kael held the Chitauri core against the gate. A clash of energies began between the core and the runes. For a moment, nothing happened, then the core suddenly exploded in a bright light, and the runes shattered, causing the gates to creak open.
As they entered, they found themselves in a vast, dark hall. The walls of the hall were covered in eerie reliefs depicting the triumphs of the Lords of the Void and the defeats of the Creators. And in the center of the hall stood a vast, cracked crystalline structure, glowing with a faint light: this planet's fragment of the Great Seal. Surrounding the seal were Malakor's most elite guards.
"You are trapped, little ants," Malakor's voice echoed from every corner of the hall. He himself had entered through the cracked gates, blocking their path. "This seal will soon be broken. And you will be the last beings to bear witness to this historic moment."
Kael and Aslan were now surrounded by both Malakor and his elite guards. The situation seemed hopeless. Kael took one last look at the Chitauri core. The core still glowed faintly, but Kael realized something he had never felt before had awakened within him: The core was not just a key or a weapon; it was a fragment of the Creators' will. And that will refused to give up.
Kael closed his eyes and focused all of his attention on the core and the "echo" energy around it. This time, he began to draw energy not just from the ruins or the ground, but from Aslan's unwavering loyalty, the hopeful songs of the Starsingers, the ancient wisdom of the Infinite Library, and even from his own fragile yet resilient hope. It was pure life energy; a light that stood out against the darkness of the Void.
The core in his palm lit up brighter than it had ever done before. When Kael's eyes opened, he was no longer just a marksman, but a bearer of hope, an Echo Storm.
"This war is not over, Malakor," Kael said, his voice no longer his own; it contained the whispers of countless Echo Bearers. "And we will resist until the last echo fades." The struggle had now become much more personal, and much more epic. Kael's fate would be shaped in this desperate battle against the Lords of the Void, in the heart of this dark fortress.