The Canyon. Night.
The portal pulsed before them, dark and hungry, its edges crackling with energy. The creatures kept coming—warriors, scouts, things that had no name—pouring through the tear in the world, spreading across the canyon floor. The hunters watched from the shadows, their red eyes gleaming, their smiles wide. The cult watched from the cliffs above, their arrows spent, their faces hidden.
Grog stood at the edge of the portal, his sword in his hand, the berserker screaming in his blood. Beside him, Aldric stood with his sword drawn, his leg trembling, his face pale. Behind them, the others fought—Ken, Lira, Mirena, William—holding the line, giving them time.
"We go together," Grog said.
Aldric nodded. "Together."
They stepped forward.
---
The hunters moved.
They stepped out of the shadows, blocking the path to the portal. Their bodies were more solid now, their features sharper, their red eyes burning. The lead hunter smiled.
"The boy goes alone," it said. "Or not at all."
Grog raised his sword. "He's not a boy."
The hunter's smile widened. "He's the vessel. He's always been the vessel. Vorlag will not accept another."
Aldric stepped forward. "Then I go alone."
Grog grabbed his arm. "Aldric—"
"This is my fight." Aldric met his eyes. "It's always been my fight."
Grog stared at him for a long moment. Then he nodded. "Then we hold the line. Until you come back."
Aldric almost smiled. Almost. "I'll come back."
---
The hunters stepped aside.
Aldric walked toward the portal. The air grew colder, the shadows deeper, the wrongness thicker. He could feel Vorlag waiting—the same presence that had been with him since childhood, the same voice that had whispered in his ear, the same hunger that had followed him across two lifetimes.
He stopped at the edge of the portal.
"Vorlag," he said. "I'm here."
The darkness pulsed. The air shimmered. And from the depths of the portal, a voice spoke.
Come, child. I've been waiting.
Aldric stepped through.
---
The world went dark.
He was falling—through shadow, through cold, through the space between worlds. The portal closed behind him, sealing him in darkness. He couldn't see. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't feel his body.
Then the light came.
It was not a kind light—not the light of the sun or the moon or the stars. It was the light of the void, pale and hungry, illuminating nothing. He was standing on something solid—stone, maybe, or something like stone. He was not alone.
The hunters stood before him.
Not the hunters from the canyon—these were different. Older. More solid. Their bodies were whole, their features clear, their red eyes burning. They had been waiting for him.
"The vessel," one said. "Finally."
Aldric raised his sword. "I'm not your vessel."
The hunter smiled. "You are. You've always been."
---
Behind him, the portal shimmered.
Grog could see Aldric inside—small, alone, surrounded by darkness. He stepped forward, but the hunters blocked his path.
"The boy made his choice," the lead hunter said. "Now we wait."
Grog raised his sword. "I'm not waiting."
The hunter's smile widened. "You don't have a choice."
---
Inside the portal, Aldric fought.
He fought the hunters—the old ones, the solid ones, the ones who had been waiting for him. He was faster than he had ever been, stronger than he had ever been, his sword finding their flesh, their eyes, their throats.
They did not fall.
They were not real. They were shadows, echoes, things that had been waiting for him.
You can't kill us, the voice whispered. We are part of you.
Aldric stopped. Lowered his sword.
The hunters faded.
He was alone.
---
Vorlag spoke.
You've come a long way, child. Through pain and fear and loss. You've grown strong.
Aldric looked at the darkness. "Show yourself."
I am everywhere. I am the void. I am the hunger at the edge of the world.
Aldric raised his sword. "Then I'll fight you."
You can't. I am not a thing you can fight. I am a door. And you are the key.
The darkness pulsed. The light faded. Aldric felt something reaching for him—cold, hungry, patient.
Open the door, child. Let me in.
Aldric closed his eyes.
---
Outside the portal, Grog waited.
The creatures had stopped coming. The cult had fled. The hunters watched from the shadows, their red eyes gleaming, their smiles wide.
William stood beside Grog, his sword steady, his back straight. "He's been in there a long time."
Grog nodded. "I know."
Lira moved to stand beside them, her arm bandaged, her face pale. "Is he coming back?"
Grog looked at the portal. At the darkness beyond. At the place where Aldric had disappeared.
"I don't know."
---
The portal pulsed.
The air shimmered. The darkness deepened. And Aldric stepped out.
He was different—changed, somehow, though Grog couldn't say how. His eyes were clear, his face was calm, his hands were steady.
"It's done," he said. "The door is closed."
Grog stared at him. "Vorlag?"
Aldric met his eyes. "Is gone."
The hunters faded. The portal closed. The canyon was silent.