The Void Between Worlds. The Hunters' POV.
The void was endless.
No stars. No light. No ground. Just darkness and falling and the cold that seeped into everything. The hunters moved through it like smoke, their bodies translucent, their red eyes burning. They had been searching for weeks. Months. They had lost count.
The lead hunter stopped. Held up its hand.
The others paused.
"I feel something," it said.
The second hunter moved to stand beside it. "Aldric?"
The lead hunter shook its head. "Not Aldric. A different vessel. Or... something else."
The second hunter frowned. "Something else?"
The lead hunter's red eyes gleamed. "He was supposed to be a vessel. But something went wrong. Or something changed." It paused. "He became something else."
They changed direction. Moved through the void like shadows, following a thread that only they could sense.
---
They emerged in a conquered world.
The sky was red, the ground was black, the air was thick with smoke. Cities burned in the distance. Armies marched across the plains. This was a world Vorlag had taken years ago—one of his first conquests. The hunters had been here before.
But something had changed.
The lead hunter stopped. Looked around. "He was here."
The second hunter frowned. "Aldric?"
"No. The other one. The one who was supposed to be a vessel." The lead hunter's voice was quiet. "He left traces."
The hunters spread out, searching. They found scorched earth, broken portals, the remains of creatures that had been killed by something other than Vorlag's armies.
"He was supposed to be a vessel," the second hunter said. "But he became something else."
The lead hunter nodded. "He rejected Vorlag. Or Vorlag rejected him. Or something went wrong in the making." It paused. "He is not Aldric. But he is connected to him."
---
The hunters followed the trail through the void.
World after world—some conquered, some still being conquered, some untouched. Each time, they found traces. Scorched earth. Broken portals. The remains of creatures that had been killed by something other than Vorlag's armies.
"He is searching for something," the second hunter said.
The lead hunter nodded. "Or someone."
"Aldric?"
"Perhaps. Or perhaps something else."
The hunters moved faster.
---
Vorlag felt them searching.
He sat on a throne in a conquered world, his vessel's feet on the cold stone, his red eyes closed. The web of minds stretched across the void pulsed with information. The hunters had found something. Not Aldric. Something else.
He opened his eyes.
"What have you found?" he said.
The hunters' voices echoed in his mind. A different vessel. Not Aldric. Someone who was supposed to be a vessel... but became something else.
Vorlag leaned forward. "Where is he?"
We do not know. He left traces in several worlds. He is searching for something. Or someone.
Vorlag was silent for a moment.
"Aldric?"
Perhaps. Or perhaps something else. He is not Aldric. But he is connected to him.
Vorlag's eyes gleamed. "Find him. Bring him to me."
---
The hunters continued their search.
They visited worlds where Vorlag's influence was strong—empires that had fallen, cities that had burned, people who had bowed to their new master. They visited worlds where Vorlag's influence was weak—thin places, fragile places, places where the veil was cracked.
The traces led them deeper into the void.
"He was supposed to be a vessel," the lead hunter said. "But he was never claimed. Never used. He exists outside Vorlag's control."
The second hunter frowned. "Is he dangerous?"
The lead hunter shook its head. "I don't know."
---
They emerged in a world that was not conquered.
The sky was blue, the ground was green, the air was clean. Rivers wound through valleys. Mountains rose in the distance. Life thrived here—people, animals, magic.
The hunters felt the difference immediately. They were weaker here. Diminished. Their power was tied to Vorlag's presence, and Vorlag had no foothold in this world.
But they were not helpless.
They moved through the forest like smoke, their red eyes scanning the trees. They found signs of habitation—villages, farms, roads. They found people—ordinary people, living ordinary lives.
They found no trace of the vessel.
"He was here," the lead hunter said. "But he is gone."
The second hunter looked around. "Where did he go?"
The lead hunter shook its head. "I don't know."
---
One of the hunters felt something.
A pulse. A thread. A connection.
Not Aldric. Not the vessel.
Something else.
"Follow it," the lead hunter said.
They moved through the void, following the thread. It led them to a world that was not conquered—a world that was not yet touched by Vorlag's influence.
But something was there. Something familiar.
The lead hunter stopped. Looked around.
"This is where he is," it said.
The second hunter frowned. "Aldric?"
The lead hunter shook its head. "No. The other one. The failed vessel. The one who became something else."
They moved deeper into the world.
---
They found him at the edge of a forest.
He was young—younger than Aldric, younger than William. His hair was dark, his eyes were sharp, his clothes were torn. He was wounded—bleeding, limping, barely standing. He had been fighting.
The lead hunter stepped forward.
"You were supposed to be a vessel," it said.
The young man looked up. His eyes widened. "Hunters."
The lead hunter nodded. "You know what we are."
The young man's jaw tightened. "I know what you serve."
"Then you know why we're here."
The young man took a step back. "I'm not a vessel. Not anymore. I became something else."
The lead hunter moved closer. "What did you become?"
The young man met its eyes. "I became something Vorlag can't control."