Chapter 2582: Story 2583: The Heart Beneath Asterion

The knocking continued.

Three slow strikes.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

Asterion fell silent.

The Heart of Harmony, once brighter than a thousand suns, had become completely dark.

Lyra stood before it, staring at the enormous crystal.

"Something is inside."

Aurelius stepped beside her.

"That’s impossible."

Lyra shook her head.

"No."

Her golden eyes narrowed.

"It’s been there since the beginning."

A tremor crossed the palace.

Across the city, ancient guardians raised their weapons.

Victoria Kane emerged from a golden gateway with her companions.

The moment her feet touched the palace floor, she felt it.

A presence beneath Asterion.

Old.

Patient.

Awake.

Victoria looked toward Evelyn.

"Did the journal say anything?"

Evelyn opened Elias Crow’s journal.

The pages remained blank.

Then silver letters appeared.

The Heart of Harmony is not the heart of Asterion.

It is the lock.

Everyone froze.

Cole lowered his rifle.

"Locking what?"

Another knock shook the city.

The palace floor cracked.

Lyra whispered,

"The real Heart."

Victoria looked at her.

"You know where it is?"

Lyra nodded.

"Under the city."

Nox’Rath suddenly appeared beside them.

His silver wings trembled.

"I remember this place."

Victoria turned.

"You’ve been here?"

"Not in this life."

He pointed toward the palace.

"Before Asterion existed, something was buried beneath this land."

Valerius tightened his grip on his spear.

"The Void."

Nox’Rath shook his head.

"No."

"The Void is afraid of it."

A third tremor struck.

The Heart of Harmony shattered.

Golden fragments floated through the air.

Lyra stepped forward.

"No!"

But instead of falling, the fragments formed a staircase descending beneath the palace.

Victoria drew the Dawnblade.

"We’re going down."

Aurelius looked at Lyra.

"I’ll come with you."

Lyra nodded.

Cole, Evelyn, Cassian, Nox’Rath, Valerius, Dawn, and the seven successors followed.

The staircase seemed endless.

As they descended, the walls changed.

Crystal became stone.

Stone became metal.

Then even metal disappeared.

They entered a vast chamber.

At its center floated a massive golden sphere.

Black chains surrounded it.

Victoria stared.

"That’s not the Heart of Harmony."

Evelyn whispered,

"No."

She opened the journal.

New words appeared.

The First Heart.

The original source from which Asterion was created.

Lyra stepped closer.

The sphere pulsed.

Once.

Twice.

Then it spoke.

"Keeper."

Victoria froze.

"Who are you?"

"I am the memory of the first world."

Nox’Rath lowered his head.

"The First World..."

Valerius looked horrified.

"I thought it was destroyed."

The sphere answered.

"It was."

A crack appeared across its surface.

"But destruction was not the end."

The chains began breaking.

Victoria raised the Dawnblade.

"What is happening?"

Dawn stepped forward.

"The Void chose Asterion."

He looked at the sphere.

"But it didn’t choose the city."

A black mark appeared across the golden surface.

"It chose what is sleeping beneath it."

The chamber shook violently.

The seven successors raised their weapons.

Arkon shouted,

"Prepare yourselves!"

The final chain shattered.

The golden sphere opened.

Inside was a tiny black star.

Victoria stared at it.

"No..."

Nox’Rath whispered,

"The first Void."

The star suddenly expanded.

Darkness filled the chamber.

A voice echoed through Asterion.

"I was not trapped here."

"I was hidden."

Victoria raised her Dawnblade.

"By whom?"

The darkness answered.

"By the First Creator."

Dawn’s expression changed.

"Why?"

The black star opened like an eye.

"Because I am not the Void that destroys creation."

The entire chamber shook.

"I am the Void that was created to test it."

Victoria stared into the darkness.

"Then what are you testing?"

The eye focused on her.

"Whether creation deserves another beginning."

Above them, every light in Asterion went out.

And beneath the city...

The First Test had begun.