Chapter 329: Nyx

Orrax stood at the edge of the corridor, which they had broken through the outer seals. Dull red light trickled from the cracks in his magma-iron body. Behind him the other Personal Elites formed up. The sealed-off universe stretched before them, dense with the layers of reality Aeloria had woven over the centuries.

Veyra’s geometric planes shifted as she worked out the destruction sequence. "Targets identified. There are three large realm clusters within engagement range. The recommended pattern would be to start with the most combat-capable of the bunch and work out from there. Estimated time before Aeloria takes notice?"

Kael’s solar fire burned brighter. "Then let’s get this over with."

Ryn’s cold aura intensified as he responded to Kael. "Let’s not leave fingerprints."

Seris’s conceptual chains drifted forward as he prepared to bind the first region. Hollow moved at the edges, prepared to erase what they left behind.

Orrax raised a hand, and the authority around the six of them coiled around them, threatening to crush the remaining outside seals. There was no subtlety in the command, just raw power. He had no intention of wasting time. Systematic destruction would force Aeloria to uncover whatever it was that had managed to kill one of the Reavers.

They prepared to make their incision when a new presence appeared in the corridor. It did not announce itself or tear through space to reveal its approach. One moment, the corridor had been clear, and the next, the local laws of physics seemed to twist around a singular point.

A woman stood between them and the deeper reaches of the sealed-off region.

She was surrounded by living shadows that twisted around her like a cloak woven from liquid night. Her long black hair flowed like water around her shoulders, and her eyes were sunken globes of black nothingness. Within her domain, she was an entity of true power, her presence pressing against the local physics and reality itself. The barriers and residual effects from the Elites’ passage bowed before her will.

Nyx.
The First Progenitor of this region.

Orrax’s red cracks burned brighter as he stared down the woman in the dark. "Identify yourself."

The woman’s black eyes passed slowly over the six Elites before regarding him. "As much as I would enjoy watching you make a spectacle of yourself, I will have to stop you. I am, unfortunately, still within this region, and I have taken a particular interest in whatever has drawn your attention. Therefore this area is now off-limits to you. Turn back around and return to Vaelor. Tell him that my interest overrides his orders."

The Personal Elites fell silent. Their power pulsed against her presence, testing. Nyx barely seemed surprised as a wave of extreme cold crashed against her shadows.

"Your... local laws are quite interesting," Ryn’s voice was tight and cold. "While we respect your right to your region, we have explicit orders to remove any threats to the Loom, even at the cost of your hospitality."

Nyx tilted her head at him. The darkness around her thickened, and the corridor narrowed under the pressure of her will.

"I would ask that you kindly allow me to test the strength of my laws, seeing as I hold the title of First Progenitor here. When I declare one of my realms to be off-limits, visitors are requested to politely leave it be. Now, kindly turn back around, or I won’t be able to control my interest in you."

Seris took up a chain of binding magic and flung it at Nyx’s shadows. The conceptual bindings unraveled at the very edges of her presence before vanishing into harmless thoughts. Hollow’s form flickered. "I should probably be worrying about the fact that her shadows are stronger than they were before," he muttered.

Orrax increased the pressure of the command he’d issued, his red light flowing brighter from every fissure in his body. "Our mandate is to correct this sealed fragment. Aeloria’s failures have already resulted in one Reaver being lost to its influence. Escalation has been authorized."

Nyx’s expression didn’t change. "Yes, I am well aware of the Reaver that died. I felt it when it happened, and I certainly felt the power being transferred. That doesn’t change the fact that it has taken root in this particular realm, and I will be watching over it until it has been dealt with, so if you’ll excuse me..."

She stepped forward, and the pressure of her presence crushed the willpower of the six Elites.

"Go back to Vaelor. Take your message to him. If he wants to contest my authority, he can come here himself. I will not take kindly to any further trespassing on my watch."

The Personal Elites stood their ground, meeting her will with their own. Inside the sealed section, Nyx’s authority didn’t budge.

"Return to Vaelor," Veyra said quietly to Orrax. "We cannot push our authority against hers. Recommendation: remove our presence from this region."

Orrax studied the woman in the dark for a moment longer. Her presence was oppressive, and the sealed region itself seemed to agree. He turned to the other Elites. "Withdraw. She will deliver her message to Vaelor."

The Personal Elites drew back from the front of the corridor, the reverse of the formation they had used to break through the barriers. Kael’s fire burned low but steady as they pulled back in carefully measured steps. Ryn’s cold aura followed directly behind, and Seris’s conceptual chains coiled tighter around his person. Hollow’s body flickered, erasing the magic he had used to breach the defenses. Veyra constantly checked her calculations for a safe withdrawal.

Nyx watched them leave without moving. Once the last of the Elites had withdrawn from the far end of the corridor, the shadows around her loosened.

She turned her black eyes to the sealed section ahead, to the strongest traces of power within it. "Fascinating," she murmured to herself. "What exactly have you created in here, Aeloria?"

With that, Nyx turned and disappeared into her shadows, leaving the outer barriers untouched and the Personal Elites to relay her message to Vaelor.