Chapter 101 Into the Void, and the Breaking of Light
Milo was gone.
Not dead.
Not vanished.
Just… unwritten.
The Rift had swallowed him whole, and the black flame he carried had finally claimed him. One moment he was beside me, his hand in mine, his voice trembling with fear and love—and the next, he was pulled into the heart of the Void.
Swallowed by shadows.
And I couldn’t follow.
Not yet.
But I will.
I won’t let him suffer.
The Riftheart was quiet now.
Too quiet.
The kind of silence that feels like a held breath before a scream.
Thessa stood at the edge, her blade still glowing faintly, her face pale. “He’s not dead.”
Kael nodded, his voice hollow. “But he’s not Milo anymore.”
Zeke sat beside Gerald, who was refusing to move. “He saved us. Again.”
Yuel was scribbling furiously in his journal, trying to map the metaphysical coordinates of the Void. “If we lose him, we lose the balance.”
Talon stood close, constantly swivelling his head, checking for the next attack, watching and waiting. “We will find him, princess.”
Ellira and Lira were silent, their glyphs flickering weakly.
Quacknor perched on a broken stone, his feathers dull, his eyes watching the Rift like it might blink.
Aine stood beside me, her silver flame pulsing. “He’s still in there. But he’s changing.”
I nodded.
“I felt it. We have to hurry.”
The Forgotten Flame inside me pulsed.
Five shards.
Five truths.
And one unbearable silence.
I closed my eyes.
And I saw him.
Milo.
Alone.
Scared.
Hurting.
Lost.
Floating in a sea of stars that had forgotten how to shine.
The Void was speaking to him.
Not in words.
In absence.
He stood on a platform of memory.
His childhood.
The loss of our mother.
Coming to Aeloria for the first time.
His first spell.
His first shadow.
His first trial.
His first mistake.
His first love.
Me.
And then—
It began to unravel.
The Void whispered:
“You are not flame. You are silence. You are mine. You are shadow. There is no light here.”
Milo didn’t resist.
He accepted.
He allowed the shadows to continue to take over.
He allowed the void in.
Back in the Riftheart, the group was breaking.
Thessa punched a stone wall until her knuckles bled. She was angry, scared, and worried about what was going to happen.
We all knew this was something bigger than we had ever fought or dealt with.
Kael stared at the sky, whispering jokes to no one.
Zeke cried silently, his hands clenched.
Yuel muttered equations that didn’t make sense.
Ellira and Lira argued over a glyph that wouldn’t hold.
Talon remained beside me with Aine.
Gerald bleated once, then lay down.
Quacknor didn’t move.
Moral was down.
We were all feeling the loss.
Aine turned to me.
“You have to go after him.”
“I know.”
“But you can’t go alone.”
“I know. But we are all bruised.”
“Bruises are natural when fighting; it’s the healing that takes time. Milo doesn’t have time. You all need to pull yourselves together and bring Milo home.”
We prepared.
Not for war.
For retrieval.
Yuel constructed a spell that could anchor me to the Rift.
Ellira and Lira wove a glyph that could shield me from the Void’s pull.
Thessa gave me her blade.
Kael gave me his last joke.
Zeke gave me Gerald’s horn.
Quacknor gave me a feather.
Talon gave me his courage.
Aine gave me her flame.
And I—
I gave them my promise.
“I’ll bring him back.”
I stepped into the Rift.
And the world blinked.
The Void was not dark.
It was empty.
A place where light had never been born.
Where time had never learned to tick.
Where magic had never dared to breathe.
I floated.
Alone.
Until—
I saw him.
Milo.
He was standing on a platform of memory, his body wrapped in black flame, his eyes glowing faintly.
“Milo,” I whispered.
He didn’t turn; he didn’t acknowledge me at all.
“Milo, it's me, Mo,” I whispered again.
Still, Milo didn’t answer me.
“Milo, it's me, Mo,” I called louder now.
As if there was a wind, and he was waiting for my voice to call him.
He turned.
And for a moment—
He didn’t know me.
“You’re not real,” he said.
“I am. I am real, I am standing right here.”
“You’re a memory. When I was good.”
“I’m your memory. I am your sister, Milo. I am here to bring you back. Back to Aeloria. Back to your friends and family.”
He blinked.
And the flame flickered.
“I’m not me anymore. The darkness is better; there is nothing here I can just be.”
“You’re still mine. I am still your sister. I am still family.”
He stepped back.
The Void surged.
“You shouldn’t be here. How did you get here? Go, you're not welcome here.”
“I couldn’t stay away. You took my brother, and I am going to take him back.”
He raised his hand.
The black flame pulsed.
And I felt it—
The pull.
The hunger.
The silence.
The power of the void was tempting.
“You’re becoming it,” I said. Turning my attention back to Milo.
“I know.”
“Do you want to? Do you really want this, Milo? Do you want never to see me again?”
“I don’t know. It's better here.”
The Void whispered:
“She will leave you. They all will. You are the end. They cannot let you live; they cannot allow your power to continue.”
I stepped forward.
“I’m not leaving. Milo is my brother, and he is coming with me.”
Milo trembled.
“I’m scared.”
“I know. Just take my hand.”
He reached out.
And for a moment—
We touched.
The flame surged.
The Void screamed.
And the Rift cracked.
Back in the Riftheart, the group felt it.
Thessa collapsed.
Kael screamed.
Zeke clutched his chest.
Yuel’s glyphs shattered.
Ellira and Lira cried.
Talon fell to his knees, clutching his heart.
Gerald bleated.
Quacknor flew.
Aine burned.
And I—
I held him.
But the Void was not done.
It surged again.
And Milo—
Milo began to fade.
“MILO! Fight,” I screamed as I watched him fade.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
And then—
He vanished.
Again.