Chapter 66 Chapter 66

Chapter 66 Chapter 66

Derek's POV

The visions started without warning.

I'd be standing in the war room reviewing battle strategies and suddenly I'd be somewhere else. Somewhere ancient. Somewhere that existed before time had a name.

The first vision came during a meeting with the Elders.

One moment I was discussing supply lines and defensive positions. The next moment I was standing in a place that shouldn't exist. A vast chamber made of crystalline stone that seemed to absorb light instead of reflect it. And there were beings there. Powerful beings. Ancient beings.

They were performing a ritual.

I could see them clearly even though they moved like ghosts. Like echoes of something that had happened long ago. They were chanting in a language that predated human speech. A language that my father's consciousness inside me recognized immediately.

And in the center of the ritual, there was something else.

The Void.

It was incomprehensibly vast. A being made of pure darkness and chaos and rage. It was thrashing against something invisible. Against barriers that were slowly closing around it. Against the sealing ritual that would imprison it for millennia.

And the cost.

I could see the cost being paid.

Each of the beings performing the ritual was burning. Literally burning from the inside out as they channeled their power into the sealing. One by one, they were collapsing. Their consciousnesses were fragmenting. Their bodies were disintegrating into ash.

But they kept chanting.

They kept the ritual going even as it killed them. They kept pouring their power into the seals even as it destroyed them completely. Because they understood what was at stake. They understood that if The Void wasn't imprisoned, it would consume everything.

The vision faded and I was back in the war room.

"Derek?" Morgaine was looking at me with concern. "Are you alright? You've gone pale."

"I saw it," I said. My voice sounded hollow. "I saw the original sealing. I saw what it cost."

The Elders exchanged glances.

"The visions are beginning," another Elder said. "Your father's consciousness is giving you memories. Memories that he carried from the time of the sealing."

"Why?" I asked. "Why is he showing me this?"

"Because you need to understand," Morgaine said. "You need to understand what you might have to do."

The visions came more frequently after that.

Every time I closed my eyes, I was transported back in time. I was experiencing moments from three thousand years ago. I was witnessing the desperation of the ancient beings as they realized what The Void truly was. I was feeling their fear as they understood that the only way to stop it was through sacrifice.

One vision showed me a being made entirely of starlight trying to merge with The Void and contain it. The being had been powerful beyond measure. Stronger than anything in existence. But The Void had consumed her anyway. Had torn her apart from the inside out. Had left nothing but silence where she had been.

Another vision showed me a council of immortal creatures debating whether imprisonment was even possible. Debating whether they should just try to destroy The Void instead. But they'd all agreed that destruction was impossible. You couldn't destroy something that existed between dimensions. You couldn't kill something that fed on energy itself.

So they'd chosen imprisonment.

They'd chosen to sacrifice themselves to create seals so powerful that they would hold for millennia. They'd chosen to pour their entire consciousness into those seals, knowing that it would destroy them completely.

In the final vision, I saw the moment when the last seal was placed.

The lead being of the ritual was a figure made of pure light. I couldn't see their face clearly but I could feel their presence. Could feel their resolve. Could feel their acceptance of what was about to happen.

"For three thousand years," they said to the others. "For three thousand years, the seals will hold. And in that time, perhaps a being will come who is strong enough to help The Void die with mercy instead of rage."

And then they poured the last of their consciousness into the seal and they were gone.

Completely gone.

Not dead. But dissolved. Dispersed. Scattered across the dimensional barriers as part of the seal itself.

I came back to consciousness gasping.

My father's voice was clear in my mind.

"Now you understand," he said. "Now you understand what has to be done."

"Someone has to merge with The Void," I said. The understanding was complete and terrifying. "Someone has to be the seal."

"Yes," my father said. "And that someone will be you."

"No," I said immediately. "There has to be another way. There has to be—"

"There is no other way," my father said. His voice was sad but resolute. "I've lived through this once before. I've seen what The Void is capable of when it's not imprisoned. There is no other way, my son."

I found Elena in her chamber.

She was sitting by the window again, staring out at the darkening sky. The barrier between dimensions was becoming more visible every day. The sky itself was starting to tear apart.

"I need to know the ritual," I said without preamble. "The sealing ritual. I need to know how to perform it."

Elena turned to look at me and there was resignation in her eyes.

"I was wondering when you'd ask," she said quietly. "I was wondering when you'd understand what the visions meant."

"You know the ritual?" I asked.

"I know parts of it," Elena said. "The organization made sure I learned it. They wanted me to understand the power that they were trying to harness. They wanted me to understand what it would take to control The Void instead of imprison it."

"Tell me," I said. "Tell me everything you know."

Elena took a deep breath.

"The ritual requires a consciousness strong enough to contain The Void," she said. "Strong enough to hold it even as it thrashes against you. Strong enough to remain conscious even as it tries to consume you."

"And the cost?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"The cost is everything," Elena said. "The person who performs the ritual will have to merge with The Void. They'll have to become one with it. They'll be trapped inside it forever. Conscious but imprisoned. Living in absolute darkness. Feeling its pain. Containing its rage. For eternity."

"For three thousand years," I corrected. "The seals held for three thousand years last time."

"Yes," Elena said. "For three thousand years. And then they'll start breaking down again. And someone else will have to take your place. The cycle will never end."

I walked to the window and looked out at the darkening world.

My daughter was out there. Davina was somewhere in the sanctuary trying to hold things together while I prepared to sacrifice myself. The Elders were trying to prepare people for a war they couldn't win. The human governments were demanding answers that no one could give.

And I was the only one who could stop it.

I was the only one strong enough to merge with The Void and contain it.

I was the only one whose bloodline was powerful enough to serve as a seal.

"When?" I asked Elena.

"Soon," she said. "The barriers are deteriorating rapidly. Within days, The Void will break through completely. You have to perform the ritual before that happens. You have to seal it away before it's too late."

"Then we have days," I said. "Days to prepare. Days to say goodbye to everyone I love."

"Yes," Elena said. "Days to prepare for the sacrifice."

And in that moment, standing at the window watching the world begin to tear apart, I made my choice.

I was going to save them all.

Even if it meant sacrificing everything I was.

Even if it meant spending eternity trapped in darkness.

Even if it meant never seeing my daughter grow up or my mate grow old.

I was going to do what the ancient beings had done three thousand years ago.

I was going to become the seal.