A sharp breath tore through my lungs as my eyes snapped open. My body felt heavy, my limbs stiff like I had been lying here for hours—maybe even longer. I sat up slowly, my head throbbing with a dull ache. The air around me was thick, the temperature colder than I remembered.
Something was wrong.
I turned my gaze toward the landscape, expecting the endless expanse of the Wastelands, but instead, I was outside of them again. The ruins I had fought to escape were nowhere in sight. The shattered remnants of the barrier were gone. Had I blacked out? Had I been taken somewhere? My fingers dug into the cracked ground beneath me as I forced myself to my feet.
This wasn't where I was before.
A wave of nausea passed over me as my vision flickered, my mind still recovering from NULL's assault on my existence. But I had no time to sit and wonder as I needed to move. I scanned the terrain, searching for any sign of where I had come from, but what I witnessed was not the same as before when I touched down the first time.
It was the entrance to a cave.
Barely visible, hidden beneath the uneven terrain, surrounded by crumbling rock formations. A narrow passageway led into the unknown, its depths shrouded in darkness. Something about it called to me, and had me wondering if I should truly traverse this place.
I hesitated, but something told me to go!
I stepped forward drawn in by a feeling I couldn't explain. The air grew colder the closer I got, and with every step I took, I felt like I was being watched.
I ran my fingers along the jagged walls as I descended, the path was sloping downward. The deeper I went, the more I noticed carvings along the stone walls, they were symbols and ancient writings in a language I couldn't understand.
And then after traveling for what seemed to be an hour, I finally found it.
A massive underground chamber presented itself before me, illuminated only by the faint glow of bioluminescent moss along the walls and the shimmer of stalagmite crystallization. This was no ordinary cave. It had to be a ruin or a remnant of something long forgotten.
And at the very center stood a massive tomb with ancient soldiers standing guard. They looked like figures of Anubis with spears forming an X in front of the tomb door signifying that they would NOT move, unless some action was performed to make them break their stance.
The structure was ancient, its towering doors engraved with depictions of battles, celestial bodies, death, and other scenes of destruction. These images sent a shiver down my spine for the angelic figures in the images were fighting...
The Dracus.
This place was tied to both entities, but why?
I approached cautiously, my breath shallow. Dust coated the air, the weight of history pressing down on me. My fingers brushed against the cold stone, my mind racing with the possibilities of what lay beyond. I took a step forward—
"Don't."
The voice came from behind me. I spun around, instinctively reaching for a weapon I didn't have. Two figures stood at the entrance of the tomb, their cloaks barely concealing their forms.
It was them. The one who had saved me before and someone else. Who were they?
They stepped forward in unison, moving with an eerie grace. My breath caught as they lowered their hoods.
The first was the girl with translucent white and purple hair, her piercing eyes locking onto mine with calculated coldness. The second had long black hair and deep red eyes, a stark contrast against the pale glow of the tomb's interior. Both of them held themselves with an aura of control—they weren't just skilled warriors. They were something more.
"You shouldn't be here," the white-haired girl said, her voice calm but unwavering.
I glanced back at the tomb before meeting her gaze. "What is this place?"
Neither of them answered.
Instead, the black-haired girl crossed her arms, her gaze narrowing. "Entering this place could reveal our location to the Dracus," she said. "You would be a fool to step inside."
I frowned. "If it's dangerous, why are you here?"
Again, silence.
I took a step forward, challenging their presence. "Who are you?"
The white-haired girl let out a soft exhale, almost amused. "We don't give our names to the weak."
I clenched my fists. "Then why save me?"
The black-haired girl tilted her head. "We have a duty to protect those who roam this place," she said. "Weaklings like you."
A cold frustration settled in my chest, but I said nothing. I knew better than to argue. If they didn't see me as an equal, there was nothing I could say to change that. Not yet.
"Then what now?" I asked, my voice steady.
The two girls exchanged a glance before stepping aside, allowing me to leave without another word. Their dismissal was clear. I wasn't worth their time.
I hesitated for a moment before turning back toward the exit, my mind still racing with unanswered questions. But as I made my way through the ruins, something caught my eye.
A dagger.
It lay atop a broken pedestal, half-buried in dust, its intricate design unlike anything I had ever seen. The base of the hilt was adorned with small skulls, their empty sockets glowing faintly. The blade itself pulsed with an eerie purple hue, the light shifting as if it were alive.
The moment my fingers closed around it, a jolt of energy shot through my body.
I gasped, my vision blurring as my knees buckled. A force I couldn't describe coursed through me, something old, something familiar. The ruins around me melted away, replaced by a scene I didn't recognize—
A battlefield.
Screams echoed around me, the sky above a swirling void of darkness and fire. The dagger was in my hand, but it wasn't just a weapon. It was something far greater.
I wasn't just holding it—I was wielding it like it had been second nature to me.
A voice called my name, distant and fragmented, and it seemed all too familiar.
But then— Darkness.
Everything disappeared, and once more, I was brought back into the void where I had previously spent so much time in before.
A soft whisper echoed through the emptiness.
"Matte…"
I turned, my body floating in the endless void, and there she was.
Nyxia.
She stood before me, her form flickering like a fading star. I reached out, but my fingers passed through her as if she were nothing but an illusion.
"Tell me about the void," I demanded, my voice steadier than I expected.
She hesitated. "The void is… complicated."
I clenched my jaw. "Then simplify it."
Her eyes softened, but her answer remained cryptic. "It was never meant to be my prison. It was meant to be my refuge."
"Your refuge?"
"Yes, but that's all I can say for now, Matte. You have to remember."
"Remember what? And what is this tomb? You wouldn't have brought me here if this place held no significance."
Before I could press her for more, a sharp pain jolted through me. My vision shattered, and when I came to, my hand was gripping the dagger— And I was stabbing it into my side.
A searing light erupted around the wound, the null energy inside me recoiling violently. My body convulsed as the black veins around the injury cracked and burned away. And then—
The pain stopped.
My side materialized again. The damage NULL had inflicted had been undone, leaving only a scar behind.
I exhaled sharply, gripping the dagger tighter.
I didn't just remember this weapon.
I understood it.
I scanned the weapon once more before realizing something very important...
This weapon was the key to enter the tomb.