The mission ended in a blur of exhaustion and complaints, with Team Unknown staggering back into HQ.

Val's head throbbed, his left eye blazing with a searing pain that only grew sharper as he approached HQ's core.

He barely heard the voices of his team muttering about teleportation sickness, the words slipping past him as he held his eye, feeling as if a thousand needles were pressing from within.

Ignoring the staff's curious glances, he teleported alone to the sub-level basement, the chamber cold and heavy with Void energy. He clenched his teeth, his breaths coming in short, jagged gasps as he stepped forward, knowing what he had to face.

The fourth ruin stone waited in the center of the chamber, radiating with a dark, pulsing energy that matched the ache in his eye. The energy seemed to crawl up his skin, prickling like static.

Dr. Lewis… he grunted through the Mind Link, his voice frayed with pain, It's… my left eye. The fourth seal. It needs to be removed.

There was a brief pause on the other end, and then Dr. Lewis's voice crackled back, concern lacing his words.

Understood, Val. We'll stay on standby. Remember, you're not alone in this.

But Val severed the connection; this was his battle alone. He took a deep breath, reaching out toward the stone. The instant his fingers brushed it, darkness engulfed him, a cold, oppressive void yanking him inward.

He landed with a heavy thud on a cracked, barren ground, feeling a blast of stale wind that whipped at his face and tugged at his cloak.

The landscape around him was a wasteland, nothing but jagged rocks and twisted shadows. Overhead, a blackened sky churned with a thick, ominous mist, casting everything in an eerie, ghostly glow.

And then, standing in the distance, he saw it—a shadowed figure with a stance that sent a chill down his spine.

Even from afar, he could make out the familiar shape, the gleam of dark eyes that mirrored his own, twisted with hatred and something worse. It was himself—an echo of him, yet completely wrong. A sneer twisted the shadowed Val's face, a sneer that dripped with malice and contempt.

"Finally, the hero arrives," the shadow spat, his voice like broken glass scraping against Val's mind. "You really thought you could hold me back? All this power, all this Void, and you still think you're in control? Pathetic."

Val's jaw tightened as he forced himself to take a step forward, but his limbs felt sluggish, heavy with a strange weight that tugged at his every move. "I'm not here to entertain your delusions," he said, though his voice came out breathless, strained. "You're nothing but a twisted fragment, a dark echo. I'm stronger than you."

The shadowed Val let out a harsh, guttural laugh, its sound resonating through the wasteland and chilling Val to his core. "Stronger?" he sneered, voice dripping with disdain and venom. "Without me, you're nothing. It's my power that's kept you alive. Every victory, every damn victory you think is yours, has been mine."

Rage flared in Val, burning through the pain as he clenched his fists. "Shut up!" he spat, his voice breaking. "I've fought for everything I've gained. And I'm not giving any of it to you!"

But before he could react, the shadow lunged forward, moving faster than any human could. Val barely had time to raise his arm to block, but the impact crashed against him with bone-rattling force, sending him sprawling back.

He hit the ground with a hard thud, the breath knocked from his lungs as he fought to push himself up, a faint groan escaping his lips.

"Damn it," he muttered, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth as he forced himself upright. He could feel the Void's weight bearing down on him, clawing at his mind, dragging him deeper into the darkness.

The shadow didn't wait, launching at him again with a savage snarl. Val raised his blade, barely deflecting the strike, but the force rattled through his arm, making his fingers go numb. Every clash of their blades sent shockwaves through the air, the ground beneath them cracking and splintering with each impact.

Val grunted, teeth gritted as he blocked a vicious downward strike, the pressure driving him to one knee. The shadow's eyes gleamed with sadistic glee as he pressed closer, the force of his attacks pushing Val back, inch by inch.

"Admit it, Val," the shadow taunted, his voice a menacing whisper. "You're afraid. You can feel the Void, can't you? It's consuming you, one piece at a time. You're nothing without it."

Val's heart pounded as the words struck deep, each one clawing at his mind, feeding the doubts he'd tried so hard to bury. He clenched his fists tighter, his knuckles white, a rough, ragged breath escaping him as he struggled to push the shadow off. "I won't… let you… take this from me!"

The shadow merely laughed, shoving him back with another brutal strike.

Val stumbled, his vision blurring as pain surged through his left eye, a burning, blinding agony that made him feel like his skull was splitting open.

He let out a strangled gasp, one hand going to his eye as he tried to keep his focus, but the shadow seized the opportunity, striking him hard across the jaw.

The force sent him sprawling, his body skidding across the ground, his cloak fluttering like tattered wings behind him. He tasted blood, his head spinning as he struggled to push himself up, feeling the relentless pounding of the Void pressing down on him.

"See what I mean?" the shadow sneered, his voice a dark, mocking whisper that echoed in Val's mind. "This is the real you. Broken. Weak. Pathetic."

Val forced himself to his feet, every muscle screaming in protest as he glared at the shadow, fury blazing in his eyes. "I'm… not done… yet," he managed, his voice raw and defiant. "You don't get to decide who I am."

But the shadow lunged again, faster this time, his movements a blur as he struck Val's blade aside, driving his fist into Val's stomach with brutal force. Val doubled over, a strangled groan escaping him as pain flared through his body, his vision dimming.

He gasped, struggling to catch his breath, his hands shaking as he clutched his blade tighter. "You're not… in control," he rasped, his voice barely a whisper.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The shadow laughed, the sound harsh and grating. "Keep telling yourself that," he sneered. "But we both know you're losing."

Val's grip on his blade faltered as the words sank in, a wave of despair washing over him. His knees buckled, his vision blurring as the darkness pressed in, a suffocating weight that seemed to crush the very life from him.

He could feel the Void, its insidious whispers curling around his mind, dragging him deeper into the abyss.

He wanted to fight back, to push it away, but the strength was draining from him, slipping through his fingers like sand. His breaths came in ragged, shallow gasps, his body trembling as he fought to stay upright.

And then, just as the darkness seemed poised to swallow him whole, he heard it—a voice, faint and distant, but unmistakable.

"Val… we're here."

It was Ember's voice, warm and steady, a lifeline in the endless void. "You're not alone, Val. We're with you."

The words struck something deep within him, a spark of hope igniting in the darkness. He felt Exeo's presence, solid and unyielding, like an anchor holding him steady.

The shadow faltered, his sneer fading as he felt the bond strengthen around Val, a light cutting through the darkness.

Val forced himself to his feet, the strength of his bond with his brothers filling him with a fierce determination. "I'm not yours to claim," he said, his voice steady and unbreakable. "I'm stronger than you."

The shadow's face contorted with fury, his eyes blazing with hatred. "Then you will fall, Val. And when you do, I'll be waiting."

Val gripped his blade tighter, channeling the strength of his bond, his voice a fierce, defiant shout as he lunged forward, his blade slicing through the darkness, shattering the shadow's form with a final, resounding cry.

The darkness receded, the barren wasteland fading as he felt himself pulled back to the waking world, his body aching but whole, his mind clear.

He opened his eyes, the cold of the basement settling around him.

Val staggered, his breaths shallow and uneven, the metallic taste of blood lingering on his tongue. His left eye throbbed with a dull ache, his cheek stiff where the blood had dried, cracked and flaked in places. He wiped the remnants with a trembling hand, feeling the gritty, rough texture beneath his fingertips.

Just as he steadied himself, Deleo's voice echoed softly in his mind, calm but heavy with something he couldn't place—a strange mix of pride and warning. "You held your ground, Val. But know… this was only the beginning."

Val closed his eyes for a moment, fighting back the exhaustion that clawed at his every nerve. "It… it took everything I had," he whispered, his voice rough, barely more than a rasp. "That shadow… it almost…"

"Almost isn't enough," Deleo interrupted, his tone hard but unwavering. "The Void seeks to unravel you, piece by piece. It knows your strengths and your weaknesses. But tonight, you proved something to it, to yourself—you're not just a vessel, Val. You're a force."

Val swallowed, forcing himself to stay present. "Then why… does it still feel like it's winning?"

Deleo's sigh was like a whisper of wind through a darkened room. "Because it is relentless. It thrives on each flicker of doubt, every ounce of pain. But that's its game, Val—to make you question, to press until you think you'll break."

Val let out a shaky breath, the words hitting deep. "I can't keep… feeling like this. I can't keep wondering if I'm going to lose myself… to it."

Deleo's presence grew more tangible, grounding him, steadying him through the fog of pain.

"Strength isn't always about victory in a single moment, Val. Strength is resilience. It's the choice to stand, to fight, again and again… even when your body screams at you to stop. You have more in you than you think."

Val let those words settle, the weight of them sinking into his bones. He let his head drop forward, his breaths still coming in painful, jagged heaves, the ache in his left eye a constant reminder of the battle he had just endured.

"Then I'll keep fighting," he said, his voice barely more than a rasp, but filled with determination. "I don't care...how many times it comes at me. I'm not... giving in."

A flicker of approval glimmered through their connection, faint yet unmistakable, carrying with it something deeper, something almost… nostalgic. Deleo's voice softened, a low rumble that resonated not just in Val's mind, but in the very essence of his weary soul.

"Good," he murmured, the usual edge in his tone replaced by an unspoken warmth. "Because the Void will come again, testing you with greater force than before. But remember this, Val…"

He hesitated, his voice lingering on the cusp of something rare, something close to reverence. "You're not just a vessel."

Val could feel Deleo's presence surrounding him, like a shield of warmth amidst the cold, empty recesses of his own consciousness. There was a strange depth to Deleo's words, as if they were laced with memories of lives long past, of people he had once known, trusted—even cared for.

"I am a being of the Void, Val, and you know that," Deleo continued, his tone uncharacteristically subdued.

"Primordial, ancient. I have known only guardians, only vessels. But you… I see more than a vessel in you." His voice softened, carrying with it a sense of wistful longing.

"You remind me that even I, a creature born from darkness, can see light reflected in those I protect. In you, I find an equal, not merely an heir to the Void."

Val's chest tightened, caught off guard by Deleo's admission, by the hint of emotion woven into the entity's usually stoic words. Even after everything, the trials, the battles, the relentless struggle, he had never thought of himself as anything more than a weapon—a necessity in the Void's grasp.

Yet here was Deleo, the very essence of the power he fought to control, seeing him as something far greater.

"You don't have to do this alone," Deleo added quietly, his voice laden with an almost paternal pride. "You are my equal, Val. And together, we can withstand anything the Void sends our way."

For a moment, Val forgot the searing ache in his left eye, the exhaustion in his bones, as Deleo's words settled over him like a shield.

In that fleeting moment, he felt not only empowered, but seen—truly seen.

Yet as the last echoes of Deleo's presence softened, the pain returned, an unbearable weight pressing down on his body. He grit his teeth, feeling his strength wane.

Reaching out with his Mind Link, Val sent a weak message to Dr. Lewis and General Luis. I… need help. I don't… have the strength left to move.

His voice was strained, a barely audible whisper laced with exhaustion. Little did he know, his team, along with Dr. Lewis and General Luis, had been waiting just on the other side of the door.

In an instant, the doors burst open, and his team charged in with a mixture of panic and relief painted across their faces. Without hesitation, Bo, Riggs, and Fon flung themselves over him, half-tackling him in their concern.

"Val! You idiot, you didn't tell us it was this bad!" Riggs's voice was thick with worry as he leaned over Val, hands pressing to his shoulder in both reassurance and disbelief.

Fon dropped beside him, hands flailing dramatically as he inspected Val from head to toe. "You look like you've been through a blender, Val! Geez, couldn't you have at least given us a heads-up?"

"Alright, alright, let him breathe!" Bo's voice was only partly serious as he wedged himself between Riggs and Fon, trying to peel them off Val while simultaneously checking him over.

Val, flat on his back and barely able to catch his breath under the weight of his concerned teammates, managed a faint, breathless chuckle. "Guys… maybe… one at a time?"

Dr. Lewis and General Luis exchanged glances, faint smiles tugging at their lips. Dr. Lewis's gaze softened as he watched the comical pile of Val's team sprawled over him, their relief apparent as they stumbled over each other in their worry.

"You have quite the support system, Val," Dr. Lewis said, folding his arms, his stern facade softening.

General Luis smirked, shaking his head. "If they're any indication, you're not allowed to die anytime soon."

Deleo, still present in Val's consciousness, let out an amused chuckle. "Your loyalty, Val… it is mirrored in those you lead."

Val let out a strained laugh, trying and failing to push his teammates off him. "Alright… alright! Get off me, already," he managed, though the warmth in his voice was unmistakable.

Fon, still not quite letting go, grinned sheepishly as he leaned down. "Sorry, Val. Just making sure you're alive, you know?"

"Not if you keep crushing me…" Val grumbled with a smirk, relief flickering in his tired eyes.

Dr. Lewis stepped forward, his faint smile laced with a hint of pride. "Alright, give him some space, boys. Val's earned his rest."

As they finally backed off, Val let out a weary sigh, his chest easing with the absence of their weight. But as he looked at his team, their concern bright and unwavering, he couldn't help but feel a surge of gratitude for the family he'd found within them.

And somewhere, within his mind, Deleo's approving presence remained—a quiet, comforting shadow, ever vigilant.