Aiden would be the first to admit he was a terrible teacher. Doubly so if asked to somehow teach another how to achieve aura or domain.

However much he wanted to pass the responsibility of his peoples’ training off to someone more capable, like the Osh’Tika’Varu, he didn’t know if they’d agree. Arkayan definitely wouldn’t, only leaving him to be the bully to whip them into shape.

They looked so pitiful down below, screaming at each other and doing their best to avoid his assault. He had to give them credit where credit was due, they tried hard and attempted many things, forcing him to restrict Anna so that they’d not completely miss the point of the exercise.

Their teamwork improved by leaps and bounds. It wasn’t enough for him. Not if he fell and one of them had to step up in place of him as a combatant. They would need to be individually stronger and rely solely on themselves.

He would need to visit the Osh’Tika’Varu himself to see about preparing himself for when the time came. Aiden no longer wanted to rely on Arkayan, and they were the only other option.

A growl stilled the vast blizzard, smothering it instantly, and the trio below looked up at Aiden in perplexed relief.

“Hey, what’s the deal?” Josh shouted, almost offended by the sudden lack of pressure.

Aiden slid the pillar down and adeptly landed, crossing his arms and shaking his head at the three of them. “Lucky for you three, we have a visitor.”

“I don’t see—”

Anna smacked Josh’s arm, quieting his dissent, and pointed toward where they had entered from. He quieted. “You have two eyes, try using them before running that loud mouth of yours.”

Massive as always, their unexpected guest’s spiky bone armor and protruding neck blades framed her powerful figure. Nin’Yala eyed Aiden, huffed, and then turned away. Aiden wondered if she’d simply leave after visiting them until she gave an expectant look over her shoulder.

“Alright everyone, you’ve been temporarily spared for a field trip!” Aiden walked after the Argulian Den Mother, not about to say no to likely the strongest thing in all of Midrath. If there was something stronger, he surely hadn’t encountered it.

“Do we have to go?” James asked, seemingly nominated as the unlucky spokesperson of the three. Neither had yet to move.

Nin’Yala looked back at them after hearing the question and squinted, huffing another unsatisfied breath with a little kick to it that rattled even Aiden’s bones.

“I’m gonna say that was a yes,” Josh grunted, barely remaining on his feet.

Anna had groaned and fallen to her hands and feet from the pressure, slowly rising once she was certain Nin’Yala wouldn’t express her displeasure for stupid questions again.

“Field trip it is.” Anna sighed and followed Aiden, trailed by Josh and James.

“Where do you think she’s taking us?” Josh wondered, unable to stay quiet for longer than ten seconds.

“Only one way to find out.” Nin’Yala’s tail swished, the pointy bits on the end coming terrifyingly close to Aiden’s midsection. He stuttered a step to give her a little more of a lead and then fell back into a measured walk behind her. “Watch the excited tail of doom.”

“Why do you think we’re standing back here?” Anna rolled her eyes. “If you’re worried what it might do to you with your durability, do you really think any of us are gonna get close to her?”

“Fair.” Aiden only hoped the sentiment would be one they could maintain after they reached wherever Nin’Yala led them. None of them could possibly hold a candle to the ancient beast, after all.

—

Nin’Yala led them far from where Aiden expected to go, much farther from the Osh’Tika’Varu’s home. They traveled beyond the lands Aiden had conquered, beyond the regenerative alpha beasts Loki had unleashed upon Midrath, and even farther still.

When she stopped, the den mother stared down into a deep hole. Aiden couldn’t see much over the edge, so he stepped closer. What he saw reminded him of the nothingness within his dream, the realm in which held Khione trapped and under pressure.

The Void.

A realm home to the Shadowborn. He hissed and grabbed Silver from his pocket, eyeing the depths in preparation for anything that might come after them. When nothing showed itself, he turned to Nin’Yala.

Aiden gestured towards the hole. “Is this what I think it is?”

The others joined him at the edge.

“What’s this?” Josh asked, leaning over the edge.

“Who wants to bet we never see him again if he ends up falling in?” James smirked as Josh hesitated, then pulled his hand away. “Oh look, it learns.”

“Quiet, or I’ll throw you both in.” Anna had a look in her eyes that reminded Aiden of when he’d first met her. Sharp and calculating, she walked around the perfectly circular hole with her hands outreached, sending pulses of emerald energy in.

Her probes dissolved within seconds of entering. She placed a hand on her hip and looked between Nin’Yala and Aiden. “Why are we here?”

Aiden had no clue and wanted to know the answer just as much, if not more.

He could feel the burden of time weighing on him. Each moment that passed without preparation was a moment that caused his stomach to twist in knots. The battle against Xenith and her champions… Aiden couldn’t escape it and wished he could’ve found a way to keep the others out of his fight.

But he didn’t have to wait long before the great Argul simply walked off the edge. Defying all expectations, they didn’t have the luxury of watching the giant wolf flip head over heel down the hole to enter the empty darkness on the other side.

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

“Oh, I’m definitely trying that.” Josh practically threw himself off the edge. He landed beside Nin’Yala, standing tall, despite being entirely sideways. “This is so cool.” He crouched low before leaping to the other side. “Woo hoo—ah, ow! That hurts!”

Much like Anna’s pulses, Josh’s passage through the center resulted in his pained shouts as the traces of the Void caressed him none too gently.

Stay away from the center, noted.

James hesitantly followed after Josh, stepping carefully on the inside wall and then stood there, staring at Aiden and Anna. “This is very weird.” He took a few testing steps after Nin’Yala and Josh, who’d begun to make their way down the hole at a leisurely pace. “Very weird.”

“Guess it’s our turn.” Aiden gestured for Anna to take the lead. “Age before beauty.”

“How can you, of all people, be making jokes right now?” she snapped and propped her hip to the side, arm rested against the other. “You know what this is, right?”

“A hole to something terrible, where even the entrance is probably not so friendly.” As much as he understood her trepidation, he trusted the Osh’Tika’Varu and the Argul. They hadn’t given him a reason not to and had been nothing but helpful. He glanced towards Josh and James alongside Nin’Yala getting farther by the moment. “A strange, not so friendly hole.”

She looked over her shoulder toward where they could see Zion just over the treetops and their surroundings as if someone might be watching them. “If Arkayan found out about this…”

For a brief moment, he considered what she said, then looked at the great Argul leading them. “There has to be a reason he hasn’t found this yet.”

“What if he has? This is a direct gateway to the very place he’s from?” She pursed her lips, eyes scanning Aiden. “Can we really trust him?”

“Honestly…” Aiden ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I don’t. I think he’s up to something, but he’s been nothing but helpful to us, even if a bit of a prick while at it. He mentioned a hidden prophecy but wouldn’t share the details and refused to aid us in the confrontation against Xenith. I don’t know what he’s playing at. He keeps his agenda very close to his chest.”

“Exactly!” She seemed relieved he agreed with her and began pacing around the hole. “Why did they keep this from us? What are they hiding? Why wouldn’t they tell us?”

“Woah, woah, woah.” He didn’t like the insinuations she made toward the Osh’Tika’Varu and Argul. “You know as well as us how chaotic this place was before we came, and who’s to say they trust us fully?”

“It just doesn’t make any sense. You’d think after witnessing our conflict against the Evils and all the pushing back against the gods you did they’d understand where our loyalties aligned.” She stopped on the opposite side of the hole. “We don’t know Arkayan, what he wants, or what he’s capable of. What if he’s just using us?”

The thought had crossed his mind, but he’d seen how powerful the Shadowborn Royal was, and the tentative peace they’d struck had been one where Arkayan mostly gave. What motivated him?

“Asking us isn’t getting anywhere, and our guide is getting farther away as we speak.” Nin’Yala stared right at Aiden, the impatience clear in her oddly intelligent gaze. “We can talk more about this later, maybe with more of our people.”

“Not with James, we can’t.” Her words fell like an ax, scathing and sharp. “If he had to choose between his buddy Arkayan or us, what side do you truly think he’d stand on, Aiden?”

“Ours, obviously,” he answered, full of confidence and without hesitation. “James has been there with us from the beginning.” Bewildered she’d even suggested James would betray them, he turned away and stepped into the hole, the world shifting oddly as a new anchor of gravity made him sideways too. He gave her a hard look. “Are you coming or not?”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course I’m coming, but this conversation isn’t over yet.”

“Yes, it is. James isn’t going to betray us, and as long as we work with Arkayan, we can all get what we want.” Even as he said them, he didn’t know how true his words were. He could only hope.

“As if.” She shoved past him and followed after the others, leaving Aiden standing alone and frustrated.

He wanted to trust the Shadowborn Royal. Arkayan had helped Aiden by providing invaluable information, including the training required to bring himself up to another level of power, one that gave him a sense of confidence and security for the first time since they’d been brought to Midrath.

But he couldn’t ignore Anna’s concerns either. He shared them as well.

And until Aiden, without a doubt, could handle Arkayan should he go rogue would continue to train and prepare for the clash against Xenith.

One thing at a time, otherwise all of it would become too overwhelming.

A familiar presence chirped happily as she drew closer, her crystalline wings shimmering brilliantly. Blizzy descended like a rocket, not bothering to slow herself. Her passing brought with it a heavy gust of wind that nearly destabilized his footing.

When the wind passed, he turned to follow behind the others and witnessed the much larger blizzard dragon running circles around Nin’Yala.

The path didn’t take long to reach the bottom of. Nin’Yala and Blizzy exited on the other side without a care in the world. James and Josh followed closely behind and hissed as they took a single step into the nothingness and came to a full stop.

Anna lingered behind them, her shoulders trembling lightly. Was she crying?

Then she took a deep breath, let it out, and stepped through. “Ahhh, this sucks worse than I thought it would.”

Seeing all three of them react negatively to the nothingness, Aiden fully prepared himself to experience some discomfort when he stepped past the circular threshold.

He didn’t.

“It feels like being stung by a bunch of pissed off wasps!” Josh grunted, itching all across his body as if it would relieve the stinging.

Despite being the most vocal, Josh wasn’t the one that concerned Aiden the most. That trophy went to James who’d collapsed to his knees and violently began retching. “Anna? Can you help him?”

“I’m barely helping myself,” she grunted back. “What is the point of this?”

Aiden still wondered and thumbed toward Nin’Yala. “Maybe ask the one who brought us here?”

The Argul in question appeared to have other ideas though and curled up into a ball, floating deeper within the darkness. Blizzy lay curled up against the armored wolf-like creature, content to be in the presence of her friend. Every now and again, the blizzard dragon cracked an eye open to see if Nin’Yala was ready to play and went back to faux snoring when she realized the ancient beast wouldn’t be moving any time soon.

“Whatever reason we’re here, this does look to be the spot.” He couldn’t quite figure out Nin’Yala’s intentions. He began to approach Blizzy to pet her when ice flurries began to appear around him. “What’s this?”

Prodding the flurries revealed something quite obvious, the power came from him. Unsure of why his blizzard emanated out now, when it had previously lay dormant, he took another cautious step forward.

More flurries appeared, all of them at arm’s reach. Another step, then two. The flurries became a visible dome of ice wrapped around him, crystal clear. One more step, and his dome began to crack.

He had to be halfway to where Nin’Yala and Blizzy lay, yet he now felt the aggressive tingle as his protective dome failed to keep out the Void.

“Is this… aura?” He couldn’t tell and tapped into the raging ice storm within, bringing it out.

Behind him, he heard sighs of relief, then a heavy huff of breath that shattered the temporary reprieve.

James’ vomiting renewed, and Anna hissed between her teeth.

“This is not fun! Let’s go back and try something else,” Josh suggested, his voice strained from pain.

“Go ahead and try if you want. You think the big bad wolf over there is really gonna let you just walk away, even if you could. Which, I don’t think you can,” Anna goaded Josh.

“I don’t see you doing any better.”

Aiden turned to watch Anna take a smug step forward, then she doubled over and held her stomach tightly. “This is… so stupid!”

“Well, strap in boys and girls, because I think this might be our reality for a little while longer.” Aiden tried to make light of the situation, but seeing the distance between him and them, then between him and Nin’Yala… The difference really struck home how he had so much farther to go before he could confidently stride into Xenith’s home to usurp her Authority. “I’m pretty sure this is the easiest it gets.”

Then he took another step toward Nin’Yala, and the icy barrier around him shattered.