CHAPTER 46
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The door creaked as it swung open, revealing the dark interior of the northern outpost. Cold air rushed out from inside, colder even than the biting wind outside. I stepped forward, my hand resting on the hilt of my sword as I peered into the shadows. The others followed cautiously, their steps hesitant, the weight of the unknown pressing heavily on all of us.
The inside was dimly lit by the pale, dying light filtering through cracks in the walls. The air was thick with the scent of dust and age, as if no one had stepped foot here in years. There were signs of life, though—half-burnt candles, overturned chairs, and a few crates stacked against the walls. But there was no movement, no sign of the people who had once occupied this place.
Sari’s voice broke the silence, barely a whisper. “Where is everyone?”
I didn’t answer. Something about the outpost felt wrong. The Aetheric Flow pulsed faintly through the structure, like a distant heartbeat, but it was twisted, corrupted by something deeper, something buried beneath the ice. The sense of unease I’d felt earlier had only grown stronger the closer we’d come to this place.
Leira moved past me, her sword drawn, her eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of danger. She was cautious, her movements deliberate, as if expecting an attack at any moment. But there was nothing—just the eerie stillness of the abandoned outpost.
“We should check the other rooms,” I said quietly. “See if there’s anything left behind that can tell us what happened here.”
Sari and Leira nodded, though the tension was clear in their faces. They weren’t used to this kind of danger—the kind you couldn’t see or fight directly. But I could feel it all around us, seeping into the very walls of the outpost.
We split up, moving through the dark corridors of the outpost, searching for any clues as to what had befallen the people who once lived here. The silence was suffocating, broken only by the occasional creak of the floorboards beneath our feet or the soft rustle of wind slipping through the cracks in the walls.
As I moved deeper into the building, I felt the pull of the Aetheric Flow growing stronger, tugging me toward a room at the end of the hall. The magic here was dense, coiled tightly around itself, like a knot waiting to be untangled. I could feel the disturbance more clearly now—whatever was affecting the Flow, it was close.
I pushed open the door to the room, my hand still on my sword, ready for anything. Inside, I found a small, cluttered space—shelves lined the walls, filled with old books and scrolls, many of them covered in dust. A single desk stood in the center of the room, its surface littered with papers and maps, most of them faded and torn at the edges.
But what caught my attention wasn’t the room itself—it was the object on the desk.
A small, smooth stone, pulsing faintly with light. I approached cautiously, feeling the magic radiating from it in waves. This was no ordinary stone. It was tied to the Aetheric Flow, connected to the disturbance I had been feeling since we entered the outpost.
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As I reached out to touch the stone, a sudden jolt of energy surged through me, and my vision blurred for a moment. I blinked, steadying myself, my hand hovering just above the surface of the stone. It was connected to something deeper, something far below the outpost.
“Find anything?” Leira’s voice cut through the silence, startling me.
I turned to see her standing in the doorway, her eyes fixed on the stone. She frowned, stepping closer. “What is that?”
“I’m not sure,” I replied, my voice low. “But it’s tied to the Aetheric Flow. I can feel it.”
Leira didn’t respond right away, her gaze lingering on the stone. “Do you think it has something to do with why this place is abandoned?”
“Maybe.” I glanced back at the stone, the faint light still pulsing in rhythmic intervals. “Whatever it is, it’s connected to the magic of this land. There’s something beneath us, something powerful.”
Leira’s face hardened, her grip tightening on her sword. “We need to find out what.”
The others gathered in the main room of the outpost, where we laid out everything we had found—maps, scattered notes, and strange artifacts like the stone. There was no sign of the people who had once lived here, no bodies, no traces of struggle. It was as if they had simply vanished into thin air.
Sari shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting between the objects laid out in front of us. “This place gives me the creeps. It’s like... it’s waiting for something.”
I understood her unease. The air here was thick with tension, like the calm before a storm. The Aetheric Flow was still pulsing beneath us, and I could feel it growing stronger the longer we stayed. Whatever lay beneath the ice, it was stirring.
“There’s something under this place,” I said, breaking the silence. “The stone I found—it’s tied to the magic of the land. There’s a source of power below us, and it’s affecting everything in this region.”
Leira raised an eyebrow. “A source of power? Like what?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know yet. But I need to find out. Whatever it is, it’s not natural. It’s been buried here for a long time, but now it’s starting to wake up.”
Sari’s face paled, her hands trembling slightly. “Wake up? You mean it’s alive?”
“Not exactly,” I said, my voice steady. “But it’s influencing the land, the creatures, even the demons. It’s part of the reason the Aetheric Flow has been so erratic in this region.”
Leira’s eyes narrowed. “If it’s responsible for the disturbances in the Flow, then we need to stop it. Before things get worse.”
I nodded in agreement, though I knew it wouldn’t be that simple. The power beneath the ice wasn’t just some demon or creature we could kill—it was something older, something far more dangerous.
We decided to rest for the night, gathering around the dying embers of the fire in the main room of the outpost. Despite the warmth of the flames, the cold of the Frozen Wastes seeped into the building, making it difficult to get comfortable. The others were quiet, lost in their own thoughts, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching us.
I glanced down at the stone in my hand, feeling the faint pulse of magic emanating from it. The Aetheric Flow was still disturbed, and I knew that whatever lay beneath the ice was waiting. Watching. And it wouldn’t stay dormant for much longer.
In the middle of the night, I woke to the sound of a low rumble, vibrating through the floor beneath me. The others were still asleep, but the air around me felt heavy, charged with magic. I stood slowly, my hand moving instinctively to my sword as I listened to the sound.
It was coming from below.
Without waking the others, I stepped quietly toward the door, my eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of movement. The rumble grew louder, more insistent, and I felt the Aetheric Flow surge around me, as if the very land was trying to warn me of what was to come.
I had a feeling we were about to find out what was buried beneath the ice—and it wasn’t going to be good.