The Ashlands were a graveyard.
What used to be lush plains were now scorched earth, stained black by ancient Ether Wars. Skeletons of forgotten war machines jutted from the cracked soil like rusted gods. The air shimmered with unstable Ether currents, remnants of Laws gone rogue.
Aion had never been this far outside the city. Every breath he took here tasted of ash and forgotten power.
Kael pulled his scarf tighter. "This place gives me chills. You sure the answers are here?"
Aion didn't respond.
He could feel it. Something in the air recognized him. Like the Null wasn't just active—it was being pulled toward something… older.
---
They reached a ruined obelisk near the heart of the plains. It stood tilted, split by a massive gash, its surface etched in a language that burned the eyes.
Kael hesitated. "This is pre-Empire. Forbidden territory."
Aion stepped forward anyway. His hand touched the stone.
For a split second, the world froze.
Wind halted. Ether locked.
And then—
"Found you."
Aion spun around—too slow.
A streak of crimson Ether crashed into the earth beside him, blasting Kael off his feet. Dust exploded into the sky. Aion raised his arm just as a figure emerged from the haze.
Tall. Impossibly fast. Her mask gleamed, expression frozen in porcelain sorrow.
Veyra.
Ash Cardinal. Inquisitorial executioner.
Her voice rang out, calm and cold.
"You are a walking paradox. A violation of Law."
Aion's hand flickered with Null instinctively.
She moved faster.
Her sword tore through the air, blazing with chained Laws—Descent, Burn, and Crush all interwoven. Aion ducked barely in time. The blade sheared through stone like air.
He lashed out, a pulse of Null sweeping from his palm. The air went dead.
The Laws on her blade fizzled, flickered—then returned.
She didn't flinch.
"I've killed godbound," Veyra said. "You think a broken spark frightens me?"
Aion's breathing quickened. "I'm not a spark."
The ground split beneath him.
"I'm the end of sparks."
---
Their second clash was cataclysmic.
Null and Law collided, rippling through the Ashlands like a thunderclap. Dead Ether burst from the ground, and the sky dimmed unnaturally.
Kael dragged himself behind a shattered pillar, watching in awe and horror.
Two forces that shouldn't exist in the same world were tearing it apart.
---
Veyra landed with a crack, skidding to a stop. Her mask was cracked down the center.
She looked at Aion—not angry. Curious.
"You're still incomplete," she murmured. "But you're evolving. Fast."
She turned, cloak whipping behind her as her Ether wings ignited.
"We will meet again, Nullborn. Pray you're ready next time."
And in a blink, she was gone.
---
Aion dropped to his knees.
Every part of him screamed. But the Null inside pulsed with strange satisfaction—like it had survived its first test.
Kael limped over. "What… was that?"
Aion looked to the sky.
"War."