The portal spat them out onto cracked stone, and for a moment, everything was still. Zane stood tall, shadows curling at his boots, while Nyx floated down beside him with a soft flutter of her wings.
They had arrived.
Before them stretched the skeletal remains of what once might have been a thriving settlement. Burned-out huts. Overgrown cobblestone paths. Wind howling through splintered wooden frames. It wasn't just ruined — it was abandoned with intent, as if people had run from something... or someone.
Zane narrowed his eyes. "This feels wrong."
"Oh it is," Link said, hopping down from Zane's shoulder and landing with a tiny plop. He dusted himself off like a nobleman and looked around. "We're standing on cursed ground. Lovely."
Nyx hovered just above the ground, unease creeping into her voice. "This place... it's soaked in Void energy. It's like something was here... recently."
A low hum echoed beneath them, resonating with Zane's core. His system pinged softly.
> [System Notification: Void Artifact Resonance Increasing] Proximity: 86 meters
Link whistled. "Closer than I thought. Either someone dropped it, or it's bait."
Zane didn't respond. His eyes scanned the ruined alleyways, resting on a collapsed temple at the far end of the village. Purple-black mist seeped from the cracks in its foundation like slow, poisonous breath.
"That's where it is," he muttered.
They moved quickly. Shadows bent around Zane as he walked, responding to his presence. The corrupted energy thickened with every step. As they neared the temple, Nyx's wings twitched.
"I don't like this. This isn't a normal artifact site. There's a presence here... like something's watching."
Link chuckled. "Oh it's watching alright."
They reached the temple steps. A rusted sign above the archway read "Sanctum of the Hollowed One", though half the letters were melted and warped.
Inside, the ring hovered mid-air, spinning slowly over a broken altar. It looked exactly like the hologram — void-forged, inscribed with red glowing runes that shifted when stared at too long.
Zane stepped forward.
That's when the ground growled.
From the shadows of the temple floor, a dozen red eyes blinked open. A creature made entirely of stitched flesh, bone, and shadow unfolded itself, towering above them — its jaw unhinging to reveal rows of jagged, obsidian teeth.
> [System Notification: Void Guardian Detected] Species: Wraith Construct Threat Level: B+ Objective: Defend Artifact
Link stepped back, wide-eyed. "Okay that wasn't there before."
Nyx raised her hands, energy flaring. "You always have to trigger the ancient guardian, don't you?"
Zane summoned his dual void blades. "It wouldn't be an artifact retrieval without something trying to kill us."
The wraith screeched and lunged.
Zane met it head-on.