The explosion faded a long time ago, but the echo still lingered in my chest. From where we hid on the ridge near the old outpost, I could still see the faint blue shimmer that had torn through the plains. Now there was nothing—no light, no sound, just silence stretching across the Void.
"Sir Blaze did it!" SK cheered, punching the air with a grin. "He actually did it!"
I didn't answer.
I couldn't.
I stood at the mouth of the cave, staring at the distant ruins of Blaze's house. The Void was quiet again. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that didn't feel like peace—just the calm that comes before something breaks.
"He did it," SK said again, this time softer, like she was trying to convince herself.
"Yeah…" I tried to smile. "He must've."
But deep down, I wasn't sure.
Something about the air—the faint static drifting through it—made my stomach twist.
I lowered my rifle, resting the barrel against my shoulder. "Don't you dare die on us, Blaze," I whispered toward the horizon.
SK turned away, sitting down beside our supplies. "He'll come back," she muttered. "He's Blaze, remember? The guy's too stubborn to die."
"Maybe," I said. "But sometimes even stubborn people don't get that choice."
We waited.
Hours passed. The dim glow of the Void's false sun began to fade, replaced by a dull, bluish haze. There was no real day or night here, but you could feel when time shifted—like the world itself was breathing slower.
Evening. Still no sign of him.
My heart sank. "He should've been here by now," I said quietly. "He's either too injured to move or…"
I couldn't finish the sentence. I didn't want to.
SK looked up at me. "Don't say it. Blaze doesn't die easy."
I clenched my fists. "I'm going down there."
"Wait, what?" she snapped, standing. "You can't! He told us to stay here!"
"I don't care!" I said, turning to her. "If he's still out there, I'm not just sitting here waiting for him to crawl back on his own!"
SK frowned. "You're insane, you know that? It's suicide to go down there!"
"Then call me insane." I started walking. "You can either try to stop me… or come with me."
For a moment, she just glared, her scythe already in her hands. I could see the conflict in her eyes—duty versus instinct.
Finally, she sighed. "You're lucky he said we're not allowed to kill each other."
"Yeah, yeah. Hurry up."
We left the outpost, heading down the hill into the wasteland below.
The ground was scorched from the blast—darkened soil, shattered crystal, broken fragments of stone floating weightlessly in the air. Every few meters, I could see the marks of their battle: massive slashes carved into the terrain, impact craters, the faint glow of residual energy still pulsing in the cracks.
The smell of ozone filled the air.
The Void was always strange, but this… this was different. Like reality itself had been torn apart.
We walked carefully through the wreckage. The wind carried faint distortions—glitchy static whispers that faded as quickly as they came.
Then SK froze.
"Ryze… look."
I followed her gaze. My blood ran cold.
A figure was walking toward us from the ruins—its body flickering, glitching like a broken hologram. Humanoid. Missing an arm. Its surface shimmered like glass, fragments falling off and dissolving into static.
A Shard.
"The one that fought Blaze…" I whispered. "It's still alive."
The thing staggered past us, dragging its blade, its head twitching slightly as it walked by. But it didn't attack. It didn't even look at us. It just kept going—limping toward the endless plains like a wounded ghost.
My hands trembled around my rifle. "No… No, that can't be—"
I ran.
Ignoring SK's shout, I sprinted down the slope, my boots kicking up ash and dust. Every step echoed through the hollow air.
The house—if you could still call it that—was gone. Half buried in rubble. The ground around it looked like it had been turned inside out. The entire area shimmered faintly, like the Void itself hadn't decided if it wanted to stay real or not.
"Blaze!" I shouted, scanning the area through my scope. "Blaze, answer me!"
No reply. Just wind.
"Hey! Wait up!" SK's voice echoed behind me as she caught up, breathing hard. "You can't just—"
She stopped.
We both did.
There, in the center of the ruins, sat a figure.
At first, I thought it was another Shard. The armor was dark, angular, unfamiliar—covered in glowing blue veins that pulsed faintly. A long, weathered greatsword rested against his shoulder. The air around him shimmered with faint digital distortion.
He was sitting on a slab of rubble, motionless, head bowed like he was meditating.
SK stepped forward cautiously, raising her weapon. "Identify yourself!"
The figure didn't move.
"Hey! I said identify yourself!" SK barked again, readying her stance.
Then the figure chuckled.
A soft, tired laugh that froze me in place.
That voice.
Even filtered through the armor's modulator—I knew it.
"Relax," he said, his tone calm, familiar. "You really think I'd go down that easy?"
My breath caught in my throat.
I lowered my rifle slowly.
"B… Blaze?" I whispered.
The armored figure looked up at me, and with a faint hiss, his helmet retracted.
There he was—face bruised, a small cut on his cheek, eyes glowing faintly from residual energy.
But smiling.
He chuckled again—quiet, almost weary. "Yeah," he said. "It's me."
And for the first time in what felt like forever, I felt the weight in my chest finally ease.
He was alive.