The Deepening came for the last time on a winter morning, when the snow was deep and the fires burned low.
No army this time. No creatures. Just a single figure—tall, silver, hollow—walking across the eastern fields. Its eyes were pits of nothing. Its mouth was a wound.
I have come for the void, it said.
Kaela stood on the wall.
"The void is not yours to take."
The void is mine. I created it. I will consume it.
"The void changed. You can too."
Emptiness does not change.
"Watch me."
---
Kaela climbed down from the wall and walked across the snow.
Elara watched from the gate, her heart pounding.
"Don't," she whispered.
But Kaela kept walking.
---
The Deepening's figure stopped ten feet from her.
You are brave.
"I'm scared. There's a difference."
What is the difference?
"Br
