CHAPTER 1179: CONNECTED

Saeldir jolted awake with a sharp breath, his lungs dragging in air as if he had been drowning.

His vision swam at first in blurs of color, shifting shapes, and fading echoes of wings made of light and tentacles that crawled across worlds.

He blinked hard until the haze finally settled.

He lay on a long cushioned bench in the king’s throne room, a soft glow from lamps spilling across the walls. The room was silent until he realized he wasn’t alone.

Aurdis sat closest to him, her hands clasped tightly in her lap, worry flickering in her eyes.

King Gulben sat beside her with his arms folded, wearing a heavy expression that mixed concern and calculation.

Aerchon stood near the foot of the reclining chair, tense and restless, as if ready to draw his weapon against an unseen threat.

And Erend, Eccar, and a white haired woman Saeldir did not know stood further back in the chamber, their presence solid and unwavering. He didn’t know where they arrived.

Saeldir swallowed hard. His heartbeat still thundered against his ribs.

"You’re awake," Aurdis whispered, relief softening her voice.

Aerchon stepped forward. "You were unconscious for nearly a few hours," he said, though his tone carried a sharp edge of worry. "You alright?"

Saeldir pushed himself slowly upright. His limbs trembled. His thoughts still felt tangled, as if fragments of the dream clung to the edges of his mind with clawed fingers.

"I..." He exhaled, pressing a hand to his forehead. "I saw... something. The information was forced too much into me at once. I wasn’t prepared."

Erend took a step forward. "What did you see?"

He was eager to know. Previously, King Gulben had explained to them that Saeldir had read a forbidden and ancient book that contained unimaginable knowledge. He wanted to know what kind of knowledge he gained.

The question pulled the memory back with a violent clarity. Saeldir shivered.

"I saw the world in my dream," he said quietly. "A world I didn’t recognize. I floated above it as it shattered apart."

Aurdis’s brows tightened. "Shattered?"

"Burned," Saeldir corrected in a trembling whisper. "Boiled. Crushed. Devoured. It wasn’t a vision of symbolism, it was real. Or had been real, once."

They all exchanged uneasy glances.

King Gulben’s voice rumbled low. "What destroyed it?"

Saeldir closed his eyes. The images resurfaced at once. The radiant wings cutting through cities... a horned colossus roaring mountains into dust... tendrils crawling over that world.

"I saw three beings," he said, his voice barely above a breath. "One made of light... one a monstrous Dragon-like creature... and one that didn’t have a solid shape, only shifting masses of tentacles."

A faint chill crept through the room.

Aesa’s eyes narrowed. "Were they gods?"

Saeldir shook his head weakly. He didn’t look at who was speaking. He just continued to say, "No... or not in a way I understand. They were something else. Their power—" He paused, his voice faltering. "Their power was beyond anything I’ve ever read or imagined. They didn’t conquer the world. They just... erased it."

Erend’s jaw clenched. Eccar stared silently, his fingers curling into fists.

Aerchon looked toward King Gulben with a tension that bordered on fear.

"And there was more," Saeldir continued. "They weren’t illusions created by fear. They were real memories buried in the Codex. Knowledge I wasn’t ready for."

Aurdis leaned closer. "Saeldir, do you know that these beings threaten us closely now?"

He looked at her, then at all of them, his voice steadying even as dread coiled in his stomach.

"I don’t know when. I don’t know how. But if they ever come into our world... nothing will survive."

Silence dropped over the chamber like a cold weight.

Erend looked at the others, and they understood the meaning in his eyes immediately.

What he had been saying earlier before Saeldir woke up was now undeniable. A greater calamity was coming.

King Gulben let out a slow sigh, his face tightening with a grim acceptance.

Aurdis and Aerchon both wore the same look of recognition mixed with dawning fear.

They finally understood that Erend hadn’t been exaggerating or speaking in metaphors. The threat he’d warned of was real, terrifyingly real.

Erend didn’t know how an ancient book belonging to the Elf King contained that monstrous knowledge about beings capable of erasing entire worlds. He was certain that those beings were the three beings that were created by the Void Architect which was the evil system power.

There was only one answer that made sense to him.

The book wasn’t simply ancient. It was connected to the power of the System itself. Connected to the Creator.

But that didn’t matter now. He could ask Veyrun later when the time came and when they weren’t standing on the edge of catastrophe.

King Gulben turned to him, expression heavy. "How do you know this information, Erend? That knowledge is supposed to exist only in the Codex. Only I and the kings before me could ever access it."

Erend let out a controlled sigh.

"It’s a long story. Complicated. And... difficult to explain right now." He looked firmly at the king. "I suggest we don’t dwell on this matter now. We should focus on strengthening ourselves."

The answer frustrated King Gulben. It showed in the flicker of irritation behind his eyes. He wanted to demand the truth. But he also knew Erend wasn’t the type to stall or hide something without reason.

And if Erend said it wasn’t time, then pushing further would only slow them down.

"...Very well," the king said at last, straightening. "I will have the Mages concoct potions for us immediately. Potions for restoration, focus, and resistance. We must enter these trials at our best."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

But Saeldir frowned, confusion slipping into his tone. "Trials? What trials?"

Erend, Eccar, and Aerchon exchanged a brief look before Aerchon stepped forward.

"We’re going to Erend’s dimension," he explained. "A training dimension that accelerates growth. A place where we can strengthen our bodies, our Magic, and our abilities far faster than normal time would allow."

Eccar added, "The threats ahead will crush us if we stay as we are. That dimension is the only place that gives us a chance."

Saeldir absorbed their words in silence, his expression slowly shifting from confusion to resolve.

The room seemed to grow heavier with purpose.

King Gulben nodded once and they all started to move.

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