Noah’s mind bent at the seams. He felt like his body was splitting into three. What felt like magnetic forces pulled different parts of his body in seemingly random directions. Some wished to go left and others right — and some just seemed keen on inverting themselves. It was like his very being was trying to tear itself apart. Noah’s soul bubbled, thick soup trapped within a cauldron of flesh that had been placed within a fire far too hot for it to withstand. Golden pathways wove in and out of existence. He could feel them flowing like veins within his body and soul. Power burned throughout them, as they bore countless memories relentlessly through every single part of him at every single moment. There was no escape from them. Not even the outside world was safe. Shimmers of the Line crept at the edges of his vision. They crawled along the walls and passed through the ceiling like some spider had forgotten that object collision was a concept and had simply woven a web right through reality itself. His focus was so badly frayed that he could barely keep his eyes on the dying man in front of him. The only thing keeping him sane was, curiously enough, the intensity of magic he was currently drawing from Sunder. Icy cold magic seared his veins. The power had gathered in his finger, which was still looped around the invisible strand that had already started to re-tighten around the dying man’s neck. Noah wasn’t even sure how he’d known he could stop the noose from tightening. He was pretty sure he’d moved before his body had properly even registered what it was doing. Either that or he’d already forgotten, the memory joining the reflections lost within the spinning shards of shattered glass that were his mind. But Sunder’s power couldn’t last forever. The man was bound, but only temporarily. He could feel the foreign presence buzzing at the edges of what had once been his soul. Somehow, he’d managed to use the binding aspect of Sunder’s passive to connect the man to himself. Didn’t know I could do that. Why didn’t I know? Makes sense. A passive is a passive. What kind of idiot would mess with Sunder? It’s the only thing keeping us bound to the gourd. The gourd! Where’s the gourd? Forget the gourd! The guy is dying! Questions, idiot! Ask your questions! Thoughts assaulted his mind in a barrage. Each one came from him, but not a single one of them felt like him. Noah pressed a hand to his skull. He gritted his teeth, trying to shove the headache assaulting him away. His eyes refocused on the man at his feet. “Where?” Noah managed. “Where are we?” “Obsidia,” the man rasped. His fingers still strained for the large bronze key resting against his chest. “In the Lost Citadel. I — how—” Another wave of disorientation slammed into Noah. There was an ocean of insanity all around him. Waves of madness crashed against the hull of the little dinghy that his mind resided in, threatening to overwhelm it entirely and drag everything under. But he couldn’t let that happen. Noah gritted his teeth. His fingernails pierced into his palms and he drew deeper on Sunder. The freezing cold burning through his veins pushed the madness an inch back. It gave him something to focus on, bought him an instant of clarity amidst the storm. “I’m sorry,” Noah managed. His nerves were strung so tight that he could have cut butter with them. Every single part of his body simultaneously fought to keep itself in place and tear itself apart. “I — I can’t heal you. But I need information. What is Obsidia?” “I can’t ask for my prayers to be answered twice,” the man said with a weak laugh. He was fading. Noah wasn’t Sievan. He could only hold death off for so long. “The key. You have to take it. Please. The Citadel can’t die with me. People have to know.” “What is Obsidia?” Noah asked urgently. “Where is Arbalest? Am I on the right planet?” Confusion broke through the man’s gaze. His eyes fluttered. For a moment, Noah feared he had died. Then the man’s eyes focused again. “Arbalest. The baby empire that fell?” Relief exploded through Noah. This was the right planet. “Yes,” Noah said. He could feel his mind fraying again. This moment of sanity was limited. Something was burning away at it. “Yes. Where is it? Where are we? Please. Tell me. Before I can’t listen anymore.” Something about his voice must have gotten through to the dying man. “Obsidia is the name of this world,” the man replied weakly. “Arbalest was within it. It’s a great distance from here. But… the factions all ordered that it be avoided after the fall of the Night’s Shadow.” Noah’s skull throbbed. The way the man spoke was almost as if he were speaking about some event that had happened a long time ago rather than something that had only occurred a few days or weeks in the past. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. “Fall? When?” Noah demanded, fear welling within him. “When did it fall?” “I don’t remember. Months ago. Maybe more,” the man said. His voice was getting weaker. “I’m sorry. I’ve only heard about — about the fight. I wasn’t enough to be near it. The Citadel. I was researching it. In hiding.” Emotions twisted in Noah. He’d been gone for months. Was it a good thing? Was it bad? It was better than years, that was for certain. But a lot could happen in months. Possibilities flashed through his head like a thousand different movies playing at once. Noah crushed them out. He couldn’t let them obscure his vision. His sanity was already hanging on by a single frayed thread. Even a moment of distraction could waste more time than he could afford to lose. The dying man let out a weak cough. His fingers grasped at the key necklace again. “Please,” he whispered. “Take the key.” Ignore him. The man is already dead. Who cares? He’s dying. A few seconds won’t hurt. Months have already passed. Nothing will change in the next minute. Noah gritted his teeth and shoved the voices away. Then he looked down to the key in the man’s weakening grip. “What is it?” Noah asked. “What do you want me to use it for?” The man’s eyes fluttered. The life within him sputtered. Noah’s finger burned as the noose started to draw tighter. Death was not pleased with the delay he had caused it. A weak, whistling breath slipped from the man’s lips. Then his eyes snapped open. A burst of energy seemed to explode within him as he grabbed Noah by the arm, his gaze burning with flames of desperation. “The Lost Citadel. It’s real. We stand within its outer walls. The experiments here were successful. They — they created the monsters. Its secrets… this place has been lost to time for more years than I can count. Please. Do not let my discovery go to waste. Let it be known. Let it be known that Sebastian the Seeker discovered the Citadel, even if only to your ears.” With the final word that left his lips, all strength seemed to leave Sebastian’s. The man’s body slumped, the noose finally snapping taut around his neck and tearing his soul free from his body. And then Noah was alone. Well, as alone as he could be. He stood there for a moment. Then he crouched, ignoring the forces pulling his mind in every direction but the one he wanted to go. Noah brushed his hand across Sebastian’s face, closing his eyes before lifting the key off his neck. It was heavier than he’d expected. There were faint, almost indecipherable imbuements running across the surface of the key. The skill required to make something must have been astronomical. No. Of course not. He said I’m far from where Arbalest fell. I don’t know where the gourd is. What if there’s a distance limit? What if dying again sends me back to that white void? I can’t risk it. Not yet. At least, not until my soul is a bit less damaged. My soul. The Fragment of Renewal! Noah’s eyes widened. He grabbed for the Fragment, drinking greedily from the beautiful rune’s power and letting it flow through himself. A relieved breath caught in his throat as rivers of power crashed through his broken soul. He could feel the damage fixing instantly. He could feel the cracks closing — and he could feel that it was nowhere near enough. There were more damaged parts than there were whole ones. Noah wasn’t even sure what was keeping him together at this point. His soul was more like a pile of shattered glass than any cohesive unit. But it was there. And that was enough. So long as there was even the faintest piece of him still remaining in existence, then he would not allow himself to cease to be. The voices in his mind didn’t disappear, but they did fade. He stood on the precipice of insanity and consciousness. It was the sanest he’d felt in… however long it had been since he’d entered the white void. Noah drew in a deep breath. Then he let it out slowly, trying to focus himself. The attempt was only partially successful. His attention wasn’t happy to actually be doing its job — but he wasn’t giving it a choice. He tightened his grip on the key that Sebastian had given him. Dying wasn’t an option he could afford to entertain yet. He couldn’t risk the gourd not working or ending back up in the void. That meant he was going to have to find his way back to Moxie and the others without getting himself killed. Noah’s eyes flicked to the corpse of the monster he’d killed. Even though he hadn’t had a chance to tear its runes out with Sunder, his domain had picked up that it was somewhere around Rank 5, just like Sebastian. Follow current novels on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁 I’m in some place called the Lost Citadel, huh? It’s some kind of ruins full of these fucking creepy monsters and, apparently, nobody knows where it is other than the dead guy at my feet. Buzzing power ignited within his soul as he reached for Unraveling Disruption. The Rank 5 Rune trembled in anticipation. Its power was eager to be used. Noah had been apart from it for far too long. Noah hung the key around his neck and sent a final look down at Sebastian’s body. “Thank you,” Noah said. Then stepped out of the room. A monster exploded from the shadows without so much as a sound. It was a dark blur in a darker hallway, nothing more than a flash of ravenous teeth and — Red lightning carved through the air. The monster only had a chance to let out an agonized scream before it was decimated. Chunks of its body flew past Noah, splattering against his clothes and painting the wall behind him. He went to call on Sunder. Then he paused. Maybe I shouldn’t draw more Runes into my soul right now. I don’t need expansion. I need repair. Noah let Sunder fade away. He stepped past the remains of the monster and continued deeper into the Lost Citadel. His domain prickled. He could feel the monsters. Dozens of them. No, hundreds. They were everywhere. They infested the walls like a hive of insects. For some reason, only one of them had gone after Sebastian. Perhaps it was the thrill of the hunt. They didn’t have that liberty when dealing with him. A chittering click emerged from the darkness as a twisted creature emerged before him. Half a dozen more followed after it. Their red eyes bore into Noah, hunger and hatred burning within them. Crimson light lit the hallway as Chaos gathered around his hand in a miniature storm. Waves of power poured out from within him. The fractals of white light that still clung to his shoulders like a cape shuddered. They writhed like jagged tentacles in anticipation of a meal. For the first time since he’d gotten back from the void, every single voice in his head had harmonized. The forces pulling him apart adjusted, relented, aligning like the moon in an eclipse. “You,” Noah whispered, a trio of voices overlaid in perfect unison, “are in my way.”