Chapter 38: Fractured Peace
The silence that followed the Herald's defeat was almost suffocating. Yuuji stood amidst the clearing, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The Blade of Eterna dimmed, its glow fading as the power of the Heart receded within him. His body felt heavy, weighed down by exhaustion, yet his mind was sharp, still racing from the intensity of the battle.
The others gathered around him, equally weary but alive. The mage was the first to speak, her voice soft but filled with wonder. “You did it, Yuuji. You defeated a Herald of the Void.”
Yuuji didn’t respond immediately, still processing what had just happened. The Herald’s words echoed in his mind—warnings about the void, about the Heart’s power, and about his own connection to it. The void wasn’t just an enemy. It was something far more ancient, something intertwined with the very existence of this world. And Yuuji knew now, more than ever, that his journey was far from over.
“We did it,” Yuuji corrected, looking around at his companions. “I couldn’t have done it alone.”
The knight nodded, though his brow was furrowed. “The Herald was powerful, but it was only a servant of something greater. This isn’t the end.”
The archer sheathed her bow and sighed. “Yeah, we stopped it for now, but we need to keep moving. The void won’t give us a second chance.”
Yuuji’s grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. The void may have retreated, but the battle had left scars. Not just on the land, but on him as well. The Herald’s words about the Heart being incomplete, about the void’s true nature—everything weighed heavily on his mind.
“We have to find the other fragments,” Yuuji said, his voice filled with determination. “The Heart of Eterna is the key to restoring balance. If we don’t gather all the pieces, the void will overwhelm us.”
The mage stood beside him, nodding in agreement. “I’ve been thinking about what the Herald said. It’s clear the void’s corruption is more complex than we realized. If the Heart is meant to counter it, we’ll need its full power.”
“But where do we even begin?” the archer asked, glancing around the ruined landscape. “The Heart’s fragments could be anywhere, and we don’t have time to search every corner of this world.”
Yuuji took a deep breath, steadying himself. He had no clear answers, but something inside him—something tied to the fragment he carried—told him they were on the right path. He didn’t understand everything yet, but the Heart would guide them. It had to.
“We’ll figure it out,” Yuuji said finally. “The Heart has led us this far. We can’t stop now.”
As the group began to gather their supplies and prepare to move, the sky overhead shifted. Dark clouds rolled in, casting a gloomy shadow over the landscape. The winds picked up, carrying with them the scent of rain, but there was something more to it—an unnatural coldness that made Yuuji’s skin prickle.
The knight glanced up, his expression darkening. “Something isn’t right. This weather… it feels wrong.”
The mage narrowed her eyes, her fingers tracing the air as she muttered a quiet spell. “This isn’t a natural storm. It’s infused with void energy.”
Yuuji tensed, his hand instinctively moving toward the Blade of Eterna. “Is the void already striking back?”
“I don’t think it’s another attack,” the mage replied, though her tone was uncertain. “But whatever this storm is, it’s not something we should ignore.”
The first raindrops began to fall, cold and heavy, striking the ground with an eerie silence. The trees around them, once vibrant with the restoration of life, seemed to shudder as the storm grew more intense. The air was thick with the void’s presence, though there was no sign of another Herald or void-born.
“We need to move,” the knight urged. “Staying out in the open like this isn’t safe.”
Yuuji nodded, but as he turned to lead the group deeper into the forest, a strange sensation washed over him. It wasn’t the same suffocating darkness he had felt during the battle with the Herald, but it was familiar—like a whisper at the edge of his consciousness.
Without warning, Yuuji’s vision blurred, and the world around him faded into shadow. He staggered, reaching out for support, but his surroundings seemed to melt away into nothingness.
“Yuuji!” The archer’s voice was distant, but urgent. He felt hands gripping his shoulders, steadying him, but he couldn’t respond. His mind was somewhere else, pulled into the depths of a strange and haunting vision.
In the darkness, Yuuji saw flashes of a ruined world—cities crumbling into dust, rivers drying up, and forests consumed by an endless void. The sky was black, swirling with storms like the one above them now. And in the center of it all stood a towering figure, wreathed in shadow and flame, its eyes glowing with a malevolent red light.
It was the same figure he had seen in his earlier vision—the one tied to the Heart’s destruction. But now, it felt closer, more real. The figure turned, its gaze locking onto Yuuji, and he felt a wave of cold dread wash over him.
“You cannot escape your fate,” the figure’s voice echoed through the void. “The Heart is broken, and you are nothing but a tool in its destruction.”
Yuuji tried to speak, to deny the words, but his voice was lost in the void. The figure stepped closer, its form growing larger, more imposing. “The balance you seek is a lie. There is only the void, and it will consume all.”
Suddenly, Yuuji was ripped from the vision, his body jolting back into reality. He gasped, his chest heaving as he blinked rapidly, trying to clear the darkness from his mind. The storm was still raging around them, but his companions were watching him with concern.
“Are you okay?” the knight asked, his hand still on Yuuji’s shoulder.
Yuuji nodded, though his heart was pounding in his chest. “I’m fine. It was just… a vision.”
“What did you see?” the mage asked, her voice low and wary.
Yuuji hesitated, the figure’s words still echoing in his mind. “I saw the void… and someone controlling it. Someone tied to the Heart’s destruction.”
The archer frowned. “Are you saying the void isn’t just some force of nature? There’s someone behind all of this?”
Yuuji wasn’t sure how to explain it, but the vision had felt too real to dismiss. “I don’t know who or what they are, but they’re connected to the Heart. And they’re getting stronger.”
The group fell silent, the weight of Yuuji’s words sinking in. The void wasn’t just an abstract threat anymore. There was an intelligence behind it, a force driving its destruction. And if Yuuji’s visions were any indication, that force was closing in on them.
“We need to find the other fragments,” Yuuji said, his voice filled with urgency. “Before the void grows too strong to stop.”
The knight nodded, his jaw set in determination. “Then let’s not waste any more time.”
As the storm continued to rage around them, the group set off once more, their path uncertain but their goal clear. They were racing against time—and the void wasn’t going to wait.
YOU ARE READING
Gacha Summoner: Pulled into Another World
FantasiaYuuji was an ordinary college student obsessed with his favorite mobile gacha game-until one fateful summon pulled *him* into a world of magic and danger. Transported to the fantasy kingdom of Eldoria, Yuuji discovers that his gacha game has followe...
