I close my third eye for just a moment—one moment—and the universe punishes me for it.
Space splits like rotten fruit.
"Aetherion."
The voice is a thousand dead stars grinding together. I know it instantly: Vorthanos the Hollow Crown, Emperor of the Void Abyss. His name is a curse even gods whisper.
I ignite my divine form, golden sigils screaming to life—but his sword is already moving. A blade forged from the first world's death, cutting so fast it outruns time itself.
Almost.
If I'd reacted one second sooner, I'd have vanished. Instead, black steel kisses my ribs—
Pain.
My power shatters. Seven fragments, seven directions. The largest flees toward a blue planet. Earth. Toward… him.
Vorthanos laughs, his crown of collapsed universes dripping void-blood. "Run, little watcher. Tell your 'chosen' mortal I'm coming." He flicks his sword—severing my voice from eternity.
I fall through dimensions, clutching one last shard of my light.
Four years.
Four years to find Samuel.
Four years before Vorthanos lets us both watch the world end.