Children of The Void Michael Ryan ...................................................................pages

By Michael Ryan

Walking to the centre of chamber, Draco pressed the gem on his ring and revealed himself without a word, waiting to see how his old allies would react. He was curious whether or not they still kept the wisdom he’d once taught them, or whether time had dulled their reason.

Without warning, two long chains flew at Draco from both sides, wrapping around his arms and pulling in opposite directions, not enough to cause any real damage, but certainly enough to catch the First Chosen off guard and limit his movement. Though Draco was in pain, he couldn’t help but smile at the trick; it was quite effective.

“You’re the one claiming the title of a god?” A figure called out from ahead of Draco, a voice he recognised immediately.

“Of course not, there’s only one god.” Draco replied.

“But Draco, you do claim to be him, don’t you?” The voice continued. It was a male voice, the voice of one of the strongest people Draco had ever met.

“I’m sorry, is the new face putting you off? Yes, I claim to be Draco, because I am.” The Chosen replied, grimacing in pain as the chains pulled even harder.

“You’re in pain.” A woman called from behind him. “Are you telling us that Draco, the First Chosen, is in pain?”

“Of course, I’m in pain. Have you forgotten everything I taught you, or are you testing me? Either way, I recommend that you remove these chains before I have to exert myself breaking them.” Draco spoke calmly, waiting for the response he knew was coming.

The two figures stayed quiet for several moments, taking the time to both observe Draco and consider his words. Then, suddenly, the chains came loose and fell to the ground, freeing the First Chosen. As Draco regained his composure, the woman he’d heard before walked up beside the male figure.

“You finally came back.” The woman said, the joy in her voice clear. “It’s been so long, but you’re finally here.”

“I told you that I would return; don’t tell me you lost hope?” Draco asked.

“Of course not, but we can’t say the same for the rest of the army; our ranks are smaller than they’ve been in centuries.” The man explained.

“I’m not surprised, I was gone far longer than I intended. Despite all that time, you two still look so young. You’ve been so strong.” Draco said, looking over his two old friends.

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“It wasn’t strength, it was faith; we promised that we’d always stay by your side.” Virgil replied.

“Faith is strength; it couldn’t have been easy. We have much to discuss, but you know what comes first.” Draco reassured, placing a hand on Virgil’s shoulder.

“Chaos.” Veronica stated.

“Where is she? It’s been too long since I’ve seen her.”

“Further down the catacombs, protected. We can take you now.” Virgil answered, motioning for his old friend to follow him.

The trio walked through countless halls until they reached their destination, a room beyond hidden doorway tucked within a shadowy alcove. In the middle of the room, laid upon a long pedestal, was a woman in a long black dress, sleeping soundly and silently.

“She hasn’t changed either. She still looks so peaceful.” Draco noted, slowly running his hand across the woman’s cheek. “She can still hear us, just like before; we’ve been looking through our books for anything that could help; any artefacts we might’ve missed, unique Chosen that slipped

through the cracks, some kind of myth or legend that could hold the answer.” Veronica said, looking over Draco and the woman with a sense of sadness.

“When’s the last time you saw a dragon or a centaur? When did you last see those weapons of legend, even the ones we used? All those myths and legends have died out, the remnants lost or in hiding; we can’t keep looking for solutions in the past, it’s time to look forward.” Draco said regretfully, as if he was remembering something that he’d lost.

“Chaos is history, what else is there? What other options do we have?”

Draco looked over the woman that was Chaos, his oldest love. Throughout all of history she was the one constant; even those who claimed to be gods feared her, what she represented. She was the beginning of existence, the first being and the creator of all, the one true God; and yet despite her power, despite her place in the universe, despite everything, she still slept, trapped in an endless slumber reaching back millennia, waiting for those who believed in her, for Draco, to wake her up.

“The Void, it’s the only option.”