The Shadows Coil

The Shadows Coil is the sequel to the extremely popular story The Eternal Game. It tells of the fates of Shardak, Fairon, and Valkyria as their destinies collide explosively and war breaks out across the Ix Empire.

Teaser
Against all odds, Fairon has won The Eternal Game. But there are secrets waiting in the shadows, as old enemies wait for a chance to strike at the victor. Fairon wishes to bring down the evil of the Ix and their Empire, who forced him to fight in a bloody arena until there was only one being left alive. Trapped in a dark void and hunting for the only being who can stand against the Empire and win, Fairon stumbles upon an Ix plot with horrible implacations for the growing rebellion.

After escaping the Ix's tyrannical domain, Shardak is trapped in a horrible abyss between dimensions, seperated from his friends Ion, Blast, and Kyhrex. Alone and lost within a prison full of challenges far greater then any he's faced before, and with the ever-presant menace of the Ix closing in on all sides, Shardak must make a devastating choice between the life of a friend and the destruction of a tyrannical, time manipulating enemy.

Since the end of her apprenticeship, Valkyria Rhai has become a skilled Ix warrior and a deadly assassin. Her mission, to hunt down and kill Toa Shardak, seems straightforward enough. But with an ambitious Ix planning treachery within their strike team, and an evil villian bent on temporal domination, Valkyria must make a choice: either perish at the hands of an ancient, dark organization, or form an alliance with a being whose very existance goes against everything her order stands for...

And as the Ix tighten their grip on their Empire and another Eternal Game draws near, the destinies of Shardak, Fairon, and Valkyria explosively collide.

Prologue
Shadows twisted and writhed across the dark sky of Gigas Nui, the once-great city of the Gigas Magna Resistance, and now a powerful outpost of the dark Corpse Empire. The shadows flashed across the darkened planet, only distinguishable from the rest of the night sky by the fact that they were even darker than the darkest cloud. They whirled and danced across the cloudy sky, carrying a single, unspoken message. One that every being in the Solis Magna System knew and dreaded.

The Eternal Game was over.

A lone, cloaked Toa walked hurriedly across the plains that lay outside the city of Gigas Nui, watching the Shadows twist across the sky in a loose pattern, darkening the already shadowy citadel. He knew what the message meant as well. It was a sign that another year of bloodshed and misery was over, and that another was about to begin.

Once, this was a place of light, now it is the cradle of death, The Toa thought grimly, pulling his dark cloak around him tightly.

Once, the city was ruled by the noble Enforcers of Gigas Magna, who defended the city from threats and beings of shadow. Then came the Underworld war, when the Gigas Magna Empire, under the leadership of a twisted Kodax known as Tetrack, attacked the city with his armies of Threen, eventually gaining control of much of the universe.

After the Brotherhood was defeated, the city, still weakened horribly after the war, was attacked by the armies of the Ix and their Empire, who had managed to defeat Velnax and take control of the Kodax Empire. And, to keep the Toa and other beings living on Gigas Magna in a constant state of fear, ordered the beings who remained alive there to send over twenty beings from each planet under their control to join the sadistic "Eternal Game:" a dark game where about eighty beings were forced to fight to the death in a bloody arena. Then, every few years, more beings were sent to fight to the death.

But something had changed in the previous fight in the Eternal Game. Many beings had shown devotion, sacrifice, and unity within the arena, and Toa banded together to stop the Kodax group, under the command of Antidax and Tetrack.

And the Toa of Infinity, Tanuva, when given the chance to kill Fairon, a fellow contestant, instead spared the Toa and fled, followed by Iruka and the remainder of the Fallen Six. Such heroism in a dark realm of death was beyond the comprehension of the Ix and their allies.. But within the Empire itself, the spark of rebellion had grown, and the beings that were trapped in the dark empire were beginning to dream of a life without any Ix overlords, where the entire universe would be safe and free.

The Ix knew that the rebellion's rage was growing, and their only way to strike was to strike back, and strike back hard. The twisting shadows were a sign that the Empire was still as in control of the Solis Magna System as they were 100 years ago, when their reign of darkness had begun. And now, the beings trapped in Gigas Nui were certain, that the Empire would strike back, as hard as they could.

One hundred years later, we stand at the brink of another war. The Toa thought. He had watched his entire toa team be taken and he had been forced to watch them fight to the death in one of the arenas. He had been the only one to remain alive.

His name was Xhrex, the last surviving member of his Toa team. Pain welled in Xhrex when he thought of his old friends, brutally slaughtered by the Kodax armies in the Eternal Game while the Ix watched, laughing inwardly behind their impassive faces. The pain became so great the Xhrex was forced to stop his thoughts, or else lose himself in his grief once more.

I'd better return to Gigas Nui. Xhrex thought. The Corpsians will want me to watch the latest fight to the death tonight.

He had already seen the entire fight, and he had been among those cheering for Fairon after the death of Leviathos. But the Veiled Ones, to keep the horror of the carnage fresh in the being's minds, would want them to assemble and watch the completed fight to the death on the digital screens, which stored the scenes and were able to replay over, directly into the minds of the viewers. Each battle would forever be stored in their memory, and each fight to the death would always be with him until his dying day.

Turning away from the twisted shadows, which had begun to dissipate, the Toa began to return to Gigas Nui. The spires of the large city rose above him in the distance, but he could tell even from here they were in an extreme state of disrepair.

Suddenly, the temperature plummeted. The cold chilled him to his bone. Dread began to set in, and Xhrex turned around slowly, and saw a tall, cloaked being emerge from the darkness.

"Oh, Mata Nui." He gasped in horror. "No. You're dead. I watched you die. I saw you burn. You're dead!"

The being made no reply, simply raised a single hand and pointed a finger at him. Xhrex felt his blood go cold, and he turned away from the dark one. The tall figure raised another robed arm and Xhrex felt his body collapse on the cold earth. He tried to breathe, but his lungs filled with blood.

The dark liquid began to tear itself free from his body, and he began to gag on the flowing blood. It began to rise, and terror and panic began to dissapear as it was replaced by the cold feeling of death. It chilled him horribly as more blood rose and flowed openly from his body. The dark being stared at the dying toa, and suddenly it was as if his body forgot everything it once knew about staying together. His blood exploded outward, and his body imploded on itself until the Toa's own blood tore him apart.

The dark blood summoner moved closer to the body of the dead Toa, looking contemptuously at the corpse. His red eyes glowed as he turned away and slipped into the shadows. He moved slowly, gliding across the ground as he strode purposefully toward the darkened city of Gigas Nui.

''The resistance thinks they are rebelling against the power of evil. How could they ever know that they are obeying the plans of the Dark One?''

The tall Ix's cold, dispassionate gaze stared at the hazy image of the elemental standing before him. Like all of his kind, the Ix was wearing robes of the darkest black, and his eyes were cold and impassive, touched with the barest gleam of feverish light. The chamber they stood within was shrouded completely in mist, and the Elemental was barely visible, a faint outline of obsidian armor in the half-light.

"They escaped, Skorpix." he rasped at last. He was merely repeating a fact they both knew, but he needed to impress upon Skorpix that the narrow escape of the Spirit Toa had been due to chance, nothing more. Although he knew the elemental was not truely standing in front of him, it was merely an image he'd created using his highly advanced auric powers, he still felt as though the Elemental's cold red eyes were burning through him, as though he knew everything the Ix would say.

"Silencer is dead, and Melnox has been lost in Illiera. Our allies there will see that he is exterminated."

The Elemental merely nodded, his image flickering out of sight for the briefest of moments before returning. He raised one claw imperiously, and said at length,

"We have learned of this. We have already ordered a group of Illieran assassins to hunt down and kill Ion and the Glatorian with him, and recapture the Toa.

"However, this will not be enough." whispered the Elemental Prince. "They will not arrive in time to stop Ion from contacting his allies. Alert the demon Asgard. Tell him we are in need of his services."

The Ix nodded, his face behind the mask coldly indifferent, but inwardly he felt a jolt of shock, quickly followed by satisfaction. Asgard would tear the Toa from limb to limb.

"Oh, and alert our other agents in the Void that the victor Fairon will be joining them shortly." Skorpix smiled coldly.

The Ix bowed his head slightly as Skorpix waved his hand. The image of the Elemental vanished, and the Ix stepped back and vanished, the mist shrouding him from view.

Chapter 1
"Hail, Fairon!"

"Hail!" The tall Toa of light replied to the speaker, a small, hunched Ta-Matoran. He shook his head. Ever since the Eternal Game, his victory, and the return to Gigas Nui, all of the inhabitants of the ancient city had treated him like a celebrity. Fairon wished to shake off the Games forever, but no one would give him time to heal.

The Empire makes sure these horrors never leave you. Fairon reflected as he strode down the narrow alleyway.

If it was up to the Toa, he would forget about the games completely. Scour them from his memory. Destroy them. But the Empire made sure that this would never happen. They would soon begin another game, and after that, another, to continue the Games for all eternity. Fairon felt a wave of dark memories wash over him as he strode through the city.

''Serrakaan's dark robes catching fire. Dredzek's last screams as the fire consumed the mortally wounded Makuta. Tabaris exploding into thousands of bloody fragments. Fighting Antidax's Kodax hordes on the cliffs near the Void. Phoenix sneering at him as she sat on the rock beside him, raising a knife and grinning evilly as she readied to kill him...''

Fairon shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. The memories left him feeling spent, as they always did. Fairon had always thought that the "Eternal Game" was so called as it continued forever, but now the Toa wondered if it was because the memories of the arena would never leave him, no matter how long he lived.

''Nightwatcher and Antidax fighting to the death on a cliff as he grappled with Malok. Ravdev falling into a pool of lava as the Lavawight ran her through mercilessly. Kaluu burning to death inside a firey inferno. Shardak's last screams as he was flung over the edge of the void to certain death. Iruka bearing down on him at the edge of the firey arena, hauling him over the edge. The flames as they burned his body and ripped the breath from his lungs-''

Fairon shook his head again and sighed. There seemed no way for him to reflect on his world without the dark memories of the Game returning. He lifted his head from the scattered rubble and grime that coated the alleyways and lifted his face to the sun. Another day was beginning, the fifth since he had returned to Gigas Magna. Now, just as suddenly, he was leaving again. The Empire was going to take him on a trip across the universe to the Drakos System, their capital, where they would collect tribute from the other star systems for the victor, as well as rounding up other Toa for the never-ending Eternal Game.

Lekhop's mangled corpse falling from the burning cliffs as the Kodax and the Fallen Six battled to the death amidst the raging flames-

Fairon cut his nightmares off before they could return to plague him again. He could not let his mind wander from the task ahead. The Empire wanted him. The resistance wanted him. He had to choose a side. The Eternal Game was not over. There were more deadly challenges to come.

But how? Fairon thought. Beyond the insane beings that would fight hopeless battles against the Kodax in the distant Fells, there were none who dared oppose the Empire and live. The fear of losing their lives in the Eternal Game held them in a state of perpetual terror. There was no way for them to resist without the Empire destroying them all in a bloody arena.

''The leering Kodax, spear raised as he lifted the Teleporter. Serrakaan appearing behind him, and blood pouring from the Kodax's body-''

Although it had been a week since the conclusion of the Game, Fairon still felt the horror as if it where happening to him all over again.

Nightwatcher standing triumphant over the corpses of Maserix, Leptys, and Brominax as he tore their power from them and released a mighty shockwave-

Fairon cursed and kicked at the rubble-strewn ground with one armored foot. He could not rid himself of the horrible memories of the arena.

But I will make sure that no one ever has to suffer through another Eternal Game again! He thought defiantly.

Soon after the Games had concluded, a small group of rebels on Gigas Magna had contacted him, and he had met with one of their agents and agreed to meet them. While they were small, they hoped to strike a blow to the Empire that would keep them from gaining unending dominion over the universe. Fairon had agreed to meet them in one of the ancient, weakened towers of Gigas Nui, where the Gigas Magna Enforcers had once ruled. The city's once most powerful district had fallen apart, and was full of rebels, criminals, and other beings who fought with both Veiled Ones and slaves alike.

And the Empire does nothing to stop it. Thought Fairon. Turning down a long corridor, the Toa saw a single dilapidated building at the end of the alleyway like a grim sentinel among the ruins of the district. Fairon walked silently though the rubble, making sure not to disturb the wreckage.

Fairon opened the unlocked wooden door, pulling it so hard it came off the hinges. He crushed the door into the earth so hard it splintered into fragmented shards. Fairon savored his victory for a brief instant before entering the chamber. A bolted steel door barred his way, the rebel's last line of defense. Fairon knew how to bypass that as well. Raising a gloved hand, the Toa stared at the door with intense concentration. Sparks of light burst from his raised hand, and the door swung open. Fairon entered the chamber and the door clicked shut behind him.

He stood in a massive room filled with smashed armorplates, rusted swords, and cracked walls. The room seemed on the verge of collapse, and the ceiling above him creaked ominously.

"Oh, don't worry, It won't fall." Hissed a voice. Fairon turned as a clawed hand touched his shoulder. Reacting instintively, he whirled around, blade drawn, to confront a tall Toa in gleaming silver-gold armor. He carried an icey sword that gleamed with an otherworldly pulsing light, giving the impression it was charged with lightning. His hands were covered by clawed gloves.

Out of the rubble of the wreckage heap of weapons. A Toa of Water, eyes gleaming in the darkness as she appeared like a ghost from the wreckage. Then two Toa of air, a male and a female. They were armed with powerful, bladelike weapons and they stared at Fairon with a mixture of pity and hatred. Last to appear were five Glatorian, one armored in red, the others in white.

"Greetings." said the silver-masked Toa. "I am Toa Jareroden, leader of the resistance. These are Galika, Sayna, Treedaka. He said, his eyes staring at each of the Toa in turn, first the Toa of Water, then the two Toa of Air. "Flardrek." he said, gesturing to the red Glatorian. "And Shardos, Xatax, Vorral, and Zhrek."

The four Glatorian nodded a greeting, as did Galika, Sayna, Treedaka, and Flardrek. The four white Glatorian, however, remained silent, contempt in their eyes.

"Oh, don't mind them." Jareroden said. "They lost their families and friends in a search after Vinax fled the Empire."

Fairon nodded. When he'd returned, Vinax had fled from Gigas Nui for reasons that had never become clear. All of his friends had been killed. Fairon and his dead friends Fyxan and Leviathos would have been killed as well, but they had died in the arena before Vinax's betrayal. It was only Fairon's status as victor that kept him alive. Vinax, however, had yet to be found.

I hope they kill him quickly when they find him. Fairon thought. Not torture him or send him into the next Eternal Game.

"They believe that Vinax fled because you won the Eternal Game, and blame you for the deaths of their team."

Fairon remembered the bloody corpses of the Toa lying crushed at the edge of the void, Kodax spears embedded too deep to ever be removed from the body. He remembered Tanuva, the Toa who had died so Fairon could win the Eternal Game, and Leviathos, who, though mortally wounded by Ghost's soul-eating scythe, had saved Fairon's life by dragging him into the Void.

I, too, have lost my team.

"It was not my fault that Vinax chose to flee. His motives were never made clear. Maybe the Empire knows. Maybe not. But tell them I am sorry for their loss, and sympathize with them more then they know."

Jareroden nodded. "They will eventually forget their anger. And while they hate any victors, they will cooperate with our plans, for they know it is the only hope for the Empire to ever be destroyed. While we cannot hope to overthrow the Empire, we can prevent them from gaining the ultimate power. The power of the Ignika."

"The Ignika?" asked Fairon incredulosly. "The Mask of Life?"

"Yes" Jareroden replied. "I will explain more in a moment." Jareroden raised a small, computerized screen that was playing one of the Eternal Games throgh silently. The Toa inspected the screen and pressed a few keys. The sound was turned on and the Toa turned the computer over to Fairon.

The Toa of Light gasped in shock. The scene was all white, and was showing a scene he recognized all too well. He, Fyxan, Tanuva, his small alliance of Toa and Makuta, and Glatorian Shardak and Blast cowering in a small cavern. Leviathos was there as well, using his limited (or not so limited, as he had soon discovered) Time abilities to hold the white death of Nightwatcher's shockwave at bay. A wave of memories washed over Fairon again, and before he could stop them he was back in the world of the arena...

''Tanuva, eyes bloodshot and desparate, readying to kill Fairon, Fyxan, Leviathos, Shardak and Blast as they huddled in the caverns below the arena. Tanuva, A bag of Iruka's supplies raised, decoying Iruka away from Fairon as the leader of the Fallen Six readied to kill the two Toa. Fyxan, remaining in the caves, using the scythe of creation to keep the power of the arena at bay while Tanuva and Fairon's team readied to attack Antidax's Kodax hordes...''

"During the games, a group of our agents found evidence that supported the idea that Blast was a traitor to the Empire. They managed, before he entered the arena, to attach a tracking device to him, without the Empire discovering it."

"However, this device malfunctioned once Blast fell into the Void, as you might imagine. However, one week ago, the device appeared again-- in the Circle."

"The Circle?" asked Fairon. "Why--"

"We have agents there as well, and yesturday we sent a transmission to Silencer a mutated Toa of Fire allied with our cause, asking why the beacon had turned up in the Circle. He stated that they had discovered the location of the Mask of Life, and after recovering the device, attatched it to the bearer. Soon after, three undercover resistance operatives in the Drakos System managed to trace the mask's whereabouts to a specific location- The Void."

"The Void?" Fairon felt as though he'd been punched. His memories of the Void were so horrible, it took all his willpower not to vanish into his memories of the arena. "Surely it was destroyed, along with the entry to the arena. And even if it wasn't, the Void would have absorbed them. I watched it kill four contestants in the games. Shardak, Ghost, Nightwatcher, and Leviathos all met their deaths there. Dredzek may have vanished into the Void as well."

"We believe, however, that the Void does not instantly kill."

"What?!" Fairon was shocked. "It kills beings and absorbs them. All who fall there are obliterated from the universe, used to feed the Void..."

"Yes" said Jareroden. "That is what the Empire wants you to believe, and yes, it does absorb beings and feed on them. While there is no doubt that many of those who fell were killed by the fall itself, there was one being we were able to trace who fell into the Void and survived."

"Iruka!" said Fairon. "I was sure he was killed by the fall, yet he somehow emerged after his battle with Nightwatcher to attack me again. How?"

"We do not know for sure. However, we believe that Iruka encountered someone or something there that returned him to the arena for an unknown reason."

These revelations were making Fairon dizzy. He asked. "So where is the mask now?"

"Possibly lying in the realms below the Void. Ancient tales speak of beings who live there, deities of death, space, and time, that control the fabric of the multiverse and would tear it to shreds if ever released. But the mask could enhance their powers to impossible levels, levels so great that they would break free from the Void and rip this world apart forever."

"So you wish me and a group of resistance members to follow the Mask into the Void? How will I enter the Void?"

Another thought occured to him. "And what of my status as victor? The Ix want to control me, to use me as a pawn to exert control over their Empire."

"Yes, we are aware of that. If you agree to help us, Zhrek and Shardos will go in your place. You will go disguised as me, the leader of the rebels. Flardrek, Galika, Sayna, Treedaka, and I will accompany you."

"So that's is where the Void entrance is, Drakos City?" Fairon guessed.

"Obviously." Said Jareroden. "The Ix have been using it as a method of execution to destroy prisoners that displeased them. If the Void really is a portal, however, then they may be still alive." He locked eyes with Fairon. "I cannot tell you more unless you agree to join us. If they capture you the Empire will torture this information out of you, something we can't afford unless you join us."

Fairon realized they had backed him into an inescapable corner. If he did not join, they would kill him, for they could not let the secrets they told him be known to the Empire. If he did join, he would be forced to commit suicide by jumping into the Void. Or worse, If he survived...

Fairon let the thought trail off. They may have been forcing him into a a suicide mission, but he had vowed he would do everything he could to destroy the Empire after the Games.

"I will join you." He answered. He wished Jareroden had explained why and how Silencer had discovered the tracking beacon on Blast, but decided against it for now.

"Excellent." said Jareroden. "We have discovered another entrance to the Void in a place you know very well. The old arena."

Fairon felt as though he'd been punched again. He would be returning to the scene of his nightmares.

''Antidax, with one bolt of dark lightning, turning Kawa to dust. Nightwatcher, fighting Iruka to the death while the few remaining survivors of the battle fled--''

"I know what you experienced there. But if we succeed in recovering the Ignika, we're one step closer to making sure your horrors are never repeated."

Fairon relaxed, remembering his goal. While he certainly did not trust the Glatorian, he trusted these four Toa. They'd probably been victors themselves, or they would have long since been killed or turned into shadow Toa by the Ix.

"I will come." he said finally, sealing his destiny as an enemy of the Empire.

Chapter 2
All was still within the dark abyss that was the Void. Not a creature stirred, and the blackness that obscured the Void prevented sight completely. But what did it matter to the corpses that lay in the Void, their eyes staring sightlessly up into the blackness. Everything that mattered in the world above was meaningless here. All was dark. All was still.

Suddenly, light broke through the darkness. Twin glowing red orbs slashed through the black shades, gleaming balefully in the shadows. The dark light that shone from the eyes cast red light on the approaching figure's shadowy claws.

Most of the being was pure black, the rest of his armor gray, colors that seemed to melt into the darkness and blend the being into the shadowy void. Slowly, the creature came into view, illuminated by the torch he carried in one clawed hand. Light, something so incomprehensible in this realm of darkness, flickered constantly. The tall shadow Matoran who carried the dying torch shivered with a tingle of foreboding.

Corzakx gazed through the darkness, trying to keep the torch burning while his eyes stared coldly at the Void. If he was not as loyal to his master as some, he would not be here. Only the thought of Dredzek's last message to him through their telepathic link kept him going, had made him jump into the Void the way he did. He had expected to be killed, like the Ix who had forced Dredzek and Millennium into the Eternal Game had told him, but he had not.

He had survived, and was now in a prison, a prison with absolutely no way out. He had tried for hours to escape this prison, but, while this world had less gravity then the world above, he still had no way to escape the Void. Only Dredzek's last message kept him going.

''Come to the Void. The Scythe is there.''

Most Matoran, having seen their master die, would ignore this final message. But Corzakx was not most Matoran. Like all Onu-Matoran, he had once lived a simple life on his home island of Versuva. When Dredzek became protector of Versuva, Corzakx had joined him, and when the Makuta rebelled against Mata Nui, Corzakx became a shadow Matoran.

Dredzek had risen in the Brotherhood's hierarchy, and Corzakx with him. When the Brotherhood met destruction after the takeover of the Ix in the Xaterex Civil War, Corzakx and Dredzek's true master was revealed-- Millennium, leader of the Shadow of Ages, a secret organization that wished to rule over time itself. After a long time, the Empire took over leadership of the Shadow of Ages, and Millennium, along with Dredzek, Corzakx, and an inner group of elite Shadow of Ages soldiers had fled.

Millennium continued to manipulate the Empire from behind the scenes. Eventually, However, Millennium and Dredzek were hunted down and subdued, and after being held prisoner for a few years, was forced to join the Eternal Game.

The previous game had ended with a Makuta lord as victor, and Dredzek was sent with his master in to the Eternal Game. Corzakx and a small group of Shadow of Ages had escaped, and they had watched the game together, hoping that their masters would triumph and return. When Millennium was killed, Corzakx saw for the first time a chance that Dredzek would win. The Matoran had watched as the final contestants, the last of Antidax's Kodax, Tabaris, Fairon, Serrakaan and Iruka make their moves.

Tabaris had been killed first, destroyed by Serrakaan. The Kodax fell to the Blood Summoner as well, and when the arena exploded into flames Fairon survived and escaped while Dredzek and Iruka were destroyed. Corzakx, however, knew that Dredzek was a survivor. He had obeyed Dredzek's last instructions to enter the Void, knowing that Dredzek had flung the Scythe into the Void during the final battle before the flames. Corzakx and fifty of the most fanatical Shadow of Ages members had entered the Void itself, sneaking into the Drakos System and flinging themselves into the Void.

Most of the Shadow of Ages soldiers had been lost on their arrival, disappearing into the Void, and four were wounded badly and abandoned. Six were found lying dead in the Void, and three still followed Corzakx through the darkness.

The Matoran motioned to the soldiers behind him. They were tall, masked beings with scythe-like spears made of iron that gleamed in the shadows. The spears ended in long, curved sickle points that could kill a Glatorian with a single blow. They all were wounded. One's shoulder was savagely torn open, and the others were badly scraped. Despite these wounds, the soldiers displayed no signs of pain.

From the dying light of the torch and the gleaming spears, Corzakx made out his surroundings. They were on some sort of ledge that jutted out into the otherwise empty Void. On one side, the walls of the Void gleamed in the darkness. To their right the Void cascaded into the darkness. Even with the light, Corzakx could not see into the pit. Ahead, a body lay sprawled unnaturally on the ground, his dulled golden armor gleaming in the shadows. Half of the corpse hung over the edge of the Void, but the feet, buried completely under the rocks, held it hanging halfway over the edge of the Void.

Corzakx approached the corpse, he kicked it twice, but it did not stir. Corzakx inspected the body. One dead hand still held a gleaming sword, the other, a bloodied dagger. A smashed metal blaster lay at the Glatorian's feet. Corzakx thought back to the Eternal Game, when he had seen this same toa kill a Makuta in the battle on the edge of the Void. He also remembered watching Antidax smashing the Glatorian to death with a single blow and watching the body fall over the edge of the cliff, wounded horribly. The fall had obviously killed him.

Well, it didn't matter now. All that mattered was finding the Scythe. Corzakx gestured to the Shadow of Ages soldiers to search the Void. Two began searching around the Glatorain's corpse, the others continued along the cliff face, holding their blades out before them. The Void had many legends surrounding it, and the Shadow of Ages had been studying the abyss for centuries. Eventually, they had come to the same conclusion as Jareroden-the Void was a prison, not a destroyer. A prison for every being that had ever crossed the Empire, as well as beings that predated the current multiverse.

A Shadow of Ages soldier walked silently over to Corzakx. His hood was slightly torn, and his armor was badly dented. In addition to his normal weapons, he carried a damaged Scythe. Though damaged and badly mangled, power still glowed in the blunted, melted blade. While it was useless as a weapon, Cozakx knew it still contained the power of reality-possibly the most deadly force in existance.

The Scythe of Creation had been created long ago by a mysterious being. Little was known of him, and no one knew anything about him. Millennium had known about him, as had Dredzek and Corzakx, as well as a few elite Shadow of Ages members. The being had long since vanished, and even Millennium could not locate him. Since the death of its original weilder, the Toa of Light Crystillix, it had been in the possession of the Empire.

For reasons known only to them, the Empire had let Blast retain the Scythe for the Games. Corzakx had seen him use it, and while he had displayed deadly power with the Scythe, such as aiding Leviathos' time powers and vaporizing Makuta Benjarmin in the caverns below the arena. It had then caused a massive explosion, burying Millennium forever beneath the caverns, along with the Baterra and the Element Lord of Technology.

Corzakx rasied the Scythe, and felt the object's power. The power contained within the weapon was deadly. The power of reality contained in the Scythe was so great that Corzakx recoiled. He withdrew his mind from the Scythe, knowing that it would kill him if he immersed himself in its power. He felt, rather than saw, the beings that had carried the Scythe, remnants of those who had used the Scythe, for good or for evil.

First to appear was a Toa in gleaming golden armor, Crystillix, the being that had been created to use the Scythe in the Great Being War. Then more Toa appeared. Fire, Water, Air and Earth Toa, long forgotten. Another Toa of Light, Hendrax, who also carried the Scythe. He "saw" A Toa of Air, a Toa of Gravity, a Toa of Stone. The Corpsian who had slain the Toa of Ice who had last carried the Scythe and taken it to the Empire, where it had been thrown away, and eventually had come into the possession of a being known as Blast. A being called Leviathos, from the games, who had been killed by Ghost, had carried the Scythe briefly in the Eternal Game. Then Fyxan, who had been imprisoned in stasis by Dredzek, who had taken the Scythe and flung it into the Void before he had been killed by the flames in the final battle at the Void.

As he called upon the powers of the Scythe, Corzakx felt the power surge through him. He was unable to control it at first, and the power began to control him. Corzakx fell to the ground, and writhed like a Doom Viper. Somehow he managed to hold the Scythe. He tried to fling it away, but found he couldn't. He felt as if his skull was about to burst-

Then the pain vanished.

Corzakx rasied the molten Scythe, willing it to recreate Dredzek. He knew that the Scythe was capable of altering reality. He knew it could recreate his master. Just as the Scythe was used by its owners, its owners were used by the Scythe. The Scythe contained some of Dredzek's spirit, and using the Scythe, he could return Dredzek to life by creating another spirit to merge with Dredzek.

He saw the artificial spirit he had created flow through the Scythe, then merge with the antidermis trapped within the Scythe. The Matoran writhed in agony, pain blocking out his vision completely. Slowly, Dredzek's antidermis began to reform. The artificial antidermis merged with Dredzek's completely, and an image of Dredzek's body appeared, faint at first, then slowly becoming whole.

Corzakx fell to his knees.

"My Lord." he whispered.

Dredzek smiled thinly. "You came to the Void. I knew you would."

"I will go to the end of the multiverse if Dredzek commands!" said Corzakx. "I have taken the Shadow of Ages with me. They still have no idea how to escape this Void, but we can find a way. The Scythe of Creation has powers of reality so great it could eaily free us from the Void.

"We cannot leave the Void." Dredzek snarled. "Not while my antidermis is incomplete. I feel...broken, with only this weak peice of Antidermis. The artificial spirit keeps me alive, but it is a half-life, weak and torturous."

Corzakx was confused. "Then why did you want this...half-life, if it is so weakening? Surely, in all the thousands of years you worked for the Shadow of Ages, you could have found another way to heal your antidermis."

"While I was within the Scythe of Creation, I sensed a new power enter the Void. One that contained a limitless supply of power. It could heal me completely, and free us from the Void. Trying to use the Scythe to return to the surface would destroy the weapon and leave us stranded here, and I still need it. Once we have this power and the Scythe, I will be more powerful then the Great Beings themselves! And even the Empire will fall before the power of the Shadow of Ages!"

Chapter 3
Toa Shardak awoke to pitch blackness.

His first sensation was confusion. Where was he? How had he come to be here? Why had he entered this strange place of darkness? Had he been blinded?

Then his confusion was replaced by excruciating pain. His entire shoulder burned with pain, and, staring at his wounds, he saw the horrible tear in his shoulder that was covered in dried blood and acid, and the memories of the past few days came flooding back.

We were trying to escape the Ix...they caught us, and a Stalker tore open my shoulder.

He was conscious of a lesser, yet still horribly painful, wound on his leg, where a deadly Ix Eliminator had cut him in their escape from the Circle two days earlier. Though the memories pained him, Shardak was forced to recall what had happened in the Labyrinth: The Fury, a deadly Ix commander, had caught them, and Silencer had sacrificed himself to hold off the Ix's armies of darkness.

Then the final memory, why he'd come to this place of blackness, came back to him in all its dark glory. They'd been attacked and confronted by the Ix on the edge of the Grand Abyss, and Melnox had revealed their only hope for survival was to enter the Void itself.

And so Toa Shardak, as well as his friends, the Glatorian Blast, Kyhrex, and Toa Ion, had lept into the Void, trusting that Melnox had not condemned them to death.

But where was he now? Had he actually fallen to the bottom of the Void? Was there even a way out? Melnox had seemed convinced there was an exit to the Void, but he'd never been there himself.

Oh, Mata Nui. thought Shardak. He felt around for a few moments, remembering he'd been carrying a lantern from the Circle, the underground outpost of the Ix. Had it been extinguished in the fall?

A quick search confirmed his worst fears. The lantern was gone, as were all his supplies. As he searched around frantically for a few more moments, he felt his hand hit something solid, quickly followed by a burst of pain. Raising his hand to his mask, he realized he was bleeding.

Lifting the object, he felt the edges of the tool and realized what it was. The Blade of Arcturas. he thought, elated now. There has to be a way to light it on fire, the way Arcturas did in the battle with the Copies of Corpse.

Saddened now, Shardak remembered how Arcturas had died-- at the hands of the Fury, impaled by the Ix commander's spear.

You can't dwell on that now. Shardak thought. ''Finding Ion and the others is what matters now, or Arcturas' sacrifice was in vain. How did Arcturas light his weapon afire?''

The answer came to him quicker then he expected. ''He probably used Elemental Fire, like Kyhrex, to create the flames. I don't control that power, however.''

Hopelessness engulfed him. He'd been awake in this black void for nearly twenty minutes now, and still his vision had not adjusted. Since he'd been captured by Banrax and taken to the Circle, he'd been in many dark corridors and tunnels. But these shadows seemed different, as though they were hungary for light and devoured it at any oppurtunity. He could feel them now, surrounding him with a thickening aura of all-consuming darkness, as if life itself was not welcome here.

Desperation, the thought that he might never emerge from this abyss, gave Shardak strength. There's got to be a way out of this. he thought, and though he himself did not believe the words, the thought made him more confident.

My lantern's probably around here somewhere. he thought, then bit back a scream of pain as he rose to his feet. The wound on his leg made running nearly impossible.

Shardak wondered if there was a way to heal his wounds using the aura field. Even after nearly three weeks under the training of Silencer, Ion, and Melnox, there was still much he did not know.

Slowly, he began walking forward, his entire body screaming in protest when he moved his arm or shoulder, searching for something solid. The ground beneath his feet felt hard and rocky, like the edge of a cliff. The ground was also slanted. He followed the slanted ground for a few more feet, carefully placing one foot in front of the other

Suddenly, he took another half-step forward-- into nothingness. He'd almost walked over the edge of a massive cliff and fallen even deeper into the oppressive darkness. Shardak's breath caught in his throat. How far had he fallen? Had he landed on an overhang, looking over the Void?

Then suddenly he saw a spark of green light out of the corner of his eye. Turning away from the ledge and toward the source of light, the Toa realized Kyhrex's lantern, powered by the Circle's efficient light crystals, still gave off light in the dark void. Lying beside it, half-illuminated by the green light, was the object that the Ix had killed Silencer for: the Shadow Orb, once called the heart of the Ix's power.

"Mata Nui, thank you." gasped Shardak in relief, grabbing the lantern and the Orb. His own voice sounded strange, muted and subdued, as if the darkness stifled even sound. Whatever else could be said about the Ix, they created items to last the test of time. Both of the items had survived the fall.

But had they even truly fallen? Shardak remembered how Melnox had told him the Void's Edge was merely another gateway to the Void, as Banrax had taken them through a gateway to enter the Circle, a plane that bordered Xaterex.

Surprised, Shardak raised the lantern, shedding green light on his surroundings. The cliff he stood upon was formed of black rock, darker and harder then the obsidian prison of the Ix. Raising his lantern, he saw two spires of dark rock, curved like the blade of a scimitar, rising high above his head like ominous avengers. The cliff itself was wide and narrow, with a jagged wall of rock rising high above his head and out of sight.

Shardak wondered if he could scale the cliff, but quickly abandoned the idea. This cliff was far too sheer, and there was absolutely no way even Ion could climb to the surface.

The eerie green light did not travel far in the oppressive darkness, but it did shed light on his surroundings, Shardak quickly realized he was on a small cliff jutting out into the grand abyss. Walking toward the edge, he attempted to shine a light across the massive chasm. He could hardly penetrate the darkness.

We couldn't even see the other side of the Abyss at Void's Edge. remembered Shardak. Again he wondered where he'd landed, and how far he'd fallen. He certainly hadn't reached the bottom of the Void, for he could see the depths of darkness descended even further into the abyss.

Guided by the light of his lantern, Shardak walked along the edge of the steadily widening cliff, feeling very small and insignificant in the dark void. He felt so completely helpless it was as though he did not exist, as though the blackness had sucked away his very identity.

The small ledge had grown much wider, and Shardak eventually could no longer see the cliff's edge. He saw many more of the tall curved rock formations, however, and wondered briefly if this void was inhabited.

Eventually, Shardak saw another light-- not green this time, but blue. "Yes!" he said. He recognized those flames. They were that of a Cold Fire torch, used often in the Circle, where ice was burned and fire was cold.

And Blast had been carrying one during their escape through the Labyrinth three days ago. Hardly daring to hope it was his friend, Shardak raced toward the source of the light, his breath caught in his throat.

"Shardak?" the voice broke the silence, small and faint yet still wholly recognizable.

"Blast!" gasped Shardak, happiness flooding through him. His friend had survived the fall, and had been searching for him.

Walking over to his friend, Shardak smiled. "You survived the fall."

"There you go again, stating the obvious." said Blast, but Shardak detected real warmth in his voice. "I've been searching for you, Kyhrex, and Ion for hours!"

"So have I." Shardak recounted how he'd landed on the narrow ledge, then followed the cliff's edge until he'd come to this massive plateau hanging out into the Void.

"Have you seen Ion and Kyhrex?" asked Shardak. "Are they okay?"

Blast's expression turned grave. "I haven't seen them since we jumped into the Void."

Shardak wondered if leaping into the Void on Melnox's orders had been the right desision. Maybe if they'd given themselves up to the Ix--

Blast must have seen the expression on his face, because he said, "Shardak. There was nothing you could do. It was enter the Abyss or die."

"Maybe I could have made the Ix listen to me." said Shardak.

"They'd have listened, all right, while they were cutting you from limb to limb!" snarled Blast. "If your evil sister or the Fury had gotten their hands on us, we'd be dead as well."

Shardak knew Blast was right. He'd seen the Ix and their brutality reflected in the faces of the Kranr and Matoran from the Circle, in the eyes of Silencer as he told Shardak about the Eternal Game, and the shocked features of Barit as Nightshade had--

"I know. I just wish I could have saved Barit as well."

"You can't save everyone, Shardak." said Blast.

"I can't save anyone." said Shardak miserably. "Ion and Kyhrex could be dead now, for all we know. Melnox, Silencer, Barit, Arcturas-- all dead."

"We never saw Melnox die." argued Blast, but his expression said otherwise. "Maybe he escaped the Ix."

"Silencer knew much more about you then he told you." said a new voice. Startled, Shardak, Blast, and Kyhrex turned as a tall shape stepped into the light.

Shardak felt as though his entire world was balanced on a knife-edge as he strode toward the oncoming figure, the Blade of Arcturas in his hand. Not for the first time, he wished he could set it afire, the way Arcturas had in the Void.

Then he recognized the figure and lowered the blade.

"Ion?" he gasped, letting all of his fear of a foe far worse then Asgard flicker out.

"That's the second time you mistook me for an enemy." said Ion. Shardak fell silent as he remembered the first time three days earlier, when Silencer had rescued them and fought the Fury to the death so they could escape the Ix's tyrrany.

"We were already attacked once." said Shardak as he lead the tall, mutated Toa back to where Blast and Kyhrex were sitting. Shardak told him of how the demon Asgard and his minions had attacked them, and attempted to seize Shardak's Kanohi.

Ion nodded as if this was not surprising, then said, "I know of a safer place to rest. Asgard and his remaining minion may still be out there, and we won't have the element of surprise this time."

Shardak nodded, but inwardly he seethed with impatience. He'd been wanting to ask Ion about Silencer's mention of the words 'spirit' and 'victor' in his discussion with the unknown ally, and about the mention of his allies. The Ix had murdered his friends, killed Silencer before his eyes, and forced them into the Void. He deserved to know the full truth.

Ion led the group of Toa and Glatorian to a small ledge overlooking the wider plains below. Three of the strange black spires had fused into a massive curved pillar of stone that hid them all beneath its massive shadow. Kyhrex fingered her laser crossbow, as though she expected Asgard or another enemy to attack them immediately.

"Shardak. I sense that you have many questions for me, even though I cannot use the aura field. Tell me, what is it you wish to know?" said Ion as they sat down at the base of the massive pillar.

Shardak froze, ashamed that Ion was able to read him so well. He sensed nothing but calm from Ion, then again, his aura senses were limited. Still, he decided to ask the question that had been plaguing him ever since Melnox's revelation near the edge of the Void.

"Everything." said Shardak. "Melnox told me that 'we' were planning all along to flee into the Void. Why did Silencer bother to train me, if he was going to condemn me to the Void? Is there any hope for you and your allies?"

Ion sighed, resigned. "Very well. I will answer your questions. However, understand I will not tell you everything. This is not because I wish to hold anything back from you, but because the information will only put you in more danger then you already are."

Ion paused for a moment, then said, "There is a war going on, all across the Solis Magna System. And both sides are fighting over you."

"Me?" gasped Shardak. "A war--"

"Doubtless very few beings outside the Circle know of your existence here." said Ion. "But they're not fighting over you, exactly, they're fighting to see who controls what remains of the Toa Order."

"But I thought--" Shardak began, but Ion cut him off.

"Yes, the Toa have either been killed or won the Eternal Game, and are thus as good as dead. But remains of the old order still exist, and are still fighting.

"When the Order was young, it was then we first encountered the mysterious sect of aura users known as the Ix. Back then, they were far more secretive then they are today, but still aggressive. By the time I came into being, they'd corrupted the Order from within, and by then the multiverse had exploded into all-out war. The Ix seized control of most of Xaterex and the nearby planets, and Silencer, Melnox, and I were forced into hiding after the Battle of Chrone."

"The Battle of Chrone?" asked Shardak.

"It was the Ix's greatest decisive victory over the Toa Order. Using a secretive order known as the Shadow of Ages to lure us to Chrone, the Shadow's island base. We were defeated there, and it broke the power of the Order.

However, this was not the end, for many other remnants of various governments joined us in opposing the Ix. I was forced into hiding, for my powers were greatly diminished. And so the war rages on, the remnant fleeing from the Ix's relentless threat.

"And you, Shardak, are the Ix's grand prize in the war. Melnox was not lying to you when he said you'd been marked. We needed to get you as far away as possible from the Ix and their deadly plans."

"But why the Void?" asked Shardak. "Do you have a way out?"

As Ion opened his mouth to answer, another light fell over them. But unlike the light from a Cold Fire torch or a Circle lantern, this light was red, cold and feral.

"Mata Nui, what is that?" gasped Blast.

The creature standing before them reminded Shardak slightly of an Elemental, but his features were bestial, alight with rage. Spikes and crimson armor covered it from head to foot, and it had three long, spiked tails. Oddly, the creature's eyes, which Shardak saw were burning red, seemed dimmed and weakened, like the Void had sapped his vitality.

"What have we here?" it whispered. It's voice was a deep baritone drawl. "Two lost Glatorian? Or maybe...a Toa?" the being turned his cold gaze on Ion.

"Asgard." whispered Ion, his voice cold and full of surprise and hatred. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"

Shardak was beginning to grow uneasy. This being's bizarre appearance and burning red eyes reminded him too much of his time spent as a prisoner of the Ix, where two of the Ix had tortured them to glean information about their past. They'd have discovered his destiny had not Silencer rescued him.

"What do I want?" asked the being. It seemed amused by the question. "Existance on the Great Plain isn't terribly exciting. It's so massive, beings rarely ever encounter others here, and when they do, their power levels are all relatively the same. But a healthy young Glatorian, as well as the two Toa the Ix are seeking...We'll be able to play with you for a good, long time."

He knows. realized Shardak. He's working for the Ix.

As the being spoke, two more of the red-eyed beings emerged from the darkness. Unlike the first, they were smaller, and only had a single tail. Their eyes gleamed with predatory excitement.

"Your orders, Asgard?" asked one of the beings.

"You know what to do." answered the three-tailed being. "Now, would you rather run, or shall I fight you now?"

Shardak didn't quite know what to say. They'd only narrowly escaped the tyranny of the Ix, only to be once more in their domain. He'd heard from Silencer that most of the beings who haunted the void had been prisoners for so many years they'd become apathetic to their situation and merely drifted through the empty blackness. These were definitely not prisoners. They'd learned somehow about their narrow escape from the Circle.

Then Asgard's eyes fell on Shardak's mask. His eyes widened in shock, which quickly turned to determination. "So you're the Toa...amazing. Why would they risk one of their operatives, with such an important Kanohi, no less, here?"

"Well, it is no matter." said Asgard dismissively. "After five hundred years trapped within the Abyss, I see no reason to refuse a way out. The Ix will reward me graciously for finishing off Toa Ion and the Glatorian who caused them so much trouble in their Circle."

He turned to the two beings standing behind him and motioned with his clawed hand toward the Toa and Glatorian.

"Kill them." he snarled. "Kill them both!"

Fairon sat tensed within the small hovercraft, watching as Flardrek, Jareroden, Galika, Treedaka, Sayna, and the other toa readied their weapons. Fairon had already readied his lance. The rebels had replaced the one that had been destroyed in the arena.

"So, how did you all survive it?" Fairon asked Jareroden.

"Survive what?" asked the Toa of Psionics.

"Elimination." said Fairon. "The Corpsians virtually annihilated the Toa race." He knew the story. Everyone did. When the Ix had first attacked the Toa, they'd engineered a bioweapon known as Elimination to quickly kill Toa. The disease spread and dispersed quickly, allowing the Ix to use it often and dangerously effectively during the war.

"We were from an alternate reality, like many of the Toa captured last year for the Eternal Game" Sayna answered. "We were captured by the Empire's dimensional gateway traps, and taken to the arena."

"So you're all victors?" he asked.

"Treedaka and I won the games in two years, first him, then me." she answered. "Jareroden, Flardrek, and Galika have also won the Eternal Game."

Fairon nodded in reply. He'd seen Jareroden's victory before. The Toa had killed a massive Makuta by stabbing him with a lightning spear. The Makuta had survived, and flung Jareroden over the edge of a cliff, but the Toa had dragged the Makuta over the edge with him. Jareroden had suffered near-fatal wounds, but the Empire had managed to rescue him in time to save him.

He remembered Flardrek winning the Games as well, he had impaled two Kodax with fire arrows, and killed the last contestants by using his fire sword he had gained in the games to set off fire traps within massive pockets of earth below the arena, causing the entire arena to burst into flames as soon as the Skakdi warriors attacked him. Flardrek had killed the final survivor himself, disarming the Skakdi and beheading him with his own axe.

The thought of fire made Fairon remember the explosion of red-hot flames as Iruka emerged from the darkness, demanding--

Galika, though... he couldn't quite remember when she'd won the Eternal Game. Then it clicked. "Galika won the year with the flood, right?"

"Yes." answered Sayna. "One of the contestants set off a massive water trap that caused a cataclysm across the entire arena. She won because she could swim while evading the monstrous creatures within the watery depths."

Fairon had been far younger when that game had occured. He didn't remember much, just explosions of water and contestants battling madly against the waves.

They've all been through what I have. thought Fairon. For some reason, the idea both unsettled and intruiged him.

"We've all been forced to do things we would have never done as Toa." said Sayna, as though reading his thoughts. "We're probably not even worthy of that title now. But we will do anything to prevent the Empire from forever crushing freedom across the multiverse."

Fairon nodded, unsettled by their discussion. Discussing the arena brought back a wave of memories, most of them dark. Even the moments he'd spent with Blast, Tanuva, and Leviathos were tainted by the Ix, for all of his friends who had been taken with him into the arena had been killed.

Even now, the memory of Leviathos' final battle with Ghost and Tanuva's ultimate sacrifice were still as vivid as the day they had occured.

"We're here." said Jareroden, his voice grim. "The Void."

Fairon was surprised. "Shouldn't this arena be completely off-limits by now? That the Ix would fail to guard the arena is unusually sloppy of them."

Jareroden also looked puzzled. "It is odd that they'd not guard this arena heavily. Still, I doubt they'd expect six Toa and Glatorian in a stolen hovercraft to leap into the soul-eating Void."

The hovercraft landed silently, and Treedaka entered the main chamber. "We're ready." he said grimly.

Leaving the confines of the starcraft, Fairon steeled himself to return to the place of his nightmares. It was night, and the stars shone coldly down, as coldly impassive as they had been since the end of the games. Most of the trees and other plants had been burned, and the grass had been charred or, in many places, completely burned away.

''So this is what became of the arena. After the game, it's been simply abandoned.''

Fairon wondered the arena for a few moments, then was struck by an idea. After wandering this place for nearly a month, he knew exactly where he wanted to go. Striding through the forest, he quickly saw it come into sight-- the cave where he, Fyxan, Leviathos, Tanuva, and Blast had taken shelter during Nightwatcher's massive shockwave attack.

The caven remained unchanged, though the entrance had collapsed in on itself. Fairon guessed that when Dredzek had left the cave with the Scythe of Creation, the barriers Leviathos and Blast had set up around it disintegrated into nothingness.

Lying sprawled at the cave's entrance was the charred corpse of a being, features still recognizable.

Fyxan.

This Kodax had been one of his greatest friends, one of his only true allies in the games. Apart from Tanuva and Leviathos, he had been the only being to sacrifice his life for Fairon's.

Fairon remembered that last moment they'd spent together, within the cavern, Tanuva, Blast, and Leviathios ready to return to the arena.

''"I will stay." Fyxan spoke quietly, his voice steady. "I'm the most wounded of us all. I'll hold him and his machines off as long as I can. Until I die."''

''"But the caves will collapse around you as soon as Blast leaves the caves." pointed out Leviathos. "If you die before he reaches you, Dredzek will escape unharmed."''

''Blast unlimbered his Scythe. "Take this, Fyxan. The Scythe contains the power to hold the time walls up a few more minutes."''

''Fairon stared at his friend, and watched as Blast gave away his most prized possession to the Kodax. And at that moment, Fairon didn't care that everyone in the Kodax Empire was watching, every one of the remaining Toa stood within the chamber. This moment was only for the two friends, parting, unlikely to ever see each other again.''

''"No one can tell me." Fairon said, his voice cracking. "That there are no heroes in the Eternal Game. May the Great Beings be with you, Fyxan."''

''"And you, Fairon." Fyxan turned, and readied his own blade and the Scythe of Creation, and prepared to face Dredzek...''

After seeing the complete Game after his victory, he'd watched Dredzek imprison Fyxan in temporal stasis, and guessed the prison had disintegrated when the arena went up in flames. He'd tried to flee the collapsing cave...only to be destroyed in the inferno.

"May your spirit find peace, Fyxan." whispered Fairon, turning away. He'd hoped that perhaps Fyxan had survived the imprisonment, but he realized now it was a foolish hope. Dredzek had no way of knowing it was Blast's and Leviathos' power holding the cave together, and he knew nothing about the shockwave. Had his prison not failed, Fyxan would have been crushed to death.

Suddenly Fairon wanted to be anywhere but the arena, even the Void. Returning to the group of Toa and Glatorian, Fairon saw that Treedaka, Sayna, Jareroden, Galika, Flardrek, Xatax, and Vorral had gathered near the edge of the Void. While the rest of the arena had been changed irrevocably by the firestorm, the Void remained the same, a well of pure, enigmatic darkness.

"Ready?" said Jareroden.

"Ready." confirmed Fairon, hoping his voice sounded firm. Reentering the arena and seeing Fyxan's corpse had shaken him, and now they were about to enter a realm that was either a void of annihilation or a prison that contained entities from the dawn of time. Fairon wasn't sure which he preferred.

As the group of Toa and Glatorian readied to leap into the Void, Fairon whispered a final sentance, one last group of syllables that could be the last he ever uttered on the surface of the earth. Words that no one, except perhaps Jareroden, heard before it was swept away on the wings of the wind.

"I will return."

Chapter 4
The darkness of the Void, oppressive and cold, shrouded even the shadows of beings from sight. Had any being been standing there who could see through the darkness, they would have seen the murky shadows of beings striding across a ledge overlooking the Void. All were armed, and carried lanterns that shed red light. The illumination served to penetrate the darkness for only five feet around them.

They were, thought Ix warrior Valkyria Rhai with satisfaction, for all intents and purposes, invisible. Unless a being was standing directly in front of them, they would never spot the Ix until it was far too late.

Beside her, her old mentor Scrall Vhokyn gestured with one clawed hand toward a shadowy shape in front of them. Both of the Ix wore shadowy cloaks of mottled green and brown, that blended well with the darkness. Both carried daggers, and Valkyria had a bow and quiver slung over her slender shoulder.

"There is our target. Hopefully he will be able to provide us with the information we need to find the Toa." Scrall whispered, his voice paper-thin and nasal.

"Is he alone?" asked Valkyria. Her voice, light and musical, was similar to all the Ilierans who had served the Ix in the generations following their separation from the Core Universe during the Xaterex Civil War.

Tall and slender, Valkyria possessed all of the physical qualities the Ix desired, and had been trained in both the aura field and in physical combat until she could defeat nearly all of the opponents she faced. She had quickly become one of the most skilled Ix apprentices. Still, the challenges she faced here were greater then anything any of their order had faced in nearly a century.

She and an elite strike team selected from her Ix order under Scrall Vhokyn had journeyed to the Void through a dimensional portal, hunting a being who had grown infamous in the Core Universe for his actions: Shardak, the legendary Spirit Toa, whose destiny had been foretold long before Valkyria's order had been separated from the Ix Empire. While Valkyria was proud to have been selected for this vital mission, she betrayed not the slightest flicker of emotion.

Turning back to signal to the group of Ix warriors following them, Scrall motioned toward their target. Valkyria could now make out at least two of the beings in the gloom. They all carried long spears with curved blades, and they were armored heavily. They were like no beings Valkyria had encountered before.

''And perhaps they also possess knowledge of the Toa's location. Or, at least, information about the Void.''

For Valkyria, knowledge was the greatest treasure any Ix warrior could hope to gain. If she was able to find the Spirit Toa, she would ask him what he had done to force the Ix of the Core Universe against him before she killed him.

''Shardak. That was his name.'' Valkyria remembered. The name sounded alien to her, not harsh enough to be an Ix name, not musical enough to be an Illieran's. They had learned of what he had done in a location known as the Circle from a group of Ta-Matoran who had a Toa with him by the name of Melnox. He'd been a weak foe, she'd finished him off herself.

They had followed the beings toward the edge of a small chasm. They were waiting there, and Valkyria now saw there were six, maybe seven of them. They were talking in the main language of the Core Universe, but their voices were hushed so she could not make out what they were saying.

"And now." whispered Scrall, interrupting her thoughts. "We strike."

Suddenly the Ix materialized out of the darkness. For one brief moment, one of the soldiers turned to face Scrall, then he brought the being down with a single stroke of his scythe. Valkyria raised her weapon, the long, curved dagger known as Silverblade, and drove it through the back of one of the beings like a striking viper. Valkyria felt the dagger stab through muscle and bone, blood spattering against her cloak and arms. For one moment, the being gasped for breath as his life began to fade, then he fell to the ground.

Two of the being's number lay dead, and another was badly wounded, but the rest recovered quickly, one spearing an Ix warrior through the shoulder and slamming him onto the rocks. Valkyria drew a throwing dagger, but missed by a fraction of an inch as he whirled away to face his attacker.

Another of the beings brought a mace down on an Ix's head, shattering the being's skull. The warrior staggered backward, his body going limp at the edge of the cliff and plunging into the void below. Scrall quickly dispatched him with a strike from his long scythe.

Only three of the beings remained, and one was badly injured. One of the two uninjured beings charged her, his face alight with hatred, but she dodged his blow easily and blocked his next attack. He was strong, stronger then Valkyria would ever be. But he would soon learn that no being in the Core Universe could stand against an Ix warrior.

As the being brought his sword down, ready to decapitate her, Valkyria raised Silverblade in a defensive position, leaving herself open to attack from one side. For a moment, the being paused, confused, then changed direction of his bloodstained sword. As he was about to strike, Valkyria switched her grip on the blade and stabbed out beneath his guard. At the same time, the soldier, confused by her escape, hesistated in dealing the final blow.

That was all Valkyria needed. The being never even noticed the dagger arc upward in a flash of silver as she ran it through his shoulder. As she tore Silverblade free, he crumpled to the ground, his face a mask of pain. Valkyria saw another Ix warrior fall upon the wounded soldier savagely, forcing him to the ground.

Surveying the battlefield, Valkyria saw that the two remaining soldiers were being forced backward, toward the edge of the cliff. To the Ix warrior's surprise, she saw the soldiers snarl defiance, then one lept into the void, an echo of his last scream rising from the depths before vanishing.

For a brief moment, his suicidal jump distracted the Ix. The remaining soldier speared an Ix warrior through the leg. For a few more moments he traded blows with the wounded Ix warrior, and one of Valkyria's daggers struck him in the shoulder. Then the soldier vanished into the darkness.

The Ix quickly realized pursuit was nearly impossible without casualties. The soldier obviously knew this area of the Void better then they, and could lie in ambush for them. Then Valkyria remembered the soldier she'd wounded. Racing toward him, she saw the Ix attacker had disarmed him was forcing him against the face of the cliff. He was badly wounded, and would soon be finished off.

"No. Don't kill him." Scrall ordered, and the Ix immediately abandoned his attack. The soldier attempted to flee, but a group of dark cloaked Ix barred his way, scythes drawn.

Scrall spoke quietly and coldly. "What is your name?"

The being remained silent.

Scrall did not lift a finger, but the being screamed in pain, writhing against the cliff wall. He attempted to flee again, but the Ix easily subdued him. Valkyria knew she was witnessing an elemental technique she had yet to perfect, psionics. While she could cause pain using the power, she could not inflict the extreme mental damage Scrall Vhokyn could. She saw Scrall concentrate further, and she realized with some surprise his mind was shielded heavily against telepathic probing.

Finally the being fell back against the cliff wall, drained mentally and physically.

Scrall asked again, as though nothing had happened. "What is your name?"

"I am Ahi." gasped the being, as though the words he spoke pained him. With each syllable, he was betraying his entire mission, the reason he'd entered the Void in the first place.

"Whom do you serve?" Scrall asked.

"I am a member of the Shadow of Ages." gasped Ahi, in pain. "I am a Kranr."

For the briefest of moments, Valkyria felt shock run through the aura field. Scrall quickly recovered, then said, "The Shadow of Ages. Their legendary mental shielding must have decreased over the years, since I've broken you so easily."

Ahi snarled something unintelligible, then said, "I was only recently recruited. I joined during the last war."

Scrall nodded as though everything Ahi had said was unsurprising. "What is your organization's purpose here?"

"I do not know." gasped Ahi. Reaching out in the aura field, both Valkyria and Scrall knew he was telling the truth.

"What do you know of the Spirit Toa, Shardak?" asked Scrall.

"A Toa?" gasped Ahi in shock. "I know nothing of this." Again, Valkyria knew he did not speak falsely.

"Then you are of now further use to us." said Scrall, waving his fingers in Ahi's general direction. There was a horrible crack as his spine and neck snapped, and Ahi crumpled to the ground.

"We will follow the trail of the remaining Shadow of Ages soldier." said Vhokyn once the Ix had gathered. The Ix did not give any sign of acknowledgement, but gathered their fallen weapons and regrouped behind Scrall.

"What is this organization...this Shadow of Ages?" asked Valkyria once the Ix had gathered and had begun following the soldier's trail.

"More then any being can ever comprehend." answered Scrall. "I learned of this organization during a recent raid, during the weeks you spent tracking down Melnox. Their leader, Millennium, an ancient being of temporal power, and his deputy, Makuta Dredzek, where executed in the Eternal Game."

Valkyria had seen the last Eternal Game, she vaugely remembered Millennium. He'd been killed by a massive cavern collapsing atop him during a major battle in the game. The entire game was a brilliant display of power, one that made Valkyria admire her Ix order even more. The games were the perfect balance of fear and awe for the lesser beings who served them.

"I remeber Millennium and Dredzek." said Valkyria. "You said Dredzek was a Makuta. Is Millennium also one?"

"No one truly knows what Millennium is. Like the Ix once were, he was regarded as a myth by most of the known universe, a half-forgotten yet also barely remembered shadow of darkness upon the Matoran and Agori."

"Are they a dangerous threat to the Ix's rule?" asked Valkyria.

"No." answered Scrall. "There was a time when this was so, but their organization grew smaller and smaller. Caught between the massive armies of the Ix Empire and the Toa Order, they stood no chance when the Toa destroyed their main base on the island of Chrone. During the following year, another battle was fought, which eventually led to Millennium and Dredzek's capture and their subsequent executions."

"Then what are they doing down here?" asked Valkyria.

"That's what the final surviving Shadow soldier will tell us." hissed Scrall, his voice growing colder now. "When we capture him."

Asgard moved blindingly fast, his tail whirling around and striking Blast in the leg. The Glatorian screamed in pain, a scream that was abruptly cut off as one of Asgard's minions slammed his fist against Blast's throat.

"You cannot win, Toa. My race, the demons, were created long before you and your Order existed. Weaker then the great Elemental Demons that came before us, we were nevertheless strong and adaptable, which is why we survived after they were destroyed. That's why we still exist on the surface world, whereas one day your Toa will be completely exterminated."

Shardak almost laughed at the irony of that statement. The Ix had wiped out nearly all of the Toa, and he'd never heard of these demons before Asgard had told him. They'd probably destroyed them as well, with their powerful biological weapons, during the great war.

"While you've been wandering around down here doing the Ix's bidding, you should know the world has changed, Asgard. Your race is long gone, as is the Toa Order."

"Even if what you are saying is true, it will no longer matter. With a prize as powerful as your Kanohi--"

"I don't even know what it does!" protested Shardak.

"Really?" the idea seemed to amuse Asgard. "You do not know? That is disappointing. Well, it is immateral now. The Ix will reward me for capturing you." Asgard opened his mouth to speak again, but at the same time he lashed out, claws raking open the old wound an Eliminator had dealt him in the Labyrinth.

Pain, pain like he hadn't known since his narrow escape from the Ix, shot through him. He'd escaped through insurmountable obstacles in the Circle, only to die at the hands of a being long forgotten to the realm of the living. Beside him, Ion was forcing one of the demons away from Blast, while the other still fought the Glatorian.

One of Asgard's tails, barbed and painful, whipped around his legs, distracting him for a few precious moments. And as Asgard slashed blindly at his shoulder, one of the one-tailed demons slammed into Shardak, knocking him off balance. Asgard's second tail whirled around, about to strike him in the shoulder.

Wildly swinging the Blade of Arcturas, Shardak felt it strike the one-tailed demon a solid blow to the side that sent it reeling. As Asgard's tail was about to strike, Shardak lifted the weapon and slashed off the barbed tip of the demon's tail.

Asgard roared in pain and rage, and this time Shardak knew the demon would not toy with him. Asgard would finish him off quickly and painlessly now.

"Perhaps if you had been a good little Toa, I would have chosen to play with you a little longer. But since obviously you are armed and dangerous, I must kill you now. Farewell, Shardak."

Blast snarled something incoherent and tore free from the other demon's grasp, scythe flailing wildly in his hands. Shardak didn't see where Blast landed that final blow, but Asgard reared back, his blood spattering against the sheer obsidian cliff behind Shardak.

"Blast! Look out!" Shardak called. As Asgard slashed at Blast with claws and his two remaining tail spikes, a second demon was creeping up behind him, his clawed hand holding a short, heavy broadsword. Neother he nor Ion were close enough to help. Blast whipped around at the last second possible, then narrowly dodged the demon's blow. Asgard took full advantage of Blast distraction and swiped his claws, aiming to sever Blast's spinal cord.

Unluckily for the demon, at that exact moment, Blast dodged a swipe from the attacking demon's claw, which also caused Asgard's attack to miss the Glatorian completely. Blast brought his scythe down with a crash against the demon's back, and Asgard's minion staggered away, his eyes raging.

Asgard hissed in annoyance. Shardak dared not reach out to the demon, even with his limited aura senses he knew Asgard was a dark, burning ember in the field, similiar to the Elemental Flareus, yet weaker and slightly dulled. The other demons' auras were simularly smouldering, though far less intense then Asgard's presence.

As the three-tailed being raised his claws, burning fire crackling at his fingertips, Shardak struck. He slammed into Asgard, knocking the demon off-balance. Asgard flung him off with annoyance, clawing at his arms, trying to tear at the shoulder that had been wounded by the Ix Stalker.

Rage leant Shardak strength. ''I refuse to die today. I need to escape, find Kyhrex, and save Ion. They're the only ones who can bring us to Silencer's allies. To help the remnants of the Toa Order to make sure the Ix never manage to completely destroy freedom.''

The thought of the Ix and the evil they'd done spurred Shardak on. The Blade of Arcturas glowed with crimson light, as it always did just before it struck a target. Asgard's eyes widened in surprise, and Shardak realized that somehow the being recognized the blade. Asgard's features quickly became full of hatred again, making him look even more sinister in the cold, unflinching darkness.

Asgard blocked Shardak's next strikes, and turned toward Blast, knocking the Glatorian off his feet, Instantly, the wounded one-tailed demon lept on the Glatorian, claws extended, ready to tear open his throat. Shardak tried to race to his friend's side, but was stopped before he was even halfway there.

Asgard's claw reached out, grabbing Shardak by his unwounded shoulder. "Your friend's life is over. Soon yours will also be ended."

Suddenly a blue arrow, like a dart of cold lightning, struck Blast's assailant in the shoulder. The being screamed in pain as two more arrows took him between the eyes and directly in his heart. For one moment, confusion flashed across the face of Asgard's minion, then he collapsed, dead.

"Kyhrex!" Shardak called as Asgard hissed something under his breath, tightening the claw around his shoulder. Their Glatorian guide, who had saved their lives more then once during their escape through the Circle and the sebsequent battles with the Eliminators and Flareus, had finally found them.

More of the blue crossbow bolts struck Asgard and his remaining minion, and Asgard saw they'd been completely outmaneuvered. Unless they fled now, they'd be killed by Kyhrex's arrows. The demon gave Shardak and Ion one last glare of hatred, before vanishing into the shadows beyond.

Shardak knew there was no hope in following him. Asgard and his remaining servant obviously knew the Void far better then they did. They'd be killed quickly if they attempted to persue them, either by Asgard or something far, far worse.

Silencer's word's came back to him. ''The Void is a place of horrors, where ancient lords of madness and destruction dwell. Eternally they wander the endless blackness, with no hope of ever escaping the shadows that hold them trapped between dimensions. Only their hatred is greater then their craving for the deaths of beings weaker then they.''

"Are you okay?" Kyhrex's voice, low and tense, broke through his recollections.

"I'll live." answered Shardak, grimacing as pain lanced through his shoulder. "Stalker wound acting up, that's all."

Kyhrex nodded. "I've heard of beings like those before...they're smaller offshoots of exiled Elemental Princes. I didn't know any still existed."

Kyhrex shook her head. "The last thing I remember is Melnox telling us the Ix would follow us wherever we go and that our only hope for survival was to risk the Void. I wonder...did he have something else planned all along?"

"What?" asked Shardak, curious now. He'd always wondered if Silencer's small group had been the only active resistance against the Ix, but was almost sure that was not the case. Why else would Silencer be so eager for them to risk their lives within an abyss of countless horrors?

"Before you were captured by the Ix." Kyhrex began. "I heard Silencer talking to someone. It was definitely an ally, and they mentioned the words 'victor' and 'spirit' often. I had no idea what that meant, and I'd wanted to ask Silencer about it later, but I never got the chance before..." her voice trailed off into silence.

Shardak knew what she was thinking. Before the Ix had sent the Fury to kill Arcturas. Before he'd been taken prisoner by Banrax, before they'd been marked as enemies of the Empire, before Silencer's death. So much had happened in the past three weeks Shardak still found it hard to comprehend completely.

Ion walked over to them. His eyes were grim, and he looked more tense then Shardak had seen him in a long time.

"That was a Xhranr, a three-tailed demon. They've obviously wasted no time in contacting their most dangerous allies."

"They sent demons after you?" asked Kyhrex.

"Yes." winced Ion. "I've fought Asgard before, he's one of their most dangerous allies. Of course the Ix would have allies on the Great Plain."

"The Great Plain?" asked Blast as they rose to their feet. Raising his lantern, Ion led them into the darkness.

"The many ledges that overlook the Void are collectively known as the Great Plain. They're nothing like the planes of existence, though. The Void borders all of the planes, and time flows at the same pace as on the material world...that is, your planet Xaterex. However, it's not a plane, but an abyss, a gap between planes. Otherwise, it follows all material world laws."

Shardak knew that some planes didn't follow the same physical laws as Xaterex. For example, in the Circle, fire was blue and cold while ice was orange and burning. His eyes were instincively drawn to his Cold Fire torch as they ran through the shadows, hoping desperately the Ix were not directly behind them.

"If the Ix are willing to send demons after us, they've got more allies on the Great Plain. We're no longer safe here." said Ion.

"I thought Melnox said the Ix weren't down here." Blast protested.

"The Ix and others like them are scattered across the myriad planes and realms of existence." said Ion. "It's impossible to define where their empire ends and where it begins. They don't rule the Void as emperors, obviously, but they're here. They have agents everywhere.

"Shardak." said Ion. "Do you still have the Shadow Orb?"

Shardak nodded. He was burning with questions now, but his overwhelming fear that the Ix were watching them silenced him immediately.

"They're not here yet." whispered Ion, his voice quiet but firm. "But they wouldn't have sent Asgard alone. Soon they'll realize he's failed, and they'll--"

He was abruptly cut off before he could finish by the sound of Blast's shout of warning, Kyhrex raising her laser crossbow, and Ion turning around, looking for some way to escape.

A group of beings stood before them, tall and heavily armored. One was pointing a spear at Ion, two others were charging toward Ion and Kyhrex.

Ion tried to call out a warning, but before Shardak could even move he saw the soldier's swords slashing downward. The darkness came alive with the clash of steel on steel, but Shardak was only conscious of Blast's voice, raised above the chaos of battle.

"Shardak! No!"

Chapter 5
Fairon opened his eyes and realized he could see nothing at all. For one, panicked moment, he thought he'd been blinded. Then his memories, as though he'd just woken up, hit him again.

Have I fallen all the way to the bottom of the Void?

Then he remembered what Jareroden had told him. The interior of the abyss was so vast they'd probably landed on one of the massive outcroppings that overlooked the Void. The chances they'd fallen to the bottom of the vast abyss were extremely small.

Suddenly light, flashed before his eyes, illuminating Jareroden's silver armor. Both Toa had been slightly bruised from the fall, but they were alive. Fairon could see Xatax, Vorral, Sayna, Treedaka, Galika, and Flardrek were all alive.

"Where are we?" asked Fairon. He remembered Jareroden had brought several bright lanterns with him in the Void, but the light he now carried was far dimmer. Fairon realized that somehow the Void had dimmed their illumination.

It's almost as though the darkness is alive. thought Fairon uneasily.

"Legends call this place the Great Plain. It's a massive outcropping that extends for many miles. There are many, many more like it deeper in the Void, but this is where most beings who attempt to pass through the dimensional gate end up."

"Where'd you learn all of this?" asked Fairon, amazed. "Certainly not from the Ix."

Jareroden smiled slightly. "No. There are many ancient legends that predate the Ix's invasions, and if you know where to look, you'll find they're very much still alive."

"So, what's our plan?" said Fairon. "We don't know where the Ignika is, or how to find it,"

"We'll begin by setting up a base camp, then we'll start our search from there." answered Jareroden. "But be careful. It's very easy to become lost on the Great Plain. Apart from the tall spires of dark stone that rise from the ground, it's impossible to find landmarks of any type."

Fairon nodded. He wondered if the mask was even on the Great Plain, or somewhere deeper in the Void. He hoped fervently it was the former. Then he began wondering how they'd return to Gigas Nui.

''We probably won't survive our mission. And if we do, then we'll think about a way to return.''

Still, the thought of being trapped down here, forever, unsettled him. Then he remembered all he had to look forward to on the surface world was a lifetime of enslavement to the Ix in Drakos Capitol, and relaxed slightly.

Jareroden was already dividing up scouting teams near a large obelisk of rock, "Flardrek and Fairon, you'll search to the west. Galika and Sayna, east. Treedaka and Vorral, guard the obelisk. If we're not all back in a few hours, light the signal flare. I'll search north with Xatax."

The signal flare was a massive torch that, when lit, would explode, causing a massive firey explosion. While Fairon guessed its effect would be slightly deminished by the Void, nearly everyone within a few miles would hear the explosion or see the lights and be able to find their way back to the obelisk.

The teams began to disperse, Fairon joining Flardrek. The Glatorian's lantern illuminated the area around them, a massive, unchanging plain, gradually sloping downward. How long Fairon wondered the empty blackness, he could not say. He was only consious of the hatred he felt all around him, as though the Void hated all living things that dwelled within it.

"How does Jareroden plan to return us to Gigas Magna?" asked Fairon at length. Flardrek had been mostly silent during their journey, and for some reason Fairon felt the need to speak. He realized it was because the Void's sheer blackness made him feel like he didn't exist any more.

"I'm not sure, yet." answered Flardrek. "But I know he has a way. He and the mutated being Silencer studied the Void well. They mentioned the Nameless City, I think, as an escape route."

"The Nameless City of the Mindeaters?" said Fairon skeptically. "Silencer believed it existed?"

"As does Jareroden. A few years ago, many would never believe a group of victors, who happen to be the last Toa in the universe, have entered a Void long reported to be a death trap. If the legend that the Void is a prison is true, perhaps the Mindeater's secret capitol also exists."

Fairon was still slightly skeptical. The legend stated that nearly a millennia ago, during the hight of the ancient Mindeater Empire, the Mindeaters, psionic beings of dark power, had established their capitol far below the present-day Circle, within the Void between dimensions. This capitol, always referred to as the Nameless City, was eventually forgotten by the Elementals after the defeat of the Mindeaters.

However, a few days ago he had been equally skeptical of the idea that the Void was a prison, not a realm of annihilation. So perhaps the Mindeaters really had explored the Void, if not built their captiol there.

"Perhaps." said Fairon eventually. Then all thoughts of their discussion vanished as he saw the Great Plain suddenly began to slope downward, and toward a large crevice in the earth.

An from far below Fairon heard a rasping voice he knew only too well. He turned to Flardrek.

"Ix." he whispered, voice quiet, full of shock and fear.

Quietly, Nightwatcher stalked the Toa through the shadows. The tall Toa of Shadow trained his emerald green eyes on the Toa and Glatorian accompanying him, and quickly dismissed any threat from them. they was weak, immaterial.

And he was worth nearly five thousand widgets alive.

The Ix's instructions had been clear. Nightwatcher's mind began to drift back to that day, the day after...

What? His mind suddenly wondered. What had happened before the day he'd been hired by the tall, dark robed Ix with red eyes?

It wasn't as though his memories were faulty. Nightwatcher remembered nearly everything he'd done for the past fifty years, how he'd adapted to the aftermath of the Ix's invasion and their subsequent destruction of the Toa. The war was still going on, but there truly was no hope for the rebellion and their allies at this point. They were doomed to defeat.

Now the Ix were determined to stamp them out once and for all.

"Your orders are clear." the tall Ix had rasped, his voice cold and nasal. "Return all of the victors alive to Drakos Capitol. We will make an example of them."

"And what of their other allies?" asked the bounty hunter. "They are irrelevant. Kill them." said the Ix.

Nightwatcher had nodded. The job's location, the Void, was annoying, but the Ix were paying him handsomely to return the rebel victors to the capitol. With their last remaining undercover agents eliminated, the rebellion would lose the momentum it had gained by Fairon's victory in the Eternal Game.

Nightwatcher had also learned the Ix had business of their own in the Void, something that had nothing to do with his mission. The Ix were determined to win the war, once and for all.

But still the question plagued him: what had he been doing before the day the Ix had hired him? Something was missing from the picture here, something that deeply unsettled him. His last memory had been the time he'd been hired by a fragmented organization known as the Shadow of Ages, during the hight of the war. Then, it was as though one year of his life had passed, without him knowing it.

The bounty hunter felt a cold chill run through him, but he put it down to the callous darkness of the Void. Although Nightwatcher often considered shadows allies, the darkness in the Void was a little to...oppressive for his liking.

It does not matter now. thought Nightwatcher finally. ''When I return to the Capitol with the Glatorian dead and the victors captured, the Ix will give me my reward. And then I will find the being who has taken my memories and finish him off myself.''

Silently, like a wraith, the bounty hunter stalked Jareroden. The Toa would have long since been captured now, but Nightwatcher needed him free. Soon the Toa would lead him to the rest of his allies, and they would be quickly overwhelmed.

A cold smile flickered across Nightwatcher's face. As far as he was concerned, the job had already been completed.

Chapter 6
Fairon had faced down many dangerous foes in his lifetime. He’d fought the shapeshifting Toa of shadow Zaeron, Iruka, Antidax, and many other beings in the cold, deadly arena. But nothing terrified him more then coming face-to-face with the Ix again.

If they know I’m down here…it’s all over. He thought.

"What are the Ix doing down here?" asked Fairon, voice quiet.

"No idea." said Flardrek. "They must have a way out as well, then. But why would they—"

The cold, hissing rasp of the Ix cut into their whispered conversation. Fairon could not understand the language the Ix spoke; it reminded him of nails scraping against rock. He could almost ‘’see’’ the Ix in his mind’s eye now, as they were about to capture him, and later, the Kodax addressing the crowd, telling them the captured beings’ sentence: To fight to the death in the Eternal Game…

Fairon shook his head, clearing his thoughts. They were only distracting now, and served no real purpose. He heard shouts in the distance, and realized the Ix had left guards surrounding the entire area. Of course they’d been noticed, the Ix were just waiting for the right time to strike.

"We need to warn Jareroden." whispered Flardrek urgently. "He needs to know."

Fairon nodded grimly. His old habits he’d been forced into in the arena, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching, began to return. The Void was no longer a prison; it was an arena, with the Toa and the Ix as players.

Then Fairon heard the Ix speak again. This time the words were in Matoran, but it was impossible to make out. Then he saw a torch of cold flame gleaming in the depths of the shadows. There was no need for communication between Toa and Glatorian. Fairon and Flardrek ran; their eyes filled with fear and dread. Had the Ix seen them?

Suddenly, Fairon slammed into another being, knocking them both to the ground. He realized it was Vorral.

"What the—" Vorral snarled as he recognized Fairon.

"Ix." Fairon choked out. "They’re here."

Instantly Vorral’s eyes were on alert. Turning to Treedaka, he noticed the Toa of Air’s weapon was already raised, blue lightning shimmering along the edge.

"How far away?" he asked.

"Very close." answered Flardrek. "They’re in a secret tunnel, which descends deeper into the Void. They’ve obviously guarded the parameters, so we’re sure they noticed us."

"Did they recognize you?" asked Treedaka.

"I don’t know." said Fairon. "If they did, they gave no indication of it."

Treedaka nodded tersely. "We’ll hold them off as long as we can. It is imperative they do not know you’re down here. Warn Jareroden, Galika, and Sayna. They need to get as far away from the Ix as possible."

Fairon knew better then to ask what would happen to him. They were sacrificing themselves for him again, just as Tanuva and Leviathos had in the arena. Perhaps Treedaka could escape; he was a Toa of Air, after all. But no matter what happened, their expedition to the Void had become horribly complicated.

"May Mata Nui be with you." He said at last, before turning away, into the shadowy blackness. He knew that the Empire believed he was coming to Drakos Capitol for the annual post-game interviews, and that if they knew he was in the Void, they’d kill the two Glatorian who had gone in his place.

With a start, Fairon realized he’d never asked what Jareroden meant by "going to Drakos in his place". Perhaps they’d be killed, possibly for nothing. Fairon knew that in war, sacrifices must be made, but the true war was going on far from the Void, the rebels still unshakable, the Ix determined to crush them utterly. Now, in retrospect, Jareroden’s mission seemed insane. Couldn’t he be doing so much more good for the rebellion by fighting on the front lines?

''The Ix, obviously, have a way out. And they’re obviously after something here. So who knows, perhaps the Ignika really is down here, and that’s what the Ix are also hunting for.’Fairon thought. Concentrate on finding Sayna, or one of the other scouting teams.''

In the distance, Fairon heard and Ix’s nasal rasp, Vorral’s shout of defiance. The darkness seemed to come alive with the clash of steel on steel. Fairon wasted no time; he raced past the massive saberlike obselisks and bleak ledges before nearly slamming into Sayna and Galika.

The Toa of Air and Water were fighting against a group of Copies of Corpse, but it was a hopeless battle. While the Copies lacked the skill of a true warrior, there were nearly two dozen of them, hacking and stabbing at Sayna and Galika with rage and fury. While neither Toa had suffered fatal wounds yet, they were inexorably being forced back, toward the Void’s edge. Fairon breathed faint a sigh of relief as he saw no Ix were with them. The situation was bad enough without any of the far more dangerous Ix backing up the Copies. The Toa steeled himself for a moment; then flung himself into battle for the first time since the arena itself.

A Copy, eyes cold and mechanical, flung itself at him, but Fairon sidestepped narrowly and speared the creture through the side with his lance. As he tore the spear free, the Copy crumpled to the ground. A second Copy, longspear stabbing, broke through his defenses, but Fairon narrowly managed to stagger out of the way, striking the Copy a blow to the side of the head with his lance.

Sayna nimbly dodged attacks, Galika covering her with her scissorlike sword. Weaving in and out of the Copy's reach while all the while using her air powers to force them back, Sayna needed no help. As Fairon watched, she dodged a Copy's blow and sent it spiraling over the edge and deeper into the abyss.

However, the narrow ledge was proving to be their undoing. While Fairon could easily defeat enemies from a distance, when their stabbing spears closed with him, the lance was unwieldy at best. Sayna's air powers were having less effect on the Copies, and the Ix soldiers waded through the torrents of water Galika flung at them like they were nothing. Slowly, the Copies were forcing them off the ledge.

Fairon wondered for a brief moment if they would die if forced into the Void. Perhaps time would slow, as it did on the Great Plain, allowing them to land lightly. Either way, he did not want to find out.

Smashing his lance into a Copy's helmet, Fairon watched as the damaged Ix machine staggered to his feet, only to be impaled on the Toa of Light's lance moments later, The flame faded from the Copy's eyes and it collapsed, scattering shards of obsidian at Fairon's feet.

Meanwhile, Galika had been nearly overwhelmed. The Copies' quick, dangerous attacks had forced her away from Sayna, causing the Toa of Air to lose her main defense. A ring of Copies surrounded her, their spears finding weak points in her armor more often then not.

Fairon decapitated his remaining adversary, then raced toward her, intending to save her from certain death. However, another Copy, moving impossibly fast, slammed into him, forcing him back, toward the edge of the Void. The remaining Copies disengaged Sayna, their spears at the ready as they regarded Fairon coldly.

The Toa of Light wondered if the Copies had a way of communicating with their Ix masters. If they did, he realized nowhere in the Void was safe. The Ix would hunt him down through terrain they knew far better then he, until all of his allies were dead.

The thought of Treedaka and Vorral facing all those enemies alone, and Jareroden and Xatax, further away, meeting a simular fate, galvanized Fairon into action. Before the Copies could even raise their spears, he'd speared one through the mask and, swinging his lance wildly, felt it connect with a sickening crunch against two other Copies' helmets.

The Ix droids recovered quickly. While they had no voices to snarl with, their hideous obsidian features betrayed their contempt for all living things. They raised their spears, but Fairon's next blow shattered one of the lances, then the other. Fairon slammed one with his armored hand, and saw it plummet over the edge out of the corner of his eye.

Suddenly, the remaining Copy slammed his broken spear hilt against Fairon's leg. Unprepared for the attack, Fairon fell to his knees. Grabbing a fallen Copy's spear, his assailant readied to deal the final blow. Fairon watched as the weapon descended, not moving at all. Then, as soon as the weapon would have struck him, Fairon dodged. The Copy's spear met thin air, and before it could react, Fairon raised his lance and speared it through the chest.

Fairon raced toward Sayna. Galika, and Flardrek and saw that they were all wounded, but had destroyed the remaining Copies. They lay in pieces, scattered across the edge of the Void.

Fairon exhaled. He hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath until two minutes ago. The fight against the Copies had shaken him. While they'd simply been mechanical robots, created to defend the Ix's strongholds, the fight had reminded him too much of the horrible undead creatures Ghost had created to guard the Fallen Six's territory in the arena.

''Is this all my life has become? A never-ending series of battles?''

Then Fairon remembered that the only fate that awaited him on the surface was eternal slavery to the Ix, and realized that his destiny had been sealed the moment he'd defeated Iruka. He'd either live out his days as the Ix's puppets, as Jareroden, Flardrek, and the others had pretended to be for so long, or join the war against the Ix's enemies.

"We need to help Treedaka." said Fairon grimly. "He's probably fighting the Ix right now."

Sayna's eyes flashed in alarm. "What happened?" she asked.

Fairon told her how he and Flardrek had discovered the Ix's base, and how they'd been discovered and Treedaka's order for them to run; to find the rest of the scouting teams.

Sayna nodded. "Splitting up here was a bad idea, but I can see why Jareroden doesn't want us wandering too far away. The Void holds many dangers far worse then the Ix."

Shardak dove to one side, and the being's spear missed him narrowly. Suddenly Shardak saw a flash of green eyes and a long, scythelike spear emerge from the shadows. The weapon's carrier, a small, hunched black being with an elongated head, raised the spear, pointing it at Ion.

"What do you want?" snarled Ion. The being did not deign to answer, simply slashed downward with his spear. Ion narrowly blocked the blow, then brought his claws down, shattering the spear into three fragments. For a brief moment, the being hesitated, then Kyhrex's arrows felled it.

More beings emerged from the shadows, and Shardak counted at least ten of them. They were closing in on Ion, and a few raced toward Blast and Shardak. The Toa had no time to think before he saw twin swords flash, illuminated by the cold green light of the Circle lantern. A second assailant, a tall, thin Glatorian, struck Blast with astonishing speed, and the Glatorian was knocked off his feet and flung bodily to the ground.

Shardak wanted to race to Blast's side, run to his aid, but there were to many beings surrounding him. His first attacker, another one of the dark armored beings, slashed downward with his twin weapons again, and Shardak was forced to leap narrowly to one side to avoid being skewered through his badly injured shoulder.

Raising the blade of Arcturas in a classic Lihtne attack pattern, Shardak forced his opponant backward. However, the being twisted both weapons around, and, in a blindingly fast attack pattern, easily blocked his next blow.

Seizing his advantage, the being immediately slashed downward with one weapon, forcing Shardak back a few feet. Bringing his second weapon around to slash at his shoulder, he forced Shardak to narrowly sidestep. With Shardak's defense lowered for a moment, his assailant followed up his Guokte attack with a series of blindingly fast Napad attack patterns.

No two beings' fighting styles are exactly alike. Silencer's voice came back to him. A good warriro need not master all the combat forms, but learn how to defend against them all.

Remembering how Melnox had blocked his precise attacks during training, Shardak forced his weapon between the hacking whirl of blades the soldier was wielding. As he brought them down for a strike he couldn't possibly miss, Shardak twisted the weapon around, feeling it slash through armor, then bone. The being screamed in pain and flung his weapon to the ground, his wounded arm falling limply to his side.

Shardak took a moment to access the battle, and realized that his attacker was simply keeping him occupied. Ion had been forced to his knees by a mass of hacking, stabbing soldiers, and the remainder of the attackers were battling Kyhrex and Blast. While they were still both alive, Shardak saw that two groups of their mysterious attackers were closing in on them, forcing them back toward the massive pillar.

His attacker recovered quickly. Just as he was about to thrust with his remaining weapon, Shardak saw a blur flash by him. A second being, this one nearly as tall as Ion, and carrying a massive curved knife, slashed down at him. Shardak barely blocked his blow, and felt pain run through his arm as he realized how strong this being was. As he was preoccupied blocking his new assailant's thrust, his original attacker struck.

Shardak felt burning pain, the first wound he'd suffered since his narrow escape from the Circle, sear through him as the being's weapon connected. He'd evaded the worst of the blow, so it wasn't a deep wound. However, as he was forced to block the being's next strike, his tall adversary struck. Shardak watched, transfixed, as the blade descended, not even noticing his original attacker lunge forward, weapons flashing.

Before the weapon could sever his head from his shoulders, Shardak dove to one side. He heard the tall being's snarl of frustration, and felt pain flash through him again as the other attacker's weapon slashed open his leg.

"Shardak, run!" Ion's voice shouted over the clash of weapons. "You and Blast have to survive, or it's all over!"

Ion's voice was quieter now, and though Shardak was now standing, fighting a losing battle against his two opponents, he heard every word Ion said. "Find...Jareroden...or Atarus. They will give you the answers you need. And the Nameless City--" he added, looking as though he wanted to say more before the tide of spears engulfed him once more.

"I'm not leaving you!" yelled Shardak, and suddenly another memory burst upon him, the last time he had said those four words:

''"Shardak!" Arcturas screamed. He was carrying his flaming weapon, the Blade of Arcturas in one hand, a spear from the obsidian beings in the other. "Run! You shouldn't be here! Get Blast and-"''

''One of the beings stabbed out at him, but Arcturas blocked the blow with a sweep of his flaming blade and speared the being under the chin. Scarlet blood fountained.''

''"I'm not leaving you!" Shardak screamed, trying to make himself heard over the clash of weapons and the roar of the inferno. It seemed as though the ground was giving way beneath him. The world was spinning rapidly, causing him biting nausea and horrible pain from where the spear hilt had struck him.''

Now Shardak wondered, ''How much did Arcturas know about this? How much didn't tell me?''

"Run!" yelled Ion again as a second spear stabbed into his side. With a start, Shardak realized he could no longer see Blast or Kyhrex. Had they been killed or forced to flee?

Shardak realized more soldiers were moving in to intercept him. If he didn't run now, his fate was sealed.

"Shardak." said Ion as he saw what he was about to do. "I wish there was more I had told you, and even more I wish I understood."

The Toa didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth, what to say he did not know, but then he was stabbed again in the arm by the tall being. More were moving in to cut him off, and Shardak, against his will, turned and ran across the great expanse of darkness.

He was conscious of only his shock and pain. Ion had probably given his life so he could live. So had Arcturas and Silencer and Barit. Everywhere he went, he seemed to leave a trail of destruction in his wake. He remembered Silencer saying how if he, Melnox and Ion ever left the Circle, their families and friends would all be killed in retaliation. He wondered how many more were dead now because of his actions.

No, I can't ''have been responsible for all those deaths. It's impossible.'' he told himself. When he judged he was a safe distance away from the attackers, he pondered over Ion's last advice.

''Find Atarus...or Jareroden. They will give you the answers you need.''

Who were these beings? More mutated Toa, like Silencer, Ion, and Melnox? And how did the Nameless City fit into all of this?

He remembered Silencer's ancient legend, the tale of the city at the bottom of the Void. He wondered if the city had ever truly existed.

''I may have. Since the Void is usually considered to be a mechanism of execution, like the Eternal Game, perhaps this city could exist. Why else would Silencer have told me?''

Then he saw them. At first they were merely dark shadows, then he recognized their features. One was his original attacker, the other two were tall, thin Glatorian. Shardak cursed inwardly that he'd forgotten that you couldn't see anything in the Void until it was literally right next to you.

Shardak knew he stood no chance against even a small group of attackers. His woundeds were still aching painfully, the Stalker's acid still burning through his shoulder. He broke into a run, the three beings close behind. Shardak ran across the endless expanse of blackness until he was sure he could run no more--

Then he stopped. He was standing on a ledge overlooking the Void. The sheer wall slowly narrowed, until he was backed up on a narrow ledge with no way to escape the attackers except by leaping deeper into the Void itself. It was the perfect cul-de-sac.

Shardak realized he was out of options. As the beings were about round the corner and realize he was completely trapped. He began lowering himself down the sheer drop. The sheer wall was nearly impossible to climb, but to his surprise, he was able to find a foothold.

Suddenly the cliff gave way beneath his feet. He reached out, desperate for a handhold, but was unable to find one and plunged into the darkness of the Void.

Far, far away from both Shardak and Fairon, a tall being, his Salek gleaming coldly in the shadowy torchlight, bowed his head. His face was impassive, but his eyes betrayed the surprise he felt,

"My lord?" he asked, in shock. "How did you--"

A cold voice rasped from the darkness, cutting him off. "Soon, Dredzek. Soon I will explain everything. But while you and I have both sensed this new presence in the Void, one that has power enough to free us from the abyss and allow us to became rulers of the universe once more, I have slightly more tangible evidence."

"Yes, my lord?" asked Dredzek. His voice was colder now, recovering, accessing the situation once more. Still, his surprise was still clearly visible to all. "Do you mean the Toa that escaped our attack?"

"He will pay soon enough. I am handpicking the ten soldiers that will go hunt him down. No, I am talking about another presence I recently sensed-- Ix. But these are no ordinary Ix-- they are survivors from Illiera."

Dredzek winced. He remembered Illiera only too well.

"What do you suggest then, master?" asked the Makuta.

"They are currently persuing a single survivor from your group that was scattered when Corzakx came looking for you. It seems your soldiers ran across the Illierans and they were more dangerous then they imagined. Kill them all...except maybe one, for questioning. Even with your reduced power, they cannot hope to stand against a Makuta."

Dredzek nodded. "And what will you do, my lord."

"Me?" came the voice again. This time it seemed amused. "I will be...preparing. Preparing for the beginning of our rule over the universe."

Chapter 7
The darkness of the Void wrapped Valkyria like a second cloak, hiding her from the small, hunched Skrall they were following. Her keen eyes surveyed the scenery around him, all of her senses and the aura field telling her that he did not notice her presence, nor that of the Ix soldiers with her. Drawing Silverblade and a second, smaller dagger from the sheath on her thigh, Valkyria watched his every moment.

A skilled assassin uses the shadows. Scrall's words came back to her. Strike first, and without warning, and your target will not live long enough to even recognize you before he's dead.

We need him alive. Valkyria reminded herself. For now.

He'd led them on a long, dangerous chase through a seemingly endless plain of darkness, across ledges on which they had lost two Ix warriors when they'd lost their balance and plummeted deeper into the Void. But they'd finally caught him, and now, he would be forced to explain the Shadow's presence in the Void.

Ahi had known very little interesting information. He'd been a guard, a powerful being probably hired by the Shadow for protection or military support. While Scrall had been unable to get a good glimpse into the Skrall's mind, it was obvious from the way he'd commanded the soldiers during their first attack he was a higher-ranking member of the order, one who understood far more about the reasoning behind their attack.

Maybe they were just prisoners in the Void. Valkyria thought. ''Or maybe...he knows where the Spirit Toa is. Or has information on the Ix of the Core Universe.''

Creeping foward, another Ix warrior, her old friend Xhallin Naar, drew his weapons just as Scrall unlimbered his scythe and whispered something so quiet only an Ix could have picked it up.

"Strike."

Valkyria watched as Xhallin, Scrall, and a small group of Ix warriors raced toward the wounded Shadow soldier, and drew back her arm to throw a dagger. She aimed for his shoulder, and heard his snarl of surprise and pain as it drove through his upper arm. Now wounded, with no way to fight the oncoming Ix warriors, he turned to flee.

That was his first mistake.

Valkyria's next dagger caught him in the leg, and a female Ix warrior slashed open his armor. He fell to the ground, and his assailants rushed toward him.

Suddenly Valkyria saw a flash of dark armor in the half-light. As she opened her mouth to call a warning, the dark being released a barrage of chain lightning bolts from his long, daggerlike claws at the Ix in the lead-- the female who had attacked him first. The spears of darkness impacted against her armor, flinging her to the ground The unfortunate warrior died instantly.

Quickly recognizing this new danger, Valkyria drew her longbow and aimed an arrow at the being's throat. However, the being anticipated the danger, and stepped to one side. Valkyria saw her arrow had impacted against another Shadow soldier standing behind the tall, clawed being, and he fell to the ground, his blood black against the grim backdrop of the abyss. Valkyria could see at least six more soldiers standing behind him as well.

At the same time, the Ix recognized the presence of these new attackers. Scrall Vhokyn retaliated with burst of pure auric energy, but it seemed to have no effect on the clawed being. Valkyria knocked another arrow to her bow, this time aiming to take out his remaining subordinates. Three of her arrows found their mark, and three Shadow soldiers crumpled to the ground.

However, then the battle turned against them. The tall clawed being had wounded Scrall, and was forcing him back, toward the cliff's edge. Xhallin Naar and two more Ix warriors were still fighting him, but before Valkyria's eyes the being evaded two blows that should have killed him instantly, followed by a blindingly fast tear of claws. Another Ix warrior fell dead, his blood pooling around that of a slain Shadow member.

Naar tried to regain his lost ground with a desperate offensive, but before he could even land a hit on the being, the attacker hit him with a bolt of chain lightning. Naar staggered backward, then fell to his knees. Another Shadow soldier raced forward, spear in hand. Suddenly, he stopped and fell as Valkyria's next arrow took him between the eyes. Before the two Shadow soldiers with him could react, Scrall speared one through the heartlight and another Ix warrior threw a dagger into the other's throat.

The remaining three soldiers were smarter. One of Valkyria's arrows took a soldier in the leg, another skewered through an attacker's shoulder. But they were warier now, not attacking directly but sneaking through the darkness behind the powerful clawed being, throwing their spears when they saw an easy target. These tactics were effective, and Valkyria winced as two warriors fell, one wounded, another slain.

Aiming another arrow into the blackness, Valkyria heard a snarl of pain and knew she'd wounded a soldier. Three of her arrows struck the tall being, and he roared in pain, his red eyes boring into hers. As he pointed his claw, dark power dancing at his fingertips, Scrall Vhokyn's scythe struck him in the shoulder. Blood flowed from the wound, and the being screeched in pain as Xhallin stabbed both daggers into his side.

Valkyria saw another Shadow of Ages soldier rush to his master's aid, but before he could reach him, Valkyria's arrows felled him. His eyes glazed over, his face set in an expression of incomprehension as he died.

Clearly, the leader of the attackers saw that the battle had turned against him. Snarling a command to his two remaining soldiers, the beings retreated into the shadows. Scrall stabbed out at him, and Valkyria and several other Ix warriors fired arrows and daggers at the retreating soldiers, but the clawed being evaded them all, deflecting the projectiles telekinetically. As Scrall's scythe was about to tear him open, the being grabbed one of his soldiers and flung him into the path of the oncoming scythe. The soldier died instantly, and the beings disappeared into the shadows.

Valkyria's eyes followed the remaining beings as they melted into the shadows, and saw that the Skrall who had led them into the ambush was dead, probably decapitated by an Ix warrior just after the ambush. Four Ix warriors were dead, and Scrall and one apprentice were wounded, though not badly.

Scrall, though injured, concealed his emotions beneath a mask of emotionlesness. He was talking with several of his lieutenants, including Xhallin Naar. They were arguing, which was extremely unusual for Ix. They were treacherous, yes. Treachery came as naturally to them as breathing. But no Ix warrior would ever question an order from his superior. Yet a group of the Ix warriors were arguing with Vhokyn, their voices harsh and cold.

Allowing her features to become cold and impassive once more, Valkyria shouldered her longbow and walked over to the arguing warriors.

"--Follow their trail? Why should we?" one of the Ix was speaking. Valkyria recognized him as Ivrel, Xhallin's old mentor. His usually callous features had become twisted with rage. "Commander Thaer sent us to hunt down and kill the Spirit Toa, not waste our time chasing a half-remembered organization. Why should we lose good warriors in a battle in which we have nothing to gain?"

"Because." said Scrall, his expression unreadable. "They are obviously not from the Void. They're surfacers, from the Core Universe. They could very well possess information that will guide us to our eventual goal."

"Very well possess?" hissed Ivrel. "If they do not, have we lost five Ix warriors for nothing? One was killed in the initial battles, another lost in the Void, and now three more have died fighting in a pointless battle."

"Hardly pointless." said Valkyria. "Their sacrifice was not in vain, and when we find and kill the Spirit Toa, they will be honored."

"Is that so, Warrior Rhai?" asked Ivrel. "The Void is massive. This plateau is merely one of many ledges that overlooks the Void. The chances that the Spirit Toa is here are next to none. If we do not find him soon, we will all die here, of starvation, of dehydration, or in battle. Then we will have failed."

"We are Ix warriors." Valkyria reminded them. "Leaders of the greatest Empire ever created. When we rejoin the Core Universe with the Spirit Toa dead, our ancient empire will once more be made whole. We will not fail."

For a moment, all was silent. Then another warrior spoke. "Warrior Rhai, your words have reassured us, brought us back from the edges of destruction. We will continue following the Shadow of Ages."

Slowly, the Ix began to disperse, until only Xhallin, Ivrel, Valkyria, and Scrall remained. Xhallin seemed torn, he kept looking at Valkyria, then back at Ivrel. Eventually, he stepped behind his former mentor, his face hidden by his hooded cloak.

"We will follow the Shadow." said Ivrel coldly, his words clipped. He stared at Scrall in anger, but did not once look at Valkyria. "But if I find that you were wrong, Commander Vhokyn..." he wrapped his hand around the hilt of a dagger to prove his point.

"You may go." said Scrall. Ivrel nodded curtly, then vanished into the darkness to gather the surviving warriors.

"Do you think he plans rebellion?" asked Valkyria, once Ivrel was out of hearing range, leaving her, Scrall, and Scrall's second in command alone. Deep within, she knew the Ix warrior was. Ix warriors were so disciplined that for a senior warrior to display anger meant he was certainly planning violence.

"I am sure he does." said Scrall. "Doubtless had you not won the neutral Ix warriors over, he would have killed us both. For now, he will obey his orders, but if we find out that the Shadow does not have any information on the Spirit Toa, he will certainly attempt to seize control of the strike team, and the rest of the warriors will probably side with him."

"And even if we learn information from the Shadow of Ages, he'll still rebel, only most of the Ix will fight against him." finished Valkyria.

"For now." said Scrall, nodding briefly in acknowledgement. "We must gain the full support of the rest of the warriors. Four will side with us, but the remaining twelve are undecided. Once we have their support Warrior Ivrel's rebellion will surely fail."

Scrall paused for a moment, then asked. "Will Warrior Naar side with us?"

"I'm not sure. We were friends once, before we became apprentices, but now I think his only loyalty is to Warrior Ivrel."

"Thank you, Warrior Rhai. You may go." said Scrall, and Valkyria rejoined the group of Ix warriors, leaving Scrall and his deputy alone to plan their next course of action. All were ready now, swords, bows, and scythes drawn.

Like avenging phantoms, the Ix warriors vanished into the darkness, following the trail of the Shadow soldiers.

Shardak felt a flash of pure, raw terror as he lost his balance, vanishing into the darkness impossibly fast. A whirlwind of thoughts tore through his mind. Would Ion and the others survive and find out what happened to him? Would the fall kill him instantly, or would he lie there, broken and bleeding, for hours before the callous darkness of death descended?

All this flashed across his mind in a fraction of a second as he fell through the blackness. Pain exploded within him as his body slammed against the cliff's edge, followed by the sudden absence of light as his Circle lantern was torn from his hand. He held the Blade of Arcturas tightly, not wanting to lose the only thing he had to remember Arcturas by before he died.

Shardak slammed against the jagged edge of the cliff again, and reached out with one hand, trying desperately to grab hold of the anything to support himself on. Finally, his hand grabbed hold of an outcropping, and he braced his feet against the cliff. Now less sheer then it was above, he would easily be able to climb deeper into the darkness.

For a moment, it crossed his mind to try to climb up the cliff. He quickly abandoned the idea when he saw how far he'd fallen, and how sheer the cliff was above. It would be impossible for any being to climb that. Then he thought of something else: why hadn't they been killed when they'd lept into the Void? Surely the fall would have been fatal.

Then he remembered something Silencer had told him, while they'd been discussing the Void and the Nameless City. ''They say that there's a massive ledge that hangs out over the Void, called the Great Plain. some reason, nobody who falls onto the Great Plain from above dies. This is because the Void, like the portal that brought you into the Circle, exists in a state between the myriad dimensions. The portal opens a few bio above the floor of the Plain, so those who fall are rendered unconsious but not killed. It's as though the Void does not want to allow beings an easy death. ''

For the first time since Silencer's death, Shardak felt a slight flare of resentment towards him. ''How many gambles did you take with my life? Were you so sure that all of the legends about the Void were true? So sure that you'd stake my life on them? That and the only hope of defeating the Ix, the Shadow Orb?''

Then he remembered Silencer, standing, dying yet defiant, facing that army of Ix with drawn scythes. He'd died so Shardak could live. Yet had his last plan ultimately thrown all of their lives away?

He knew that the Ix were ruthless and deadly. They'd murdered Arcturas, captured and tortured him. He knew from the days he'd spent with Silencer's resistance and his days as a slave miner how callous they were, and knew that somehow, his destiny and that of the Ix were inexorably intertwined.

Kyhrex had mentioned that an Elemental known as Arcturas was the only being who had ever escaped the Circle and lived. And Shardak could not forget the flash of recognition that had flashed across Silencer's face when he'd first mentioned Silencer's name, and Asgard's strange amusement when he'd told the demon that he didn't know what his Kanohi's power. There was something he did not yet understand, something that no one had yet explained to him.

There are some things I will not explain to you. Ion had said. Not because I wish to hold anything back from you, but because they put you in danger.

Now Ion was probably dead, and Blast and Kyhrex. Shardak remembered how Blast had used his powers to slow down time, and how later he'd summoned the Scythe of Creation and the Blade of Arcturas into his hands during their escape from the Spire. Yet another question that would go forever unanswered.

''Have I lost my best friend? Have those soldiers killed him?'' Thought Shardak as he climbed down the bleak cliffs. He could not accept Blast was dead. Surely Ion would have helped him escape, even at the cost of his own life. And what of Kyhrex? The female Glatorian had been a loyal friend, one who'd guided them through the treacherous Labyrinth, defeated the Elemental Flareus, and killed the Stalker that had bitten his shoulder. Was he now completely friendless?

He thought of Kor, his Glatorian friend. For the past three weeks, he had no time to think of his old life in Intax. He wondered how he was doing, and if he would ever see him again.

''No where is safe. They will hunt you wherever you go. Anyone who gives you shelter will be killed as well. You are marked now...''

Perhaps the Ix had already killed Kor, to make sure no one who had ties to him in the world above was left alive. He'd seen their callous brutality reflected in the pitiless eyes of the Kranr slavemasters, the beaten-down Matoran and Agori who dwelled within the Circle, and in the way Melnox had revealed to him their only hope was to vanish into the abyss between dimensions.

''Even those who knew you in Intax are not safe. The Ix will make sure no one ever learns your fate...''

Shardak saw he'd almost reached the foot of the massive, jagged cliff, but he was in too much pain to care. He remembered Melnox's toneless voice as they fled the Ix, before they'd come to the Void.

''None of us wanted this. I suppose we're all homeless now...''

And though Shardak's soul railed against the injustice of it all, he knew there was nothing he could do against the Ix here. If he could survive, and focus on finding Atarus or Jareroden, he might live to fight them another day.

He knew needed to find shelter. He didn't know if he'd reached the bottom of the Void, but he knew very well that the beings trapped within the Void would kill him instantly if he didn't rest. He was also tired, he realized it had probably been more then twenty-four hours since he'd awoken in the Void and began his search for Blast. For a moment he wondered how long he'd lain unconscious within the Void before he'd awoken. It couldn't have been long, otherwise he'd have been killed long ago by Asgard, the enigmatic soldiers, or another, equally dangerous group.

Looking around, he expected to be surrounded by darkness, as the light from his fallen lantern could not reach this far down. However, to his surprise he saw small pinpricks flickering white light in the distance. Slowly, the Blade of Arcturas extended before him, he drew nearer to the source of the illumination. Then, suddenly, he saw another flash of light, and realized it was a Circle lantern.

"Shardak?" came a whisper. "Shardak, is that you?"

Shardak almost gasped in relief as he saw Blast stride out of the darkness, his scythe in hand. Behind him stood Kyhrex, her face grim. Her eyes brightened when she saw Shardak, but Shardak realized that Ion was not with them.

"Did Ion escape?" asked Shardak, dreading the answer.

Blast's grin vanished. "I don't know." he admitted. "Ion told us to run, to follow you...he wa surrounded by soldiers, I don't see how he could have escaped..."

Shardak had already guessed the answer, but the loss of Ion felt like a physical blow. He knew it was fortunate both Blast and Kyhrex had escaped, but Ion had been guiding them through the Void. How had he known about Atarus and Jareroden? And more importantly, he'd been their mentor, their friend, and their last link to their mission.

Unconsiously, Shardak fingered the Shadow Orb, knowing that Asgard and the Ix were still out there, and knew he had the Orb.

Shardak realized he was standing within a small gorge, where the cliff descended. Behind him, he could see the jagged cliff he'd climbed down.

But it was the other cliff, ahead of him, that held attention. Unlike the others, it had two small diamonds, gleaming with white light, embedded within it, shedding light on a massive stone gateway. Shardak saw, to his surprise, it wasn't a cliff at all, but almost a mirror of the Spire in the Circle, where he and Blast had been held captive by the Ix. Another cliff rose in the distance behind it. Apart from the two gleaming orbs embedded within the gateway, the small circle was completely dark.

Looking at the Spire, Shardak could see that the creators had modeled it extensively on the Ix's Circle above. Then he realized that perhaps the creators of the Spire had based their stone archways and the Circle on this structure. It was impossible to tell with stone, but to Shardak this spire felt far older and more mysterious.

For a moment, Shardak wondered if he should enter. It seemed abandoned, but it was in a seemingly abandoned tunnel he'd been captured by Banrax. Steeling his nerves, he stepped through the gateway. He pushed open the door, and Blast and Kyhrex followed.

As he entered the building, he heard a voice rasp from within. "Welcome to the Sanctum of the Mind, Toa Shardak."

Chapter 8
The room was large, a domed, opaque glass ceiling hiding the upper levels of the massive Spire-building. Cold blue light burned feverishly, their light shining down upon the faces of an ancient Matoran-like being. Two other beings, another, heavily armored being and a smaller but no less ancient Matoran who stood guard next to them. There was an air of weary tiredness about them all, as though their very existence caused them pain.

As soon as they saw the beings, Kyhrex's crossbow had been drawn and Blast had raised his scythe. But Shardak did not even attempt to raise the Blade of Arcturas, he simply stared at the being in shock.

"How-- how did you know my name?" he asked, wondering who these beings were. They obviously were not Ix, nor were they Asgard's strange minions. He wondered, for a moment, if they could be affiliated with the Toa Order, another remnant like Melnox and Ion. The Toa-like being could have--

"Within the Sanctum of the Mind, much is possible." said the being simply.

"Who are you? What is...the Sanctum of the Mind?" asked Shardak.

"I am Turaga Meilo." the being said. His voice was soft and calming, and Shardak felt almost instantly this being could be trusted. "This is Turaga Pierra and Krost." he said, gesturing to the armored being and the Matoran in turn.

"I am Kyhrex." said the female Glatorian. "This is Blast." but Shardak barely heard her.

"You're a Turaga?" gasped Shardak in shock.

"Then how did you survive the Purge?" asked Blast.

"The Purge?" echoed Meilo curiously. Then he seemed to understand, and his voice became sad. "Many beings in the world beyond shadows have spoken to me about what has transpired in the worlds that the Void bridges."

Meilo turned to Korst and Peirra. "Guard the entrance. I don't know if any of the demons from the Great Plain followed him here. "

"No, they didn't. I fought one, but he--"

Meilo's expression looked grim. "We must talk. I sensed you the moment you entered the Void, and thanks to my ability to move within the Shadowrealm, I know that you have come here from the Circle, have you not?"

"You've been to the Circle?" asked Blast. "Then you know--"

"Come." said Meilo, cutting him off. The ancient Turaga led Shardak, Kyhrex, and Blast through a glass door, into a darkened chamber. Only one light was burning within, a small Cold Fire torch that cast cold light upon a small chair and desk.

"This was once the library of the Sanctum. Millions of ancient, now illegible stone tablets fill these halls. When I am not wandering the Shadowrealm, I am here, descipering the ancient writings the Mindeaters left behind."

"How many beings are here?" asked Kyhrex. While she was no longer carrying her crossbow, she still looked slightly wary of Meilo.

"Nearly forty. All of us have--" Meilo paused. "Tell me everything, Toa Shardak. Tell me what has occured in the worlds beyond since I was there last."

Shardak had no idea where to start; he wasn't sure how much Meilo knew of the Ix, their empire, and the losing battle against the massive legions of darkness. He eventually decided to begin with his own involvement in the war, telling Meilo of the death of Arcturas, and how the he and Blast had been lured down into the Void by Nightshade and captured by Banrax. He told of the soul-rending torture he'd experienced within the Spire, and how Silencer had rescued him, and trained him briefly in the use of the aura field. Finally, he told Meilo how Silencer had sacrificed his life to defeat the Fury and allow him to escape.

Shardak held nothing back. Something about Meilo made him want to tell the Turaga everything that had transpired within the Circle, despite the danger that he could be an Ix agent. Shardak knew from bitter experience how the Ix could pretend they were your friends, only to stab you in the back when you turned away.

Meilo listened carefully to every detail, occastionally questioning him about the state of the worlds above the Circle. Once or twice, Blast and Kyhrex interjected, clarifying occasional points about Ion, Silencer, and the Shadow Orb.

"The Ix have nearly conquered the entire planet, and only the warring Skakdi and Kodax prevents them from overrunning the Kodax Fells from the Circle. There are many resistance groups scattered across the edges of the world, but at this point the Ix are merely cleaning up their domain." Shardak's voice nearly broke as he said the last words. Were the Ix simply too powerful to defeat?

Meilo nodded sadly. "I suspected this would come to pass." he said. "The beings locked within the Shadowrealm warned me of this, they warned me that the world I once knew had changed beyond recognition."

He turned to Kyhrex. "You are an water Elementalist, are you not?" he asked. She nodded.

"Silencer fought them. We spent two weeks fighting side by side against the Ix...then I finally got up the courage to ask him to help me free Blast." added Shardak.

"What did you do, mainly?" Meilo asked.

"Train, battle the Ix if they attacked us. We'd move from safe house to safe house, while Melnox would guard against attacks from Kranr. I never really participated in the action, Silencer's priority was to make sure I entered the Void with the Shadow Orb. But the Ix are here as well. They've already sent a Xhranr after us-- a three-tailed demon and his minions."

Meilo nodded again. "Not unusual. This Silencer seems to be a great scholar of the Mindeater Era; he obviously understood that the Abyss was a prison. But he was also wrong. The Void is a base of operations for the Ix as well, the Ix are not unaware of this."

"They're not? Then why--"

"Because it suits them to say that it devours its victims, feeds on their life force. In reality, it has been used as a prison for centuries before the Ix's rise to power."

Meilo paused for a moment as the Cold Fire torch flickered out, running his fingers over the torch and restoring the blue flames to life. Then he continued. "My friends and I, the Toa Teishu, were once protectors of an island on another Shadowrealm. We--"

"You continually mention the Shadowrealm? What is this?" asked Shardak.

"Silencer told you nothing of this?" asked Meilo. He sounded surprised. "The moment you entered the Void, you left a plane. The moment you entered the Sanctum of the Mind, you entered another. They are all interconnected; the world you come from is connected to nearly twenty other planes of existence. The Shadowrealms are the higher planes; the planes of thought where the Ix and others like them dwelled before the Year of Darkness."

Shardak nodded, Meilo had strayed onto familiar ground now. Silencer had mentioned that he'd been created during the Year of Darkness, as well as something about a prophecy the Ix feared. It was a common enough Matoran myth: the year when all light ceased from the world, only to return inexplicably a year later. He'd never heard of the Shadowrealms, but he'd heard of the planes, and remembered Silencer mention that no one knew where, exactly, the Ix originated.

"And you can travel into this Shadowrealm?" asked Shardak.

"One of the many higher planes, yes. There are many beings who dwell there, this particular Realm has no exit save for those who enter it willingly. You can speak with them, if you wish." added Meilo.

"You came from another Realm, a second Plane?" asked Shardak.

"The Realm coexists with the Plane you're from." said Meilo. "As well as this plane, the Sanctum of the Mind. Eventually, years after defeating our greatest foe, one of the primal Elemental Demons, we fell pray to the Ix. With no option but death, either by execution or the Eternal Game, we opened a gate between the planes, forcing us into the Sanctum of the Mind. The escape weakened us horribly, destroying everything we'd worked for as the Ix completed their conquest. We--"

"So the Ix rule all of the planes and Realms?" asked Shardak.

Meilo shook his head, surprising him. "No...the Ix are merely one of the branches of the race that ruled over the Shadowrealm Empire during the times before the Storm Wars."

Shardak was burning with questions about the Storm Wars and the Ix, but listened closely to the end of Meilo's tale.

"At last, we nearly lost the will to live, trapped within the Sanctum plane with no way out save for the Void. Then finally we managed to translate an ancient scroll, describing how to walk between worlds. We eventually discovered how to open a gateway into one of the planes of thought, and encountered beings from the outside world there.

"Occasionally once-powerful beings who could still sense the world outside spoke with us, and it was one such being who told me that he had sensed a powerful presence within the Void, from the worlds outside the Circle. They watched you battle the demons on the Great Plain, and told me of how you became separated from your friend."

"Did they tell you if Ion is alive?" asked Shardak eagerly. He could see Blast and Kyhrex were eager to know as well, and despite his anger at Ion for not explaining the world he'd been dragged into, he hoped desperately the mutated Toa still lived.

"They did not say. This was before you re-encountered the Elementalist and the Glatorian, before the soldiers attacked you. I don't know who these beings were, or what motivation they have for being in the Void, but they are not prisoners here."

"What do they want? Why did they attack us?" asked Kyhrex. "It's almost as if they could sense us, but that's impossible, neither the soldiers nor Asgard could use the aura field..."

"Perhaps they can sense Elemental power, like your friend Kyhrex." suggested Meilo. "But I agree it is rather strange that you'd be attacked by a demon and a group of soldiers in the same day. Most of the beings on the Great Plain are too slow or apathetic to bother with a Toa and a group of Glatorian."

"I have to go back, then." said Shardak grimly. "I can't leave him alone if the soldiers are still after him." Kyhrex nodded grimly.

"And get yourself killed?" said Meilo. "Your Stalker bite is dangerously close to becoming infected. You could die if the acid gets into your bloodstream. You've been cut twice by Shredsteel in the past three days, and that's obviously not going to give you a fighting chance to save your friends."

Shardak wanted to open his mouth to protest, but he knew Meilo was right. He'd be killed instantly if he tried to fight a trained soldier. He'd barely escaped a group of Ix once, and only narrowly held off a Kranr.

The thought of the slavemaster he'd killed saddened Shardak. Meilo had not even seemed annoyed that the Kranr had died by his hand when he'd told him, despite the fact that killing was a direct violation of the Toa Code.

It wasn't like you had a choice. whispered a voice within his head. He and the Ix had you surrounded.

"Meilo, about the Kranr I killed--" Shardak began, but Meilo cut him off.

"I have fought many beings, Toa Shardak." he said. "And while killing amorally or recklessly, or allowing others to die because of your neglect, is a violation of the Code, the Kranr would have killed you. I'm not saying killing in self-defense is the right thing to do, but when you have no other choice, when it's either you or your opponent, slaying a Kranr does not make you like them. Those who can kill with no emotion, with no sadness or regret-- they are the truly evil beings."

Shardak nodded. He opened his mouth to speak again, but Meilo silenced him. "Do not dwell on this further, Toa. His blood, like that of Silencer's, is on the Ix's hands."

Shardak nodded again, then asked, "What must I do to save my friends?"

Meilo opened his mouth to reply, and Shardak knew what he'd say before he said it.

"I will introduce you, Blast and Kyhrex to the rest of the beings who dwell within the Sanctum, including my fellow Turaga. Then, though I have not trained a student in years, and am weakened by age and battle, I will teach you how to Mind Walk, and find Ion." "Mind Walk?" asked Shardak. "You think that's possible?"

Meilo smiled. "Certainly. You, Toa Shardak, have no idea how much elemental power you control. What I don't understand is why I couldn't sense you earlier."

"You couldn't sense me earlier?" asked Shardak. "I thought you said--"

"I did. But seeing you standing before me is another matter. Like yoru Glatorian friend Kyhrex, I am an Elementalist. I can sense your elemental power when it is being used, and can certainly track you using Mind Walking. However, you seemed less powerful from a distance...I'm surprised the Ix didn't know you and Arcturas were hiding in Intax, considering the strength of your aura."

Kyhrex nodded in agreement, then broke off, confused. "Arcturas...was he--"

"I don't know if he was the same being who escaped the Circle." said Shardak. "He never told me anything about this."

As he said those words, he realized how true they were. Arcturas had obviously known of the Ix before his death. He'd told the Fury: I knew you'd find me someday. Could it be they were one and the same?

He remembered something else Melnox had told them, as they stood at the edge of the Void. ''Arcturas was their mortal enemy. ''He hadn't thought much of it at the time, they'd been cornered by Ix then, he didn't even know if they'd survive, but something within him wished fervently that they'd had more time to discuss what Ion, Melnox, and Silencer knew about Arcturas.

"Why didn't you tell me, when I mentioned his name?" asked Kyhrex, confused.

"No time." said Shardak. "I was wondering the same thing when the Eliminators attacked. And then..."

There was no need to finish. Everyone present knew what had happened after that.

"It would explain much if Arcturas and the only being to have escaped the Circle are one and the same." said Meilo. "Such as how you remained unknown to the Ix for so long. Why did Silencer give you the Shadow Orb? Did he know of an exit to the Void?"

"I don't know." said Shardak. "Do you?" he asked Kyhrex.

"No." she said. "Though Ion mentioned something about the Nameless City, so perhaps if it exists--"

"It exists." said Meilo confidently.

"Have you been there?" asked Shardak.

"No." said the Turaga. "But if you studied the ancient texts within this library, I'm sure you would find something on the subject of the ancient civilizations, such as the Shadowrealm Empire and the Nameless City of the Mindeaters."

"Do you have any idea who these beings, Atarus and Jareroden, are?" asked Shardak.

"I have never heard of either." said Meilo sadly. "I vanished from the known world over one hundred years ago, and know very little about the current state of the universe beyond what I have already told you."

Shardak was disappointed. But he told himself that obviously these beings weren't prisoners in the Void. Neither Ion or Silencer had ever been there. They must have had something to do with the "spirit or "victor" that Kyhrex had mentioned. Once more Silencer wondered how much the Fire Toa had kept from him.

Meilo looked as if he was about to speak, then broke off as another being entered the room. She was a Turaga, like Meilo, but armored in sapphire.

"You're needed in the main council chamber." she said grimly. "Ario wanted to execute the Toa and Glatorian right off, but fortunately Senkou and Izon overruled him."

"Thank you, Lilian." said Meilo. "Come." he said to Blast, Shardak, and Kyhrex. "There had been a development we must attend to."

"Development?" asked Blast. "Why does this Ario want us dead?"

Meilo made a face halfway between a smile and a grimace. "Turaga Ario is very strict. He was extremely upset when we were exiled to the Void."

"But he won't harm us, will he?" asked Shardak.

"No. I will not allow him." said Meilo. "Besides, Turaga Senkou and Izon have already dealt with him."

"How many Turaga and Matoran are here?" queried Blast.

"There are seven Turaga, the former Toa Teishu." said Meilo. "And Krost is, I believe, the only Matoran here, though there may be more. There are other beings here besides us, but they spend more time reading the ancient tablets within the Sanctum or Mind Walking that they rarely, if ever, bother us."

The ancient Turaga halted beefore a large, ornate door made of metal simular to that of the Circle's buildings. Like the Spire in the Circle, it was carved into the obsidian stone. For one moment, Shardak was back in the Circle, remembering the horrible torture he'd suffered within the Spire. Then he remembered their current, but no less dangerous, situation.

Entering the chamber, he immediately saw it was far larger then the library or the entrance chamber. Five Turaga were standing in the room, including the blue Turaga, Lilian. He looked around for either Krost or Pierra, but saw no sign of the Turaga. However, Krost was standing alongside the group of Turaga.

"Greetings, Meilo." said one of the Turaga, armored in green. His face was masked, but he smiled at the Toa, and seemed hightly energetic, as though he was about to leap into action. Another Turaga, in brown armor, glared at Shardak with undisguised contempt.

"Greetings, Duuril." answered Meilo. He nodded toward the brown Turaga. "You wished to speak with us, Ario?"

"Ario wanted to quick-slay the Toa and Glatorian." explained Duuril. "Lilian, Senkou and I tried to quick-change his mind, but he still-insisted to speak with you."

"That is correct." Ario scowled. "From what I have heard from Pierra and Krost, they bring the Ix with them. We all know the devastation they brought about in both the planes and the Void, and the influence they wield here even today. We in the Sanctum of the Mind have escaped destruction, and I will not condemn us all to a long, lingering death at the hands of the Veiled Ones."

Meilo looked solemn, as did Lilian and the two Turaga Shardak supposed must have been Izon and Senkou. Even Duuril's grin had faded slightly at the mention of the Ix.

"Even if that is so, we must completely-protect this Toa and his Glatorian friends!" said Duuril, recovering quickly. "If the shadow-Ix hunt-follow them here we'll protect them!"

Shardak relaxed as Ario seemed to relent slightly at Duuril's insistance. "Still, they will be the destruction of our Sanctum!"

"Do not presume it is our Sanctum, Ario." Meilo pointed out gently.

"There are hidden-secrets even I have not learned." agreed Duuril.

"I'm not sure." said Senkou. "While I believe that it is our duty to protect the Toa, I also believe that we should not allow him to destroy us all."

"You would simply hand him over to the Ix?" Duuril spat. "Asgard's still out there, and if the Ix are clustering, he should stay with us!"

"Of course not." said Senkou. "But we can't sacrifice everything to defend them."

"I have already agreed to teach Toa Shardak to Mind Walk." said Meilo, holding up his hand to silence them. "He stays with us."

"What?" burst out Krost. "It could tear apart his mind!"

"Toa Shardak has powers that most Toa can only ever dream of." said Meilo confidently. "He will not be harmed."

"If you're sure." he said.

"Meilo is rarely wrong." pointed out Izon, speaking for the first time. "While Senkou and Ario do make a point, I don't believe we would be worthy Turaga if we simply allowed them to be handed over to the Ix. Meilo has heard Shardak's tale, he belives and trusts them."

Ario looked furious, but Senkou nodded in acknowledgement of Izon's words. Robbed of the last of his support, Ario bowed his head.

"Very well. But if this Toa ends up destroying everything we have worked for here...I would regret to be him."

"Was that a threat, Ario?" asked Meilo, his voice now deathly calm.

"No, not at all." said Ario quickly. "Simply a statement."

"Thank you." said Meilo. "If there is nothing more to discuss, then this meeting is adjourned. Kyhrex, Blast, Shardak, Krost, come with me."

Without another word to the other Turaga, Meilo swept out of the room, the Shardak, the Glatorian, and Krost following him.

"What does Ario have against me?" asked Shardak, now confused.

Meilo sighed. "Ario has always been ambitious and talented. But he is also impatient and harsh, and our long exile between worlds has stripped him of his will and purpose. He obviously wishes to vent his anger on someone other then Krost or the other Turaga."

"How did you meet Krost?" asked Blast. "He wasn't with you during the final battle against the Elemental Demon, was he?"

"I was banished to the Void long before the Turaga arrived here. Like the others in this complex, I had lost all feeling, and I was near death." answered Krost. "Meilo and Izon and the others gave me new purpose. A will of my own to live."

Meilo led them into a darkened chamber, then drew three Cold Fire torches for them to carry. "These are for you. You may rest here for now; in the meantime I will treat Shardak's Stalker bite."

"We should be with him." said Blast flatly, and Shardak sensed mistrust and fear radiating from his aura. Shardak guessed he still didn't completely trust Meilo.

Meilo smiled faintly. "I am glad you do not blindly trust me, however, I assure you that if I'd wanted you dead, I could have allowed Ario to simply hand you over to the Ix."

Kyhrex hesitated for a moment, then relented. She and Blast vanished into the room, but her eyes blazed a warning. Tell him nothing more.

Shardak nodded briefly, wondering if he'd made a massive mistake in trusting Meilo.

No, because if he was a servant of the Ix he'd have simply given me over to Ario. Shardak reminded himself.

But that doesn't automatically mean he's trustworthy. whispered another voice.

Shardak sighed. The past three weeks had taught him to be suspicious of everyone, even a kind, ancient Turaga. He was more resolved then ever to trust Meilo, and tommarrow he would Mind Walk and find Ion under his guidance. If the Toa was still alive, the process would tell him.

Dredzek watched as the group of Ix warriors fought against their three remaining Shadow soldiers. Had he had a mouth, he would have smiled coldly. As it was, he did not, as he was forced to remain a ghostly, intangible being with no features whatsoever so the Ix could not notice him.

They stood no chance against the warriors, of course, but they had been well trained, he had told Corzkax to only select the best, most fanatical Shadow members to journey with him on this mission. So when he'd ordered them to buy him time to escape the Ix, they'd obeyed, despite the fact they'd all surely be killed.

Already weakened after his initial battle with the Ix, Dredzek's shapeshifting power was also painfully limited. While he didn't want to accept that he was dying, the pain he'd felt when he'd unleashed chain lightning on the Ix had confirmed the painful truth: he was far too weak to survive another battle against the Ix warriors.

He'd fled, the two surviving Shadow soldiers following him. They'd run into another Shadow soldier they'd lost in the Void, and he'd ordered them all to make their final stand here.

The Makuta had remained behind, despite the pain, however. He was curious why these Ix were so determined to hunt them down. Perhaps, they, too sought the Ignika, but had no idea how to find it or believed they had it. If they did, they would leave one of the Shadow soldiers alive for questioning. And maybe they new something he didn't about the legendary Kanohi's whereabouts.

Dredzek knew that the Ignika was the only object that could cure him of his weakness. The life he'd experienced since the horrible inferno in the arena had been nothing but a lone being trapped within an ancient weapon of power; he'd never encountered any other beings within the Scythe except when Corzkax had used the Scythe to bind his antidermis to the artificially created antidermis. Instead of feeling triumphant at his narrow escape from death, Dredzek felt completely empty inside, as though the small piece of antidermis that was still Dredzek was dying, but not allowed to die.

The Ignika was the key. It had to be. Turning his attention back to the battle, Dredzek saw that one of the Shadow soldiers lay dead, slain by repeated Scythe strokes. Another soldier had lost an arm, and was staggering away from the two warriors he'd been fighting. As he watched, the Ix delivered a blindingly fast blow to the soldier's throat, and he fell dead.

The remaining soldier had been completely surrounded. Two Ix warriors were closing in on him, scythes drawn. Another Ix, a female, had an arrow pointed at his heart. Dredzek listened as they began to question him, wondering what, exactly, they were after.

"Where is the Spirit Toa?" one asked, his voice harsh. Dredzek winced. The Ix's voice reminded him of the torturers that had broken his mental barriers before the Eternal Game. He still remembered the day when he'd been captured, years after the Battle of Chrone...

Dredzek snarled under his breath, then began listening again as the Ix continued questioning the Shadow soldier. What had happened in the past didn't matter. Only the Ignika mattered now, and his master's plan.

"I do not know! I saw a Toa, a Toa in yellow armor, escape us! I don't know anything about the Spirit Toa!"

Dredzek paused, this was interesting. He'd wondered exactly where the lone Shadow soldier had come from, perhaps he'd encountered this Toa...

"Yes! He wore a Kanohi like that! It didn't seem powerful, but I'm sure your elemental senses are far better then mine..."

Dredzek nearly froze. He'd sensed the same presence, far weaker then the Ignika, before he'd reached out in the aura field. It had taken all of the Scythe's power to recognize the Kanohi as the Ignika; he was surprised one of the Shadow had been able to sense the power. He'd wondered why the power had been so hard to recognize, it should have been a burning brand in the aura field, a raw supernova of unclaimed power.

The Ix were now talking amongst themselves, discussing their plan in their archaic, scratchy language. Dredzek had journeyed through three different planes, yet he'd never heard anything remotely like it. It was untranslatable, but the important information had already been stated.

There was a Toa in the Void, and Dredzek knew he was within the Sanctum of the Mind. The Ix would not pursue him, they would follow the Toa to the Sanctum and attempt to finish him off. Slowly, the Makuta rematerialized, grimacing in pain. While the horrible emptiness he felt left no room for triumph, Dredzek knew his path to the Kanohi Ignika was now open.

Chapter 9
The Ix were surrounding the Sanctum.

Valkyria held Silverblade in one hand, a smaller dagger in the other. Her green eyes were trained on the building where their quarry was hiding, the being that they'd followed into the Void on the orders of Khazin Thaer. The Toa that the Shadow of Ages had mentioned could be no other then the Spirit Toa, Shardak.

Moments after Xhallin Naar had killed the Shadow soldier they'd captured, Valkyria had seen the look in Ivrel's eyes. There was no turning back now. He would have to make his move soon, or all was lost for him. She'd advocated Scrall's plan, so unless he killed them both now, there was no chance he would even survive the return to Illiera. His only chance was to sieze control of the strike team and say Scrall, Valkyria and their remaining supporters had been killed in the battle.

Vhokyn was ordering Ivrel and his group to lead the one of the main attack forces, while he and his elite commanders led the other. She and Naar would stay behind, along with three other Ix warriors, and they would lead the third attack force. Any remaining Ix warriors would follow the first two groups into the Sanctum, aiming to finish off the guards. While the Shadow soldier had told them that the Sanctum was merely guarded by a small group of Matoran and Agori, Valkyria knew from bitter experience how deadly a small group of beings with nothing to lose could be.

And then there was the Spirit Toa. Valkyria found herself wondering once more how deadly he could be. Was he a deadly, murderous being who had taken the Mask of Life by force? Or had he merely been unfortunate to bring the Ix's wrath down upon him?

"Ivrel will make his move soon, or he will lose the last of his supporters." whispered a new voice. Valkyria turned to see Vhokyn standing there, three Ix warriors by his side.

Valkyria had been expecting this, and she smiled grimly. "He's desperate at this point. And desperate people make mistakes. If we can just isolate him and his supporters and kill them all--"

"And have too few Ix warriors to assault the Sanctum?" argued Vhokyn.

"They're a few old Turaga and a Matoran." said Valkyria contemptuously. "They are not the dangerous threat."

"True." said Scrall. "However, I'm more worried about how dangerous the Spirit Toa and his allies are."

"They don't seem that dangerous." said Valkyria. "The Toa is very injured, and the two Glatorian are simply not fast enough to evade an Ix warrior."

Scrall nodded, then turned away. "I go to oversee the battle. They haven't noticed us yet, but they will in a few minutes."

Valkyria drew her daggers, confident of victory. The Ix warrior's first wave were striding toward the Sanctum door, and as she joined the group, her cloak blending perfectly with the darkness, she watched as Ivrel swung the door open and the Ix poured into the Sanctum.

For one moment, everything was a blur as the world around her exploded with the clash of weapon striking weapon and Elemental energy whirling madly across the battlefield. Valkyria saw two Matoran leaping, weapons raised, with dexterity that nearly matched that of the Ix. Before one warrior could even defend himself, he fell, a Matoran's sword embedded in his side.

Not wanting to fall prey to the same fatal attack, Valkyria drew back a dagger to throw. However, Ivrel was quicker. Before the Matoran could even cry out, Ivrel's weapon severed the head from his shoulders.

Three other Matoran and an ancient-looking Turaga of Earth were still fighting. The Turaga was holding his own against three Ix warriors, but the Matoran were simply too weak to defeat the strike team. Valkyria's dagger buried itself in a Matoran's throat, and Xhallin Naar skewered another through the heart.

The Turaga of Earth opened his mouth to call a warning, maybe to call more of his allies to aid him. Two Ix warriors lay dead beside him, and one was badly injured. Before he could even open his mouth, Valkyria's dagger speared itself directly through his heartlight. The Turaga staggered backward, but Scrall slashed his head from his shoulders in one stroke.

Seeing the Turaga fall seemed to rob the final Matoran guard of all sense of purpose. Whether he would have tried to flee, surrender, or simply fought to the death would never be known, as another Ix's arrow took him between the eyes and he fell to the ground.

Valkyria scanned the battlefield, and saw that Ivrel was striding toward the Sanctum's entrance. She turned to run after him, but suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.

The Ix girl spun around, green eyes flashing as she saw Xhallin Naar standing before her, holding a scythe.

"I'm sorry to do this to you, Warrior Rhai." he said, and Valkyria saw his eyes were pained. "But you have to die in order for my mentor's takeover to succeed.

The raised his scythe. "So I'm just 'Warrior Rhai' now?" she said, realizing immediately he'd already resolved to finish her off and her only hope for survival lay in distracting him. For one brief moment, Xhallin hesitated, and Valkyria slashed her dagger across his arm, drawing blood. His scythe descended, cutting into her shoulder.

Valkyria's pain was almost immediately replaced by annoyance. It wasn't the betrayal that bothered her, while she'd once been friends with Naar, she would have killed him without emotion had a superior ordered her, and she knew he'd do the same to her. But did Xhallin honestly think that Ivrel could win, whether he killed her or not?

Naar's next slash nearly slashed open her arm, but she dodged the blow narrowly. As Xhallin came at her once more, face twisted into a mask of pain and rage, Valkyria disarmed him, grabbing the scythe, and watched as Ivrel brought his weapon down on one of Scrall Vhokyn's supporters, who fell dead to the ground. Three Matoran were weaving among the battling Ix, felling several.

Valkyria drew back her dagger as both Ivrel and the Matoran slammed into Vhokyn, causing the Ix to stagger back, scythe swinging wildly. The Matoran was forced backward, but before Scrall could finish him off, Ivrel struck just as Valkyria let her dagger go.

The dagger struck Ivrel through the heart just before he was about to finish off Scrall, and the treacherous Ix warrior fell to his knees, shock and pain on his features. He screamed once, then fell to the ground.

Xhallin Naar turned around in surprise and shock at Naar's final scream, just as Valkyria called out a warning. The Matoran wasted no time, and struck Xhallin, felling the Ix warrior before he could even register what had happened to his treacherous mentor.

Valkyria watched in shock as her once-friend's body fell to the ground, his throat torn open by the Matoran's dagger. His blood flowed at her feet, staining her boots with his blood.

In a different time, a different world, we could have been good friends. thought Valkyria sadly. If only Ivrel had not turned him against us.

Quickly ridding herself of emotion, Valkyria raised Silverblade, but saw that by now the battle was over. The Matoran lay dead, and with Ivrel's death, his supporters had quickly been slain. Now, only twelve Ix warriors including Valkyria had survived, and only one of the apprentices was alive.

Valkyria felt her sadness vanish, replaced once more with the anticipation at the end of their long mission. Having slain Ivrel, the only Ix traitor on Illiera in years, her status would rise even higher in the order, and she may even be assigned to join the Circle, or one of the Ix Empire's outposts in the Core Universe.

But first she would have to complete the task Khazin Thaer had assigned her.

The Spirit Toa, Shardak, was somewhere within the building, and Valkyria had resolved she would be the one to finish the Toa off.

''Darkness pressed in all around him. Shardak could not decide exactly where he was, or what he was doing. Then, as though his thought had triggered the mental image, he saw a group of beings standing on a long plateau leading into the forest. He could make out the features of a battle-scarred Toa, his eyes gaunt and hollow from years of war, standing near the forest. In his hand he held a weapon of flickering blue fire.''

''Standing beside him was another being, a female, wearing a cloak and light armor. She was standing next to the first being, holding his hand. Shardak could see that a third being, armored in yellow or perhaps gold, was standing on the small hill. He raised his staff, as though in farewell. The two beings called something back, but he couldn't hear anything, nor could he make out the faces of the beings in the vision. ''

''And before the vision turned to blackness, he saw a flash of pure black energy tear across the scene, causing it to dissipate into mist. He tried to call out, but his voice would not come to him.''

''Then shadows rent his world in two and Shardak felt the world plunge into dizzying blackness. ''

With a start, Shardak awoke, the Shadow Orb in his hand.

It's the Orb. he thought, gasping for breath. It's making me see visions of the past, like Silencer's friend dying.

Yet somehow, he felt as though something was wrong with that idea...then he realized the truth. He had not seen the past, but the future. Was that why the image was so hazy and indistinct?

"Having visions?" asked a new voice, startling Shardak.

"Krost?" he asked, staring at the white Matoran. "How did you--"

"It's not the stone you carry." said Krost. "It's the Sanctum of the Mind. Like many demiplanes, it exists outside the normal confines of time and space, and sometimes you can see images of what will come to pass in your universe."

"So it was a vision of the future?" asked Shardak.

"A vision of a possible future." said Krost. "Not the future. The Future is based on the actions of beings, not on what you see in the Sanctum or other planes. It's why many beings are driven insane by this place; they can't tell what is truly happening in the world beyond, for they know nothing save several possible futures."

"Was the vision I saw my future?" asked Shardak.

"Perhaps." said Krost. "Perhaps not. I do not know, the only one who could tell you is perhaps, the Sanctum itself."

"You speak of the Sanctum as though it's alive." said Shardak, wondering still if everything he'd seen would happen to him, or if it would occur millennia into the future.

"There are many ways of being alive." answered Krost, and refused to elaborate.

"Do you think this...possible future has any significance?" asked Shardak.

"To some it may, to some it will not." said Krost. "I do not know what you saw, nor do I wish to know. The secrets the Sanctum shares with you are yours alone."

Suddenly, there was a knock upon the door. The sound was so unexpected that Shardak almost jumped, but Krost rose calmly to his feet.

"It's probably one of the Turaga. They are highly sensitive to what goes on here, they probably want to make sure you're okay."

"It is possible for the visions to damage you?" asked Shardak.

"Many have succumbed to madness, but the Turaga have not, nor have I."

Krost opened the door, and Shardak was nearly blinded by a flash of red light. Before he could move or cry out, Korst was felled with a single slash of the gleaming red and silver weapons.

Though the arms they carried were unfamiliar to Shardak, there was no mistaking the black, hooded robes that seemed to be one with the night itself, the chilled eyes that spoke of death and destruction, and the clawed, corpse hands and skull-like masks.

Ix.

Chapter 10
Chapter unfinished...

Trivia

 * The Shadows Coil is the 10th longest page on the wiki.