[First Era – Year 6 of the Divinity War; Deep space, aboard a Severed vessel]

  Moraithe and Norgoth had done it. They had infiltrated the Severed’s inner circle, their true identities as drackmoor remained hidden. No one suspected a thing. Their subtle manipulation, careful planning, and patience had earned them the trust of those dark leaders.

  They floated together with the Severed, and in that chamber, they began to formulate a bold, sweeping plan to strike at one of the greatest stronghold worlds in the universe—an operation that if it succeeded would topple Moraithe’s true allies in a single devastating blow. Even as they strategized, he considered ways to undermine it.

  Then, just as their plan was taking shape, like an explosion of ink, a grim darkness flooded the chamber. It didn’t enter through the door or materialize in any natural way—it simply was. It filled the water, thickening it with a sensation of pure weight, of being choked by something far greater, far darker than the Severed themselves.

  Moraithe tensed, instinctively reaching for his weapons, but it was too late. He was already enveloped in the crushing presence. The darkness was not merely a physical thing—it was alive. It clung to water, air, space itself, drowning out everything.

  From the oppressive shadow, Barthum pulsed forward, his form barely visible in the inky haze he commanded. The researcher had changed from the kind and mousy fellow with a perpetual smile, into a hulking brute with a grim sneer. No snogbreather covered his face, but he showed no signs of suffocation. A chill swept through the depths of the chamber, an unnatural energy settling like blood in the water. The Severed fluttered arms and tentacles, backing away, their faces stricken with fear.

  “Your master has come,” Barthum’s voice resonated, not through his mouth but as a pulse of sheer power that vibrated in their bones. His voice carried the weight of absolute command. “And now, you belong to me.”

  A sudden wave of realization hit the Severed. There was no fighting this. They had no means of escaping it. They were caught in his grip. The room trembled, the darkness swirling around them like a living thing, suffocating them with its power.

  Moraithe tried to move, to break free of the isolating grip of Barthum’s presence, but it was useless. No force he could muster would shake the shackles that had been placed upon them. He glanced to Norgoth, but his friend’s face was drawn tight with fear, his hands trembling. This was a presence as indomitable as Elithir at least. There was nothing they could do. They were completely outmatched.

  Barthum’s voice boomed through their minds, invading their thoughts with terrifying ease. “You think you are powerful. You think you have the universe under your control. But you were blind to the darkness that hides beneath it all. I am the darkness.” The universe trembled at the force of those words.

  A shudder ran through Moraithe’s spine as Barthum continued, his dark power manifesting in tendrils that curled around the Severed like chains.

  “I have entangled myself with every shadow, every void, every piece of darkness in the universe. I see all that touches it. Every secret, every hidden truth. All things that lurk in the dark, I know them. There is nowhere you can hide from me, no secret you can keep.”

  Moraithe’s heart nearly burst at those words. Does he already know? He struggled to keep his gaze from drifting over to Norgoth.

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  “And now …” Barthum’s voice became smooth, like silk, the threat wrapped in a promise. “With this power, I will make you unstoppable. With my power, we can bring all our enemies to the dust. I will see their worlds burn. I will make the universe bow.”

  The room hung in silence for a moment, the full weight of Barthum’s words settling in. The Severed, once so terrifying in their own right, stood in stunned silence. The plan to destroy a stronghold world? It seemed laughable now. How could their own strength compare to a being who commanded the darkness itself, who had entangled his very existence with the vastness of the universe’s shadow?

  Moraithe's mind spun. Barthum had become something beyond powerful—he was omniscient in the dark spaces, connected to every secret, every hidden move. His power was limitless, his reach unfathomable. The very foundations of the drackmoor were built on secrets, on hidden things, and Barthum had just shattered that.

  Norgoth turned to him, luminous veins thrumming. Have we finally been revealed?

  Moraithe’s heart pounded in his chest as Barthum’s darkness tightened around them. They were trapped—no escape, no hope of a counterattack. He had never felt so powerless.

  “Hear my decree,” Barthum’s voice rumbled, deepening like thunder. An ominous silence waited to hear his words. “I will perceive every lie. With my power, nothing can hide in the shadows. With my power, we will conquer. You are now my armies. Together, we will sweep across the stars, and no one will dare to defy us again. Be faithful to me and I will reward you.

  “But more than this, I have a plan that will strip all power from my enemies, and only those whom I choose to protect will retain any portion of their strength. I will snuff out the stars, conquer the light, and bring every soul under my dominion forever.”

  Barthum’s laugh echoed through the chamber, dark and all-encompassing. The Severed, their faces empty of the arrogance they once carried, slowly bowed their heads, one by one, utterly broken. They had no choice but to submit. This was no longer a war. This was survival—a new era—and Barthum would rule all.

  The enemy had managed to do exactly what he’d been struggling to accomplish—to gain an overwhelming advantage. But they could not yield to the Severed. Now how would they win this war?

  Finally, Moraithe dared a glance at Norgoth. The plans they had fought so hard to set in motion were nothing compared to the vast and terrible designs of the one who had wrapped the universe in shadow—had become darkness itself.