After helping resolve several threats that had erupted across different regions of the unstable world, Erend finally returned to his own world for the first time in what felt like far too long.

The moment he stepped back into the familiar atmosphere of home, some of the pressure weighing on his mind eased slightly.

He spent the rest of the evening with Arty and his mother inside their house while the outside world remained peaceful and quiet compared to the chaos he had been enduring constantly.

The warmth of the house felt strangely distant to him now after weeks spent moving between battlefields, ruined lands, and collapsing anomalies.

For a while, things almost felt normal again.

Arty spoke to him excitedly while his mother listened carefully to everything he shared about his travels. But both of them could already tell from his exhausted eyes that the situation was far more dangerous than he openly admitted.

Even so, they still tried to make the atmosphere feel comfortable for him like they always did whenever he returned home. At least that was the only thing they could do.

Eventually, the three of them sat together for dinner.

It was such a simple moment compared to everything else happening across worlds, but to Erend it felt more valuable than most victories he had achieved recently.

The sound of ordinary conversation, warm food, and the presence of his family reminded him of why he kept fighting in the first place. He needs to keep the Void Architect as far away from them.

But the peace did not last long.

Sooner or later, Erend had to tell them the truth. The problem threatening the world he was currently protecting had grown far beyond anything they had ever faced.

Even the Dragonborn and him with his System were struggling to fully understand what was approaching.

That realization naturally filled both Arty and his mother with concern.

They worried about him. Not only because of the battles themselves, but because they understood how much responsibility Erend kept placing on his own shoulders every single day. The more worlds he protected, the heavier that burden became.

Still, Erend reassured them as best as he could.

He told them he was fine and would continue being fine.

And somehow, despite knowing how dangerous his path truly was, hearing those words directly from him eased some of the fear inside their hearts.

After spending a little more time with them, Erend eventually stepped outside beneath the quiet night sky and contacted Aurdis afterward.

The moment the connection formed, the pain inside both of them surfaced immediately.

Aurdis missed him deeply. Even through her voice alone Erend could hear how much she had been enduring the distance between them.

It had already been so long since they last truly saw each other face-to-face because Erend’s journey across other worlds never seemed to end anymore.

And Erend felt the same painful longing.

There were moments when he wanted nothing more than to abandon all of this and return to her side permanently. To leave behind the endless battles, the collapsing worlds, and the impossible responsibilities placed upon him.

But both of them understood the truth too well.

Right now, the fate of an entire world depended on Erend and the other Dragonborn.

Even if he hated leaving her behind again and again, he still had to continue forward because he was one of the few beings capable of standing against what was coming.

Neither of them needed to say it aloud anymore. They simply understood.

Eventually, after the connection ended, Erend opened another portal and returned once more to the unstable world consumed by corruption and anomalies.

He arrived directly at Sylven’s house.

Inside, Eccar, Aesa, and Sylven were already waiting for him.

The moment Erend stepped through the doorway, the atmosphere immediately felt familiar again. The same tension and danger.

The portal behind him disappeared in a pulse of fading light.

Compared to the endless chaos outside across the corrupted lands, the quiet warmth of Sylven’s home felt strangely grounded despite the tension lingering between everyone gathered there.

Eccar leaned against the nearby wall with his arms crossed while Aesa remained seated near the table covered in maps and notes. Sylven himself stood beside the window overlooking the dark night outside.

Erend released a long sigh afterward and dropped himself into one of the wooden chairs near the table. For several seconds he simply rested there.

Then he finally looked toward Sylven. "Did the Archmages contact you already?" he asked.

Sylven nodded. "Velrion contacted me not long ago. They reached a conclusion regarding the next phase."

Erend immediately noticed the seriousness in his tone. "And?"

Sylven turned away from the window before continuing.

"They’ll need to do something different this time. Something that no one in this world has ever done before."

That made Erend frown slightly. "What is it?"

"The Sky Anchor," Sylven said quietly. "They need to gather all of its fragments scattered across the world first before they can properly rewrite it according to the plan."

Silence settled briefly after that.

Eccar straightened slightly from the wall. "Is that difficult?" he asked.

Sylven let out a humorless breath. "It’s difficult. Especially now when the entire world is unstable. Anomalies are appearing constantly. Corrupted territories are expanding every day. Some fragments may already be buried inside places ordinary armies can’t even approach safely anymore."

He paused briefly before adding, "We’ll have to help."

Erend slowly nodded. That answer already matched what he expected. The situation surrounding the Sky Anchor fragments was likely worse than before.

The room fell quiet again afterward before Aesa suddenly looked toward Erend.

"Did your power give you any new direction yet?" she asked calmly.

Erend glanced toward her before shaking his head slightly.

"Not yet. I haven’t contacted it again."

Eccar raised an eyebrow at that while Aesa continued watching him silently.

"There’s been too much happening," Erend explained afterward. "The attacks kept escalating before I even had time to properly stop and focus on it."

Aesa studied him for another moment before speaking again. "You should do it soon."

Erend understood what she meant immediately.

The power connected to him had guided them multiple times already whenever the situation surrounding the Void Architect and the corruption became too unclear. If the next phase truly involved gathering the Sky Anchor fragments scattered across the entire world, then any guidance could become critical.

After several seconds, Erend finally nodded once. "I know."

Aesa gave a small nod back and said nothing more after that.

Erend moved to his own room to contact the System power.

—