Runner had always thought the Void would feel different when she was close to the turtle's edge. She expected some kind of visual cue, a horizon line or a distortion but there was just Luke's vast shell stretching beneath them and the same nothingness in every direction. They were technically flying but it didn't feel like it.
Biolumine, currently in the shape of a massive white feline with white fur, yawned so hard her fangs showed. Her tail lazily moved back and forth as if she were stretched out in a sunny field instead of hovering at the rear of a town-sized turtle drifting through the Sucking Void.
Runner sat against her side with her knees drawn up. She idly kept spinning her Crystal Lotus between her fingers which was currently no larger than a normal flower
"I'm bored. It's been six hours and nothing has tried to kill us."
Biolumine let out a lazy rumble. "That's usually when things go wrong."
Ever since Runner had the Golden Fawn as her Divine Creature, she could understand the language of creatures. She didn't have to tell her father about it because she knew for a fact that he knew about it.
"Dad put me here like I'm guarding a door that doesn't exist."
A distant shockwave rippled through the void hard enough that even Luke's meadow shell vibrated faintly beneath them. Runner didn't even look.
"That's Shimmer."
She tilted her head upward and watched Asenane fly across the upper void. Her massive draconic wings beat once before she twisted in midair with halberd flashing as it sliced through three Voidborn at once. Their forms unraveled into black mist before being instantly swallowed back into the void itself.
Runner clicked her tongue. "They really are annoying."
"Immortal things usually are."
Runner knew the truth of it all too well. Voidborn didn't die, not unless Soul Energy burned them down to the core. Anything else just tore off the shell and waited for them to crawl back out again. Only Aeterium could do that properly—herself, her father, Reynolds—and Biolumine, who wasn't Aeterium but carried Soul Energy like it was second nature.
That thought barely finished forming when the void screamed behind her. She stood up instantly as Biolumine turned her head. Hundreds of Voidborn humanoids—each at least five meters tall—had emerged silently onto the meadow behind them. Their bodies bore approximations of flesh and armor. Their silhouettes seemed to be stitched together from wrong ideas. Their heads tilted unnaturally as glowing red orbs looked at her all at once.
"Finally."
The Crystal Lotus expanded in her hands in a flash of sapphire light until it towered above her. She glanced sideways.
"Need help?"
Biolumine answered by launching herself forward.
The massive feline moved faster than her eyes could perceive as she slammed into the front line of Voidborn. Her claws ignited with pure Soul Energy. Her first claw swipe erased three of the Voidborn. The void dissipated forever. Every claw strike was infused with Soul Energy so dense it distorted the space around her.
Each Voidborn she touched screamed once before vanishing forever.
"Show-off."
Runner stepped forward and raised a hand. Her voice was distorted and layered with different other voices.
"Kneel."
The concept of obedience slammed into the Voidborn like an invisible hammer. Dozens of them crashed down onto one knee simultaneously. The force cracked the meadow beneath their weight. Runner didn't waste the opening. The Crystal Lotus rotated as petals separated and floated in the air. They spun outward at high speeds with each one cutting through Voidborn bodies, cleaving torsos apart and severing limbs.
Hundreds of razor-thin fragments detached from the Lotus. With each one coated in blazing Soul Energy, they pierced through Voidborn skulls and chests, burning them out. Their screams cut off mid-sound as their existence was reduced to ash and nothing.
"Scatter."
The remaining Voidborn were ripped apart by the command itself. Their forms were violently torn in opposite directions as if reality rejected them, giving Biolumine space to tear through what remained,. When the last of them vanished, Runner lowered the Lotus, letting it shrink back down into her hands. Biolumine came back to her side.
"That helped."
Biolumine purred. "Told you boredom was dangerous."
"Yeah. Let's hope they keep coming from this side. Shimmer can't keep killing them."
The moment the void reacted, both Runner and Biolumine reacted without even thinking about it. Runner's instincts acted before her mind caught up.
The Crystal Lotus' petals emerged in a tight, defensive formation just as something collided with them. They were hit by projectiles so massive and dense they didn't look like anything at all. They had enough force to make Runner's boots carve shallow trenches into the meadow as she slid back several meters.
Biolumine unleashed a Soul Energy barrier so bright it turned the void around them white. The incoming projectiles disintegrated on contact.
"Okay. That's new."
They both looked forward.
A single Voidborn stepped out ahead of the others. It was five meters tall like the rest but unmistakably different. Its body was draped in warped robes that fluttered despite there being no wind. In its hands was a staff carved from void itself. When it raised the staff, the void behind it opened and more Voidborn poured out. in formation.
Runner frowned hard. "That… doesn't make sense. Voidborn don't organize. and they don't take forms they've never experienced. This thing looks like a mage. Why would the void even know what that is?"
She didn't wait. She activated the Sapphire Bond.
[Dad.]
The answer came instantly.
[What's wrong?]
[You need to come see this. There's a Voidborn mage.]
There was a pause for barely a second. Vastarael stepped out with his eyes already scanning the battlefield.
"You didn't have to come that fast!"
He glanced down at her. "You called."
"You can't just—what if something hit you as you ran?"
"If something could, I'd already know."
She clicked her tongue and pointed. "That. The mage."
Vastarael's gaze settled on the Voidborn holding the staff, his expression shifting to sharp, analytical interest.
"That is strange."
"Right? I told you."
"Use your Soul Vision."
She did. Color vanished as energy replaced matter. There, at the center of the mage Voidborn's chest, burned a faint but unmistakable bluish soul. Her eyes turned back to normal.
"It has a soul and the others don't. What does that mean?"
He tilted his head slightly. "Guess."
She stared at the mage again, thinking of an answer. She finally came up with the right one.
"They were alive before the void consumed them."
"Yes."
"That's messed up,"
"There's more. The presence of a soul means sentience. This one isn't just mimicking behavior. It's thinking."
"So it's not just a Voidborn. Then help me fight it."
Vastarael didn't move. Instead, he stepped back slightly with his eyes never leaving the mage.
"I'm going to observe."
"Observe?"
"Yes."
Her jaw dropped. "Dad."
"I want to understand how Voidborn are evolving. This is valuable data."
"I am your daughter, not a research subject."
He looked at her then, really looked, and smiled faintly.
"You're both."
She groaned loudly. "Unbelievable."
"You're strong. I know exactly how strong you are. That is why I'm telling you to fight it."
"That's not the point!"
"If you're overwhelmed, Biolumine will intervene."
"Then tell her to help!"
Biolumine shook her massive head. "He's right."
"Traitor."
"This is your fight, Little Runner. I will step in only if your life is at risk."
Runner glared at both of them, then turned back toward the mage as it raised its staff again.
"You two are the worst. Fine. I'll do it myself."