The air inside the safehouse was still frigid, but the silence that once felt peaceful now hung heavy over Kabir. Kabir was no ordinary youth; his lineage was so elite that even High-Rank guild leaders hesitated before addressing him. Yet today, what he had witnessed with his own eyes had shaken his very understanding of reality.
Aryan stood motionless on the floor. The Void energy radiating from him was no longer a wild, uncontrollable storm; it was settled, contained within his Dantian like a deep, silent lake.
"You... you actually made it back?" Kabir asked. There was no fear in his voice, only a profound sense of awe. He looked down at the mana-detector in his hand—its needle had spun so violently that it had snapped clean off.
Aryan opened his eyes. Within their depths, a steady purple glow had taken root. He slowly clenched his fist, feeling the Void Orb within his Dantian rotate slowly, feeding him strength every passing second.
"How much time has passed, Kabir?" Aryan asked. His voice carried a new weight, the resonance of a veteran who had seen the end of the world and returned.
"Only two hours," Kabir replied, straightening his posture. He adjusted his glasses and took a step toward Aryan. "But in those two hours, the energy in this room felt as if reality itself was being rewritten. I've heard that no one returns from a 'Death Trial' alive, and those who do, lose their humanity. What exactly are you now?"
Aryan looked toward the window, where the city lights flickered in the distance. "I am still Aryan, Kabir. I just finally have the 'vessel' to hold my strength. I no longer have to beg the world for Mana."
[Explanation: The Impact of the Void Dantian]
It is crucial to understand the magnitude of the change within Aryan. Until now, he had functioned like a 'transformer'—absorbing surrounding Mana, converting it into Void, and spending it immediately. He was a glass cannon with no fuel tank. However, the Void Orb, earned as an S-Rank reward, had constructed a 'reservoir' within his body. He could now store energy for weeks, and its intensity had magnified tenfold. He was now akin to the Grandmasters of Murim who possessed an eternal fountain of internal power.
Suddenly, Kabir's phone vibrated. The name 'Sahil' (The Great Master) flashed on the screen. Kabir took a deep breath and answered.
"Father?"
A deep, calm, yet immensely commanding voice resonated from the other end. It was Sahil, the leader of the nation's Number 1 Guild. "Kabir, I just felt something on the global detectors that shouldn't be possible. An energy wave originated from your safehouse that doesn't belong to this world. Are you alright? Is that boy still there?"
Kabir looked at Aryan. Aryan was watching him with calm, unblinking eyes. "Yes, Father. He is here. And he has changed. He completed the Death Trial."
Silence followed on the other end. Even a man like Sahil, who had stood before the most terrifying S-Rank Gates, was silenced for a heartbeat. "I am coming," he said, and the call disconnected.
Minutes later, a fleet of black armored vehicles pulled up outside. When Sahil entered the room, his mere presence made the air feel thick and pressurized. He looked directly into Aryan's eyes.
Sahil's pupils dilated instantly. A memory flashed through his mind like a lightning strike—an energy he had sensed years ago in a forbidden zone. This energy wasn't 'theirs,' but the nature of it was identical.
"This... is this the same Void? No, it's different. But this feeling..." Shock flickered across Sahil's face for a fraction of a second before his mask of stoicism returned.
"So, you are Aryan," Sahil said softly. "The F-Rank 'glitch' that has been keeping the Hunter Association awake at night."
Aryan did not bow, nor did he flinch. He used his Void energy to passively slice through Sahil's overwhelming pressure. "And you are Sahil. The owner of the Number 1 Guild."
Sahil smiled, but his eyes remained sharp. He turned to Kabir. "Kabir, you were right. This boy is no longer just a hunter. He is a walking nuclear contingency."
That night, Kabir explained the entire situation to his father—how Rahul Mehra and the 10th Guild had sent assassins after Aryan. Sahil immediately turned to his secretary with a cold command.
"Cancel every assassination contract currently out on Aryan. Right now. And send a broadcast through the entire Hunter Network—Aryan is now under my personal watch. Anyone who touches him prepares for war with the First Guild."
Within the hour, panic surged through the city's underworld and the Guild Association. It was the first time the Number 1 Guild had issued such a massive warning for a single individual. The atmosphere turned into one of pure dread; high-level criminals and rival hunters immediately backed off.
Meanwhile, at the 10th Guild Headquarters, Rahul Mehra was screaming at his father, the Leader of the 10th Guild.
"Father! Why are you afraid? He's just F-Rank trash! Why is Uncle Sahil protecting him? You are the leader of the 10th Guild, you have a reputation to uphold!" Rahul slammed his hand on the desk.
His father suddenly struck him across the face. "Shut up! You are a child; you have no idea what Sahil's rage looks like. I am calling him."
With trembling hands, Rahul's father called Sahil's office and begged for a moment of the Great Master's time. When the call was finally patched through, he spoke in a hushed, pleading tone. "Sahil, my brother... my son is foolish. But for an F-Rank, are you really putting our years of alliance at stake?"
Sahil's voice over the phone was cold and final: "I will not say this twice. Stay away from Aryan. If my son or I see him bothered by you again, the name of the 10th Guild will be erased from history by tomorrow morning. The choice is yours."
The call ended. Rahul's father's face turned pale. He turned and beat Rahul mercilessly until the boy was bloodied on the floor. "Because of you, my guild almost ceased to exist today! If you even mention his name again, I will disown you!"
Back at the safehouse, Aryan and Kabir were alone.
"Thank you," Aryan said quietly.
Kabir laughed, leaning against the wall. "Don't thank me. My father did what he did for his own reasons, but I did what I did because of our friendship. We are in this game together now."
Aryan placed a hand on Kabir's shoulder. He realized that in this selfish, cutthroat world, he had found his first 'true friend.'
Late into the night, Sahil stood on his balcony, speaking into a secure satellite phone. There was no voice on the other end, only heavy, rhythmic breathing.
"I saw him," Sahil said, his tone mysterious. "The same energy... the same Void. But it wasn't 'Him.' It was someone else."
A deep, ancient voice finally responded from the other side. It sounded like a secret buried for millennia. "Keep an eye on him. No matter what happens, he must be on our side. If he falls into the hands of our enemies, everything we've built will crumble."
Sahil hung up. He knew exactly who was on the other side—the shadow owner of Roxius and one of the most enigmatic men alive: Devendra Verma.
Aryan had no idea that his small step into the Void had turned him into the most critical piece on the world's most dangerous chessboard.