The silence following Nihil's rebirth was heavier and more terrifying than the particle storm that preceded it. In the center of the scorched, ozone-smelling room, atop the charred remains of a bed, Nihil sat. His newly formed body was perfect but utterly powerless. Naked, vulnerable, and gasping, each breath was a reminder that he had returned from the brink of total annihilation. His Capacity was at absolute zero, a void within the void.
Lyraelle and Elara stood frozen near the door, their minds struggling to process the horrific miracle they had just witnessed. For Lyraelle, a warrior who lived and died by the laws of nature and steel, what had just happened was a desecration. She hadn't witnessed healing; she had witnessed a fundamental law of the universe – that something cannot be created from nothing – trampled and spat upon.
