The ship cut through Earth's atmosphere and headed straight for England. The three inside sent a signal to the Izigans maintaining the giant dome over the city. In response, the guards shifted the dome's surface until a section at the top opened wide.
The ship slid inside and dropped lower. Just before it hit the ground, the engines underneath blasted out a gravitational force, slowing the fall. A ramp slid down, and the Furious Three stepped out.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Stella pulled out her sword. The blade glowed sharp green, burning with cosmic energy. Lord Tim stood in the middle, with Stella and Kenneth on either side. A short distance ahead, the building covered in thick void vines stood like a dark heart.
They slowed their steps as they moved forward, eyes shifting left and right in case of an ambush. Their metal boots clanged against the hard road. The transparent helmets above their heads shimmered faintly, while the dome overhead blocked out most of the sunlight, leaving the whole place in a dim haze.
Their wrist devices scanned for hidden energy. The closer they came to the building, the heavier the atmosphere became. Just a few meters away, they stopped. The void's energy was leaking out of the place in waves. Even though their suits filtered the toxins, they still felt the weight of it pressing on them.
Tim and Stella turned to Kenneth. They didn't need to speak. Kenneth was the only one with the kind of piercing energy needed to cut through. He gave a small nod. Lightning began to spark around him, crawling over his suit, glowing blue lines spreading across the armor.
He walked up the stairs of the building. As he did, the lightning grew brighter until half his body dissolved into a plasma-like form. Then, in a burst, he dashed forward and slammed lightning into the vines blocking the entrance.
The impact blew open a hole, melting the vines back. Kenneth stepped away, breathing heavy, watching. But within seconds the vines twitched and pulled back together, sealing the gap.
"Oh, what the hell…?" he muttered.
The ground rumbled. A violent quake shook the entire district, splitting the road into wide cracks. From the fissures, massive vines burst out, each tipped like a spear and glowing with cosmic energy.
They shot at the three like missiles.
Tim dodged first, summoning a massive black rod and swinging it with crushing force, smashing vines into pieces. Kenneth blurred from side to side in streaks of lightning, cutting through the tendrils before they could reach him. Stella's sword flashed, each strike slicing through groups of vines at once.
Then, just as suddenly, the attack stopped. The vines withdrew, pulling back into the earth. Those that wrapped the building unraveled as well, vanishing inside. The structure cracked and fell apart, sections collapsing while parts stayed half-standing.
From the wreckage, a figure emerged.
It was Paul's body, but changed. Shirtless, his trousers torn at the bottom, his muscles still the same — but the skin stretched unnaturally, lit from within by glowing purple lines like veins of light. His eyes burned with a violent iris. A sly smile twisted across his face.
The void had taken form again.
A crushing aura poured off him, heavy like gravity pressing down. Dust lifted and stones cracked, but the three didn't budge. Their suits held firm.
"They came prepared this time," the void said calmly. "I don't miss the part where I should be surprised."
Lord Tim stepped forward. His tone was steady.
"What do you want? Why are you doing this?"
"Why?" The void laughed quietly. "I should be asking you why you exist. The Izigans are a curse — a crack in the cosmic balance. Species meant to live are erased, life is twisted, all because of you.
Your existence is the mistake."
His grin widened. "And I've done nothing but fix it. Every Izigan I consume strengthens me. Each death restores balance. I've saved more lives than you ever could, by ending yours."
Tim shook his head. "That's not your choice. The Izigans protect this planet. You don't get to call yourself savior when all you do is kill. Mercy isn't genocide."
"You don't understand," the void said coldly. "Humans… small, weak, ignorant. Insignificant. I'm offering mercy by sparing your species and wiping only the Izigans. That's more than you deserve."
"Mercy?" Tim spat. "You call the butchering of millions mercy? You're the one who deserves condemnation."
Dark smoke coiled into Tim's hands as he formed a long black rod. He dropped into a stance, ready. Stella's sword blazed brighter. Kenneth's body crackled with lightning.
The void spread his arms. "I am the pinnacle. I am the natural order. I am… the void. Wasn't that the name you gave me?"
The three froze for a moment. Tim himself had called it that years ago when it first appeared — describing it as nothingness, emptiness, a living void.
"I existed before your kind ever crawled into the light. I consumed worlds older than this one. And when balance tips too far, I cleanse. I was before you, and I will remain after."
"That's enough," Tim growled.
The black rod fully solidified in his hands. He passed it to Stella, who poured her green energy into it. Then she gave it to Kenneth, who charged it with lightning and hurled it forward.
The weapon ripped through the air, trailing black and blue streaks.
The void lifted a hand. The rod froze inches from his chest — but then it exploded, shaking the whole area.
The three had already repositioned. Kenneth dropped from above like lightning, aiming a strike at the void. But the void crossed his arms and blocked, the impact smashing him into the ground.
Before Tim or Stella could follow, the void released a massive pulse. A warped field of energy burst outward, shredding everything. Houses blew apart, the street split open, and the three were thrown back across the ground.
Kenneth pushed himself up, panting but focused.
'He's avoiding close combat… I need to open a path.'
The lightning on his body flared even stronger. He sprinted at full speed toward the void. But the ground rose beneath him, ripped from the earth by the void's power. The street lifted higher and higher until it curled around him, folding into a massive sphere in the air.
Kenneth was trapped inside.