The ground shook as the fight ended.Loreo dropped to his knees, laughing like a madman, blood running down his chin. "You still don't get it, do you, Nyx?" he said, smiling through the pain. "You don't fight the Void. You become it."
Nyx stood in front of him, breathing heavy, his clothes ripped, eyes glowing faint blue. The air around him flickered like broken glass. He didn't answer. He couldn't.
Loreo kept talking, voice getting weaker. "I saw it. The truth. The Void showed me everything… Kora, Rin, all of them. They're waiting for you in there."
That name hit Nyx like a blade.Kora.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.A scream echoed — not Loreo's. The world bent, twisted, then exploded in a flash of blue light.
When it cleared, Loreo was gone. Not dead — just erased.
Nyx looked down at the smoking ground, heart pounding so hard it hurt. "I didn't mean—" he stopped, gripping his head. The whispers came back.
"He was right.""They're calling.""You can save them."
"No," Nyx whispered, shaking his head. "Stop. Please, stop!"
Then the voice changed — deeper, colder. It spoke from inside him.
"You opened the door. Now walk through it."
He dropped to his knees, hands trembling. The blue light spread up his arms like fire. His heartbeat slowed. The world dimmed.
Then a familiar voice broke through the noise."Nyx!"
Null stood behind him, calm but tense. "You need to stop. Now."
Nyx turned, half his face shadowed, eyes glowing like two dying stars. "You… you don't know what it's like."
"I don't need to," Null said. "I just know this isn't you."
Nyx smiled, and it wasn't a good smile. "Maybe it always was."
The air cracked. Darkness spilled across the ground. Null sighed quietly and lifted his hand. His shadow stretched, curling around them, and the whole world shifted into a cold, empty space filled with floating light.
"This is my field," Null said softly. "No one gets lost here unless I let them."
The Void's wind howled. Nyx stepped forward, and the fight began.
They clashed like two storms colliding.Every strike shook the air. Every step broke the ground.
Null fought with control — quiet, focused, eyes locked on Nyx's every move. Nyx fought like he'd already fallen — wild, desperate, furious.
"You're not thinking!" Null shouted as they crashed together again. "That thing inside you is!"
Nyx didn't answer. The blue glow burned brighter.
Null gritted his teeth and pressed harder. The field's dark light wrapped around Nyx, holding him in place.
For a second, Nyx stopped struggling. His breath came in shaky gasps."You… set the field against me," he said quietly, his real voice coming back.
"Had to," Null said, trying to keep his tone steady. "Otherwise you were gone."
Nyx's head dropped. His voice trembled. "Null… the Void… it's not just a place. It's alive. It's watching. It—"
His words cut off. The glow came back, fiercer than before.
Null's stomach sank. "No…"
Nyx looked up, but his eyes weren't his anymore. "You shouldn't have stopped me."
The world exploded in light and sound. Null flew back, skidding across the broken floor. He barely got up before Nyx was in front of him again, faster than thought, striking without reason or mercy.
"Nyx! Stop!"
But he didn't.
He raised his hand, ready to finish it—
—and then a slow clap echoed across the void.
Clap. Clap.
The sound didn't belong here. It didn't echo right.
Both of them froze.
A man stood a few steps away, calm as a shadow. Long black coat. A wide hat that hid most of his face. He didn't look angry — just tired.
"Enough," he said quietly. His voice was calm, almost gentle, but everything stopped when he spoke. Even the Void went silent.
Nyx twitched, eyes flickering between blue and white. The madness faltered.
Voidar tilted his head slightly, studying him. "You've gone too far, boy. The Void doesn't need another puppet."
For the first time since the fight began, Nyx looked scared. "Who… are you?"
Voidar's smile was small, unreadable. "Someone who's already drowned where you're standing."
The glow in Nyx's eyes began to fade. He stumbled, dropping to one knee. Null moved quickly, catching him before he fell.
Voidar stepped closer, boots silent against the ground. "He's not lost yet," he said softly. "But next time, he won't come back."
Null looked up, still breathing hard. "Why help us?"
Voidar didn't answer right away. He just turned, looking into the endless dark that surrounded them. "Because the Void remembers me," he said finally. "And I don't like what it's trying to do with him."
Then he was gone — like he'd never been there.
Far away, Kim stopped mid-step.Admira turned toward him. "What's wrong?"
Kim's eyes were sharp, distant. He could feel it — the pull of the Void shifting. A familiar energy crawling up his spine.
He smiled faintly, though there was no humor in it. "That idiot," he whispered.
Admira frowned. "Who?"
Kim looked up, watching the sky tremble faintly with blue light."Nyx."