On the other side, Eravus felt the air change.
It was him.
He knew it.
His presence was heavier now.
Not the old Si-Hun who left from there scared and shit.
"He's come," Eravus said to one of his men.
"The air changed."
"It sure did. He's…growing."
Eravus waited for Si-Hun to come.
This time, he knew the way.
Si-Hun's mind clicked with that day when he saw himself, so different, and vulnerable.
His eyes were cold and calm, as if ready this time for things.
He reached the large gate of Eravus's territory.
He looked at it and knew Eravus was already aware of his presence.
The door opened slowly, revealing Eravus sitting on his throne.
"Come."
Si-Hun walked inside, calm.
Eravus noticed how his expression was unreadable and how his steps were precise.
Si-Hun stopped in front of Eravus.
"What brings you here?"
"I want to talk to you about something."
"Go ahead."
Eravus stood up from his throne and walked towards Si-Hun.
"It's…about Kuro and something else."
"Tell what you want to tell first."
"Kuro, he was worried. Really worried. I could see his state was vulnerable, like he was going through something…intense. He had tears…in the corner of his eyes though they didn't fall yet."
"W-what?"
"I'm not lying."
"That's…not possible. What could be so powerful that it made him cry?"
"Yesterday, he told me about the ability "Reverse Echo." He told me what it's used for and how risky it is to use. I…killed a human, last night."
"Reverse Echo? You were not supposed to use it now. It's too dangerous. Did you use it?"
"I did."
"And about the kill, it wasn't your first one, was it?"
"No."
"What did you kill before?"
"Not humans, but" Si-Hun sighed in between.
"Entities disguised as humans sent by…Abriyon."
"WHAT?"
"Yes. They were in disguise. They followed me and attempted to kill me. It was a…brutal fight. I forgot who I was. Their bodies faded away like ashes after being killed, by me."
"This can't be happening. I'm glad you killed them before they did any harm to you. They would not be able to take you or any other information to Abriyon, but that is not right. Abriyon knows something that he shouldn't know. He will try to interfere through disguises and traps, and if you fall for them…it's going to be dangerous."
"I am not safe, not anymore."
"You've used Threads of Memory now. The ability you needed to execute before moving on to more powerful ones. It's one of the most powerful ones. It doesn't require raw physical power, but control over your mind and identity. It's difficult to control on the first try. I'm glad he trusted you with this. He's smart."
"Because of that, he was in that state. I was still processing, so it took time. I was still aware of what was happening around my physical form. I could feel him, sense how he was panicking. I felt the thud on the ground when he let his guard down and collapsed on the floor. And when I was back in reality, he hugged me. Desperate. I could hear him muttering something while I was gone. When I pulled back, I saw those…wet tears resting in the corner of both his eyes. I didn't tell him."
"This should not have happened…He's a shadow. How can he have such feelings? How did he get invested in you so deeply? It would be disastrous if he actually cried. He's already feeling things he's not supposed to. He mustn't know what is happening to him. It would be unfamiliar."
"He doesn't seem aware."
"Si-Hun, I want you to keep an eye on him. Observe everything. This is getting serious. You are too powerful on your own now. He will eventually be weaker if he keeps feeling like this."
"Weaker?"
"Maybe."
"This shouldn't be happening."
"It shouldn't. I want you to go back to Earth and always departure away from his eyes."
"I have. He doesn't know. I asked him to give me some space.''
"I like you. You are the desired being to become The Void. My powers will grow weaker, but yours will grow. Who knows, someday you'll cross even the limits I had?"
"What's The Void?"
"Ask Kuro when you reach home."
Si-Hun's brows lifted slightly, and he went from there.
After coming back from there, he searched for Kuro and found him on the balcony.
"Why're you sitting here alone?"
"You said to give you space."
"Ah, I did. Kuro…"
"Yes master?"
"What is meant by The Void?"
Kuro was surprised that he asked this out of nowhere.
"Who told you about that?"
"I just had a dream about it."
"The Void will be your title when you reach that level no one can even imagine. It's dark, there's so much going on that it would feel empty. You will be "The Void." No other man is capable of that. The Void chose you as its owner. It's not anything alive, but it asks for the kind of sacrifices that are hard to give."
"This is so…unhumanly, Kuro."
"Master, you're the one. Time will reveal its secrets when it ticks the right number."
Si-Hun didn't say anything else and went to his room.
A few things were not making sense, but he knew there was a reason for that.
His mind wasn't letting him get a wink of sleep, and it wasn't that late, so he went out to get something from the convenience store.
"Hey! What're you looking for?" The shopkeeper asked.
"I'll just grab a drink."
"Ok. The freezer's moved from that corner to there."
"I see."
Si-Hun went on and grabbed an iced tea.
"That'll be 1500 won."
Si-Hun extended his hand to hand the cashier the money.
The cashier's smirk twisted into something unnatural. Si-Hun's instinct flared—too late. Pain shot through his arm as his voice broke the silence."You motherf*cker!"