Chapter 1048: Void Born
Ever since escaping from the site as a child alongside Noah and the others, Feris had desperately searched for a way to become useful to the group.
A way to stand beside them instead of constantly being protected.
So she chased after Sigils.
She sought out shamans to grant her bounties. People who understood the Abyss and could act as an emissary.
Yet every attempt ended in failure.
No matter who examined her, the result was always the same.
The Abyss refused to answer to her.
No bounty would open itself to her. Not even when she dunked herself into communion sites. It was as though the Abyss itself refused to acknowledge Feris’s existence.
Or perhaps...
It was rejection.
A realm that rejected her desire.
Maybe it was a lack of talent. Maybe it was a lack of drive. But as time passed, the situation only became stranger.
Out of desperation, Feris had even attempted to strengthen herself through Abyss Blood. Just like the countless others seeking a boost in power. She drank Blood Vials in hopes of awakening some modicum of power within this vessel of hers. To establish a link between her and the realm.
And yet...
The moment the blood entered her body, a violent rejection followed. Her stomach twisted painfully and her throat tightened. No matter how hard she forced herself to swallow the blood, her body would immediately reject it and regurgitate everything back out.
Again and again.
Over and over.
Not once did she gain any benefits from it. No increase in strength, no bestial abilities. Nothing.
Even healing vials produced the same results.
It was as though her body fundamentally refused to accept the Abyss into itself. As though something was already occupying the space the Abyss would’ve taken inside her body.
However, the same couldn’t be said for Void energy.
The reason was unknown to Feris but the moment she laid her eyes on it, the world was suddenly open to her.
The way she should move, the way it should be manipulated.
Like a fish in water, Feris found herself understanding Void energy like it was an extension of her own limb.
Her eyes darted across the different creatures.
"Ah... How inefficient." She mumbled.
She could see the delay. The wasted energy. The time taken that could’ve been reduced to near zero.
The world spoke to her and her mind was open to its words.
And right now, she understood the Void’s secrets.
Lifting her hand, purple veins appeared across Feris’s arm as energy coursed through her body!
*BANG!!!
From the group, a giant source of energy erupted as everyone froze and turned towards Feris.
They saw her eyes shift, the markings across her body that looked like Sigils yet different.
The aura around her... It felt no different from these monsters in the Void!
’If I touch this ripple...’ Feris took a step forward as her body disappeared.
Appearing behind one of the monsters, she had its head in her hands. In the brief moment she passed the beast, she twisted and tore off its head and killed it in one go!
"!!!"
Every single one of these geometric monsters snapped their gaze towards Feris.
Unsure as to how this human was able to use Void energy to such efficiency.
There was no delay in her movements, fluctuation of energy that let them understand what she wanted to do.
One moment she was there, the next she was behind them.
"Ah... I see..." Feris slowly smiled as she glanced back.
Her eyes staring at the monsters, a small laugh escaping her lips.
She was never compatible with the Abyss because her soul was already linked to this Void.
She wasn’t sure when, but a contract must’ve been made already. She could not accept the Abyss into her body for the Void was already occupying her vessel!
It was also in this moment, that all of the beasts in their vicinity understood the danger of Feris.
There was only one order spoke amongst them, one that Feris caught wind of.
[Kill the Void Born.]
"Try it." Feris narrowed her eyes.
Spreading out her arms, she fell backwards before twisting her body.
"Feris!" Noah shouted but his concerns were misplaced as Feris landed on top of one of the creatures.
Without even touching its head, Feris spread her fingers and activated Void energy. A link formed between her palms, erasing the space occupied but the creature’s neck.
With a twitch of its body, it fell towards the endless Void while Feris moved onto her next victim.
Using Void energy was akin to playing a piano for her.
The flow she needed to follow, the weight of each movement. The timing of each attack.
There was a sequence that must be followed, adjustments that must be made. All of it came naturally to her as though she was destined to govern this realm.
Adjustments that would’ve taken years to understand was performed instinctively.
Twisting her body, she dodged a trap placed in the air by one of the beasts. She could feel that if she touched this empty space, it would erupt and shred her to pieces.
However!
A grin appeared on her face.
Who the hell did they think she was?
Brushing past the trap, a net of Void energy appeared from her fingertips as she ’grabbed’ the space and glanced at the beasts.
Their coordinates were secured and her body disappeared.
Stepping on the folds of space, her body was propelled forward in the blink of an eye. Faster than they could react.
With Feris appearing behind them, the trap collided with their body and shredded their forms apart as countless shards rained down from above.
Feris took a deep breath and exhaled with a wide smile.
She felt alive. Felt content. Fulfilled.
Whatever they were calling her, Void Born or whatever, all Feris knew was that she belonged to this place.
In other words, this was her home.
Clapping her hands together, a blackhole spun to life between her palms.
An absurd idea that took shape in her mind was now being brought forth to reality. The desire to eliminate the beasts to keep her party safe.
In this moment, Feris didn’t think about the risks nor the consequences. To her, the notion that she might fail didn’t even exist.
Her confidence in success was one hundred percent without a shred of doubt!
*RUMBLE!!!
Lifting her hand, the black hole expanded in an instant. Space warped, overlapped and folded in on itself as everyone felt as though their perception had just been dragged out of their body.
They could see a reflection of themselves twisted in all directions. Sometimes up, sometimes down.
And holding this marble of space between her fingers was Feris.
Her eyes locked onto the beasts that attacked them.
*Crack...
A fracture appeared across reality as the beasts started to panic.
Many of them broke apart and combined with their neighbours to form something bigger. Stronger.
But it was already futile.
Feris has established absolute control over this portion of space.
Here, she was no different from God.
*BANG!!!
Crushing the orb, space was shattered as Noah and the others quickly panicked, glancing down to make sure their body was okay.
Around them, the monsters had been reduced to ash as Feris landed near Noah.
To eliminate the threats, she hadn’t even broken a sweat.
"Hehe~ Praise me." Feris held her hand behind her back with a cheerful smile. Leaning forward slightly so that Noah could pat her head.
His concerns quickly disappeared seeing this as a helpless smile appeared on his face.
Reaching out, he patted her on the head as Feris let out a small laugh before swinging herself onto his back, taking her rightful spot.
With the battle now over, the purple veins across Feris’s body started to fade away with one exception.
The fragment she hung around her neck.
During the battle, she hadn’t noticed when it happened but the crystal seemed to have melted into a strange liquid that fused with her body.
Looking down, Feris could see a portion of the crystal embedded into her chest. It pulsed in sync with her own heartbeat.
Not only that, but a Sigil like pattern was spreading out from the crystal, marking her body.
A small portion of it was glowing, as though it was a container being partially filled.
The weird part was that it felt no different from usual. Even with the fragment poking out from her chest, Feris couldn’t feel it.
It truly felt like it had become an extension of her own body.
Unbeknownst to Feris, word in the Void travelled fast.
Void Born.
These two words echoed across this infinite expanse as unknown beasts had now turned their attention towards her. A human with a compatibility to the Void like no other.
One who found a piece of her heart in this realm, one who’s waiting for fulfilment.
Unknowingly, she had just taken her first steps towards sovereignty.
###
"My lady, it’s as you thought. It seems that she was indeed a Void Born." A butler reported with a slight bow.
Ciel wasn’t surprised. She had her hunch and it was rarely wrong.
The only change now was that Feris had awakened. Her ties to the Void couldn’t be denied and as more of these sites ’wake up’, she’ll be drawn to their presence without even knowing.
And Ciel, despite all her power, could no longer track Feris’s whereabouts anymore.
An unknown variable upon this chessboard.
"No matter. We still have Noah and the others to track now that young Feris is out of my sight." Ciel smiled.
It didn’t matter if Feris was a Void Born or not. At the end of the day... this realm will belong to her.
