Lassim, Mari, and Zaphy found themselves floating in the void, an expanse of nothingness that stretched infinitely in all directions.
They could breathe, though there was no air, and their bodies, seemingly weightless, drifted through the emptiness. The sensation was disorienting, like being unmoored from reality itself.
After several moments, the fabric of the void began to shift and ripple. The twisting, swirling motion was both dizzying and terrifying, as if the very essence of space was coming alive.
The trio watched in awe and fear as the darkness parted, revealing a gigantic face of a woman.
Her eyes were swirling voids, dark and infinite, immediately recognizable to Lassim from the times he had witnessed Sanvra channeling Khaalseru’s powers.
Surrounding the colossal face, emerged her body to which the fabric of space twisted and swirled with countless blackholes and wormholes, appearing and disappearing an infinite number of times every second from her aura. The sight was awe-strickening, a mere fraction of the deity’s immense power.
For several minutes, Lassim, Mari, and Zaphy floated speechless, unable to comprehend the sheer magnitude of the being before them and the situation they were in.
The silence was broken by a voice that resonated through the void, both sassy and commanding.
"[Well, don’t just float there like a stunned fish! Aren’t you going to greet me?]" The deity’s voice boomed, carrying the voice that sounded like that of an elderly woman.
Lassim, snapping out of his daze, hurriedly bowed his head. "[G-Greetings, mighty Khaalseru,]" he stammered, his voice trembling with a mix of reverence and fear. "[We are honored to be in your presence.]"
Mari and Zaphy, still somewhat stunned, managed to follow suit, bowing their animal bodies as respectfully as they could.
Khaalseru’s eyes seemed to sparkle with amusement as she regarded them.
"[That’s more like it,]" she said, her tone a mix of approval and impatience. "[You mortals need to remember your manners. Now, why are you here, disturbing my slumber?]"
Lassim took a deep breath, steadying himself. "[We did not intend to disturb you, great Khaalseru. We have been working to cleanse the corruption from the plane where the Drow and I are trapped in, and in our efforts, we encountered a shard emitting a corrupting red energy.
We’ve believed that if we can fix the corruption then not only may I be able to return to Nexaria, but possibly the Drow can also escape from their prison. Our actions must have somehow awakened you.]"
Khaalseru’s gigantic face remained impassive for a moment, her swirling void-like eyes reflecting the vast emptiness around them. She seemed to ponder Lassim’s words, then her expression shifted to one of realization.
Her consciousness extended, reaching into her inner heart world—the plane where the Drow and Lassim had been fighting the corruption.
Her eyes darkened, becoming even more abyssal as she delved into the depths of her inner world.
Lassim, Mari, and Zaphy watched in silence, sensing the weight of her actions as a titanic pressure swept through the void from her. Khaalseru’s deific sense swept through the plane, absorbing the current state of affairs.
She paused, a look of profound sadness crossing her face. "[Half a million years...]" she murmured, her voice tinged with sorrow. "[My children, trapped for so long while I nursed my wounds.]"
A tear, not made of water but instead of chaotic void energy, formed at the corner of her swirling eye. A drop of darkness that held the weight of countless millennia of grief trickled down her cheek.
The tear fell into the void, causing ripples that echoed through the expanse. Yet, she quickly wiped its trail away from her dark skin, her gaze sharpening as she continued to survey the plane.
Khaalseru saw the villages, the new children playing in the snow, the efforts to cleanse the corruption, and the hope that had been kindled despite the harsh conditions. She mind-melded briefly with Sanvra, absorbing her high priestess’s memories and experiences up to this point.
After a moment, her attention returned back to the trio in front of her, her expression contemplative but softened with a trace of warmth. "[I see now what has transpired during my slumber,]" she said, her voice carrying a newfound depth of understanding.
"[You, Lassim, have done much for my children. Your efforts to cleanse my inner-heart world’s existence and restore balance to the plane will not go unnoticed. The progress you’ve made in such a short time is remarkable.]"
Khaalseru’s gaze remained fixed on him, her swirling eyes now filled with a sense of deep contemplation. "[Your dedication is admirable, and I believe I understand what that old coot has cooked up by sending you here; mainly to speed up my recovery.
The path ahead is still fraught with challenges to fully rid me of this weapon shard embedded in my chest, but with my guidance and assistance, you may succeed in freeing yourselves and my children from my inner heart world.]"
Lassim and Mari froze, their minds racing to process what Khaalseru had just revealed. They turned to each other, realization dawning in their eyes.
Lassim’s thoughts churned, connecting the dots.
He had not been trapped in some random, undiscovered elemental plane; he had been inside the literal Deity of space, the void between anything and everything.
This revelation explained why the mana they had absorbed was so incredibly potent. It was the divine mana of a god they had been cultivating with and strengthening themselves with for the past five years.
Mari’s voice trembled through their mental connection as she spoke shakily, "[I-I had suspicions... yet... This is even more remarkable than anything I could have imagined. I just thought… I thought it was special but… this?]"
Khaalseru watched their minds grapple with the reality of their situation, a knowing smile playing on her lips.
Amusement twinkled in her void-like eyes. "[Yes, you’ve been inside this ol’ granny the entire time. Also, we’re going to need to fix that little problem you’ve just created for yourself as well.]"
Lassim’s eyes widened as she mentioned some sort of issue. "[What... what do you mean?]"
Khaalseru chuckled softly, a sound that reverberated through the void. "[The only reason you haven’t exploded into smithereens so far and become a true being of my void is that you’ve been inside of me this entire time. Had you taken a single step outside, the very particles of your entire being would have dispersed and disconnected, dissolving your entire existence in a fraction of a second.]"
She gave a big toothy grin, her teeth black, and fanged. They weren’t purely black as for some reason there appeared to be miniature universes within them, almost as if the black surface of every tooth was just a container for what was within.
Lassim went pale, the blood draining from his face as the gravity of her words sank in.
Khaalseru, with her old and sassy demeanor, continued. "[Oh, don’t look so grim, child. It’s not that big of a problem yet. I’ll give you a bit of help before you return to Nexaria so don’t worry that little head of yours.]"
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Lassim, still tense, heaved a relieved sigh at her words. Somehow, dissolving into nothingness in a split second sounded extremely terrifying and something he never wished to experience.
Khaalseru’s demeanor shifted slightly as her expression shifted and appeared to turn slightly nostalgic; pondering.
Her eyes, swirling with the void, seemed to reflect ancient memories. "[Now, where do I begin? Ah yes, it was over… a million years ago when I was first challenged by an entity shortly after the newest pantheon of gods—those you’re currently aware of and have met with—ascended into the Golden Heavenly Palace with their embodiments of their respective elements.
I’m much their senior, but from your perspective, we’re close enough in age to be siblings of the same generation.]"
"[Now,]" Khaalseru began, her tone shifting to one of storytelling, "[let me fill you in on a bit of history. You see, this shard stuck in me isn’t just any old piece of debris. It’s part of a weapon from an entity that challenged me around that time, not long after they ascended their thrones.]"
Lassim and Mari listened intently as Khaalseru continued, her voice tinged with a mix of nostalgia and irritation. "[Back then, I was already a well-established deity, but it was a time of great upheaval as the first stirrings of the Abyss’ conquest began. The Abyss had also just received their first deity guardian, one of the beings you know as a Dragal.
He was determined to begin trying to expand their hellish plane and its influence. I was one of the first targets back then. Those dark entities never could resist a good challenge, always with their warlike behavior. Tsk]" She clicked her tongue in annoyance, its sound ricocheting through the void.
She paused, her swirling eyes narrowing as she remembered. "[This first deity of the Abyss was formidable, wielding a weapon forged from the very essence of the Abyss. That is why the shard currently within me is filled with so much corrosive energy. It’s literally a fragment of the will and landmass of that plane of existence.
Our battle was fierce, and though I managed to shatter their weapon and drive them back, a shard of that cursed blade lodged itself within me. I’ve been nursing that wound ever since, using sleep to try to contain the corruption it brings.]"
Khaalseru’s expression softened slightly, a hint of sadness creeping into her voice. "[While I was dealing with that, my children, the Drow, were targeted by their infinite legion. To save them, in my panic, I absorbed them into my inner heart world and separated it into my domain. Time has continued to move, unfortunately, and luckily you’ve been sent to aid me.
Yet, that means my children been stuck there for over half a million years.]"
Another single tear, made of chaotic void energy, slipped from her swirling eyes, burning a path through the void as it fell.