---
Nyx opened its mouth.
John had not expected the mouth.
It was small. Precise.
Nyx bit the fragment and pulled it into itself. The fragment vanished, not by disappearing into the void, but by being swallowed by the ant.
A moment later, a faint silver-black shimmer traveled through Nyx's body, then settled. Nyx's star-speck pattern became slightly clearer, as if the ant had just cleaned itself from the inside.
John stared.
Fizz whispered, "It ate the shell. Efficient. I also eat my problems when possible."
John did not answer. His mind was busy.
Nyx had just proven something.
It could consume void residue.
It could hold it.
Maybe convert it.
The system had called it a helper type. That word sounded harmless. This did not look harmless. This looked like a creature that could become dangerous if it grew and learned.
John's throat tightened again.
He needed to learn how to store Nyx safely.
He needed to learn how to retrieve Nyx without letting it wander.
