They had been walking for a long time.The barren land seemed endless.
Koharu let out a tired sigh.
"Shinju… can we stop for a bit? I can't even feel my legs anymore."
Swen immediately added:
"I agree. This pace is torture."
Shinju stopped and glanced at them.
"Is that all your stamina? …But fine. A short break won't hurt."
Koharu sat down with a weak smile.
"Five minutes… feels like a lifetime right now."
Swen leaned against a rock, narrowing her eyes as she scanned the surroundings.
"What a strange place… not a single sound of life."
Shinju fell silent for a moment.
"This used to be the Void."
At that moment, a faint rustling sound came from between the rocks.Koharu turned her head instantly.
A swamp rat burst out from the cracks.
It moved too fast for the eye to follow, hissing as it lunged toward Swen's bag.
Shinju's voice cut in:
"Fall back."
He raised his finger.
A faint crackling sound echoed—
The creature froze… then collapsed silently.
Koharu held her breath.
"What… did you just do?"
Shinju remained calm.
"A Yin needle. Straight to the brainstem."
Swen blinked in disbelief.
"Your control over materialized Yin is insane."
Shinju shot her a sideways glance.
"It feels like a part of my body now. It's not that hard."
Swen grumbled, though a hint of admiration flickered in her eyes.
"I didn't hear that… but that was cool."
Shinju crouched beside the creature.The swamp rat's red eyes were still glowing faintly.
"These things disappear when they sense something stronger than them. Fast… and they usually attack in groups of twenty or thirty."
Koharu frowned.
"Then why is this one alone?"
"Strange," Shinju muttered."They don't show up during the day. Something must have provoked it."
Swen opened her bag and pulled out a bundle of moss.
"This might be the reason. It went straight for my bag. Probably drawn to the sweet moss scent I prepared."
Shinju pointed at the rat.
"Protein won't hurt. This is our meal."
Koharu's face twisted in disgust.
"What?! We're eating that?!"
Shinju answered coldly:
"In the Void, nothing is wasted."
Swen wrinkled her nose.
"That looks absolutely disgusting. Look at those eyes… it still feels alive."
Shinju sliced open the creature.Black, muddy flesh was revealed.
He placed his fingers on it.
The darkness seeped into his fingertips.
Then—
The meat began to glow.The black texture shifted into a pale, almost golden-white color.
Koharu swallowed.
"…It doesn't look that bad anymore," she said quietly."Maybe… I could try it."
Swen cut in immediately:
"You've got plenty of moss, princess. Even this is too luxurious for me."
Without looking up, Swen continued:
"You absorbed its Yin energy just now, didn't you?"
"Did you get stronger?"
Shinju shrugged.
"It's too weak. No noticeable change."
Swen's eyes lit up.
"But they live in groups, right? What if you absorbed a hundred?"
Shinju gave a faint, cold smile.
"Then it would make a difference."
Koharu shivered.
"I've seen them before… in groups, they're terrifying. Luckily, when I used light magic, they ran away."
Swen was already thinking ahead.
"What do they usually eat?"
Shinju wiped his fingers.
"Moss. Sometimes carrion… even their own kind. They're cannibals."
A spark ignited in Swen's eyes.
"Then this is easy. If scented moss attracts them… I can make an essence. We lure them with smell."
She cut half of the creature and stored it.
Koharu jumped up.
"Hey! What are you doing with my food?!"
Swen replied calmly:
"If this works, you'll have more than you can eat."
Koharu frowned but reluctantly nodded.
"I hope you're right."
Shinju spoke firmly:
"We won't get many chances. Once a few die, the rest scatter instantly. That instinct is what kept them alive."
Swen bit her lip.
"Then we need a perfect setup. Location and timing matter."
After walking a while longer, they found a dead-end passage.The ground was cracked, with a narrow channel running through it. Behind it stood a steep cliff.
Swen's eyes lit up.
"This is perfect! Narrow channel, steep back. Koharu, you block the entrance with light. Once they're inside, you seal it. Then Shinju wipes them out."
Koharu hesitated.
"I hope this works…"
Swen smirked.
"What could go wrong? The genius alchemist Swen made the plan."
Evening fell.
Swen crouched in the channel, pulling out materials—meat, moss, crystal dust.
A magic circle formed.
The mixture liquefied.
"Distillation complete… now volatilization."
The liquid burst into vapor, spreading through the air.
Swen looked up.
"Your turn."
Shinju knelt at the entrance.
Three Yin needles floated silently.
The wait began.
One…Two…
Three rats appeared.
Click. Click. Click.
All dropped instantly.
Then—
Dozens of red eyes appeared.
A low growl.
Then more.
Within seconds, the channel turned into a writhing nightmare.
"They're all here!" Swen whispered.
Koharu's voice trembled.
"Swen… something's wrong…"
Shinju kept firing.
Each kill…brought three more.
The ground disappeared beneath flesh and teeth.
"Too many…"
The first bite came.
His leg—
Teeth sank in.
Then—
Light.
The wound closed instantly.
But—
His face twisted.
"Tch—"
This wasn't healing.
This was burning.
Like an invisible red-hot iron was pressed into the wound.
The flesh closed…but the pain stayed inside.
More attacks.
Shoulder. Neck. Back.
Everywhere.
They weren't biting anymore.
They were tearing him apart.
His breathing broke.
He tried to move—
But the moment he did, they swarmed his blind spots.
"Don't stop…"
But his body wouldn't listen.
A rat leapt at his face.
Claws tore his skin—
Blood spilled—
Then instantly healed.
"Damn it…"
This wasn't just pain.
This was dying—over and over again.
"If I pass out… it's over…"
Then another wave fell from above.
Like rain.
They buried him.
Legs.
Chest.
Neck.
Gone.
"SHINJUUUU!"
No response.
Inside…
Darkness.
He tried to breathe—
But every breath filled his mouth with blood, flesh, dust.
"Don't… stop…"
His mind began to slip.
Then—
Something changed.
His hand moved.
Slowly.
Forced.
He grabbed one.
Crushed it.
"…I don't need to kill them all…"
The thought clicked.
"I just need their essence…"
Everything shifted.
He stopped resisting.
Started absorbing.
Black smoke rose.
Weak at first—
Then stronger.
"COME…!"
That wasn't a scream.
That was will.
"ALL OF YOU!"
His body trembled.
Flesh tore—then reformed.
Again.
Again.
And then—
The pile collapsed.
Silence.
A hand rose from the mass.
Bloody.
Shaking.
Alive.
Shinju.
He climbed out slowly.
Barely breathing.
"Void… essence… come to me…"
Dark smoke spiraled around him.
Condensing—
Into a single drop.
Yin essence.
Solidified void.
He raised it to his eye.
Opened his right eye.
The drop… sank into it.