★193
In that instant I lost both my physical form and my connection to the archetypal structures that defined me. My mind and senses unravelled, leaving nothing but a source of void pumping without reason, a hollow state where identity itself began to dissolve.
I had considered this possibility before. What would happen if I truly reached this point? Survival seemed unlikely, perhaps impossible. If everything was nullified, what would remain?
It was not merely a strategy for victory. It was an experiment born of curiosity, a desire to witness the outcome even if it meant paying the ultimate price.
'You are breaking down, Essereos. If this continues, you will become nonexistent for good.'
The warning came from Entares. I heard him, not as a living being receiving words, but as part of the void-powered connection we shared. His power sustained the experiment, allowing me to remain aware even as I approached dissolution.
I could feel myself slipping halfway into nonexistence, fragmenting bit by bit. The Parasitic Darkness was converting me, transforming what remained into more of itself.
Every moment strengthened it, and by extension, empowered Mordryth, the force behind the Endless Veil. The process was relentless, stripping away what I once was.
Yet I remained curious. If I vanished completely, what would be left? Would there be nothing, or something beyond understanding? The question mattered more to me than survival. I focused on observing the process, analysing it even as I disintegrated, determined to understand the truth of what lay beyond existence.
A streak of darkish violet and void black cut through the Endless Veil as we clashed. I was breaking down, fragments of my existence scattering, yet what surprised me most was the calm that settled over me — the precise understanding that things either are or they are not. There was no middle ground.
Mordryth within this Veil was effectively omnipresent and indestructible. Every attack I made was nullified, erased before or after it could fully manifest. Yet I remained calm. If existence could end, then nonexistence was simply the other state. Understanding that removed panic. I'll be part of the Matrix, and I'll find a way back.
"How long are you going to keep going?"
He asked, but I could not answer.
I had no body, no language, no sound with which to reply. I fought because it was all I could do, because will, even without form, still sought to express itself.
Whether that will survived or vanished entirely no longer felt like a question of fear. It was a question of consequence. If nothing remained, then nothing remained. If something endured, then that too was true.
[[CURIOSITY IS...A SCORPIOS TRAIT....I'LL SEE TH...ROUGH THIS TO ....HE.. END..]]
The Edict won't let me yield to self nullification, and neither will I let it all end here.
The Edict of Zenith was stated to be a transcendental and unyielding will. Is it affected by this self nullification rite or not? That's an answer I'll never know. I can't fall like this, so more and more voids flood out uncontrollably.
Eventually, 'the will to turn null' was fading. I didn't know what was happening outside anymore, whether Mordryth was dead or not. Maybe Entares used this opportunity to escape. If I'm 'not', Ela's defensive traps won't work.
'I can escape when I want, but rest assured, I'll be a spectator for now.'
I can hear Entares's voice echoes, but I'm 'not'.
(Not is the only word I can use to express his current state even though he's not.)
'None of my Good Halves has ever thought of doing something so reckless. Something that tips the scale of balance to my favour, yet you did. You've made a Proto Kernel, the pure nothingness potential you can achieve what you're planning to do.'
You can't jump from normal Nether Void. The collapse would rip everything apart. The Proto Kernel is not a thing or void. It's nullification before hitting absolute zero.
'Nobody, but that one Dark Star has broken past the Proto Kernel, but you just did.'
The Proto Kernel compresses, reaching a state where 'Meta Void' has long been irrelevant.
A singularity of trans Meta Non-Being that can not be filled, saturated, echoed, or negated. It's not 'more voids', it's a change from absence, erasure, and non being to absolute, unanalyzable non-possibility.
Void is absence, ability to erase, & negate things. True Void Singularity turns that process into a state that can not be acted upon. It's not a feat or ability. It's a state of being.
(I know saying it's a state of being is a contradiction, but I want you to know it's not an attack, magic, or something.)
'True Void Singularity, the first step to harness a miniscule of my Void.'
(Yeah. It still applies to Entares's skill. Entares's void = normal void but a bit stronger than the regular. Entares's Void = his True Void.)
Normal void < Meta Void < Void. Anywhere you see void with caps 'V', it's Nether Void.
Meta Void is just void about voids. What let's void exists in the first place. It's not absence/negation. It's the collapse of that idea of voids. Just like creation for all, and 'C'reation is specifically and limited to the Goddess of Creation, and CREATION is something else entirely.
Take note of these distinctions and note that not all full capitalisation means something. Sometimes, I use them to highlight a word or exclaim!)
'You've done enough. I'll grant it.'
Entares said at last, accepting what he considered my outburst.
With those words, the first sensation that returned to me was silence, a heavy, profound silence, the sort that presses against awareness rather than simply existing.
'The balance has been disrupted, so "Antares" is no more. I will have to…'
I caught fragments of his complaints, terms that sounded foreign and distant. They carried meaning, yet I was not in the mood to process them.
Then vision returned. Not the sight of eyes on a body, merely awareness shaped into perception. I understood I was seeing again, though the mechanism of seeing had changed.
I focused on Mind.
"It worked, didn't it?"
I asked. The words were not spoken through a mouth, but the intent of the question remained. I needed confirmation, not explanations about balances or upper hands. If the experiment had succeeded in any sense, that was enough for now.
"You hold the possibilities, so yes, it did."
"I'm supposed to feel...."
"Different?"
He asked, now standing within arms reach.
"Naturally, those who made it to True Void Singularity lose their previous behaviour. Since the True Void Singularity is a 'thing', they'll have a shared-like connection with IT even though IT'S not actually 'there'. This produces a hybrid identity and entity."
"What connection?"
"The True Void Singularity is its own state of being, and the character is merely how IT chooses to appear."
"I'm not feeling anything like being possessed or something."
"Karma intervened, restoring you and the lost equilibrium."
"Karma, huh?"
"Something..."
"I'm not interested."
I cut him off, and he recoiled in response. He must've felt hurt, but I don't care about his feelings if he manages to develop one.
"So, can I weird my TRUE VOID?"
"First of all, it's not your void. That's my Aspect. Secondly, you can, but you should limit the usage or something irreplaceable will occur."
"I just need a bit."
I smirked, returning to the Endless Veil. The mass of void gave off a flicker of violet, and Mordryth stopped for the first time.
"You!"
'I can feel a connection between us. What's that?'
'Parasitic Darkness is what it is because of Darkness. It's nothing you have to worry about.'
Entares reassured. The mass of void erupted, destroying the Endless Veil in one violent surge.
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ wasn't there, neither was the Endless Veil. All that's left is| |. An ontology | | that is not a thing yet exerts decisive consequence. This | | resists being filled, unwritten, or weaponised by corrupting forces beside myself and I alone.
My body was remade, and I remained suspended in| |. Etherium glowed, glitching, yet enough for me to notice the changes. I no longer have an archetype and a body with organs even though that's how I was. I am nothing but a mirage in reality, present and absent in the same breath.
'So this is True Void Singularity?'
'You should refrain from using this form even in the Star Realm.'
"Why is that? It's just a state of being."
I asked, clenching and unclenching my fists.
"As Lady Elara used to say, it's better to be safe than sorry.'
He's right, even though I rarely use his advice. But in here and right now, I can let it all go.
"What have you done to the Endless Veil?"
Mordryth asked.
"Come find out."
I replied with a smirk.
He took the bait and approached me, the Parasitic Darkness forming in his maw. I remained still, allowing the Sarkness to surge forward and consume what remained.
If it erased me, then the experiment would reach its conclusion. If it did not, the results would speak for themselves.
When the wave of darkness passed, I realised I was completely unharmed.
"H… how?"
Mordryth asked, his tone laced with surprise. The expectation that I should have been obliterated had not materialised. The void and the parasitic energy had washed over me, yet nothing had changed. I remained present in whatever form I now occupied.
It confirmed something, the interaction between the darkness and what I had become did not function as predicted. The Parasitic Darkness had intended to convert or annihilate, but the process failed. I observed the outcome with detached curiosity rather than triumph.
As expected, (-1) is achieved. His Darkness has no host and cannot feed, and its parasitism fails. I currently can't provide anything, much less something, for it to feed.
(1 to.... = existence, 0 = void, -1 = True Void Singularity.)
stepped back, still processing what he had seen. The question in his voice was genuine. He expected an explanation, yet I had none that would satisfy him. I simply existed where I should not.
'However, it can feed on Proto Kernel. I kept you alive in that vulnerable moment.'
"What should I say, thanks?"
How can I help myself and still thank myself afterwards? That's nonsense.
"Time to get serious!"
He roared, more Darkness coalescing, his scales glowing violet, and I can feel 'that' flowing within him as his Darkness became 10× lethal. The more it flowed, the more I felt the connection, and the result was evident.
"So you're behind that, after all."
Thin purple threads flowed from my fingertips. He let loose, and I swiped sideways, slicing through and nullifying his Darkness instantly.
As much as I want to use more of Void, I'm already at my limit, so I decided to wrap things up.
The threads grew thicker, solidifying into a long endless chain. He got more aggressive, bringing forth destructive and lethal Darkness. Before he could breathe, I was onto him. I didn't need to move because I was there already and not at the same time.
I swung upwards, the chains severing his neck as smoothly before intensifying Void crashing the gigantic chains downwards, and he was| |before my attack landed.
(I won't call that omnipresent because he's existing and non-existing simultaneously. Maybe it is...)
To be continued...