★194
'I warned you, didn't I?'
The fragment Nether Void vanished at 'Entas interference. The pressure that had filled the | | receded instantly, as though it had never existed.
'That 0.5 per cent could have erased what little remains of you. Void is stronger than you imagine.'
He stood above me with his hands folded, posture calm and composed, as though the entire exchange had been nothing more than a lesson.
"That was only 0.5 per cent. I wonder what it would look like at one hundred."
I replied, studying him carefully.
"From eleven per cent onward, it stops being something that can manifest regardless of Shell."
He answered, the words forming from a false mouth that appeared briefly on my forehead before dissolving again.
The explanation sounded casual, yet the implication was anything but. There were limits even to how the void could be expressed through a vessel.
"He is gone now. You should return."
I tried to leave, but nothing happened. The moment I attempted it, I realised I could not move beyond this place.
"You have to remain here."
Entares said, clearly aware of my attempt.
He was using the | | to his advantage. In that hollow | | where only I and myself held supremacy, he had anchored me. For the moment, escape was not an option.
It was terrifying everything Entares decides to give me a hand. He's so out of line with the norms. An anomaly to the Paragon of Paradox himself.
"I can't let you walk out of here. Even I cannot predict what would happen if you did."
"Is it that strong?"
I asked.
"For now, it is. With time you will be able to leave, but not yet. For the moment, use a vessel to..."
Something interrupted him. Entares never pauses mid sentence.
I felt a sudden separation, as though a boundary had been drawn through existence itself. Part of me was pulled away from the strange state I had been inhabiting, leaving behind what looked like a Nyxon-shaped version of Entares.
"Damn you, Karma."
He muttered through the Entares Nyxon, the words directed not at me but at the unseen force behind the interference.
I tilted my head slightly, studying him with curiosity rather than concern.
"I'm curious."
I said.
"What exactly does Karma do? I do not need a long explanation, just a fact."
Entares looked at me for a moment before answering, his tone measured.
"For starters, it's a Record."
His gaze shifted briefly toward the unseen presence that had interfered.
"Currently, it's acting as the Truth. Karma just separated the Truth of Antares from the True Void Singularity."
(Before the separation, they're one. And Antares will be the True Void Singularity after leaving the | |. Now that Karma has intervened, it separated the Truth of Antares from the True Void Singularity. Remember, earlier, I said it's an 'IT' and creates a hybrid identity.)
"I didn't even think of creating a vessel."
"That's because acted in accordance with the Record."
"Record, huh?"
"Think of it as the record of the past, present, future, beyond and what's beyond that beyond, etc. A sequence of how things were, are, is & will be."
"Alright. I'm not ready for this."
I gave a casual wave and turned to leave.
My body began to glow as I processed the changes settling into place. A new identity forming, a different personality taking shape as the remnants of everything that had happened rearranged themselves within me.
Nyxon had been more helpful than I expected. He guided me past the territory of the Void Dragons, and without him I might never have crossed that region intact. Now that the path ahead was clear, however, I could no longer rely on him.
My appearance shifted as the transformation completed. My hair never changed. It glowed in supreme natural white, the colour I considered my signature and my pride.
The golden tint I often used faded from my eyes, revealing their true azure hue. My body shrank until it resembled that of a Tikvah, no older than twelve or thirteen. Even my twilight cloak adjusted itself, subtly reshaped while retaining its familiar design.
"You will not be able to use my Void, and you are not the True Void Singularity. Let us see what the real world of Dragons has to offer."
I carried Entares words with me as I traced the faint signatures of Vera and Tik.
Their presence lingered across the distance like distant threads. I followed those traces carefully, shaping a portal from the surrounding energy.
The gateway opened in front of me, its surface rippling like dark water. Without hesitation, I stepped forward and crossed through, heading toward wherever Vera and Tik had gone.
...
....
They are still in Parvak. Since there's no Gate in Parvak, why am I picking monstrous signatures from the corridor?
The Realms of Dragons awaited, and whatever lay there would have to be faced without Nyxon's void guiding me any further.
To be continued...