The transition from a cramped studio apartment in London to the infinite, crushing silence of the Ginnungagap—the Great Void—wasn't as painful as Kaelen expected. It just felt like waking up after a very long, very deep sleep.
Now, he stood on a hillside overlooking a valley that pulsed with a green so vibrant it hurt his eyes. This was Middle-earth. And he wasn't just Kaelen anymore; he was a focal point for the space between the stars.
The Smell of Pine and Iron
Kaelen adjusted the cuffs of his robe. It was woven from "Nothing"—a fabric that looked like charcoal silk but felt like cool water. He didn't have a staff or a sword. He didn't need them. When he looked at a rock, he could see the molecular gaps within it. When he looked at the air, he saw the folds in reality he could simply... step through.
"Right," he murmured, his voice carrying a strange, melodic resonance. "First things first. Shelter. And perhaps a nice cup of chamomile."
He began to walk toward the eaves of a massive, looming forest—the Greenwood. But the peace was shattered by the rhythmic clang of iron and the guttural, wet laughter of creatures that didn't belong in a sunlight-dappled glade.
The Captive Prince
Kaelen didn't run; he simply decided to be there. With a thought, the space in front of him folded, and he stepped out of a shadow twenty yards from an Orc war-party.
There were a dozen of them—ugly, grey-skinned brutes from the mountains. In the center of their circle lay a young Elf. His silver hair was matted with dirt, and his fine silk tunic was torn. Even bound and bruised, the Elf's eyes burned with a cold, aristocratic fury.
"Look at the pretty bird," one Orc sneered, raising a serrated blade. "The King's son will fetch a high price in Dol Guldur. Or maybe we just keep a finger as a souvenir?"
The Elf, Thranduil, didn't flinch. "My father will turn your caves into a tomb."
"Your father isn't here, princeling," the Orc laughed.
"But I am," Kaelen said softly.
A Display of Vacuum
The Orcs spun around. They saw a man who looked barely into his twenties, with dark hair and eyes that seemed to swallow the light.
"Another snack!" the lead Orc bellowed, charging with a rusted cleaver.
Kaelen didn't move. He simply exhaled. As he did, he pinched the air between his thumb and forefinger.
The Void Pulse
A sphere of absolute darkness, no larger than a marble, appeared in the center of the Orc party. For a millisecond, it did nothing. Then, it inhaled.
There was no explosion. Instead, there was a violent shuck sound—the sound of air rushing to fill a vacuum. The Orcs were yanked toward the marble by a gravitational force they couldn't fight. Their weapons, their armor, and their very forms simply collapsed inward and vanished into a point of zero-volume.
The marble blinked out. The Orcs were gone. Not dead—just elsewhere. Specifically, Kaelen had deposited them into the cold vacuum of the upper atmosphere. They wouldn't be bothering anyone for a very long time.
An Unlikely Introduction
Kaelen walked over to the stunned Elven prince. With a casual wave of his hand, the heavy iron chains holding Thranduil didn't break—they simply ceased to exist, their atoms scattered back into the Void.
Thranduil scrambled back, his breath hitching. He had seen the wizards of the West, and he knew the power of his own kin, but this... this was different. This was primordial.
"Are you a demon?" Thranduil asked, his voice trembling despite his pride.
Kaelen reached into his sleeve and pulled out a perfectly ripe, red apple—one he had "borrowed" from a vendor's stall in a different timeline entirely. He offered it to the Prince.
"I'm Kaelen," he said with a small, tired smile. "And you look like you've had a very long day. Tell me, Thranduil... do you want to keep being kidnapped by low-level infantry, or do you want to learn how to make the universe blink first?"
Thranduil looked at the apple, then at the strange man with the star-filled eyes. Slowly, he reached out.
"I would prefer," the Prince said, finding his dignity, "the blinking."
"Good choice," Kaelen chuckled. "Now, help me find some dry firewood. My magic can erase an army, but I still haven't figured out how to make a decent fire without a match."