Chapter 50 - The Secrets Of The Void (2/2)

For a few moments, darkness clouded my vision. I felt the ground below me harden as the material turned from wood to stone. The arid air disappeared, instead replaced by freshness.

“You’re late.” Someone said, their voice echoing around.

The light returned. I looked around, taking in my surroundings.

The dim lighting, the luminescent pond and the glowing crystals. I was back in the cave where it’d all started. I assumed the voice I’d heard was Red, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Red?” I called out, walking towards the exit of the cave. “Where are you?”

“I am not at your current location.” His deep voice boomed from all around me.

I raised an eyebrow. “But then how are you talking to me? How can you hear me?”

“Through the same way you communicated with your friends. The enchanted lake.”

“Uh huh…” My voice trailed off as I continued to walk toward the light of the exit.

I quickened my pace from a slow walk to a brisk one, then to a jog, and finally, to a full blown run. The light never came closer. Or, should I say, I never went anywhere.

I turned around, seeing the pond just a few metres away. I stopped and walked the other way, deeper into the cave, keeping my eye on the pond to gauge distance. All of a sudden, I burst into a sprint down the cave, expecting to be enveloped in darkness in a few seconds.

Just like before, I remained in the same position.

I was still moving my body, but I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. A distant chuckle brought me out of my thoughts.

“What are you laughing at?” I asked none too politely.

“Nothing. Your confusion is simply quite amusing.” Red replied.

“Can you just tell me what’s causing this then?”

A moment of silence passed between us.

“Very well.” He said. “Currently, you are in what is known as an ‘infinite dimensional plane’. It is a replica of a small section of another dimensional plane, and stretches infinitely. No matter how far you run, this place will always follow you. In essence, it is also a perfect prison.”

I took a step backwards into the cave, watching the lake.

Although my feet moved and it felt like I was moving, the cave itself seemed to follow my movements, keeping the distance the same. It was so, so strange.

“So why did you put me in here?” I called, looking up.

“You have spent one week at school. During that time, you seem to have grasped the concepts of magic quite well.”

I smirked. “Well, of course that’s to be expected-”

“Thus, I have decided to allow you to show me your magic in action.” He said, interrupting me. “I don’t want you to hold back. Just use all your xera.”

“Are you… sure that’s a good idea?” It didn’t sound very safe to me. After all, apparently, I was able to destroy the entirety of Erobeus with this magic.

“You are in an infinite dimension. Even if your magic could swallow it whole, I would just transport you back to our realm as it’s about to close. It is vital we determine the nature of your magic before we start trying to control it.”

He made a good point. But still, a part of me didn’t want to use that magic ever again.

When I’d used it before, as my last resort against the high highwaymen, I’d heard it. It spoke. It took control. I wondered if it had a life of its own.

Just the very thought of that scared me.

“How will I get out?”

“I will pull you through. All you need to do now is take off the restriction to begin.”

I was still a little nervous, but I trusted Red. Not as a friend or a person, but as a Great Beast.

“Cancel skill.” I announced loudly.

My vision split, transferring back to my original body, which had been ejected and was now lying on the floor. My human body landed face first on the ground with a loud, echoey thud. Immediately, the pins and needles that had collected disappeared. Although the pounding headache remained, it was still good to be back.

Slowly, I used telekinesis to lift the ribbon off my body. As soon as it left contact, a dire feeling of loss threatened to overwhelm me. I was now back to being a normal, insignificant potato with an incredibly low xera capacity.

“Leave it on the floor.” Red instructed.

I did as told and allowed it to fall. It glowed intensely white for a few seconds, shimmered, then disappeared.

“You may begin.”

I didn’t reply.

Instead, I began to channel the xera flowing in my body, collecting it around a single point at the top of my head. There was significantly less than before, and I felt slightly disappointed at the sheer amount left. This was my first time doing magic without the buff from the ribbon. However, the xera seemed to flow much faster and responded better, almost as if it was bending to my will.

If I was trying to perform a normal spell, I would’ve called out its name and focused on what I was trying to do. But since I wasn’t, I remained silent. I could already feel it coming. Emptiness. Devoid of anything my senses could recognise. There was no smell, no sound, no feeling, just…

Nothing.

“Discharge.”

It shot out of me like a charging boar, finally free.

Darkness. Inky, pure black darkness. It did not writhe or coil around objects like dark magic. It moved silently, quickly, spreading across the cave. Whatever it touched, it consumed.

This was different to the other times I’d used it. The other times, I’d had a point in mind, and it’d coalesced around that point. It sucked eveything into its core.

Now though, it had no form. But it still gave off the same eerie power and sense of emptiness as before.

Thankfully, though, it didn’t touch me. I guessed it needed me to survive. I could feel it drawing on my xera. It wasn’t strong enough to completely pull it out without my assistance.

‘Hungry.’ A voice without emotion said in my head.

I froze. Chills went down my spine.

‘Hungry.’ It repeated, still continuing to spread.

My xera had now dropped to a hundred.

‘Do you… understand me?’ I asked hesitantly, wondering whether or not it was a good idea to speak to a literal pool of muck. I watched the last crystals of the cave disappear underneath the black sea. The cave turned dark.

From the pool of void magic, a few black droplets rose up and joined together in front of me, perfectly replicating my potatoey form. It was me, but black.

It hovered there while the rest of the cave was being slowly eaten away.

‘I…’ It began in a low but smooth tone. ‘Am… the Void.’

And then everything began to shimmer. A warning flashed in front of me. My xera capacity had been completely exhausted. Bright flashes of light clouded my vision, but I could still make out the potato form the void had taken.

Before the darkness completely disappeared though, two more words sounded in my head, in an angry tone.

‘The Maker.’