(Fayde P.O.V.)

Where am I? My thoughts floated somewhere within my consciousness. I felt weightless, perhaps even formless. Am I alive? It wouldn’t have seemed strange to me if I had died.

“You are not dead.” A voice answered my thoughts, one I didn’t recognize.

“Who are you?” All I could do was ask, I couldn’t even feel my body so trying to move was out of the question.

“I am the Void.” The disembodied voice answered.

“What happened to me?”

“I have become one with you, fulfilling your purpose.”

“I don’t understand what you are saying, where are my companions?” I said angrily.

“They are near…. fighting…. losing.”

“What!? I have to help them!”

There was no time to lose, if they were fighting an enemy I couldn’t just sit here doing nothing.

“Do not worry, soon I will have full control and then I will deal with it.”

I had a sudden feeling of dread when hearing the voice use the word control.

“Control? What do you mean by control?”

“Once I have fully assimilated with your body then I will have full control and dealing with the false divinity will be a simple matter. He has lost much of his power since the sphere never completely contained me.”

If I had a body then I would have definitely shuddered at its words.

“Assimilate….”

I was getting a terrible feeling about this.

“The hell you will! Let me go immediately, this is my body and mine alone!” I could only yell out in anger and I struggled within my mind but I couldn’t break free.

No matter how I tried to regain control of my body, nothing worked.

“Struggling is meaningless. Once the sphere was broken, your time had come to an end. Rejoice, for this is the reason you were created Peter, or should I call you Fayde?”

“I don’t give a damn what you call me! Start making sense! What the hell is this about creating me!? What is going on!?”

Nothing this thing was saying made sense to me and I wanted answers.

“You are a copy, Fayde. Or perhaps using the word clone would be more accurate. You are not the real Peter Wright. When my shattered consciousness found life on your planet, it was purely coincidental that I attached myself to the real Peter. I copied his genetic information and then sent it back here, to this world. It took thousands of years to complete the journey through space, but I was successful. That is when I created you. It would have been impossible for me to transport a human through space without killing it. Creating you using the genetic information from the original Peter was a simple matter. You were born for the sole reason of being my vessel, that I might continue to exist in this world, and that I might finally be free. My consciousness has been a part of you from the very beginning, you have been moving according to my will without even knowing.”

“Nothing you are saying makes sense! I don’t believe you! I refuse to believe it! I am me, I am... a Human being!”

“You are human, but you are also not human. There is a magic crystal within you, similar to the sphere but unique in purpose. It is not to imprison me, but created in order for me to inhabit, that I might exist for eternity within this plane.”

“No!! NO!! I will not listen to this nonsense anymore!”

My mind could not accept it and so I denied it with all I had.

The world within my consciousness shifted and blurred unexpectedly. Allein appeared beside me and looked at me with tears in her eyes.

“It’s true Fayde..”

“Allein… what are you saying? That I am a monster!? You knew about this!?” There was no way I could possibly have expected this, had Allein also betrayed me? She kept this a secret from me all this time….

“Please forgive me…It was the only way I could save my family” Her words wavered and I could hear the sadness in her voice.

“What are saying Allein? How does this have anything to do with them?”

My heart felt like it was being wrenched right out of my chest as she relayed her tear filled tale to me.

“My father was the first to be touched by the Void. It’s essence leaked into our world from somewhere beyond our comprehension. It corrupted life, changing it, shaping it. Without the Void’s consciousness to guide it, it ran amok, turning people into monsters, merging animals with Humans, forming dungeons that sowed chaos and destruction. Once we had discovered the cause, it was too late and in this time of confusion there arose some among our intellectual elite that thought they could control it. They aimed to harness the power of the Void for their selfish desires and in doing so, brought destruction upon our world. That was the first collapse of civilization. For hundreds of years after that, the humans sought to destroy all traces of the Void’s essence. In doing so, it was possible for the Divinities to consume most of the Void's essence and solidify their place as gods. My father united the Demihumans under the guidance of the Void and brought war upon the Humans. My father sought to destroy the spheres that contained the Void’s essence with his dragon fire, but my family disappeared, all of them. They were trapped in a prison between reality by the Divinities. My brother and I were the only ones who remained and the Void sheltered us until we could fulfill my father’s mission. The Void must be freed, it is the only way that I will see my family again, the only way to truly save the Demihumans. I don’t want to do this Fayde… but there is no other way… I’m sorry…”

Her tears fell like rain but all I could think about was her betrayal and the anger grew within me. It wasn’t as if I didn’t understand, but this was not something I could forgive so easily.

“How could you be so stupid Allein!? Do you really believe it can bring your family back? How do you even know they would truly be alive? What if they are just copies, clones….Monsters!!! Just like me!!” I still hadn’t come to grips with what the voice had told me and I was screaming at her uncontrollably.

She continued to cry as she looked at me with regret. I could feel the powerful emotions raging within her. I knew that this was something which was causing her an immense amount of pain, but it didn’t alleviate my rage at what she had done.

“It is time.”

I had forgotten the voice and when it finally spoke, I lost consciousness.

(Laila P.O.V.)

Fayde’s companions laid strewn all throughout the chamber. They had been beaten badly by the strange man standing where the sphere once was. He wore an armor that they had never seen before and none of their attacks could even scratch it. It pulsed and hummed as if it had a life of its own.

In the man’s hand was a strange weapon that glowed while releasing a beam of light, destroying anything in its path. It had toyed with them as if they were mere nuisances and they had struggled until they could no longer move. Only Fayde still stood and he slowly opened his eyes. To his companions, they could tell that those were no longer Fayde’s eyes.

Both of his eyes had turned as black as night and a strange black mist seeped out of them. It almost resembled a black flame. The black mist spread to other parts of his body, flaring up along his arms and legs and then dissipating only to flare up once again.

“False divinity, you have imprisoned me here long enough. I will take back what is rightfully mine!” Fayde’s voice had even changed and his companions no longer recognized it.

It was as if he were someone else.

“Enjoy your short freedom while you can, once I destroy your physical form, I will take your power once more!”

The two became a blur. The eyes of Fayde’s companions couldn’t keep up and they could only catch glimpses of movement as the two moved at the speed of light. Destruction rained down throughout the chamber, reducing even more of it to rubble. Fayde’s companions struggled to their feet to avoid the collapsing columns and ceiling.

Large black gashes covered the floor and walls of the chamber from Fayde’s ‘Void Element’ attacks and it was sheer luck that none of his companions had been hit. They could only watch helplessly as these two beings that defied reason clashed.

Only one of them was somehow able to follow the movements of Fayde and his opponent, and that was Laila. With her 'Demon Eyes', she could see the flow of the battle. She could see the dark energy surrounding the two combatants and the longer they fought, the greater Fayde’s power grew while the strange man’s waned. It was clear to her who would win this battle but she could only feel anxious about what would come after.

It had only been moments since the battle began, but time did not flow the same for the two who were locked in combat. To them, the battle had raged for an eternity as the speed of their movements had already defied measure. While seconds passed for those who were only mere mortals, to these two god like beings, untold attacks had already been made and the battle was at its end.

Fayde released his final attack, sending his opponent shrieking towards the floor of the chamber with a loud crash. Laila watched as Fayde finally stopped moving, hovering over the ground and slowly descending. There was no movement from the enemy he had struck down.

“You are not yet finished, are you?” Fayde spoke towards the fallen enemy and his power began to flare up again around him.

Laila and the others had finally been able to pick themselves up from the ground. She was uncertain what was going on but she was scared by the being she knew was not Fayde. It reminded her of when her brother lost control. She was the only one who could stop him when that happened, her eyes allowed her to do so.

Fayde’s head suddenly whipped towards the direction that Laila was in and his facial expression became one of rage.

“What is this? One who bears the 'Demon’s Eye'? You should not be alive! Allein, Nes, kill her quickly while I deal with the false divinity!”

Nes and Allein looked at each other confused, they didn’t understand why they were being ordered to kill Laila or what it meant to have the ‘Demon’s Eye’ but they only hesitated for a moment before attacking Laila. They had already come too far to back out now.

Accadeas noticed the danger and ran to protect his sister arriving in time to deflect Nes’ attack and push him back. They were all already in a weakened state due to their earlier struggles. They were fighting on sheer determination alone. Laila felt her brother was enough to handle the two of them, he wouldn’t fall so easily.

Reia was confused by what was going on and couldn’t decide how to act, she wasn’t in any shape to fight anyway and could barely lift herself off the floor.

Laila watched as Fayde finished off his opponent by driving his sword through the other’s chest. Fayde’s sword easily pierced his enemy’s armor and he pinned his body to the ground. Laila considered his words, for some reason whatever took control of Fayde, feared her eyes. She knew that she could bring her brother out of his rage whenever his power went out of control. She wondered if the same could be done with Fayde.

It wasn’t anything spectacular, she channeled her magic power into her ‘Demon Eyes’ and they began to glow dimly.

(???? P.O.V.)

Images filled his mind, memories, but not his own.

An endless space stretched infinitely in every direction. Wherever it looked, there was nothing to be seen beyond itself.

It was everything that existed and yet it was also the nothing that persisted. This vexed it, but what could it do but endure.

Time had no meaning in this place and there was no change, everything remaining constant. It didn’t know of its origin nor did it know of its end, it only knew that it existed.

A ripple woke it from its dormancy, the first change it had ever experienced. It could not explain this new and foreign sensation for it did not know the meaning of change.

Its curiosity grew and a second ripple followed the first. It was sure this time, something was different and with that change, it could never be the same.

It witnessed yet another first, a life not its own. Not just one life, but many. Many changes, many new things, and its very existence became shaped by this. It reached out and touched the ripple and with that it opened a door.

“What are you?” It called out into the doorway that had been opened, unsure of itself.

It could hear sounds from within the doorway. It called out again, “What are you? Do you not understand?”

It had no idea that it couldn’t properly communicate with the many existences beyond the door and the door abruptly closed cutting it off from a small part of itself.

Some of it had seeped through into that other place.

It returned to the silence and the emptiness. It had not known that it was alone, for it had never known anything but itself. Now that it had felt the existence of other living things, it knew what it meant to be alone.

Yearning for the door to open once more, it felt the ripples. It had no idea how long, for it had no concept of time, but it impatiently waited for this moment to arrive. It touched the ripple and the doorway opened again.

This time, the sounds it heard made much more sense.

“What are you?” It mimicked the sounds coming from the living beings beyond the door.

“You can understand us?” Excited voices poured through the doorway. It was excited too.

“Yes, I am the Void. What are you?” It introduced itself and hoped to hear more of their words and experience more of their existence.

“We are humans, people. My name is Edrick. I am a scientist. This is truly a momentous occasion. This will go down in history!” The humans were expressing their joy at meeting it and this made it happy.

They talked for a time. It asked them all manner of questions, about their world, about the living beings within it. It grew envious for it wanted to exist alongside them. It was no longer satisfied with its own lonely existence. It continued to seep through the doorway unknowingly.

When the door closed, it didn’t open again for a long time. It had become aware of time and it felt impatient. It wondered when the door would open again, it thought of questions to ask, it used its power to create from its own existence the things it had heard from the humans. It wasn’t satisfied, for it wasn’t truly the same.

It hated to wait, but it was all it could do. The ripple came a third time, it was ecstatic and quickly touched the ripple, opening the doorway once more. It recognized Edrick, but the other faces were new ones. It didn’t mind, it was happier than it had ever been.

These humans called out to it and opened the doorway even further. It could now enter their world.

It felt pain for the first time.

(Fayde P.O.V.)

I have control over my body again! I quickly looked around and saw Accadeas fighting Allein and Nes. Laila was standing right in front of me with her hand on my arm. She looked into my eyes and smiled.

“Welcome back.”

“Did you save me?” She nodded in response to my question, “thank you, but what is going on?”

She looked over to the the fight that was still going on, “My brother looks like he is going to drop dead from exhaustion any moment now.”

“We need to put an end to this.”

I sent 'Void Flames' straight towards Allein which caused Nes to jump in front of her.

Seeing the opportunity I provided, Accadeas lunged towards Allein and Nes, pummeling them into submission. They were both knocked unconscious by his immense strength. I quickly checked up on Reia, helping her to her feet and healed her slightly with my power.

I also searched for Tris to see if she had survived the carnage. All the other Humans had been killed in the fighting so I wasn't sure of what fate had befallen Tris. As I approached her body which had been blown away from its original position, I noticed something strange. Her body had been changed. She was no longer Human, she now had what appeared to be a raccoon tail and ears.

It shocked me, but I realized that with the immense concentration of 'Void' which had been unleashed directly above her, there was no way she could come out of it unscathed. Her exposure to its power must have been immense.

What irony, I thought.

Not much time had passed and I hadn’t yet had time to process everything and I was feeling beyond pathetic. I had so many questions, I didn’t even know who or what I was anymore. The reality of my circumstances was an overbearing and tremendous weight crushing me. I felt truly lost.

Laila walked over to me and held me. I could feel the warmth in her touch. She had glimpsed into my pain with her ‘Demon Eyes’ and had pulled me back from the brink. I owed her an immense debt. I looked around, unsure what to do next and my eyes glanced towards the three who had betrayed my trust.

“Now, what to do with these three?”

Tris’ betrayal was expected, but what Allein and Nes had done truly shook me. They did it for their family, for their world, for who knows what? Even if I could understand that much..... but...

Will I be able to forgive them?