There were twelve elements that was known to every mage, scholar, and even physician in the world. Those were separated into three four-pointed stars. The Elemental star, the Law star, and last but not least, the Cosmic star.

Lesser practitioners stayed in the Elemental star, which was populated by the four elements of Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind. It was considered the lesser one by everyone, because the four elements shared one plane instead of having one of their own.

The second star was a curious one. Not a lot of people used their elements except one, the Arcane. Arcane magic was the foundation of magic itself; no magic could be done without the Arcane, that was taught to every would-be mage. Yet the other three elements fell in disuse. Time, Space, and Chaos.

Whilst the two first were usable to the mortals, the sheer difficulty to control and bend the laws of the Existence, was too great for the limited beings. The demonic influence of Chaos only existed as a counterpart of the ordered Arcane. None were brave enough to enter the chaotic plane known as ‘Hell’.

The third and final star was perhaps the most commonly used in the world, besides the Elemental one. It was composed by Life, Death, Light, and… Void. Mortals were only allowed to delve in the aspects of Life and Death, as they were closely related to those mundane events.

Only gods and divinities, and by extension their clergy, were the only ones who wielded the Light. Its purifying shine was hot to the touch. Hotter than the Fire elements may ever wish to be.

Then, the Void. The only element that wasn’t naturally found in Caelestaya. It was despised by every single other element, none taking liking in its endless hunger.

Mortals were never stopped by the limits imposed by the laws, especially those called humans. They had inquired in every element without the permission of its respective leaders. Whether it was the gods of the Light or the demons of the Chaos. But there was one case when it was worse when they contacted the leaders of the plane. When they contacted the void lords.

But if one rule wasn’t meant to be broken, is that no mortal nor plane leader should ever enter the null plane. Yet now, one man stood in the emptiness, laying breathless after what seemed to be the battle of the century.

Tell me, core. The floating human asked at the colossal structure that accompanied him to the other plane. Am I alive? Though the question contained some philosophical degree, it was meant literally as he couldn’t get around the outcome of the match.

The old wizard examined the trinkets around his body by the corner of his eyes, too tired to move his head. Every single one had been broken in the battle for his survival, only the Tenet of Immortality was in one piece. And even then, that was questionable at best.

Not only the coiled ring prevented him from suffocating in this airless space, but it was what kept him alive for this long. He hadn’t been joking when he told he was living on life support.

The tower’s main processor communicated affirmation to him. He was indeed alive. Is that so? Really? Are you sure I’m not dead and this is a delusion before going to Hell? At this moment, the ancient enchanter didn’t believe his soul would end in the heavens or the underworld, but directly to the demonic lands. A deserved fate, he believed.

The core emitted one more pulse of confirmation through their soul link, the mage was definitely alive in the null plane. Somehow. The advanced arcane computer also inquired how that was even possible. The calculations showed his defeat in most outcomes, yet the suicidal old man prevailed against the odds.

It’s time to return then. The mage told. I don’t even know how much time has happened. The central processor communicated negation. No time? How’s that possible? He asked after the core’s response. It gave him the calculations over their share link as an explanation. Are you telling me time doesn’t flow here? Affirmation.

Now that you mention it, it makes sense. The Void is a plane totally separated from the others, so the temporal dimension doesn’t have an effect here. Neither does the others. The core added after him in its own non-verbal communication.

So, how do I escape this place? It was awkward communicating in the void. He was already incapable of talking to himself thanks to the lack of a medium to transmit sound, but the eldritch aura of the null plane affected his senses.

The core transmitted negation and doubt, with a spoonful of inquiry. Non-verbal mental communication was weird. The magical computer asked for computation and told his master to wait while it inspected the dimension for an opening to the physical plane.

Is that it? What a shame. Maybe the Void was already corrupting his thoughts, but he felt no will to live. Well, he came here without a will to live to begin with, but now he now didn’t even feel basic survival instincts.

The enchanter looked around trying to find anything at all, but the null world was devoid of content, except for himself or the dead god at his feet. He sensed the presence of the tower’s core in the dimension, so something told him that the tower itself had been transported to this plane, even if wasn’t along with him.

Core, can you tell me how far are you? Error, no space between the destination and the origin. Or that was the far-fetched translation the enchanter came up with. You can’t compute neither space nor time here, huh. Affirmation.

It felt weird to the human. He noticed the flow of time and the presence of space, or so he believed. He could talk to the core, so time was flowing. And he was standing on top of the void lord’s carcass, so there were spatial dimensions. Yet, the core was unable to register them.

Time and Space belong to the Law star, so maybe the absence of the elements affects the own laws of this dimension. Maybe? The enchanter was new to travelling to such conceptual dimensions. He had only been to the heavens and Hell, the Light and Chaos plane respectively, in order to craft his Tenet of Immortality.

The creation of the death-defying ring was long and complicated, full of betrayals, deaths, divinities, demons, prophecies, and curses. Specially curses.

The not-so-divine enchanter proceeded to swim across the void, getting closer to the floating dead divinity. He still doubted how he managed to kill it. Sure, every single enchanted item he had made had been destroyed, including the void sigil he had exclusively made to enter the Void plane. That was the reason why he was trapped in the dimension to begin with.

The dead eldritch creature was made from otherworldly materials, although calling it ‘materials’ was technically incorrect. The god was made from anything but energy and matter. A conceptual creature would be more correct, yet still a fallacy devoid of meaning.

It was impossible for his mortal mind to conceptualize what the ‘physical’ creature before him was composed of. He thought for a moment to ask the core for an analysis, but it had its hands full with the probing of the dimension. Even then, he doubted the computer was able to comprehend the basics behind the fallen divinity.

The enchanter quickly turned his head as he saw a flash of colors by the corner of his eye. Where is it? It had been less than an instant, but something appeared to his right, or what was supposed to be his right, at least.

A presence assaulted him. Not the corrupting and sinister aura of the void, for that he was already surrounded by it. But something more familiar.

Core, is that you? Another flash in his vision came as if it was a response. A colored blur in this rather color-starved world. A succession of rapid flashes accompanied the next instants, the splatter of color teleported from one place to the other.

Appearing and disappearing, akin to one of those blurs in the eye when you put to much pressure in them. The flashes were getting faster… and closer. And as he began to fear for his safety, the blurs stopped. His trusty tower laid before him.

Made it to destination. The tower’s processing unit transmitted. Good for you, buddy. But also good for me. Without any more delays, the enchanter entered back into the tower. The touch of the cold cobblestone walls felt so warm and welcoming, as if he had spent an eternity without them.

He didn’t fail to notice the presence of breathable air. The whole tower has been sucked in. The mage pondered as he made his way back to the Nexus, mainly supporting himself in the nearby walls. His body was extremely tired, and without the aid of his multiple trinkets, he was now nothing more than an old man, a very old man.

It took him almost two hours to reach the inner sanctum of the tower. The enchanter had needed multiple stops to rest and catch his breath. At the mid-point of his odyssey, he found an armory. Or more accurately, a student’s workshop.

Unsurprisingly, the place was filled with nothing. He had ordered a full evacuation of the tower weeks before he activated the void sigil, so every student and teacher present had taken their belongings with them.

But there laid one trinket on top of the laboratory counter. A deformed ring, clearly a failed attempt, and probably forgotten by the workshop’s owner. The enchanter grabbed it and instantly recognized it as a minor signet of stamina. Nothing fancy, but for a decrepit old man, it was like rejuvenating him a few years.

Now instead of running out of breath in two minutes, it took four. Not a huge improvement, but he would be even satisfied for a lesser enchanted item in his state. A failed minor enchantment was something only the newest of novices would make, but if the maker was still here, the tower master would promote him to grandmaster out of sheer gratitude.

He arrived at the Nexus and rubbed his Tenet of Immortality and the crooked ring. The tower’s core opened the door for him, and the mage limped towards the nearest couch. The instant he touched the comfortable and tender pillows, his consciousness drifted away.