I was a writer. In the time I was alive, I created a plethora of fantastical creatures, both cute and cuddly as well as vicious and terrifying. However, to find out that somewhere out there exist beings that could easily and happily devour every single creature I have ever created, regardless of size or strength, is a discovery beyond horrifying.

"What do you mean you don't know what a Resident is?" Flic asked me.

"Well... I just don't," I responded. She spoke about them as if I was supposed to know their social security number, yet even the name itself was something I heard for the first time.

Her eyes narrowed for a moment as she looked at me, thinking for a while. "Alright, I suppose it makes sense. After all, when a random creature just pops into your world and immediately starts destroying it, you don't really get to learn much about it. Well, I'll give you a quick little rundown." She made herself comfortable on the makeshift "chair" while I eagerly awaited the start of her monologue.

"Residents are like... living energy. You see, every single universe that exists has all sorts of energy. Heat, kinetic, magical, yada yada. You still with me?"

"Well... yes. Physics, chemistry, and so on. They all deal with energy."

"I... okay, I have never met Physics or Chemistry, but they sound like the kind of dudes who would understand it."

"No, that's not... Alchemy! Do you know alchemy?"

"Yes! Excellent example. That too deals with energies during the transmutation process."

"That is chemistry and chemical processes. We both have different names for it, but I think we are talking about the same thing."

"Good, at least you understand me. So, all these energies are slowly being absorbed into the Void every time they are used. The amount is so small you barely notice it, but it is there and it happens all the time. No matter what energy, no matter where in the universe, part of it always gets taken into the Void."

"Wait, but then..."

"Don't think!"

"YES! Sorry sorry... But aren't the worlds then..."

"Always losing energy? Yes. Every single world that exists is in a state of decay. It expands, dies out, and restarts, but each time it does so, it becomes weaker and weaker. Until one day, it just can't restart again and the Void will gobble it all up. It is the ultimate fate for every single universe in existence."

Something came over me. It was too strong to be called dread, too shallow to be called terror, and too calm to be called panic. What Flic told me simply didn't feel right.

"I... can't believe you."

"Fine, then don't. Believe what you want. But why would I lie to you? Where else can we go from here? This is the bottom. The finish line. The final stop of existence. Lies have no place here. Just as hatred or judgment. Lying to you here would be just annoyingly pointless."

"Then... all existence is meaningless."

"What? Are you stupid or something? I tell you the whole concept of reality and your response is 'Uh, it's meaningless?'"

"Well, what reason is there to live then? If it all disappears one day?"

"What reason would you like? Life is life. Find whatever reason in it you wish. You can still spend your mortal time however you want. And then face whatever afterlife you have in your place. Why would any of that be meaningless? There is SO much time you can still use before a world goes to shit. Unless... Well, unless it gets invaded by a Resident, as ours did."

"Yeah, let's go back to that. You were talking about energies."

"Ah, yes! Well, you see, Void does not have the same energies. Each type of it that flows into Void gets transformed into this... like blue mist mixed with a spider's web. And it starts to cumulate and grow until eventually, there is so much of it at one place that life is born out of it."

"So that's what a Resident of the Void is? Living energy?"

"Yes. And that is exactly what makes them so terrifying. Do you know how indestructible they seem? That's because their body does not have blood or weak spots. And when it gets destroyed or too damaged, they simply suck up some more energy from the Void and are good to go again. And since Void is always getting more energy from all the worlds..."

"They can never die, can they? A body that regenerates from a nearly infinite source of power. New worlds are born each second from the imaginations of mortals, feeding the Void more and more. To stop the Residents from being immortal, you would have to stop worlds from being created. And that means killing every speck of creativity in the entire existence."

"That's... wow, you thought about it."

"Don't hit me!" I screamed and covered my head. Even though it didn't hurt, the feeling wasn't exactly comfortable.

"I won't. Because you are right. Residents will always exist. As long as mortals do, so will they. But to say that they can never die is also wrong. Because you are missing one crucial piece of information. These fuckers have a brain."

"A vital organ that can be destroyed!"

"Exactly! Except it's not as easy as for us humans. We have our hard noggins that you can pop like a nut to squeeze the thinking mush out of us. They have like... a fist-sized squishy ball inside them. It can move wherever in their body it fits. So it's quite impossible to locate. You literally need to tear open the Resident and quickly destroy it before they pull themselves back together. It is almost impossible. Not to mention that the bastards have a habit of eating one another. And the winner gets the loser's brain."

"So the number of brains varies from individual to individual."

"You catch up fast. I applaud that."

"Thanks. I am not thinking about it! Just making simple logical assumptions. Nothing my brain wouldn't be able to handle."

She laughed, nearly scaring me with how rough her voice got. "You're really perfectly made for this place, hahaha! You're already catching up, learning what to simply accept and what is safe to think about. Good. I like smart students."

"I'm flattered. But there is still something I don't understand."

"Shit. Fine, ask then, but pray to whatever deity you believe in that it's a good question, or I'll beat your ass for overthinking."

"Umm... How do they... well, invade worlds? Do they just arrive, or...?" I slowly pushed the question out of my throat. It felt scary, knowing that if she'd deem the question to be too smart or stupid, she'd draw her blade against me yet again. Fortunately for me, she seemed quite pleased with the question.

"Oh yeah, you probably don't know that, huh?" Well, there are some Rooms in the Void that are just totally black and have doors in them. Unlike the other sections of the Void, these ones are always in the same place, so the Residents can find them quite easily. However, going through the door is not simple. They are sealed shut. Only a great catastrophe or destruction can force them open. I'm talking worlds at war, MASSIVE explosions, genocide, and so on. When that happens, the doors start to open and the Resident can enter. And since they tend to be rather... destructive, the doors just keep opening more and more, allowing them to use more and more power in that mortal realm. Hey, are you alright? You look all... pale."

I realized it all. At that moment, I knew the whole truth. The entirety of what happened. It was the flames that started it all. I began to destroy my works, and the worlds corresponding to them have started to merge and burn. Such catastrophe must've pushed the door open. That Resident must've clearly been the one Ifrit's been speaking to. But just as this revelation opened my eyes, it also made me ask questions. To this moment, I didn't know what happened with Jack. He could've lost against Ifrit. No, he must've won. That was the only ending I was willing to accept.

"Hey? Buddy? Pal? Are you with me? HEY!" she snapped at me when she noticed I wasn't paying attention. "What is wrong with you? You just dozed off. Don't fucking even dare to tell me I bored you that much!"

"What? Oh, no, you weren't boring. It's just that... I realized something."

"Oh? Does it bother you?"

"Yes. Quite a lot."

"Then speak it out. No reason to keep anything to yourself anymore. I will listen to you. No judgment and all that."

"Well... I think... I think it was I who opened the door in my world."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" She jumped up from the table, pulled me closer by my shirt, and started punching me. "YOU. OPENED. THE. FUCKING. DOOR?? YOU KILLED THEM!!!" she shouted while her fist was crushing my nose to bits.

"Accidentally! It was all an accident!" She stopped for a while, sighed, and finally let me go.

"You're right. Nobody opens the door on purpose. Heck, I helped the people of my world get ours open. Heh, we were so stupid. I'm sorry I lashed out so much. I guess it doesn't matter anymore. Don't worry about that broken nose. It'll regenerate in like a few minutes. Besides, we can't feel pain anyway." She sat down again and leaned closer to me. "But I am curious. How did you end up here exactly? What made you open the door?"

I remembered her words. No reason to keep anything to ourselves anymore. After all, things could not get any worse. And so I told her everything. About the reasons behind my suicide and how I burned my books and travelled to another world. The story of me, the reapers, and all the friends who helped me along the way. Tears were flowing down my face as I spoke of their deaths, but I kept going anyway. I told her everything all the way until the very last moment when Jack took my powers and left to fight for his home. Flic kept staring at me, her eyes widening more and more as she listened to the finale of my story. Then finally, when I simply had nothing more to say, she spoke once again.

"Holy shit... You're a god!"

"Was. He took my power. Now I'm just..."

"You don't understand it, do you? None of it."

"What more is there to understand? Something else about the Void you didn't get to tell me yet?"

"No, you dumbass! I mean the Divine Creativity! You really think it's gone?"

"Well, I don't feel powerful in the slightest, so... I think so."

"Idiot! Such power is only yours. No matter who inherits the rights to your stories, no matter who will follow as your apprentice, no matter who will kill you, the power is always yours! Sure, maybe it's gone now, listening to someone who borrowed it, but it will never be truly away. You can call it back to you. You can maybe still fix your world!"

"How? I couldn't even use it when I was alive."

"Then figure it out!"

"It's too late."

She stood up and grabbed me again. This time by the throat. "Listen, you shithead, you are not wasting this opportunity! You know what I would do to be there again! To smile with my friends? To be able to go back and at least try to save my world? To fight for my dear Ezma one last time? EVERYTHING! I would surrender everything! If you have this opportunity, then use it! Call back your powers! Travel to that world! And use the might of a god to tear that Resident right open!"

"But... It just won't listen to me. The power, I mean. I don't know how to control it. I... I can't overcome this feeling of... unworthiness."

She let me go again, leaving a red mark in the shape of a hand around my neck.

"Fine! Then I'll help you. I will simply not let you abandon your own world! There is still time."