NOVEL NEXT Chapter 177: Null
The wind breezed lightly through the sparse trees near the ruin's edge, rustling leaves like whispered warnings.
Then—
A ripple.
A sudden shift in space, faint but unnaturally sharp, like reality itself had hiccuped.
From within the shadows of a nearby ridge, a hooded figure stirred.
"...Hey. What was that?" the first figure whispered, voice muffled under the cowl. He was cloaked in layered gray leathers, practically swallowed by the shadows.
Beside him, another, taller, bulkier shifted slightly, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the ruins.
"Could be traps inside," he muttered, voice low and cold.
The first one nodded slowly. "Maybe… but I've never felt something like that. Like a sudden... pressure spike. You think we should go check it out?"
The second man gave a curt shake of his head. "No. Orders were clear, don't get too close. Let him do what he came to do."
"Still... you saw how he moved, right? He's not normal."
The taller figure stayed silent for a moment, then whispered, "I know. I've felt it too. Since the day we started tailing him."
There was a pause—
"You felt that too, right? his essence… it's not normal. It's... off."
The first hooded figure shifted. "Yeah... gives me a headache if I try to focus on him too long."
The taller figure nodded, jaw tight.
"Let's wait. If he doesn't return by evening, we check the place."
A long silence.
Then—
Whoosh!
With a faint rustle, both figures dissolved into the shadows once more, leaving only the wind to speak.
****
[Status]
{Basic Information}
Name: Kai
Race: Human
Age: 17
Class: Beast Tamer
Sub-Class: Rogue
Rank: Mid-Advanced Core
Affinity: Dark, Poison, Null (Temp. Locked)
{Attributes}
Strength: D+
Agility: A+
Endurance: D+
Charm: B+
Intelligence: B-
Mana Capacity: B
Soul Essence Capacity: B
{Skills}
Active: Ghost Steps, Phantom Slash, Stealth, Beast Synchronization, Falcon's Sight, Warding Veil, Beast Merging, Null Lash (Temp locked)
Passive: Mana Regeneration.
{Tamed Beasts}
-Dual-Heart Kitsune—Luna (Evolution stage) Mystic
Rank: Peak-Intermediate Core
Skills: Fireball, Ice spear, Icicle barrage, Illusionary Viel, Foxfire
-Phantom Lynx—Vex Rare
Rank: Peak-Advanced Core
Skills: Phantom slash, Ghost Steps, Stealth, Shadow Ball
-Windsight Falcon—Vael Uncommon
Rank: Early-Advanced Core
Skills: Sonic Dive, Falcon's Sight, Echo Ball, Wind Fang
-Thunder Drakelet—Stromeon Rare
Rank: Early-Great Core
Skills: Thunder Roar, Groundbreaker Slam, Thunderclap, Static field
"What? Locked?" Kai muttered, jaw twitching as he stared at the glowing blue panel.
"Are you kidding me?!"
[<It's for your own safety, brat. Your body ain't ready yet.>]
Kai sighed sharply through his nose, dragging a hand down his face.
"Oh, great. The moment I finally make something sick as hell; you slap a lock on it like a disapproving parent."
[<If you use it again now— >]
"Yeh, yeh, spare me the warning speech." Kai cut in, voice laced with sarcasm and heat.
"I get one moment of strength, and boom, you throw chains on it. What's next? You gonna lock my arms for punching too hard?"
He paced a few steps, throwing his hands up.
"Why even give me the skill then, huh? Just to flex your control? You some divine sadist or something. What the fuck you even want, Zer you fucking asshole?"
A long pause.
Then, the temperature shifted.
Not colder—not hotter.
Denser.
The air felt thick, heavy.
A ripple shimmered through the space before him.
Subtle at first, then violent.
Fog gathered in a spiral, twisting, vast.
Kai froze, his breath caught in his throat as a massive, draconic wolf stepped forward from the distortion, its body wreathed in fog, fur like swirling smoke, yet solid.
Its presence was oppressive, majestic, terrifying.
The Twin eyes of piercing blue locked onto Kai.
The beast leaned down, breath slow and deep like the beat of distant war drums.
[< Watch. Your. Tone. Brat. >]
The words didn't echo through sound.
They echoed through his bones.
Kai stiffened. His spine straightened unconsciously. His defiance, still there, but curled back slightly like a growling pup before an alpha.
He swallowed.
"…Dramatic much?" he mumbled under his breath.
The wolf's glowing eyes narrowed.
"Alright, alright! I get it. Chill, Big guy Damn."
Then, like mist parting under sunlight, the figure faded, collapsing back into nothing. As if it had never been there.
Silence.
Kai let out a long breath, rubbing his arm.
"Asshole."
After that, silence fell thick around Kai.
Then.
[<You should understand that using that will have a huge toll on your body. And there's a chance you could even lose a part of yourself. Or maybe… all of you.>]
Kai's brows furrowed. He straightened, eyes narrowing with a flicker of disbelief.
"What?"
A silence.
[<Do you even know what Null is?>]
[<It's not a fancy element. Not some hidden affinity you can throw around like fire or lightning. It' nothingness. A void. Not just absence of essence, but rejection of all creation. Of structure. Of reality itself.>]
The words settled into Kai's chest like lead.
[<Null devours. It erases. The more you channel it… the more it slips past your skin and burrows into your veins. Into your soul. It doesn't burn, it unmakes.>]
[<You lose control? Even once? It could hollow you out from the inside, till there's nothing left to scream.>]
Kai's breath caught.
The wind shifted.
He slumped back onto the cold stone, one arm limp at his side, fingers twitching faintly.
His voice came softer this time.
"…Then I—"
[<You can still use it.>]
The interruption made him pause.
[<While in merging form. With me. Or with a beast who can endure it. Who can bear the weight, the drain. Without losing you.>]
Kai looked up.
"Oh really? If it's that dangerous… why the hell did I even get it in the first place? It's not like it dropped out of the sky. If I've got it, there have to be others who do too, right?"
A pause.
[<…I don't know.>]
Kai blinked. "What?"
[<I don't know.>]
And then, just as he opened his mouth to speak.
[<Yeah, yeah, start with your questions, brat, but right now? Do your damn thing.You came here for a reason. So, stop whining like a kicked pup and get it done.>]
Kai glared at the screen but stood up.
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End...
[A/N]
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