The Shackled Void

In the quiet safe house beneath Solara Magna, the handshake between Nihil and Velka felt like a seal forged in ice. The alliance had been renewed, a pact born not from the blood of brotherhood, but from the brutal necessity of survival. There was nothing more to say. Every second Nihil spent in the heart of enemy territory was an incalculable risk.

"I must return," said Nihil, his voice still hoarse from exhaustion. He withdrew his hand and stepped back, his body slightly unsteady.

Velka nodded, her face once again becoming the cold mask of a conspirator. "Be cautious. I will begin gathering what you need. But after my last failure, it will take time."

Nihil did not respond. He simply closed his eyes, focusing the remnants of his consciousness on one terrifying task: the journey home. Once again, he stretched his perception, searching for the faint echo of himself left behind at Silverwood Spire, in his room, where Elara and Lyraelle waited for him. He found it, a whisper barely audible amidst the storm of reality.

He began to draw on the very last of his Capacity.

[Using: Echo Trace (Rank F)]

[Capacity: 10/50 → 0/50]

All of his energy was drained in an instant. For the second time in less than an hour, reality before him tore apart. A vertical, spiraling vortex of chaos opened. Without a word, he stepped in, vanishing from Solara Magna.

The return journey felt far worse. If the first journey was a storm, this one was emptiness itself. With zero Capacity, he had no energy to shield his consciousness. He felt every tear, every pull of paradox, every moment where his existence was threatened to unravel into nothingness. He could only cling to his goal—the faint echo of his room—as the only anchor in the sea of madness.

Inside the Healing Spire at Silverwood, Elara and Lyraelle waited in agony. It had been nearly an hour since Nihil disappeared. For Lyraelle, it was the longest hour of her life. For Elara, it was 3,600 seconds where every predictive model on her tablet showed an increasingly rising possibility of failure.

"It's been too long," said Lyraelle, pacing like a caged lioness. "Something has gone wrong."

"We don't know how much time it will take," replied Elara, though her own voice was filled with doubt. "Traveling through spatial rifts is not bound by linear time. For him, it could be a second or a thousand years."

At that moment, the air in the center of the room began to vibrate. A tiny rift, no larger than a hair, appeared and then exploded open into an unstable portal.

From within it, Nihil's body was hurled out as if vomited by reality itself. He did not land. He collapsed, crashing into the silverwood floor with a terrible thud and lay still. The portal behind him collapsed with a hissing sound.

"Nihil!" Lyraelle screamed, immediately kneeling by his side.

He was in far worse condition than before. Black blood flowed from his nose, ears, and even the corners of his eyes. His body convulsed violently, and his pale skin appeared almost translucent.

Elara was already there, her scanner working frantically. "Oh God... he's completely empty. Zero Capacity. `Existential Feedback` from two consecutive jumps has damaged his conceptual nervous system. He's experiencing spatial seizures!"

[WARNING: DETECTED CATASTROPHIC INTERNAL DAMAGE. EXISTENTIAL CONNECTION UNSTABLE.]

[Absence Reconstruction (Rank A) activated. Initiating moderate-stage recovery.]

[Capacity: 0/50]

Black dust began to emerge from Nihil's pores, attempting to repair the damage, but the process was slow and halting, as if the machine itself had run out of fuel.

Lyraelle's thoughts: He did this... he did all of this... just to speak with his sister. What price must he pay for every step he takes?

She could do nothing but push her sweat-damp white hair away from her face, her hands trembling.

Several hours later, the convulsions finally subsided. Nihil lay unconscious, his breathing shallow. His strong regeneration slowly began to mend the most severe damages.

As dawn approached, he finally regained consciousness. He opened his eyes and saw Elara and Lyraelle sleeping in chairs near his bed, exhausted from their night of vigil. He tried to sit up, his body feeling as if it were made of lead.

[Capacity: 5/50]

He succeeded. He was back. But the cost was immense. He knew he would not be able to make such a jump again for a very long time.

He relayed the information he had obtained from Velka to Elara and Lyraelle the next morning. The news of Velka's failure and Valerius's betrayal cast an even darker mood over the room.

"So we are truly alone now," said Lyraelle, summing up their situation.

"Not entirely," said Nihil. "We have information. And we have the time I have bought."

He looked at Elara. "I need a full report on everything you know about The Silencer. Tactics, abilities, everything you've ever heard." Then he looked at Lyraelle. "And I want you to train me."

Lyraelle stared at him in confusion. "Train you? In what? I can't teach you how to use your powers."

"Not that," said Nihil. "I have relied too long on raw power and surprise tactics. The battle against Gideon proved it. I am weak in pure physical combat. I don't know how to use a sword. I don't know how to fight like a soldier. You are one of the best duelists in this world. Teach me your way of fighting. Teach me how to kill with steel, not just with concepts."

The request surprised both of them. An anomaly that could erase existence wanted to learn how to use a sword. It was the most unexpected yet logical step. He realized that in situations where his powers were suppressed, he was merely a scrawny teenager without combat training. He was addressing his weakness.

Lyraelle gazed into his serious red eyes, and for the first time, she smiled genuinely. "Very well, anomaly," she said. "If you're ready to experience hell, I will be your teacher."

Their alliance had entered a new phase. No longer was it merely about protection, but about growth. Within that silver cage, under the shadow of the impending war, Nihil's training was about to begin.

While Nihil began his slow recovery in Silverwood, the echoes of his actions spread across Solara Magna, reaching the ears of those seated at the pinnacle of power. Inside the Imperial Palace, in a private observatory room overlooking the entire city, Princess Selene Solaris gazed at the holographic star map filling the room. She was not observing constellations. She was observing the movements of political influence.

An elderly man in a simple scholar's robe stood beside her. He was Advisor Corbin, a historian and strategist who had served the Solaris family for three generations. He was the only person in the world whom Selene fully trusted.

"The report from the Silverwood border has arrived, Your Highness," said Corbin, his voice gentle. "As you suspected, the Inquisition's mission failed. Three of their elite units are dead. They have retreated."

Selene did not turn her head. "And my father's reaction?"

"Predictable," replied Corbin. "He is furious with Richter for acting without permission and nearly damaging his 'asset.' He has officially ordered the Inquisition to withdraw and has sent Lord Corvus to initiate surveillance operations. He sees the anomaly as a weapon that must be possessed."

"My father and Richter," said Selene with a subtle tone of disdain. "They are like two boys fighting over the same toy, unaware that the toy is actually a bomb that could explode and kill them both. They are both fools. They try to control or destroy something that should be studied."

She finally turned around, her intelligent eyes gleaming in the artificial starlight. "For months, I have studied every report about this 'Nihil.' Since his emergence at the academy. He does not act like a monster. He does not act like a god. He acts like a scientist trapped in an experiment he does not want. He is logical. He is predictable, if you understand his fundamental premise: survival above all else."

Selene's thoughts: He is not a weapon to be directed. He is a partner to be recruited. His conceptual power, combined with the political influence and resources of the Empire... we could end the Abyssal War. We could stabilize the world. We could create a new era ruled not by blind faith or brute force, but by logic and order. But for that... I must contact him first.

"It is time, Corbin," she said.

The old advisor nodded. "The network is ready, Your Highness. The 'Royal Scholars' Guild awaits your command."

"Activate them," ordered Selene. "I want you to send our best agent. Not a soldier. Not a killer. Send a diplomat. A scholar. Someone who can speak his language."

Corbin pondered for a moment. "Agent 'Librarian'?"

"Perfect," said Selene. "The mission is not to capture. Not to kill. The mission is to make contact. He must deliver my message directly to Nihil, and to Nihil alone. The message is simple: 'The Church wants you dead. My father wants you to be his weapon. I offer a third choice: partnership. I can provide you with the protection, resources, and knowledge you seek. In return, you will become my ally in shaping the future of the Empire.'"

This was an extremely bold and dangerous move. If the Emperor were to discover his own daughter operating behind his back, it would be considered treason.

"This is a very great gamble, Your Highness," said Corbin, though there was no doubt in his voice.

"The future is always a gamble, my advisor," replied Selene, once again gazing at the stars. "And I intend to be its winner."

In a hidden room within the largest library in Solara Magna, a middle-aged woman with reading glasses and an unremarkable appearance received an encrypted message. She read it, and her usually calm expression remained unchanged. She folded the message, burned it with a small alchemical flame, and then walked to a hidden section of the library. Behind a false bookshelf, there was a small room containing advanced communication equipment and various concealed weapons.

She exchanged her scholar's robe for practical leather travel clothing. She was the 'Librarian,' the most intelligent and deadly agent of Princess Selene. Her mission had begun.

The chessboard now had a new player. A player who did not wish to destroy the opponent's pieces, but to recruit the opponent's king for their own game. And no one saw her coming.