Void Spawn - A litrpg adventure fantasy

From the dust and shattered boulders, three figures slowly regrouped as they walked out of the fading smoke. They all wore masks with 2 eyes on their porcelain surface.

The masks did not possess differing designs. They were all bland, nor were their robes. The only thing that differentiated them were the varying heights and body proportions they had.

The one on the left was a woman with two curving blades similar to the letter U on both hands. While the man on the right possessed a large physique with a darker skin tone.

The man in the middle had a simpler appearance, was slim and had a longsword that, oddly enough, had one edge only. However, judging by his sharp aura, he was most likely the strongest amongst the group.

Silvana tightened her grip on her spear. "I'll take the midd—"

"No."

Silvana flinched as she shifted her gaze to Samael.

Samael's voice deepened to a near growl. "Mine."

Silvana nodded as she cast a glance at the woman. "Then the bitch is mine, then."

Ajax simply stared down his bulky counterparts. Samael was a grown man now; he was a saint. He needed to step out of his shadow and make his own.

It was about damn time.

Meanwhile, Nova, on the other hand, stared at the rising figure of the general. Observing his every move as the man unsheathed his longsword, revealing a serrated and cracked edge stained with blood.

"Eh, I've seen worse." Nova's figure accelerated rapidly as he appeared inches from the man, but instead of striking him down as he usually does, he instead sent a wave of energy that slowed the culprit to slow-mo.

Without mercy, Nova sent a plethora of kicks and punches, raining down hellfire as he pummelled him nonstop, his hand leaving afterimages.

As the time dilation ended, the effects of his attacks all struck the assailant at once as a thunderous explosion rang in the air, sending him flying straight at the foot of the mountain.

A massive shockwave swept through the city of Oros as a segment of the mountain collapsed in an avalanche with how much force struck it clean.

Expanding his senses, Nova could still sense a life force from the man, albeit faint.

On the other hand, Samael and the rest felt the shockwave blast behind him. But their focus remained sharp as a newly honed blade.

Tightening his grip on Void Raven, Samael's figure blitzed forward as he vanished before the enemy's eyes. Appearing inches from the middleman as he sent a downward slash.

Reacting fast, the leader of the three swung his blade up, meeting Void Raven head on as the man's arms trembled from the recoil of the clash, and his blade visibly cracked and dented.

The other two couldn't help but flinch as they sharply turned to Samael, their eyes unable to follow his sheer speed. Yet, before they could intervene, Ajax and Silvana crashed against them, creating a distance between every one of them.

The leader of the three opened his palms as a blinding light flashed in the surrounding area, hitting Samael square in the face. Using that gap, he swiftly slithered his way out as Samael's blade continued to travel down the ground, crushing it.

Shooting a counter, the man swung another time as his blade doubled in speed through light enhancement.

Yet it was still not enough.

At that moment, Samael's stats rose above and beyond with Hyperdrive. He wasn't just a saint.

He was nearly transcendent.

As the golden blade of the omen struck low, it flashed as the sound of metal striking stone thundered.

The Omen's eyes widened when a glint appeared in the periphery of his eyes along with a bone-clutching pain in his right arm.

Void Raven flew in an arc as it landed on Samael's hand, the effects of the weapons 'Sear' and 'Bleed' swiftly taking effect as the Omen released a guttural scream, flailing on the ground as blood began to pool beneath him.

Steadily walking towards the man, the Omen began to fire a plethora of light ranged projectiles, but Samael simply deflected them left and right without issues.

Looking at Samael's approaching figure, the man gritted his teeth as he clutched his chest, releasing a war cry that the other Omens heard, forcing them to back off.

Sensing the disturbance in the air, Samael halted his steps. He did not back away; no, he was tired of stepping down.

Before his eyes, the Omen's body began to rapidly deteriorate as his power grew stronger and stronger.

Impaling his weapon on the ground, the man looked at Samael with a crazed gaze. Yet, Samael simply did the same.

"Subzone: The sun!"

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Light swiftly converged within the area as blinding heat began to eat and tear through the landscape, swiftly melting the stones and boulders to hot magma as it charged towards Samael's location.

But Samael remained calm.

Putting his hands together as he did before, Void matter began to circulate in between the centre of his palms. Forming a smooth sphere as the world around him stilled.

Looking at the omen, Samael's lips parted as his hands clasped each other, bursting the sphere itself.

"Subzone..."

Everyone's gaze locked upon the still darkness around Samael, a sense of dread slowly clawing through their bones.

"Dying Light".

Scholars told how Taranius created the world with his first words.

"Let there be light."

But the Sovereign says otherwise.

Now, let there be darkness.

Before everyone's gaze, the world felt as though time stopped as a wave of black matter swept outwards with speed not even Nova could perceive.

All that were swept were ravaged by the black waves that devoured everything they touched.

The sun the omen made was extinguished without trace as millions of dark hands reached and clawed at it, dragging it to the turbulent depths.

The omen himself could not escape, as he tried to run only for a hand to grasp his leg, dragging him as his fingers left long lines on the stone floor, carving red as they bled but to no avail.

Soon, his screams were drowned with the eerie silence.

As Samael finally ended his subzone, his body slowly lowered down as his feet touched the soft earth beneath. The area around him was left with nothing but a smooth and perfectly circular crater.

Meanwhile, Ajax himself had just finished his fight as the bulky man kneeled before the saint, his body tattered with small and medium wounds.

Silvana's methods weren't much different, as a massive hole was blown through the woman's chest, causing blood to overflow beneath her.

Shifting their gaze towards Nova, the man stood before the kneeling body of the transcendent Omen, his entire body stained crimson with streaks of blood around him.

Parts of Nova's hair were already grey in colour, and the lustre of his skin had somewhat dulled, though most wouldn't even notice it.

Silvana went past the two as she hugged the man tightly, slapping his chest as Nova simply smiled and chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I had to," Nova muttered in her ear.

"I know," Silvana said as she melted in the man's arms.

Staring at the two, Samael slowly left Hyperdrive. He wonders, will he and Lilith have the same look in the future?

But akin to a dam, the pain simultaneously crashed against Samael's vessel as he felt his bones tremble and creak. Luckily, the rest of the enemies were swiftly handled by the reinforcements. It seems the situation at the Gula line was swiftly resolved after all.

Sitting down, a groan escaped Samael's lips. This was a clear sign. The ministry knew their plans.

This was a clear message.

A declaration of war.

"Now what?" Samael asked, his voice raspy.

Ajax walked behind the man as he crossed his arms. "I believe we'll be summoned by the high table soon."

Samael stared off at the horizon, watching the brewing clouds in the sky. Their estimations were wrong. It seems a year was already too much to spare.

The war had officially begun. Samael didn't know how the world would react to it. For all anyone knows, this attack did not have any connections to the church. These omens were ghosts, assassins with no real identities.

This war was going to happen in the shadows.

At least for now.

***

Two days after the battle, Nova, Samael and Ajax were indeed summoned by the High table as the shadow saint had predicted.

Oros had recovered swiftly. There were protocols for nearly any situation, and the people knew and obeyed them. If all the other sanctuaries had the tenacity of these people, maybe the situation wouldn't be as bad.

Due to this sudden call, they had to leave Oros early as they took the portal to another secluded location. Waiting there were the others: Ishkar, Olaf, Mendez, Icarius and Aphemis herself, along with a little demoness.

Samael's eyes softened as he looked at the woman, giving her a small nod.

Seeing the man, Lilith's face beamed as she gave Samael a wave.

Unfortunately, there were pressing matters to be addressed first.

"Are you alright, Nova?" Icarius asked as he lent a hand on the man's shoulder.

"I am," Nova said. "Just... tired is all."

Everyone's faces darkened as they looked at the grey hairs on Nova's head. Their worst fear had come.

The war was escalating.

"This is a clear declaration of war," Olaf said.

"No shit," Mendez spat, a sharp glint present in his eyes. "Who led the assault? A small fry couldn't have done this."

"Illial," Nova replied.

"That snake-like bastard," Olaf gritted his teeth.

"How did they know where Oros is?" Ishkar asked.

"Oros may be hidden, but it isn't hard to find," Aphemis replied. "With enough brilliant minds and men to check, finding it wasn't the issue but rather getting past its defences."

"Earthworms," Icarius muttered. "I didn't expect they could bring those shits here, especially considering their natural habitats."

"Well, now we know they control these things. They have connections to these fell flowers," Nova said. "What is our plan now?"

"We kill them," Ishkar chimed in.

"I agree with the brute; these bastards need to get shot down a tier or two," Mendez added.

"Calm down, you two," Icarius said. "For now, we need to devise a plan and try to predict their next plans."

"How can we even predict these bastards? The ministry can be unpredictable." Aphemis's brows furrowed.

"They may be, but they're flashy," Icarius pointed out. "They don't just attack; they always aim to send a message."

"What's on your mind?" Olaf asked.

"The next greatest event, that's their next plan," Icarius said.

"The Stellaris event?" Nova asked, his brows raised.

"If they attack at such a moment, they could use it as a disguise to further expand their influence," Icarius said.

Nova's forehead creased. "You think they'll frame it that it is their responsibility as followers of Taranius to find the culprit?"

"Exactly," Icarius nodded.

"It has to be deeper than that." Aphemis grabbed her chin. "Sure, they're flashy, but simply going through all that trouble just to expand their influence isn't enough. I've been fighting these people all my life; these bastards are cunning."

"You've said it yourself: if you were in their shoes, what would they do next?" Icarius asked.

Aphemis fell silent.

Samael could only listen. During the assault on Oros there were already three saints and a transcendent. To think they would send that much just to weaken Nova speaks volumes. They must have a stockpile of powerhouses they're hiding away.

After all, it is not the heroes that win wars but soldiers.

Wait... Soldiers?

"Wait..." Samael muttered, gathering everyone's attention.

"What is it, Samael?" Olaf asked.

"They're aiming for the kids." Samael's eyes widened.

"What?" Icarius asked.

"On the lab I used to be in, there was an excess of children used for a variety of purposes. Where do they get these kids from?" Samael asked.

"Starfall..." Nova muttered. "Son of a bitch, they plan to abduct the children to raise backup armies."

"Monsters," Ishkar spat.

"It makes sense; the children gathered during that event are the talented ones. All of these potential prodigies in one place – that's basically a treat waiting to be snatched," Aphemis connected the dots as her brows furrowed. "But something does bug me."

"What is it?" Icarius asked.

"Doesn't the Church of Light only accept children with light affinities?" Aphemis asked.