Chapter Nine: Scream of the void

  Tyren and the knights approached the White Tower.

  Tyren was happy, barely suppressing his smile.

  Finally... the escape from this hell was near.

  "At st, this stupid trial will be over."

  But he quickly scolded himself inwardly:

  "Stop this foolishness... You need to focus. The pn won’t succeed just because everything is ready."

  Everyone stopped at the edge of the final stretch.

  Tyren spoke in a warning tone:

  "Alright, from here on out, it's the dangerous zone, folks..."

  One of the soldiers muttered, thinking he was out of earshot:

  "Yeah, we know, you idiot..."

  Tyren wanted to sp him, but he held back, and only forced a stiff smile:

  "Of course, sir."

  "Good... Now, focus on my next words. Listen carefully..."

  He then uttered a strange, incomprehensible phrase:

  > "*&&?????!!!!-++##-++"

  Eiron coughed nervously:

  "What... what is that weird sound? Have you gone mad, my lord? I mean... no offense."

  Tyren replied with a cold smile:

  "It's a simple type of magic. It links communication between all of us... but it only works in the Void."

  Eiron asked, puzzled:

  "But why didn’t you use it earlier, when we were alone?"

  Tyren replied confidently:

  "Is that a real question? You're one of the strongest swordsmen in human history, trained by the Echo King himself. I had no need to connect with you mentally. As for the guards... well, they're not you."

  Eiron blinked several times, then smiled:

  > "Thank you, my lord."

  The guards, meanwhile, stared at Tyren with murderous eyes.

  ---

  After half an hour of walking, they reached the outskirts of an ancient creature’s hunting ground.

  Tyren, who had been suppressing his smile the whole way, was gathering something else—intentions, dark thoughts, pain, and anger—all condensed within him into a single point... a single tear.

  He allowed himself to listen to the whispers of the Void.

  Whispers he had always ignored—but now, they were useful.

  For the first time... he didn’t release his "Intent" into the space.

  He sent it directly into the whispers themselves.

  To the Void.

  Not the Sea of the Lost, nor the Bones, nor the Screaming Skeletons... but the Void itself.

  That overwhelming entity, beyond comprehension.

  Which... would now respond to the whispers of its favored son.

  "I know I'm not really the favored one... but the expression fits."

  When its child calls... the Void will answer.

  But what is about to be released... will not be Tyren's Intent.

  It will be the Intent of the great entity — the Void itself.

  ---

  Seconds ter, the world shook.

  A silent scream.

  A violent disruption.

  Laws began to colpse.

  Stones rose, then crashed down.

  Bones stirred.

  Skull teeth cttered madly.

  Time, space, and dimension... all twisted.

  The Void roared in fury.

  A muffled scream.

  The Void had answered its child's pain.

  Eiron's face turned pale, and he said quickly:

  "No time... Take the prince. I’ll slow them down. A Terror in the Embodied Nothingness phase is coming."

  And behind him, swarms of monsters appeared—Reflections, Corrupted Ones, Voids, things no human should ever see.

  Just looking at them was enough to kill.

  Even one of the Rulers would have to fight seriously here...

  And Eiron wasn’t even half as strong as a Ruler.

  Yet still, he would buy time.

  ---

  Tyren fled with the guards, while Eiron took off a neckce from around his neck — a small crystal, which he calmly crushed.

  It was a spiritual relic, storing enough energy to shatter his entire core... if not for his skill.

  An unimaginable Killing Intent erupted from him.

  Eiron rose, and with him rose six swords floating behind his back, emitting a glow that pierced the darkness of the Void.

  The dimension twisted, and a creature appeared...

  A strange being, flying, with a crown of shards above its head, cd in knightly armor with four arms.

  It was... Terror, the Embodied Nothingness.

  And it was here to destroy Eiron.

  A non-human voice echoed from the dimension itself:

  > "My little kitten... wants to py."

  Then the world twisted again.

  A terrifying csh.

  Not as powerful as the first scream... but it was the beginning of true hell.

  ---

  Your predictions?