The fog felt different today.
Heavier.
Colder.
Alive.
Aren stood at the edge of the ridge, the Voidscar Bow resting in his hand. Every instinct screamed for him to step back.
But he didn't.
Because today's lesson was clear:
Face a creature made entirely of void.
Face something born from the same power he struggled to control.
Behind him, the two operatives waited tensely.
The older one muttered,
"This is a death wish. Pure and simple."
The female operative whispered back,
"He survived the Remnant and the Echo. He can do this."
The older operative scoffed.
"That was training. This is a Voidborn."
Aren focused on his breathing.
Slow.
Grounded.
Aware.
He wasn't going to face the void as an enemy.
Not anymore.
He would face it as someone determined to understand it.
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The fog parted.
The Remnant appeared with thundering steps, each limb anchoring into the stone with calm heaviness.
Its voice carried no urgency—just certainty.
"Voidscar bearer."
Aren nodded.
"I'm ready."
The Remnant studied him for a moment.
"Courage is useful.
But it is not protection."
Aren exhaled carefully.
"I'm not relying on courage."
"Then what do you rely on?"
Aren looked down at the Voidscar Bow in his hand.
"…Myself."
The Remnant bowed its head once.
Approval.
"Then witness your opponent."
Fog swirled into a vortex.
Stone cracked.
Wind reversed direction.
Temperature dropped sharply.
A sound rose from the center of the spiral—
not a roar,
not a growl,
but a vibration that twisted the air itself.
Aren felt his knees weaken.
"…What is that?"
"Voidborn."
The fog peeled away.
And the creature emerged.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
It was wrong.
Not monstrous.
Wrong.
Its body was a shifting mass of void energy, shaped loosely like a wolf with elongated limbs.
Every few seconds, its form flickered—
parts dissolving into mist,
then reforming in jagged streaks.
Its eyes were not eyes.
They were holes in reality.
Aren felt his chest tighten.
"Oh no…"
The female operative stepped back.
"That… isn't bound by physics."
The older operative hissed:
"It shouldn't EXIST."
The Remnant spoke calmly:
"It does not belong to this world.
Your task is to keep it here."
Aren blinked.
"KEEP it here?!"
"Yes."
"If Voidborn returns to the rift, it destabilizes the region.
It must be forced to remain…
through combat."
Aren swallowed.
"Through combat," he repeated quietly.
Great.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Voidborn tilted its flickering head.
It opened its jaws—
and a distorted hum burst forth like a distortion wave.
Aren raised the bow.
The Remnant stepped aside.
"Lesson seven."
Aren tightened his grip.
"What is it?"
The Remnant answered:
"Do not kill it."
Aren's stomach dropped.
"…What?"
"If you kill a Voidborn…
it explodes."
The female operative cursed under her breath.
"Great. Perfect. Wonderful."
Aren steadied his stance.
"Then what do I do?"
"Survive it."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Voidborn moved.
No—
It appeared.
One instant it was ten meters away—
The next—
It was in front of him.
Aren reacted instantly—
Voidscar Bow up—
Spatial Rip forming—
But the creature didn't strike.
It phased through him.
Aren gasped as his vision fractured—
like he had momentarily fallen out of reality—
His body hit the ground hard.
The Voidborn reformed behind him, jaws yawning like a void tunnel.
The Remnant spoke:
"It is not attacking your body."
Aren staggered up.
"What—what is it attacking?!"
"Your presence."
Aren's blood ran cold.
"My… presence?"
"Voidborn devours existence.
Not flesh."
The creature lunged again.
Aren felt his limbs go numb—
his vision grey—
like he was fading.
He slashed his hand—
Spatial Rip!!
Violet distortion erupted sideways—
the creature recoiled, shape distorting.
Aren gasped.
It had WORKED.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Remnant stepped forward.
"Voidborn reacts to void."
"Then I can fight it," Aren said.
"Barely."
The Voidborn reformed.
Its eyes flickered with holes.
It whispered through a trembling frequency:
"S̵̩͋̈́c̷̛͔̎ă̷̰r̴͔̿̈́r̵̳̾̽r̶̭̅̋r̷͚͐…"
Aren's head throbbed.
It was calling to the Voidscar inside him.
Aren steadied himself.
"It's reacting to me."
"Yes."
Aren drew the bow.
The void responded—
willingly—
shaping a clean, stable arrow.
He exhaled.
Then fired.
THRUM—!!
The arrow struck the Voidborn's chest—
not piercing,
but anchoring it.
The creature convulsed violently, unable to phase out.
Aren blinked.
"That worked?"
The Remnant nodded.
"You tethered it."
The restraints shook violently.
Aren gritted his teeth.
"How long does it hold?"
"Depends."
"On what?"
The Remnant answered:
"On you."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Voidborn tore free.
Aren braced.
He fired again—
two arrows this time.
Voidscar Multi-Intent Shot!
One arrow curved left—
one right—
both struck the Voidborn simultaneously.
The creature convulsed—
recoiling—
held in place by pure void pressure.
Aren drew a third arrow.
His vision shook.
His muscles trembled.
Too much strain.
But he didn't stop.
He fired again.
THRUM—!!
This one hit the ground directly beneath the Voidborn, forming a violet anchor circle.
The creature froze mid-phase.
The fog around it warped.
The Remnant finally spoke:
"Enough."
Aren lowered the bow, panting.
He had anchored a Voidborn—
and survived.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Remnant approached slowly.
"You have done well."
Aren wiped sweat from his brow.
"That was… the hardest fight yet."
"Good."
Aren forced himself to stand straight.
"So what now? More Voidborn?"
The Remnant shook its head—slowly.
"No.
Now you learn what hunts the Voidborn."
Aren blinked.
"…Something hunts THESE?"
The Remnant's runes brightened.
The fog darkened.
A distant rumble shook the ridge.
"Yes."
"They come when a Voidborn appears."
Aren swallowed.
"What are they?"
The Remnant answered:
"Hunters of the void."
"Creatures that devour instability."
"Even mine."
A faint tremor echoed through the valley.
The operatives stepped back.
Aren tightened his grip on the bow.
The Remnant finished:
"Tomorrow, Aren Vale…
you face a Voideater."
Aren didn't breathe for several seconds.
A Voideater.
Not a creature of the void.
Not a reflection of the void.
Something that consumes the void itself.
He closed his eyes.
And whispered:
"I'll come prepared."