The Frontier felt wrong.
Too quiet.
Too still.
Too heavy.
Aren stood at the highest point of the ridge, Voidscar Bow in hand.
Behind him, the female operative checked her scanner again and again, frustration tightening her jaw.
"This can't be right… I'm getting no readings. Nothing. Zero."
The older operative exhaled shakily.
"That's exactly the problem. A Voideater doesn't show up on scanners. It shuts them down."
Aren frowned.
"…Shuts them down how?"
"By devouring the signal before it reaches the device."
Aren's stomach sank.
The Remnant had warned him:
Voideaters do not wait.
They come.
And something was coming now.
The fog didn't move normally.
It withdrew, like the world was inhaling.
Aren tightened his grip on the bow.
"Where is it…?"
The female operative whispered:
"…Wherever it is, it's already close."
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The Remnant stepped from the fog, its massive form heavier than usual. Its runes dimmed, not from damage — from caution.
Aren noticed immediately.
"You look… different."
The Remnant's gaze lowered.
"Voideaters are not prey.
They are not enemies.
They are… inevitability."
Aren swallowed.
"What does that mean?"
The Remnant turned toward the trembling valley.
"They come when void gathers.
Your training has made noise."
Aren froze.
"So this is my fault."
"No."
The Remnant lowered its head.
"This is your responsibility."
Before Aren could answer—
The ground trembled.
Not like a quake.
Not like a collapsing ridge.
This was rhythmic.
Hungry.
The female operative backed away instantly.
"No. No, no—this is too early. We need backup, we need—"
The older operative clamped a hand over her shoulder.
"It's too late. Get behind me."
Aren felt something brush the edge of his senses.
Not void.
Not mana.
A hollow feeling.
Like something was eating the world one bite at a time.
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A shadow appeared at the edge of the ridge.
No.
Not a shadow.
An absence.
A hole where light refused to exist.
Aren's spine froze.
"…That's it?"
The Remnant's voice deepened.
"That is one."
The creature moved forward silently.
Its body wasn't made of void.
It was made of hunger.
Long limbs.
Skin like pitch.
Maw stretching upward instead of outward.
No eyes — only smooth, curved hollows where void light bent inward.
With each step it took, the fog dissolved around its feet.
Not pushed aside.
Devoured.
Aren raised his bow slowly.
"Tell me how to fight it."
The Remnant answered:
"You cannot."
Aren blinked.
"…What?"
"You cannot kill a Voideater.
You can only outlast it.
Redirect it.
Survive it."
Aren tightened his stance.
"Then train me—quickly."
The Remnant turned toward him.
Its silver runes brightened to full power.
"Then lesson eight begins."
Aren steadied his breathing.
"What's lesson eight?"
The Remnant said two words that chilled him:
"Do nothing."
Aren almost dropped his bow.
"…What?!"
"Voideaters hunt motion.
Power.
Intention."
The Remnant looked straight at him.
"To survive…
you become nothing."
Aren swallowed hard.
"Are you telling me to just stand here?! That thing will eat me alive!"
"Yes."
The ground cracked as the Voideater stepped forward again.
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It stopped moving.
It turned its hollow face toward Aren.
The wind died.
The world froze.
The female operative whispered shakily:
"…It's looking at him."
The older operative hissed:
"Don't move. Not one inch."
Aren's pulse thundered in his ears.
The Voideater stood absolutely still.
Then—
SCREEEEEE—
Its maw tore open vertically, releasing a soundless scream that rattled Aren's bones.
Aren's instincts screamed back.
RUN. FIGHT. MOVE. ANYTHING.
But he didn't.
He forced his feet to remain anchored.
He forced his breath to remain slow.
He forced the Voidscar inside him to go quiet.
He became nothing.
No intention.
No aggression.
No power.
Just stillness.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Voideater stepped toward him.
One step.
Two steps.
It leaned forward, its maw inches from Aren's face.
A low vibration pulsed across his skin.
It was smelling his existence.
Aren's heart pounded so loudly he was certain the creature could hear it.
His hands trembled.
The void inside him twitched—
too strong—
too noticeable.
Aren clenched every muscle.
"Quiet," he whispered internally.
"QUIET."
The Voidscar flickered—
then stilled.
The Voideater twitched.
It turned its head slowly—
Then stepped past Aren.
The operatives nearly collapsed in relief.
Aren gasped silently.
The Remnant nodded solemnly.
"Good.
You became still."
Aren wiped sweat from his brow.
"That… was terrifying."
"Lesson nine will be worse."
Aren groaned quietly.
"Of course it will."
The Remnant turned toward the Voideater, which had begun drifting toward a distant ravine.
"Tomorrow, you will not hide from it."
Aren blinked.
"…Then what do I do?"
The Remnant answered:
"You will guide it."
The older operative choked.
"Guide it?! Like a pet?! That thing EATS REALITY!"
Aren stared at the Remnant in disbelief.
"Guide it… where?"
The Remnant's runes pulsed.
"Toward a target."
Aren felt a chill run down his spine.
"What target?"
The Remnant answered without emotion:
"A second Voideater."
Aren's mouth went dry.
Two Voideaters.
Two predators.
Two living void-consuming catastrophes.
He whispered:
"…You're making me herd monsters."
"Yes."
Aren looked down at his bow.
Then at the Voideater disappearing into the fog.
He exhaled shakily.
"…Fine."
The Remnant tilted its head.
"Fine?"
Aren nodded.
"I'll guide it."
Not because he wanted to.
Not because he understood how.
But because he had chosen this path.
And he wasn't turning back.