From the safety of the dinsional room, Reena and Amber watched the battle unfold.
Amber stood near the wall, daggers in hand, ever vigilant. Her sharp eyes flicked between the surrounding void and the chaos outside, ready to respond to anything that ca too close. Reena, however, had long since given up trying to follow Solwyn’s movents and now paced restlessly back and forth, muttering to herself in growing frustration.
"I don’t get it. How is he able to move around like that? Is there so kind of trick to navigating the void?"
Amber gave no answer. Her attention remained fixed outside, where Solwyn had just eviscerated another half dozen creatures with a single blazing tornado that twisted and tore through the void.
Reena had to admit, it was impressive to see a battle of such a scale. Terrifying, but impressive. Still, her awe was short lived as her eyes returned to the ever present tir from the system in the corner of her vision.
[3:57]
She rubbed her temples furiously, her anxiety growing.
"We have less than four minutes left! Can we even make it back in ti?!"
Her voice echoed faintly through the void, reaching Solwyn’s ears just as he cleaved a voidling in two. He laughed.
"Do you think I haven’t taken that into consideration? Four minutes? I could take us back in seconds with the skills I’ve just gained."
He now fully understood how to move through the void. And with that understanding ca the realization that their ho dinsion wasn’t "far." Not really. The void didn’t operate on space the way the real world did. With no concept of distance, reaching their destination was a matter of intent, not movent.
But that didn’t an he was ready to go just yet.
"I’m not giving up this golden opportunity to strengthen myself with these voidlings. Three minutes should be more than enough for to max out all of these new skills. That leaves us with a whole minute to spare. So unless you can move through the void like , be grateful I’m magnanimous enough to take you back with . Now, wait patiently for to be done here."
Solwyn let out a final chuckle before flickering away, reappearing next to another group of voidlings. He extended his claws, releasing a burst of lightning in all directions. The crackling energy disintegrated the creatures in an instant. Then, with no pause, he siphoned their abilities and moved on to the next group.
Reena frowned as she watched him blink across the void.
"Is he seriously going to run the tir all the way down to the last minute?"
She lowered her voice, hoping he wouldn’t hear her. She didn’t want to anger him, not while they were still stranded in the void and completely dependent on him for escape. Still, concern gnawed at her.
She turned to Amber. "Am I crazy, or is this just reckless? What if sothing stops us from getting back? Either here in the void, or at the dinsional barrier? We’ll have seconds to figure out a solution..."
Amber nodded silently, agreeing with her. "Sin of Pride. Clouds judgnt."
Reena tilted her head. "You said that before and so did he. What does that even an? Is that not normal behavior for him?"
Amber shook her head. "Dragon bloodline. Side effect."
"...Can’t you explain more than that?"
Amber remained silent. She believed she had already explained enough. There was no need to elaborate further.
Reena sighed. ’Am I the only normal one here? Or maybe it’s that all humans are this weird?’ Only now was she realizing she might actually be the most sane person present.
Since Amber wasn’t offering much in the way of conversation, Reena turned her attention back outside. "Well, on the bright side, at least they haven’t tried to attack us directly. That’s sothing."
She narrowed her eyes at the voidlings. ’Maybe it’s because they see him as the biggest threat...?’
Thud.
A sharp, sudden impact snapped her out of her thoughts. Both she and Amber turned toward the sound.
A voidling had slamd face first into the barrier surrounding their dinsional room. It resembled a panther, though its body writhed with shadows, and a mane of twitching, tendril-like hair trailed behind it. The creature tapped at the wall, confused, almost curious.
Once her initial shock passed, Reena squinted, studying its behavior. "It... can’t see us? That would explain why none have attacked us yet."
Amber spared her a glance, then looked back at the voidling, keeping her thoughts to herself as she wasn’t sure what to make of it either.
Reena slowly moved closer, cautious but curious, as she took a better look at the voidling. "It can touch the barrier... but it can’t perceive what’s inside. That must be why there are no records of these things. If they’re blind to the dinsional walls, and considering how space in the void works—or doesn’t work—then the odds of one randomly running into one..."
She looked back at Amber. "The odds must be infinitesimal. This room is like a single grain of sand hidden deep in an ocean."
Amber didn’t reply, but her grip on her daggers tightened ready for anything.
The voidling let out a warped, garbled screech, then began to claw at the invisible wall, trying to force its way through.
Reena took a step back and shielded herself with her arms only to see the voidling’s claws bounce off the wall.
Faint ripples spread across the outer surface of the dinsional wall with each strike.
"We should be fine... Dinsional barriers are resistant to void energy. That should apply to these creatures too... I think." she said, as if attempting to reassure Amber, but in truth, it was more for herself.
The voidling snarled and dragged its tendrils across the room’s surface. After a few more monts of fruitless scratching, it gave up and began crawling across the barrier, prowling over the cube like a confused predator.
Reena sighed in relief and turned to Amber. "See? It gave up."
"Screee!"
Reena froze. That sound wasn’t distant like the others.
It was right behind them.
Both won turned sharply to the wall behind them to see the voidling pass through it.
The sa wall Reena had modified earlier to allow Solwyn to exit the room.
"No..." Reena whispered, her voice trembling. "No no no no—"
The creature stepped into the room fully. Its eight eyes locked onto them as it snarled, its expression full of malice.
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