Null Void.
In a dimly lit place, torches flickered around a circular room. The walls appeared to be made entirely of red, shining marble tiles placed side by side.
At the far end of the room, a cylindrical, colorless tube connected the roof and the floor. The tube was completely filled with a red liquid that might very well have been blood.
In front of the tube stood a man of about 19 years old, with deep red hair and a crazed smile on his face. He gazed into the mirror he was holding.
The mirror, unlike normal ones, was completely black, yet one could still see their reflection in it.
"This is one of the first seven cosmic wonders, created at the beginning of our world. It is called the Mirror of Black and White."
A voice reached Evans's ears as he gazed at the charismatic mirror in his hands.
"I know. So this could help my family, right?" he asked, looking at the blood-filled tube with expectation.
"Yes, it can help you, but rember, the effect of this mirror is very drastic, so you can only use it once every decade."
Evans nodded lightly and stored the mirror in his space bracelet.
"I am very curious as to how you will use this mirror," the voice inquired.
Evans's face turned cruel and eerie upon hearing the voice from the blood-filled tube.
"I have sothing in mind that will align perfectly with the mirror's effect," he replied, laughing nacingly as the figure of a kid appeared in his mind. It was because of this kid that his life—and his family's life—had turned upside down.
And with the help of this mirror, he was going to do the sa to him.
"You have done well by providing with so many souls. Because of them, I have almost stabilized my scattered soul. But I need more; this isn't enough. I need more mana and more souls. I need you to continue supplying with mana and souls."
A frown appeared on Evans's face as he heard the voice.
"I can't continue to provide you with mana. My family is likely under the surveillance of the royal family right now, and without their help, I can't do it," he said, shaking his head in refusal.
"You don't have to worry about that. I am going to rge a part of my soul with you, and you just need to provide mana to that part. Also, I know you aren't just here for the mirror; you want to remove your curse, right?"
Evans nodded as he heard the voice. The main goal in coming here, risking his life and his family's, was to obtain those miraculous fruits and permanently remove his curse.
The mirror was rely sothing Evans had been gifted by the owner of the voice.
"Then you don't need to worry about that. By now, you should know that I can influence the minds of so of these clones of the originals responsible for activating curses. I can make them scatter as soon as they condense in this world for the activation of curses. That way, the mont a curse is activated, it would be over as soon as it began, since the clone here would be scattered by .
I will use this thod on you."
Evans's eyes brightened as he nodded vigorously. Although he desired the fruits to completely remove his curse, he was also satisfied with this solution. Besides, he harbored doubts about the authenticity of the fruits, which compelled the owner of the voice to resort to this thod.
"Alright, I am rging my soul with you. Touch the tube with both of your hands."
Evans followed the instruction and placed both hands on the tube.
A mont later, his whole body shone with an otherworldly brilliance before he felt an intense and excruciating pain. The strange thing was that he couldn't pinpoint where the pain was coming from. Fortunately, the pain didn't last long and subsided as quickly as it had co.
"Done?" he asked, taking a deep breath and calming himself down. He never wanted to experience that level of pain again in his life; it was torture to endure such intense agony without understanding its origin.
"Alright, it's done."
Evans nodded in relief.
"Can I leave now?" he asked.
"Check your right hand."
Curious about what the voice ant, he inspected his right hand and was surprised to find a dark red, pulsating circular tattoo etched on the back of his palm. The tattoo resembled a dragon.
"This tattoo is the point of connection between and your soul. When you have lots of mana crystals, just bring them near this tattoo and it will absorb them all. As for the souls, just kill as many as you can, and the tattoo will handle the rest."
Evans nodded, though he felt slightly repulsed by the notion of killing. This feeling ca very late for him, considering he had already extinguished billions of lives when he drained the essence from their planets' cores.
At least he hadn't killed anyone with his own hands, but now he would have to do so regularly.
"Alright, you can go now."
Evans nodded and vanished from the room.
"These humans, they are so easy to control," the voice mused. "I feel pity for them. Though I do wonder what choice he will make with that mirror."
***
In a magnificent palace, a man in his middle years sat upon a throne. His shoulder-length golden hair flowed down, and a purple crown adorned his head.
At that mont, the palace seed entirely empty except for one other individual standing beside him. This person also had golden hair, but unlike the first man, it was short and neatly grood.
"What are your thoughts?" asked the middle-aged man, his voice carrying undeniable authority.
"Father, that kid Orion lied to about the origin of his clone. Other than that, everything he said was true," replied the other individual, Kane Maximus.
The middle-aged man nodded thoughtfully for a mont.
"I imagine there will be thousands at the palace seeking justice for the deaths of their loved ones. Including the Grimwolf Family, it will surely cause chaos tomorrow."
"So, Father, what's your decision?" Kane asked.
The middle-aged man rubbed his forehead at the question.
"Making a decision here isn't easy. If I favor either side, the other will undoubtedly question my judgnt."
Kane frowned, his brows furrowing as he contemplated before sighing.
"Father, I believe Orion is the black sword."
The middle-aged man trembled as he heard those words.
"How certain are you?" he asked seriously.
"90% or maybe even 100%. Elyn is the White Sword—the embodint of luck, and the Black Sword represents soone with unparalleled combat prowess—the strongest of the younger generation. I believe that person is Orion," Kane asserted confidently.
"He's stronger than Astral?" The middle-aged man's expression darkened.
"By far. Astral may be in the Gold Rank, but Orion could defeat him easily when he is only in the Iron Rank. As for his Five Limits, I believe Orion could handle them once he upgrades himself to the Silver Rank," Kane explained, drawing his conclusions from what he had heard from Erick about the events in Null Void.
The middle-aged man sighed deeply and rested his head on the throne, as if suddenly overco with weariness.
"Let's hope that the legend of the dual Black and White Swords is just a myth," he murmured solemnly.
"Father, I'm telling you this in hopes that you won't make a foolish decision," Kane said earnestly.
"I understand," the middle-aged man nodded, realizing that tomorrow was going to be a busy day.
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