Chapter 23) Torments of the Void II.

{Enough with the self pity! Come with me, young Mystic. I have something really interesting to show you. Let's see how worse you'll feel after that.}

Xavier hated the way the voice sounded excited about making him hurt. This was nothing new to him. The bullies, the mockers, the haters...all of them had enjoyed seeing him in pain.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Xavier screamed into the darkness. He was both frustrated and scared. There was something authoritative about the voice, and whoever it belonged to obviously held all the power. Mystic or not, Xavier was no match for such a person.

The voice chuckled, but didn't reply. Rather the scene around Xavier changed. Like a big black curtain sliding, the darkness vanished to reveal the Twinkle Frost galaxy of stars and planets. Xavier had seen pictures of space on Weta before. He had even researched about it for a science project last month. But all those pictures he had browsed through paled in comparison to what he was seeing now. This was the real deal.

It felt as if he was floating in actual space. Stars twinkled all around him. Meteors and comets streaked across his vision to disappear farther out. Asteroids and other space bodies he couldn't name appeared in every direction. Then there was the twin planets, Lapis and Lazuli at the centre of it all. Where lapis was a dark blue and empty of anything, Lazuli shone green with life and blue with water. Lazuli actually glowed with mana sparks flowing through the rivers, blossoming in the trees and lands. It was a glamorous planet no doubt.

Between them was the cluster of rainbow stars that formed the sun, bright and beautiful. Up close, the different colors of the rainbow actually existed in their own glory, from yellow to red, and from green to blue. The pictures never showed the tiny stars that formed helix curves around the sun.

The two moons, Venza and Camri, slowly revolved around Lazuli. The black one, Nissan, was larger than the two combined. Xavier had never seen it in any of the pictures since it was extremely rare for the black moon to emerge. Right now, the moon looked so dark and ominous looming over the other space bodies like an evil lord. That was a bad omen.

{Beautiful. Just take a look at how beautiful the universe is. Mind you, this is just one of the millions that exist. The other Celestials think they are powerful just because they have this universe to give them power. But you know what? I am the most powerful of them all because I can exist everywhere. Have you managed to guess who I am?}

Xavier wasn't in the mood to play whatever game the being was enjoying. The sight of the black moon brought back thoughts of his mother and the suffering Selena was making her go through. Was it already too late to save her? How was he going to get himself out of here?

{You will speak when you're spoken to, Young mystic. I don't take silence as an answer. It's easy enough for me to force the words through your lips, but that will be a painful experience for you. Do you want to feel my wrath?}

Xavier shuddered. "No."

{Then answer the question. Do you know who or what I am?}

"No."

{Give yourself a moment to think about it. If you can come up with a good enough answer, then we will be making progress.}

Xavier looked around his consciousness. The galaxy was awesome, but surrounding it was a dense darkness much like the void. There was nothing in it. No star or asteroids.

A thought occured to him immediately. For every light, there was always darkness waiting in the distance. For every something, there was a nothing. If the void was the darkness and nothingness, that meant it could exist in every possible light and universe.

"You are...you are the void?"

{Is that a question or a statement? Your words must carry power for them to have effect. I would not tolerate any form of weakness from you.}

Xavier gulped, the dread in his stomach intensifying.

"You are Void." He repeated clearly.

{Yes, Xavier Xerxes. I am the all powerful and mighty Void. The Celestials fool themselves in thinking I am not an immortal like them. They don't know what I'm capable of. Their pride and arrogance makes them ignorant to the fact that I could destroy them if I wanted to.} A brief pause here. {That's the thing. I want to destroy them...I want to make them pay for ever casting me out. That is where you come in.}

"Me? What use am I to you? Like you said, I'm weak and feeble."

{You are weak because you want to be weak, while I'm powerful because I want to be powerful. You don't get to have what you don't want. What you don't need will be of no use to you. You may not be strong now, but trust me when I say you will need to be strong. Only then will you break out of this sorry state you are in. You will need to overcome that pitiful mind of yours to save your mother. You cannot be a Mystic like this. I never fostered you to be a failure. You are my champion, the weapon I will use to destroy the Celestials of Twinkle Frost.}

Xavier didn't know what to say to that. His tutors in Homeschool had taught him that the five Celestials were once mystics who levelled up to immortality by performing acts of heroism and bravery on the planet. They had built the Celestial Academy to train novice Mystics and created the Celestial system to assist them in vanquishing dungeons.

As history told it, without the Celestials the universe would go into chaos. Dungeons would take over the world, beasts would go rampant causing havoc and darkness would prevail. Void was that darkness, and wanted all the power to cause destruction. Xavier didn't want to be part of something like that.

{Kill that thought of rebellion, Xavier Xerxes. Who said you have any say on the matter? I fostered you. I placed your soul into the Shimmering Pool. I own you and I control you. You don't get to choose which side to fight on. Didn't you hear me? You are my champion.}

"I do not serve you." Xavier said firmly, surprising even himself. Where was the confidence coming from? He had nothing to lose anymore. He was in the void already, and if Void wanted him dead, then so be it.

{What did you say?}

"I do not serve you. You do not control me. I don't have the strength to answer you anymore. Whatever you want to do go me, I accept."

There was a brief pause, a sinister pause that made Xavier regret his words. He had made the being angry. Void would wipe him out with just a single thought. He deserved it for his arrogance.

He waited for the killing strike to come, but was disappointed. Rather, Void's voice echoed through his mind again.

{Now that's the spirit. I see the potential for great things in you. You just have to find that boldness, that anger, that craziness. You are mine, Xavier. For now I will let you grow in power. This is the first step to your glory right here. You stood up to me despite how overwhelmingly powerful I am to you. Power is relative, you know. When I need you, I will call you and you will come. You have no choice. I will free you from the void now. You are the reason why I whispered the secrets of the Domination Ritual to Selena Monte-Carlos.}

Xavier's eyes went wide in shock. "You planned all this?"

{Don't act surprised. There's nothing I can't do. I would have visited you directly, but you are not strong enough to maintain a connection between us. Selena gathered enough mana into her core and knew the right spells to cast to gain my attention. I saw my opportunity to reach you and took it. Selena is powerful, but foolish in her wisdom. She thought the Domination Ritual was for her}

Despite what Void was revealing, Xavier found a tiny ray of hope. "Now that you have gotten what you wanted, does that mean my mother is safe?"

{Listen to me carefully, young mystic. I brought you here to plant a seed in you. Once you leave here, you will forget everything you have experienced in the void, but that resolve in your heart will remain. I have completed my wish. It is time for you to finish yours, my Champion. Saving your mother is the next huddle you have to overcome on your rise to power. If you fail...if you fail...I don't want to make any promises but you will suffer the consequences. Bye for now, Xavier Xerxes.}

"Wait!"

But the scene around him was already changing back into the darkness. The galaxy soon vanished entirely.

"Void! Void!" Xavier called but got no reply.

Something sparked to life in front of him. It started as a small circle of light before expanding to a size big enough for a person to go through.

[The portal leads back into the Research Lab of the hospital.]

Warmth flooded Xavier's chest at the sound of the system in his mind.

"Welcome back, System."

Feeling refreshed, he approached the portal but didn't go through it at once. He leaned close to it, and looked through the transparent surface.