Act V: The Law of Nothingness

Seeing the emptiness around him—seeing everything yet nothing—seeing just enough to prevent his mind from being crushed by the torrent of information granted by the domain.

Yet, despite the minuscule amount of information—so tiny a fragment of this void that it couldn't even be considered a single atom in the vastness of the universe—this fragment alone was akin to an infinite ocean of memories and knowledge, a magnitude no mortal could ever hope to obtain.

Even with this relatively small but overwhelmingly vast influx of knowledge, the only thing Nihil felt was admiration and awe—a profound fascination with the revelations unraveling before him. He marveled at every new piece of information, captivated by the possibilities of what he could do with such understanding.

Gazing into the white void, Nihil felt everything yet nothing. He understood everything yet nothing. Every tiny, yet simultaneously immense, revelation brought a smile to his face, urging for more knowledge. His expression alone conveyed his emotions—a pure, unyielding thirst for the infinite understanding granted by the domain. But it wasn't just his smile. His crimson eyes, locked onto the vast void, radiated an intensity as though they could never tear themselves away. His gaze reflected an emotional tempest so immense that even he could no longer feel its weight. His insatiable desire for knowledge became a tangible force as the domain continued to supply him with its endless gifts.

With every second and every fragment of insight, he craved more. And so, without realizing it, Nihil began to expand the domain.

At first, it was subtle: a slight increase in diameter from its original 10 centimeters.

15 centimeters. The flow of information nearly doubled, yet his smile persisted.

25 centimeters. The domain grew slowly, and with it, his awe and obsession over the knowledge it unveiled expanded as well.

40 centimeters. His mind began to strain, overburdened by the sheer quantity of information, yet he pressed onward.

50 centimeters. This was the size of the domain when it was first unleashed. Even so, Nihil showed no signs of stopping.

Second by second, piece by piece, Nihil expanded the domain, centimeter by centimeter.

1 meter. The domain had reached this size, and only now did the strain begin to manifest on his face. Beads of sweat formed, trickling down his forehead as his body struggled to process the overwhelming cascade of information.

Yet the thirst for more knowledge burned brighter than ever in his crimson eyes.

2 meters. Finally, Nihil ceased the expansion. The domain had stabilized at this size, allowing him to remain immersed in the whirlwind of information emanating from the void. Within this flood of insight, he sought to understand the emptiness, a nothingness that defied comprehension. But the knowledge he had accumulated was not insignificant—it was monumental.

Only now, after reaching this size, did Nihil begin to organize the pieces of information—both those he already possessed and those that continued to pour in like an unrelenting tide.

He closed his eyes, no longer needing them to see the void. Sitting amidst the endless expanse he longed to understand, he sat cross-legged and began sorting each fragment of knowledge like puzzle pieces, striving to assemble a complete picture.

And so, he began his cultivation—not an ordinary cultivation, but the cultivation of understanding the nothingness itself. A task that could take countless years.

............

One year later. Nihil was still piecing together the fragments, slowly beginning to understand them. The knowledge he had grasped so far did not even amount to 0.0000001%.

Yes, not even that much. The magnitude of what he sought to comprehend was not merely vast—it was boundless. And yet, Nihil persisted, consuming new information from the void.

The knowledge he had amassed was but a drop of water in an infinite ocean compared to what remained beyond his reach.

................

Five years later. Nihil continued to cultivate his understanding of the void, an expanse that seemed infinite—and indeed, it was.

Though his comprehension had grown impressively, reflecting his tireless efforts, it still only amounted to 0.000009%.

...................

Twenty years passed. Time itself seemed to blur in the vast emptiness. Nihil's cultivation did not falter; in fact, his pace quickened.

The domain around him, however, had disappeared nine years earlier, marking a turning point. His comprehension advanced at a staggering rate since its vanishing.

His understanding of the void reached 0.0004%. Though still minuscule, it continued to grow steadily, and with it, Nihil's strength and aura seemed to expand.

Even with such a small fraction of comprehension, the sheer depth of what he understood transformed him. He seemed increasingly one with the emptiness surrounding him.

..................

Fifty years passed. A span that would encompass an entire mortal lifetime. Nihil appeared as though in a dreamlike state, yet his relentless pursuit continued.

His comprehension had grown to 0.007%, yet he remained absorbed in the process, undistracted and unwavering.

.....................

Five hundred years passed—a span of time long enough for kingdoms to rise and fall, for entire civilizations to flourish and crumble into dust. Yet for Nihil, this vast expanse of time felt like nothing more than a fleeting instant. His grasp on the essence of the expanse deepened, his understanding accelerating with each passing moment. He had now comprehended 0.9%—a fraction that stood as both monumental in its scope and utterly insignificant in the face of infinity.

.........................

One thousand years later. Nihil's understanding slowed as he reached a barrier—the elusive 1%. One percent of the nothingness vast knowledge that had entered his mind.

Subconsciously aware of the stalemate, he began to stir, gradually emerging from his deep meditation.

...........................

After more than 3,500 years, Nihil opened his crimson eyes. Eyes that now appeared deeper, like scarlet abysses from which even gods could not escape.

But those eyes, while intense, did not gaze upon anyone or anything but the nothingness itself.

His piercing gaze into the endless white expanse was accompanied by a faint, knowing smile. Slowly, he spoke for the first time in millennia:

"Understanding... allows us to see more... to see how small we truly are."

His voice carried an almost reverent tone. Yet no sooner had he uttered these words than his focus shifted inward—to his understanding of the white expanse itself, of something that exists and yet does not.

Organizing every fragment, every thread of knowledge and every revelation into a coherent whole, Nihil reached a profound conclusion—a fundamental truth:

What he had understood was nothing compared to what remained to be learned.

Yet, even with this awareness, he refused to yield. His determination to assemble the infinite puzzle burned brighter than ever.

Closing his eyes once more, he whispered to himself, "What I have understood... both is and is not the nothingness."

Still seated in the endless expanse, he leaned back on his hands, crimson eyes half-lidded in contemplation.

He spoke once more, "The clearest thing I can grasp from all this... is that the void exists, and yet it does not. It appears to rest upon something, just as something rests upon it."

As if attempting to probe deeper, Nihil opened his abyssal eyes. He extended his hand, allowing the domain to manifest once more—this time a mere 50 centimeters in size. Not due to a lack of power, but because now he sought to observe the white domain rather than understand it.

Peering into it, Nihil noticed something he had overlooked before. Something that existed yet did not—just like the nothingness itself.

And so, he uttered a single word:

"Law."

.......................

Law. A concept that exists because of nothingness, and yet nothingness exists because of it. A foundation for the white endless expanse, and simultaneously its creation.

This was the Law of Nothingness.

 Yet the energy was merely a product of their existence, a result of their paradoxical bond. It neither created nothingness nor the law that governed it; it was simply a reflection of their interaction.

The two concepts—law and white expanse—remained inseparable, locked in a paradox where one perpetually gave rise to the other. Energy, born of their unity, was a byproduct, 

Nothingness, without beginning or end, existed in every moment, in every space, its presence eternal and boundless, forever upheld by the law that both defined and was defined by it.

.....................

"The Law... of Nothingness," Nihil murmured, observing it yet barely comprehending. He realized that until he grew stronger, understanding this law would remain out of reach.

Raising one hand while supporting himself with the other, he opened his eyes, letting the domain dissolve back into his body. Determined, he declared, "I must cultivate further."

With resolve burning in his gaze, he clenched his fist and turned his focus back to his core cultivation.

Before resuming, his attention shifted to the icosahedrons floating in the white space. These geometric forms, absorbing energy from their surroundings, maintained their structure in perfect stillness.

Nihil gazed at them and set them into motion once more, orbiting him in a rhythmic dance. Then, with a deep breath, he closed his eyes and returned to cultivation.