Targassia [1]

Void frowned. No one seemed surprised by the suggestion, so he assumed this was something that had already been planned.

Various thoughts crossed his mind, but one worried him the most. What if they tried to leave for Earth without him?

'No... That's impossible. They must fight the primordial beast first...' he thought, trying to deny the thought. 'But what if the primordial beast doesn't exist?' Confusion was filling his mind.

"Void?" the leader asked worriedly. "If you're not feeling well, there's no need to do it. I've suggested it since Blake told me you wanted to work alone." he explained, trying to lighten the moment.

Void let out a sigh. 'Yes, I'm overthinking it.' He stood up. 'I'll do it,' he said with shaky resolve.

"Okay..." the leader muttered, worried. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again: "Behind the palace gates, you'll find a carriage. It will take you to the Targassian Empire."

Without responding, Void walked toward the exit. However, the door opened. It was two imperial knights who had surely been away from the commotion.

But it was strange; upon entering, they appeared calm and obedient, even with all the knights' bodies scattered throughout the room. From their actions, they didn't seem to have been brainwashed, so there was only one option left: the illusion of that young woman, Genesis.

Void glanced at her. This ability was quite dangerous if used improperly.

Besides, with Kaiser acting as emperor, it was impossible for them to have any doubts about them. They had managed to take control of everything with practically no effort.

"My lord." said the knight, lowering his head. "As your guest has ordered, we have sent a formal letter to the Targassian Empire to have a discussion at the round table." he explained.

Kaiser cleared his throat. "Well done, my dear knights. You may take a break." he said excitedly.

The faces of both knights lit up upon hearing those words from their "emperor."

"I never thought our cold-blooded emperor would thank us." one of the knights said excitedly.

"Yes..." his companion replied, stepping to the side to let Void pass. "Has he gone through the gate?" he muttered in confusion at seeing that he had passed easily. After all, to them, Void was an obese merchant.

Void stopped in his tracks and looked at them with annoyance. "I'm like this because I have something to eat, okay?" he said angrily. "Idiots." he added before continuing on his way.

The knights' tears streamed down their faces. "Was it necessary for you to remind us?" they stammered in a broken voice.

...

After leaving the palace, Void was greeted by a luxurious red and gold carriage. It had four horses and two imperial knights seemed to be accompanying it.

"Please come in." the butler offered with his head bowed. Void calmly entered the carriage.

After sitting down, he began to look around. The interior seemed to be made of velvet and was decorated with hand-woven floral patterns. The seat was made of oak and had a fluffy mattress.

The carriage started moving.

"I wish I could enjoy this in a more clean way..." he thought, letting out a sigh.

After thinking for a moment, Void remembered Kaiser's words while he was pretending to be asleep. 'Are you really doing this to return to Earth, or for some other reason?' He wondered, thinking about Kaiser's sobbing.

Void had always thought of Kaiser as immature, someone who had never suffered from having everything in life. In short conversations, Void learned that Kaiser was born with a golden spoon.

After the arrival of the gates to Earth, several countries returned to establish an emperor, among them Germany. Of which Kaiser was the crown prince. It was also discovered that he was intellectually gifted at the age of five. He was also the CEO of multiple companies and many other things.

With that information, it was enough to think of him as someone who doesn't know the true face of the world. However, why was he so sad? Is it because he's afraid?

'I don't think so... He wouldn't have passed the first gate if that were the case.'

The Abyss Call was the first gate to arrive on Earth, and the test was as simple as facing your greatest fears. If Kaiser had been mentally weak, he would have gone mad.

Void let out a long sigh. 'I don't really care...' he thought, trying to relax.

'Although there was that, too.' he thought, remembering Kaiser's question.

Void had no idea that runic abilities took their toll on his mental health. This came as a surprise to him, as he immediately knew that this was the reason for his low physical energy during the battle.

'Shit... This is supposed to be my novel...' he thought, annoyed.

Void stared up at the velvet ceiling. "Will Arthur be okay?" he whispered worriedly.

Jiho and Void worked very hard to provide Arthur with a better life than their own. Virtually all of the convenience store's earnings were redirected to the high-level university.

Clearly, this was kept a secret. Because of that, now that Jiho and Void weren't with him, how would he be able to afford college? And not only that, how would he be able to survive without money?

An 18-year-old didn't have enough life experience to be able to survive from scratch. Especially a young man like Arthur, who is affectionate and avoids violence.

"I must return as soon as possible..." Void murmured. After a few seconds under the velvet roof, he peeked his head out the window.

He watched as they walked at a slow pace. "Hey." he caught the attention of one of the Imperial Knights. "How much longer?"

"We should arrive by dawn..."

'That's too slow...' he thought, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "There are four horses, right? Well, run!" he ordered angrily.

"But sir... They'll get tired, and besides, it's nighttime, and we can't see well." the knight explained with concern.

"The sooner we arrive, the sooner you'll rest. Run." Void ordered again, this time with a more marked anger on his face.

After that last command, the carriage began to accelerate at high speed.

'Now that I think about it, they're using horses, and they're just like the ones on Earth.' he thought curiously, putting his hand to his chin.

In this world, nightmares were greatly feared, among many reasons being that they can also fly or swim. This made Void think that animals didn't exist here.

'It's also true that the nightmares didn't hover over the fortresses... Could it be that they're too weak?' he wondered. Void began to think of this place as a game. They were now in the weakest place, and later they would go to other parts of the continent with more powerful enemies.

'But I don't want that... I just want to go back.' he thought, putting his hand to his face and glinting with exhaustion.

Thoughtfully, Void happened to recall the final stretch of the battle against the high-ranking imperial knight. 'What was that line?' he wondered. He gulped. "Yesterday was a very strange day..."

The reason for his confusion was that, aside from the golden thread that appeared around the knight's neck, Kaiser had displayed a new ability. This was unthinkable for Void, who, when creating the novel, only created two types of abilities: unique and dual.

'How the hell did he use two abilities if he has one unique ability?'

This made Void delve deeper into his thoughts. What if there were more types of abilities he didn't even know about?

"I would have written a romance novel if I had known it was going to come true..." he stammered ironically at the situation he was in.

Even despite all his negative thoughts, Void was secretly enjoying this. In fact, if it weren't for the responsibility he had, he would want to stay here. Who wouldn't want to live in the world of their own novel?

However, as much as he was enjoying this new world and everything it contained, he had to return to Earth. There are times when, no matter how much you don't like something, you must do it.

And to resume his responsibility, he had to leave this world.

The carriage door opened. "Sir..." the knight stammered exhaustedly. "We're already at the border." he added.

"So what?" Void asked, slightly enjoying giving orders. "We must reach the Targassian Empire."

The knight made a confused face. "No, sir... We must reach the border city, where we are right now." the knight tried to clarify. "If we were heading to the Targassian Empire, it would take a couple of months..."

"Ah... I see."

Void rose from his seat and exited the carriage. In front of him, a city lay imposingly. Unlike Azkai, this city was a mess; everything seemed to be done in a haphazard manner.

Even so, Void could sense from his position that this place was far more dangerous. 'I hope there's no trouble...' he thought, hoping nothing would happen.