chapter 51: The Voice of the Void

Location: The Passage of Shadows — the moment following the Awakening*

After Xiao pierced his palm with the dagger known as _The Sleeping Knife_, the corridor was flooded with a black light that blended radiance and shadow... an energy that seemed to erase the very laws of reality.

The sky was torn by aetheric storms, and the mysterious voice that had long whispered in his mind—echoing through nightmares, in agony, in battle—was finally unveiled.

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*The Hidden Consciousness Speaks*

>???: "At last, you've opened the door, Heir. How long I have waited for you…"

Xiao, staggering, clutches his head:

> "Who are you?!"

>???: "I am you… the part exiled into darkness… thousands of years ago."

> Xiao: "That's impossible… I—"

>???: "…You are not alone, Xiao. An ancient entity resides within you. A force not awakened… but sealed."

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*The Entity Within Xiao*

A vision flooded his mind:

A newborn child under a pale sky, cradled by a weeping woman—while behind her, a being with endless eyes observed in silence.

> The Voice: "I was exiled from the beginning. The blood of Niflheim did not want the world to see me… but you gave me a body."

The vision pierced Xiao's mind, reshaping his past.

He was not merely human—but descended from primal beings of the void.

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*What Does It Mean?*

In a single moment, Xiao realized he was no victim of a twisted fate, but the keystone in a war that began long before his birth.

> Aster: "Xiao, we can hear you… You're whispering in two voices."

> Heim: "Your power… it doesn't feel human."

Xiao gazes at them, his eyes glowing in twin tones—half blue, half black.

> Xiao: "I see it now… why Loki wanted me dead before I was even born."

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*The Forbidden Prophecy*

Suddenly, glowing ancient runes appeared on the walls of the corridor, as if the passage itself had awoken. Among them, a prophecy long unread revealed itself:

> "When the Voice of the Void awakens in the Heir of Shadow, the thrones of gods shall tremble, and the realms shall be torn apart."

> Oratos, standing in stunned silence:

"I was wrong… I wasn't training a hero… but awakening a condemned soul that stirs the abyss."

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*A Decision Without Return*

> Xiao: "I will be no one's tool. Not Oratos. Not Odin. Not Shadow nor Light."

> Aster: "If we no longer know what you are… how do you define yourself?"

> Xiao, with a cryptic smile:

"I am the one who breaks the balance."

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*Chapter Finale*

The earth shudders again.

The door to the Eighth Realm opens—for the first time in a hundred thousand years.

Air thick with ancient memories seeps in.

> Xiao: "Let's go… beyond the truth."

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*End of Chapter 51: "The Voice of the Void"*

> _"The fear is not of darkness… but of what awakens within it.