Void Within

The clash of metal rang faintly in the background as trainees sparred across the vast hall.

Thien walked ahead without a word, his soft steps echoing against the polished floor. He stopped near a tall weapon rack lined with steel blades and gestured toward it with a silent flick of his wrist.

Taegyun hesitated, then stepped forward and grabbed one of the practice swords from the rack. It was heavier than he expected—cold, unpolished steel with a dulled edge, but it carried the weight and presence of a real weapon. More than enough to break bone if swung hard.

"This is…"

"Practice sword," Thien said, voice flat. "Steel. Blunt edge. Same weight and balance as a real blade."

He turned to face Taegyun, raising his own sword without ceremony.

His stance was effortless—feet spread just right, knees slightly bent, arms relaxed yet steady. There was not a single movement wasted.

"Watch."

He demonstrated the basic stance again.

"Footing. Shoulder-width. Knees soft. Spine straight. Sword in line with your center."

His tone was quiet, almost drowned by the distant clangs and shouts from sparring trainees, but each word struck with clarity and precision. It was the tone of someone who only spoke when necessary—and meant every word.

Taegyun did his best to mimic the stance. His grip was off. His posture slightly crooked. His feet stood too close together.

Thien stepped beside him and nudged his ankle outward with the flat of his blade.

"Too narrow."

Then he tapped Taegyun's elbow gently.

"Relax. Sword's an extension. Not a hammer."

Taegyun blinked. "You know, for someone who barely talks, you're actually—"

"Quiet," Thien cut in, sharp and direct.

He moved back and resumed his stance.

"First form. Basic guard. Then diagonal slash. Like this."

His blade moved in a smooth arc. Step, pivot, slash.

It was deceptively simple—clean, fluid, almost beautiful. A motion born from repetition and refined muscle memory.

Taegyun exhaled and tried to copy it.

His sword wobbled mid-swing. His back foot dragged.

Thien said nothing at first.

Then: "Again."

Taegyun repeated it.

"Slower."

Again.

"Less wrist. More hip."

Again.

And again.

The next fifteen minutes passed in quiet intensity. Each motion, each swing, was met with silent scrutiny. Thien offered no lectures—just brief comments, nods, or a short shake of the head.

Wrong. Better. Again.

Despite the silence, Taegyun could feel the guidance. Thien didn't need long explanations. His corrections were precise. Efficient.

By the end of it, Taegyun's swings had steadied. His footing had improved. His grip no longer trembled. He still had a long way to go, but something inside him recognized the rhythm now.

Thien stepped back and lowered his blade.

"That's enough for now."

He turned, took a few steps, then paused.

"You'll need calluses."

Taegyun looked down at his reddened palms, the faint sting already settling in.

"Yeah," he muttered. "I'm starting to get it."

Thien gave a small nod, then walked away without another word. He disappeared into the far end of the hall.

Taegyun watched him for a moment.

Then he looked down at the sword in his hands.

A faint smile touched his lips.

'Man of few words… but not a bad trainee.'

He adjusted his stance again, gripping the sword more firmly.

'Alright. Let's do this.'

***

After the end of class, Taegyun went straight home and locked himself in his room.

He sat quietly on the edge of his bed, lost in a storm of thought. His chest rose and fell with a heavy breath as the memory resurfaced—vivid and raw.

The image of burning corpses, all those Hunter Trainees reduced to brittle ash under the suffocating grip of his black flames, played again behind his eyes.

He pressed his palm to his forehead and groaned softly.

"Why the hell did I imagine something like that?" he muttered. "I'm not a murderer..."

Was this really the negative side of his power?

He had no idea.

The unnatural Awakening, the mysterious Absolute Void System that chose him, the Void Attributes coursing through his being...

"It must be those two Void Attributes," he whispered, eyes unfocused. "Are they the reason the system chose me?"

That thought stuck with him.

Were those attributes always within him? Was this his true self, only Awakened fully after coming into contact with the system?

No answers came. Just silence.

But there was one thing he knew—he did not want to become some mindless monster in a human's skin. He would not be consumed by this power.

"I have to control it," he said aloud, his voice low and resolute.

But control what, exactly?

How do you control something you don't understand?

He took a breath, long and slow, and tried to refocus. His thoughts drifted to the description of his Sentient Sword… and then the term that had caught his attention earlier.

Soul Sea.

"Right," he muttered. "The Soul Sea... I haven't even checked it yet."

According to what he'd read, the Soul Sea was a hidden spiritual realm inside every living being—a space that reflected the state of one's soul. It was said to be where one could unlock the true potential of their inner self, face their subconscious, and even cultivate spiritual power.

He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply.

Slow, rhythmic breaths.

Stillness.

No stray thoughts. No tension.

He let everything slip away.

And then, without even realizing how long had passed, something shifted.

He felt it—like a gentle tug from within.

When his eyes opened… he was no longer in his room.

He stood on the surface of a sea.

But this was no ordinary ocean. It was a vast expanse of darkness, still and silent, with no waves or wind. Just endless black water stretching to the horizon.

And yet… he could see everything clearly.

It should have been pitch-black. But to him, it was bright. As if his very presence illuminated the space.

He looked up.

A strange sun hung high above—dark and glowing at the same time. A swirling sphere of void energy and light, pulsing softly in the sky.

A perfect blend of opposites.

"A dark sun… but still glowing," he whispered. "Light and darkness… fused together."

He blinked.

"That's my Void Core."

His gaze remained locked on the glowing sphere above until a smaller object drifted into view—a faint ball of light, slowly orbiting the core.

It looked familiar.

With a focused thought, he brought it closer.

The ball of light descended and transformed before his eyes—shifting into the black sword he knew all too well.

Ourovelle.

He reached out and touched it. The sword pulsed in his hand, like a living heartbeat.

"So that's how it works…"

This was the manifestation of his Soul-Bound weapon within the Soul Sea. He trailed his fingers along its blade, watching it shimmer in his palm.

"Can I store other items here too?" he mused aloud. "Probably not... it must only work with Soul-Bound objects like this sword."

With a thought, the sword dissolved back into a ball of light and floated upward, returning to its orbit around the core.

His gaze shifted again to the void sun overhead.

His Void Core.

He could feel it.

Something was wrong.

"It's unstable," he whispered, narrowing his eyes. "I can feel it vibrating. Cracking."

He summoned his system interface, pulling up the status notification tied to his core.

[Notice: Soul instability will increase if the transfer is delayed. Remaining Stability: 12.6%]

[If the transfer is not completed, your body and soul will collapse. Estimated time remaining: 730 days]

Taegyun stared at the numbers.

A two-year countdown.

To death.

He sighed, long and quiet.

There was nothing he could do about it now.

He turned and began to walk—his bare feet touching the surface of the dark sea without sinking, as though the water were solid glass.

He walked for what felt like hours.

Eventually, something changed.

A massive wall of dark mist loomed in the distance, like a curtain between this space and something beyond.

He approached it, hesitant.

When he pressed his hand to the mist… he felt nothing.

No warmth. No barrier. But some kind of resistance that he couldn't understand.

"I guess this is the boundary of my Soul Sea," he muttered.

He pulled his hand back and looked up again.

His Void Core pulsed faintly in the sky above, like a ticking bomb made of stars and silence.

And he realized then—this was just the beginning.

The sea would grow. The boundaries would stretch. But only if he did.

Only if he survived.

The next morning, Taegyun woke up early once again and headed straight to the city park to begin his daily quest routine.

Sweat streamed down his forehead as he ran, shoes pounding rhythmically against the pavement. The air was crisp, and the grass still held traces of morning dew.

He had already completed his five hundred sit-ups, five hundred squats, and five hundred push-ups.

Now, the final stretch—his twenty-kilometer run.

This time, he was not nearly as exhausted as the previous day. His body felt lighter, movements more efficient. His stamina had clearly improved.

He kept running until—

A familiar screen flashed in front of him.

[Daily Quest Complete]

[Rewards: Full Recovery Potion, 100 Void Points]

He stopped, breathing hard but steady, and summoned the potion into his hand. Without hesitation, he uncorked the small vial and gulped it down in one smooth motion.

The thick, glowing liquid slid down his throat, spreading warmth through his limbs.

As the potion did its work, a soft voice called from behind him.

"Huh? Aren't you that young man from two days ago? The one who collapsed right in front of us?"

He turned around and saw two women standing nearby.

One of them had her dark hair tied back into a neat ponytail. The other had smooth brown skin and warm amber eyes, her expression mildly curious.

Taegyun blinked, recognizing them almost immediately. "Oh, it's you two!"

He quickly bowed in greeting.

"I never got the chance to thank you properly. Thank you for helping me out that day and making sure I got home safely."

The ponytailed woman waved a hand dismissively. "Eh, no need to be so formal. We were just helping someone in need. As Hunters, it's our job to protect."

"You're Hunters?" Taegyun asked, tilting his head with interest.

The woman nodded with a slight smile. "Yeah. We're D-Rank Hunters from the Ironshade Guild."

"Ironshade Guild?" he echoed. "I don't think I've heard of it."

She scratched her cheek, looking a little embarrassed. "Yeah, not many have. It's a newly established guild—only been around for ten years. So, it's still pretty low-key in the public eye."

"I see," Taegyun nodded.

"Still," she added proudly, "even for a newer guild, it's not weak. We've already got five A-Rank Hunters, twelve B-Ranks, twenty-six C-Ranks, fifty D-Ranks, and fifty-five E-Ranks. That's one hundred and forty-eight hunters in total."

She rattled off the numbers like she had memorized them word for word.

"That's… actually really impressive," Taegyun said, blinking. "I didn't expect that."

"I know, right?" she chimed, puffing her chest slightly.

The brown-skinned woman beside her sighed and gave her a nudge with her elbow. "Are you really going to keep talking his ears off without even introducing yourself?"

The ponytailed woman froze, then smacked herself lightly on the forehead.

"Oh, right! Look at me rambling." She quickly extended a hand toward him. "I'm Jessie. Nice to meet you!"

Taegyun took her hand and shook it politely. "Taegyun. Nice to meet you too."

The other woman also stepped forward, offering her hand with a soft smile. "I'm Shaki."

"Taegyun," he replied again, smiling. "Pleasure."

After the greetings, Shaki narrowed her eyes slightly and asked, "You're awakened already, aren't you?"

Taegyun raised a brow. "Yeah. I am. How'd you know?"

Shaki brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I've got a unique skill. I can sense any Awakened within a thirty-meter range. Even with my eyes closed."

He looked at her, visibly impressed. "Damn… that's actually pretty cool."

She grinned. "Thanks."

Ding!

A new translucent screen suddenly appeared in front of Taegyun.

—————————

[A new quest has arrived]

[Quest: Build the Bond]

Objective:

– Become friends with Jessie and Shaki

– Increase their Favorability Score toward you

Bonus Goal:

– Form a potential partnership

Reward:

– Jessie and Shaki's Total Submission (Willing obedience without loss of free will)

– One random skill

Time Limit: 90 Days

Failure Penalty:

– Soul Strain Backlash: Lose 5% of Void Core Stability

– 72-hour Debuff: Mental Fragmentation

(Effects: Severe confusion, hallucinations, emotional instability)

—————————

Taegyun blinked at the screen.

'…What the fuck is this now?'