When Rosaline teleported us in front of the castle, I was prepared for everything except . . . "Why is the city so empty?"
Indeed, unlike the bustling city I had seen before, it now seemed like its population got significantly massacred. Only a few people saw us appear from thin air, but they scattered in fear almost instantly. Instead of the active farmers' market, I had seen, it was now occupied by just one random jogger. Most notably, the only soldiers I could see were the ones on top of the walls—and only glints of their armor when they walked from the cover of a merlon. On the north wall, I counted only a dozen of them.
Rosaline scrutinized this carefully. "The Void army must've attacked multiple Chaos bases at once. All the people must be inside their homes, waiting for their army to come back. Come on. We've got to do what we came here for before our full army gets massacred." She scurried into the castle. Psi and I followed closely.
My first observation about the huge fortress was correct; it was similar to Chaos' castle—in fact, it was identical to Chaos' castle, save for the fact it was built out of white, glowing bricks and was the home of Void.
We easily got through the main gate. There were a few guards there, but when they tried asking us for identification, Rosaline simply punched all of them in the face, knocking them out before they could react.
As it turned out, all of the rooms of the castle were identical to Chaos'—but the locations weren't. For the better part of an hour, we explored the palace, trying to get a feel of it. In that time, we passed armories full of Void gold weapons, mess halls, bed chambers, chapels, guardrooms, and a whole lot of others.
"Where'd you think Void would be resurrecting?" I asked Rosaline.
"I have no idea," she admitted. "I don't even know if Void's even in this city."
Psi cut in. "Do you feel that?" I now noticed he had fallen behind us by a few steps.
Rosaline and I stopped and looked at him. "Feel what?" she asked.
"There's some sort of power . . . it's pushing me back. I don't feel so good." He suddenly lashed out with an arm and grabbed a doorframe, using it to steady himself. Given his breathing and panicked tone, I wanted to believe him, but I didn't know if it was genuine. I looked at Rosaline.
"He's telling the truth," Rosaline confirmed. "I can feel it too." I now realized that she looked pale, as though she wasn't getting enough oxygen to her brain.
I rushed to her side. "Are you okay?"
"I'm a bit uncomfortable but that's it—probably because I'm primordial. We should be worrying about Psi." She pointed to him. He was now splayed on the ground, with a tiny pool of vomit next to his head.
I cursed and ran towards him, lifting his hand to feel for a pulse. I sighed in relief when I felt one—though it was weak. Even though I hated him, he was still an ally in a hostile environment.
"We need to get out of here," I said, lifting Psi up with a grunt. Even though he was built like a twig—tall and thin—he was pretty heavy. "It's probably Void's power that's affecting us."
Rosaline took Psi's limp body from me and flung it over her shoulder. "I'm beginning to feel it too. We don't have that much time remaining . . ." She trailed off, thinking of something. "Wait. Are you not being affected?"
Hearing this, I paused. I did a brief check of all my body parts, and everything I was feeling with my senses; everything was normal. "I'm completely fine. Maybe I'm just a late bloomer? I got my first piece of facial hair two years after—"
"Are you okay?!" Rosaline exclaimed as I stumbled back into her, almost making her drop Psi in surprise.
A feeling passed over me, not unlike the one I got after diving into water. I felt as though I had five-hundred energy drinks added to my storage of energy—but I had a strange feeling that I wasn't going to crash after a few hours. Riptide felt a bit less bulkier—even though it was as close to a perfect sword I could get—and I felt more alert.
"I'm fine. Actually, I feel . . . awesome," I said, basking in the strange energy.
Rosaline glared playfully at me. "Of course, the consort of Void doesn't get affected whilst a primordial is suffering."
I blushed, but before I could say anything, a group of three soldiers charged into the room. Each wore a Void gold breastplate and carried a sword. I stared at them in astonishment, wondering how they found us. They stared back, making me think it was an accident. When they saw Rosaline, however, they gasped and drew their swords.
"Capture them!" the leader demanded. "As well as the unconscious idiot!"
Apparently, even Void soldiers hate Psi, I thought with a small smirk.
Rosaline was the closest to the soldiers. They came for her first, ready with their weapons.
I ran to help her, but her shout made me stop in my tracks. "No! I can handle myself! Run and find Omega!"
The leader lunged at me. I glanced at Rosaline one last time—and seeing her run, I dashed through a doorway myself, with the soldier at my heels.
However, something didn't feel right to me. The guards only started being hostile when they recognized Rosaline—even though I was a major player in the Chaos army. (This wasn't a brag; somehow, almost every Void soldier knew me—even my last name, which was creepy.)
I entered an armory. Its marble walls were covered in all weapons imaginable. I stopped in my tracks.
Three guards were at the other door. The soldier chasing me ordered them to capture me. The guards charged towards me, trapping me in.
Fighting has a chance of risk, I reminded myself. Not exactly what I need. So let's go with avoidance.
I snatched a spear off the wall, and hurled it towards them. They ducked out of the way in reflex, creating a space which I slipped through before they recovered, leaving the panicked guards in the armory.
I suddenly remembered what Void had said to me the last time I had been in her castle. It's nothing personal. I was made to destroy, while Chaos was made to create. We're always on two opposite sides. Sometimes I'm on the side of good, and he's on the side of bad. Sometimes—like right now—I'm bad, he's good. In the short term, one side wins. But in the long term, it's always a draw. For there to be good in the world, there has to be as much evil, and vice versa.
I ran through rooms and rooms. In the still air of the almost-empty castle, I could hear the pounding footsteps of the guards as they chased after me.
And when Chaos had given me the mission of saving Omega, he had looked reluctant, as though he was regretting something. Plus, whenever I had a run-in with Adriana or Eon, they'd always stall a bit—as though they wanted me to escape. Something clicked in my mind.
What if Void was on the side of good this time?
It was only now that I realized that the strength of Void's power was increasing. It was so strong that it was pulsating through the air, giving me even more energy.
I reached an empty hallway, which ended abruptly at a set of doors: the throne room. I burst through the large, engraved doors into a scene that, if I had stumbled into a few minutes earlier, I would've attacked.
Omega was standing in the middle of the room, his sword drawn, facing the door. He was wearing his signature cloak, draped over his muscular build. The Void Generals were behind him, each wearing their Void gold armor. They too were tense and faced the door, ready for battle with their swords out.
But what was most shocking was that Eon was right next to Omega, and they seemed to be fine in each other's company—even though they had been huge rivals the last time they met.
Behind them was a huge throne, not unlike the one Chaos sat on in his throne room. It was constructed out of polished Void Gold that shimmered in the few rays of sunlight that made it through the windows. Hovering over it, was a huge ball of emerald light—the same exact color as the emerald-ish material on Adriana's dagger. Given the sheer amount of power coming from it, I guessed that it was Void's power. It was slowly growing stronger as I watched, making me think she was close to reforming into human form—and as it did, I became aware of my own energy reserves growing.
I capped Riptide and put it in my pocket; I definitely didn't need it. "Took me long enough, huh?" I asked casually.
Under his hood, Omega smiled. "At least it was before Eon lost her patience, took you captive, and tortured you until you agreed to listen to her."
As a soldier, that was as good as a genuine welcome could get.