There was a round of applause for Yoshika’s victory. Few realized just how dangerous the end would have been if not for Void’s intervention, and those who did were just glad that they hadn’t been the ones responsible for trying to control the damage.

Nobody approached Yoshika, however—either put off by the gruesome sight of her missing arm or instinctively wary of the elemental accompanying her. Even if they couldn’t perceive it, everyone could sense Void’s presence. It was unsettling—evoking some deep and primal fear in those around it. Even the nobles who were more positively inclined towards the elementals gave Void a wide berth.

Yoshika gathered her nerves and produced an illusory replacement for her arm. She didn’t want to care about appearances, but taking such a grievous injury in stride was a significant show of strength and composure—something she desperately needed after losing control during the duel.

It was painful, like few other things she’d ever experienced. Even with the wound closed, the missing limb ached like it was on fire—the damage from Ice’s attack leaving a burn mark on her soul. It would heal over time, but until then Eui’s arm couldn’t be regenerated.

She realized now just how lucky she’d been to face Sovereign Longyan within her soul realm, where he could only exert a tiny fraction of his power. He’d done lasting damage to her as well, but not nearly as severely.

If it had been her real bodies against the full strength of his avatar, she might not have even survived. She finally understood why it had taken Yan Ren years to recover after battling the demon lord. The fact that he was even still alive placed the Awakening Dragon Elder a few notches higher in Yoshika’s estimation.

Resisting the urge to clutch her wounds, Yoshika turned to address the Void elemental that had been patiently waiting for her.

“Did you have a hand in setting this up? Another test?”

It was awkward. There was nothing to look at. No emotions to read, no facial expressions, not even a tone of voice. The soundless echo of Void’s voice was cold and clinical.

“My involvement was not necessary. That you would eventually be challenged was inevitable. My presence is not required to collect the resulting data.”

“But it was still your...child? Underling? Iseul calls you her grandfather, but I don’t think you reciprocate her feelings. Anyway, it was Ice who ended up doing it, and she almost killed me.”

“It did not. Your wounds are superficial. You will recover in time. You are not used to eternity, and so your measure of such things is skewed by mortal perception.”

Yoshika pursed her lips. She wished she had something to glare at.

“That mist was the most deadly thing I’ve ever encountered. Maybe Longyan at full strength would have been worse, but how many people here would even be capable of surviving its touch?”

“Three. Seong Eunhee, Seong Misun, and you.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“Misun? Aren’t the other two stronger? Her mom and cousin?”

“They have more power, but power alone is an inadequate measure of strength. If it weren’t, then you would be considered the strongest being in existence.”

Yoshika nearly choked on her next words.

“What?! Because of the Tear?”

“In part. Its energy is limitless by any practical measure, but even without it, you have an unrivaled trove of potential. You are fortunate to have recovered and assimilated Chou’s soul realm.”

“You’re talking about the vault. All the divine artifacts.”

The elemental shifted in an inscrutable way, and she felt its attention bearing down on her.

“In part. It is not relevant. Power is only potential. Sovereign Chou did not surpass my strength because he had unlimited power. He did so by working tirelessly to realize that potential.”

“And why are you telling me this? I’ve already pulled the figurative thorn out of your non-existent side, and I’m working towards restoring the natural order of our world. I’m grateful for your help with the soul realm, but I don’t understand what your stake in all of this is, and as wonderful as she is, I don’t think it’s Iseul.”

“The emissary is an unexpected, but welcome boon. Her kind are rare, and provide an invaluable resource. Her continued existence would be sufficient reason to aid you, but your conjecture is accurate. She is not the sole reason.”

There was a long pause before Yoshika huffed irritably.

“You’re not going to tell me what it is, are you?”

“I cannot. I know that this will agitate you and raise suspicion against me, but that too is necessary.”

“What’s the point of this conversation, then?”

Yoshika felt another subtle shift in the Void, and she thought she detected the tiniest hint of amusement in its otherwise incomprehensible domain.

“You are the one who desired this meeting.”

She buried her face in her palms. Yoshika had nearly forgotten that the entire reason for this whole disaster was so that she could speak to the Void elemental. She also belatedly recalled that the Queen was supposed to be mediating it.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Yoshika glanced around, then went pale as she realized why it had gotten so quiet. The entire world around them was still, as though time had stopped. Yoshika had long since grown accustomed to techniques like Absolute Awareness, and Do Hye had created a similar effect to converse with her in the past, but this felt different.

“You’re in my head again!”

“It is the simplest method of communication which does not allow interruption or raise suspicion. I noted your discomfort after our first such communion, and have attempted to adjust. Your association with Iseul has been highly useful to facilitate this.”

She sighed and shook her head. It wasn’t worth fighting over. If Void wanted to, she was certain that even the tiny projection of him could crush her soul like a grape.

“That is correct. Though such an exertion would risk the collapse of this reality.”

“That’s a hell of a thing to say so casually. How is that possible, anyway? Chou said that gods couldn’t enter mortal realms.”

“That is mostly correct. Deities, especially Sovereigns, exist on a level which is fundamentally incompatible with the fabric of mortal reality. Their essence overpowers the laws of existence, causing them to collapse irreparably. As a demigod, you have already experienced the power I speak of.”

Yoshika blinked, furrowing her brows. She was pretty sure she’d have noticed collapsing reality around her.

“Are you talking about sacred arts? The way xiantian techniques feel like they are embedding themselves into the world?”

“No. Such applications of divine essence are well within the domain of mortal existence. What you call sacred arts invoke the laws of reality, but still function within them. True divinity is, however, an extension of that principle. A divine art does not invoke truth—it rewrites it.”

“I’m not sure I understand the difference.”

A brief moment of emptiness stretched between them before the elemental responded.

“Consider Light and Dark. Where light exists, darkness is banished, and where light is obstructed, shadows form. This is Law—a fundamental part of mortal existence. A demigod can alter the truth of the world, creating light where once there was darkness, or vice-versa. The laws do not change—light is created, darkness is banished, shadows form.

“A deity rewrites the Law. Darkness is banished where no light exists, light is obstructed without casting a shadow. A deity does not cast light to banish the darkness, they simply erase the very concept of darkness from the world. This leaves a wound in reality, not unlike your missing limb. It will heal in time, but if it suffers too much trauma, or in too vital a place, it collapses and the world dies.”

Yoshika mulled that over in her head. Void was right. She had experienced divine arts before, though she hadn’t understood their significance at the time. She had even invoked one herself when wielding the True Awakening of the Dragon’s Heart against Yan De. Not that she had any idea how or why it had happened.

“I’m not sure how that means that a deity existing in a mortal world collapses it.”

“To do so would place a constant strain on reality. The act of entering, and every instant of their existence would be an exertion of divine power strong enough to cause such a collapse.”

“But not you?”

“No. I am not here. I am the essence of nothingness. Of absence and emptiness. I can be where I am not, simply because that is what I am.”

Yoshika felt like she was getting a headache.

“Wait—that’s why your fight with the queen was so weird! You kept erasing and rewriting her spells instead of attacking her directly. I thought that was just weird Void stuff, but it was because using your own power would mean that you’re actually here, which would destroy the world.”

“Correct.”

It felt like she was starting to gain a grasp on things, but Void was still an incredibly bizarre and alien being. It also made her extremely uncomfortable that a being so powerful that it could erase her and the rest of the world with an errant twitch had taken an interest in her.

“I have very fine control. The likelihood of such a mistake is statistically insignificant.”

Was that a joke?! It sounded a lot like one of Iseul’s terrible jokes, but Yoshika was a lot more worried about the possibility that it was serious.

“Moving on from that, there actually was something I wanted to discuss with you. I’ve been lucky so far—my enemies are still licking their wounds after the attack on Chou’s tomb, but I know that they’re going to come after me again as long as I have the Tear. I don’t know how much I can trust you, but you’re the closest thing I have to an ally from the divine realm.”

“I will hear your request.”

Yoshika took a deep breath, contemplating her next words. The elemental waited patiently for her to speak, even though it could directly read her thoughts.

“I know you can’t act directly. Your presence here is actually more limited than an avatar would be, and given your nature, I’m guessing you can’t make one.”

“That is accurate.”

She really was figuring the strange being out, little by little.

“But you’re also maybe the oldest being in the universe, so vast as to be basically omnipresent, and you’re a being of pure thought. You’re probably about as close to omniscient as anything short of a demiurge, am I right?”

“Insofar as anything can be ‘close’ to infinity. But the spirit of your conjecture is valid.”

“Right. And now that I’ve felt Ice’s power first hand, and gotten a better understanding of what you are and what you’re capable of, one thing is crystal clear to me—you never intended to take over the country with that coup. It was a ruse to cut through the red tape and get things moving.

“Do Hye is a schemer, but compared to you even his grandest designs probably look quaint and shortsighted. I don’t know what you want, but I know that if it involved harming me or anyone I care about, we’d already be dead. You could have killed the entire Seong clan effortlessly during that coup, but instead you just fought them to a standstill.”

The emptiness around her expanded, the illusion of the world dropping away until Yoshika found herself standing on nothing, and surrounded by a pitch black void on all sides. The words in her head stopped even attempting to pretend they had anything to do with sound.

You have come to a crucial understanding. Your next decision will determine the fate of not only your world, but all worlds. I cannot say more, but speak carefully.

Yoshika pursed her lips. No pressure or anything.

“Maybe this is all just a big trick. An elaborate ruse, like the fake coup. Maybe you’re playing the universe’s longest con, and I’m a fool taking the bait. But I don’t think so. I think you really are an ally, and you’ve just got a really roundabout way of showing it.”

There was no response. Just stillness and silence stretching into infinity.

“I’ve decided that I want to be your ally, and I’d like you to be mine. I know that I’m basically nothing in the scale that you operate on, but you wouldn’t still be here if it wasn’t important. I want your help, and I’ll do whatever I can to return the favor. Now that I’ve come this far, there’s nobody left to teach me, but I still have so much that I need to learn. So, Void, will you teach me?”

There was an indescribable trembling in the air, and for a moment, Yoshika thought that she’d made a mistake. That she’d failed Void’s test, and sealed her fate. Then the illusion collapsed around her, and she found herself back in the palace courtyard, the nobles and mages mingling as if nothing had ever happened.

The feeling of emptiness next to her slipped away, and in its absence, Yoshika felt a final message ingrained upon the world, visible only for a bare instant before it too faded into nothing.

I will.