A/N: Hey everyone, author here! Sorry for the long wait in between the chps. Army life has been pretty hectic for me and I was suddenly thrown into 12 hr shifts this week so haven't had too much time to write.

Once again, shout out to my PR Wraith for looking through the chp. Once again, I ask that you leave comments or reviews about your thoughts on how the story is progressive. Would love to hear what you all think!. Well then, enjoy the chp!

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’The Void is a parallel dimension to our own. Time itself flows ten times faster than in our dimension, which is the cause for travel being faster in the Void. A minute of travel in the Void is the equivalent of six seconds in our dimension.

‘There is nothing inside the Void. No planets, stars, light, or heat exist within. It is a dark and cold place to stay. This is the reason why travel through the Void is so dangerous. It is impossible to tell which direction you are traveling, and if you get lost, there are no planets or stars to guide navigational systems.

‘The energy inside it is what we call Void energy. Void energy draws in the surrounding energies to sustain itself. This tends to make Void energy much more powerful than any other energy type. The drawback is that when used, it cannot sustain the energy output for long.

‘Through gaps in the wall that separate the two dimensions, Void energy seeps into our dimension and gathers energy. Even though I said it gathers the energy in the surrounding area, it is difficult to notice as it takes it in even amounts from the whole area. The only way most beings would notice it’s even there is if they notice that there was less energy in the area.

‘We Templars are trained to harness this energy. Just like when you attempted to sense Psionic energy, send your senses outward. This time though, try to sense an area that feels empty and cold in contrast to the warmth of Psionic energy.’

Jung extended his senses outwards to feel the surrounding area. After training with Psionic energy for the past few years, sensing it felt as natural as breathing to him. He had grown accustomed to and actually enjoyed the warmth that Psionic energy brought.

As he felt the surrounding area, he attempted to locate an area that felt empty and cold just as Tas’Zul said. The first few times he swept through the area he couldn’t sense anything out of place but as he focused more he could sense that through the warmth, there were tiny miniscule pockets where there seemed to be nothing.

The pockets were so small that if Jung hadn’t been consciously trying to find them, he would have never noticed. Just as he was told, the pockets indeed felt empty and very cold. It was in stark contrast to the Psionic energy.

“How is it that Void energy feels so empty if it draws in the surrounding energies?”

’We have yet to figure the reason out. The Void energy seems to cover the energies like a veil, blocking anything from coming out within. This is also the reason why Templars are able to use camouflage. The Void energy surrounds us and blocks any image, odor, or sound from escaping outside, basically making us invisible.

‘Anyways, try to gather the Void energy just as you would gather Psionic energy around your hand and you will see what I mean.’

With a nod of his head, Jung focused on the small empty pockets and began to pull them toward him. As he pulled them toward himself, he extended his right arms forward and drew them toward his hand. As the energy gathered, portions of his hand disappeared from his sight until it fully disappeared when he surrounded it.

“It looks exactly like stealth technology huh? How does energy portray what’s on the other side like that?”

’The Void energy outer surface is like a mirror, it reflects what is on the other side. ’

“Man, if the Dontesk Empire’s leaders knew about the existence of Void energy, they’d be going nuts. The cost to install the cameras and platform for stealth technology is ridiculous.”

As Jung mused over that and pictured their faces at the discovery, Tas’Zul interrupted his train of thought.

’Let’s move on to the next step. Gather the Void energy to the Qen’Su.’

After Jung shook his head to dispel the random image, he once again focused on the Void energy and gathered it to around the Qen’Su. When he figured he had gathered enough, he activated the device on his right arm. As the energy blade came out, he studied it and noted the difference from when it was supplied with Psionic energy.

Instead of the bluish hue the Psionic energy blade gave off, the Void energy blade gave of a purplish black hue. Instead of a hot aura, the Void energy blade gave off a chilly one. He also noted that the energy’s intensity seemed much higher. After he completed his inspection, Jung deactivated the energy blade.

“Void energy blades sure do seem stronger. The energy consumption is ridiculous though. You really can’t maintain one for too long.”

’Indeed. Well for now, we will leave the energy blade and camouflage alone. You need to become accustomed to sensing Void energy. It takes too long for you to locate them and draw them in. In a life or death situation, you will not have that leisure.’

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For the next two years, Jung continued to focus on training. During that time, he slowly began to master Qam’Put and also became proficient with the use of both Psionic and Void energies. Not only was he able to gather both energies at a moment’s notice, he was also able to use them without any hesitation.

During that span, Jung made several trips to the surface to train. At those times he would cloak his figure by consolidating Void energy around him and stealthily moved around. Whenever he saw a passing Spawn, he would walk up to them in caution before he activated the Qen’Su and slayed the monster.

The first few attempts were nerve-wracking. Jung had never willingly closed the distance between him and a Zvirek. The constant fear that the camouflage would malfunction or that the Spawn would notice his presence and pounce kept popping up in his mind, and he also became fearful that they would hear his heart pounding against his ribs.

The camouflage, however, always stayed true and the Spawns never noticed his approach until it was too late and a Psionic energy blade ripped through them. The fear slowly changed into thrill as he grew accustomed to and gained trust in it. Every time he killed a Spawn, he felt as though he was revenging his fallen soldiers. After one whole year of training like that, Tas’Zul finally decided that Jung had progressed enough.

’Child, your progress has been very satisfying thus far. I feel confident in your progress through the path of Ein’Zul. It is time for us to inspect the source of Psionic energy that drew me here.’

“Finally! I been curious as to what that energy source was.”

When Tas’Zul mentioned the mysterious gathering of Psionic energy, Jung stood up in anticipation. He had nagged the Templar on numerous occasions throughout the years to go inspect it but was told that he wasn’t strong enough yet every time. Now that they were about to go, he couldn’t help but be excited. With a hop in his steps, Jung began to head toward the source with Tas’Zul’s instructions.

“So what do you think was the cause of all that Psionic energy gathering in one location?”

’There are numerous possibilities. It could be that the area is originally a place that condenses Psionic energy. It could also be that an equipment is gathering and consolidating the Psionic energy there.’

“How would such an object get there though? From what I know, there have been no signs of any technologically advanced race on Azur yet.”

’That is correct. More than likely some being must have come here and placed such an object here.’

“Why would they do that though?”

’Of course I would know why. It is not as though I know nothing as well.’

“…We really need to work on that sarcasm of yours…”

The network of tunnels underground were massive. Even though Jung had walked for over two hours, there was no end in sight. If it wasn’t for Tas’Zul, he would have gotten lost very quickly. In the end, it took ten hours for them to finally arrive at the source. What they found at the end of their travel, however, was nothing like what they expected to find.

“Holy Shi..”

Inside a humongous cavern stood a large black pyramid. The pyramid was four hundred feet in width and rose up to at least one hundred and twenty feet in height. Instead of stone, each block was made from some black metal that Jung had never come across before. Around the pyramid, Psionic energy gathered to give off a light blue aura, giving the whole structure an eerie feeling.

“Why the hell is there a pyramid here?!”

’…. I am not sure. I need to inspect the structure from a closer view. Be cautious though; there may be some traps.’

With his eyes constantly checking for any early warning signs of a trap, he moved forward. As he neared the mysterious structure, Jung could faintly make out a rectangular opening at the bottom. The opening was around ten feet in height and three feet in width.

From up close, the pyramid looked daunting as it towered over him. For reasons unknown, Jung could feel goosebumps come out on his skin. He even entertained the thought of turned around and leaving the pyramid behind him.

Stolen story; please report.

“Tas, I’m not one who believes in superstitious things, but I really am getting a bad feeling about this.”

’I also get the same feeling, but we must continue on. We must discover why such an odd structure has been built here.’

While he silently cursed, Jung hesitantly walked through the entrance. The passageway was made out of the same black metal that the outer portion of the pyramid was made of. Blue lights reflected off the metal and illuminated the passage just enough to see a couple feet ahead.

“…Are you sure you want to keep going?”

’Would you like me to hold your hand while we walk?’

“….Shut up.”

Tas’Zul’s tease helped Jung regain a little of his composure. Ever since he saw the pyramid, he had been getting a paranoid feeling. The place gave Jung the creeps. It felt as though something would jump out at any time.

In the end, it took him nearly an hour to reach the end of the passageway. Jung noticed that it seemed to curve as the passage moved inward and up. Contrary to his belief though, at the top it seemed as though it was a dead end.

“No way… There’s no way they would put so much effort into building this damn thing to just have it end as a prank with a dead end…”

’Calm down. Try to inspect the walls to see if there are any hidden mechanisms.’

Even after he searched along all three walls, they found nothing. Jung and Tas’Zul then attempted to use any method they could think of to open a secret doorway. After attempting more than twenty methods though, Jung began to lose his cool.

“This is pointless. We’ve tried almost all the methods to unlocking a secret door. Unless they’re some super advanced species like you Xena’ga there’s no way they could have thought up something so advance. It’s most likely that the creators of this dumb pyramid were just trying to do a prank and really did build a dead end passageway with nothing else in here.”

The paranoia and building frustration finally got to Jung. Ever since they entered the pyramid, he couldn’t shake the feeling as though something bad was going to happen. He couldn’t figure out why he felt like that, but he thought that the feeling was similar to what people in a horror film situation would feel while being chased. With the building frustration of not being able to figure out whether there was a mechanism to open a secret door, it finally became too much for him.

’...Advance like the Xena’ga… Try this method.’

The mention of Xena’ga seemed to trigger something in Tas’Zul’s mind. Even though he was dubious, Jung went along and drew on the middle wall with his finger a line in a circular method where the line continued to move inward in a spiral design.

As his finger completed the design Tas’Zul had told him to make and left the wall, the line was outlined in a blue light and rumbling noises could be heard. The wall that created the dead end slowly began to withdraw into the right wall and left a new passage open.

“What the hell? Why didn’t you use that method if you knew it all along?”

’...That symbol is an ancient one in the Xena’ga. It represents to us that all things that have a beginning, have an end. It was created as a way to remind ourselves that nothing lasts forever and to make the most of every moment.’

“I thought you had never seen a structure like this before? Why does it use a Xena’ga symbol as a code to open a door then?”

’I’d like to find out that reason myself. Let’s go.’

After he eyed the entrance wearily, Jung once again moved forward. What the two didn’t notice though, was that when the wall opened up, the surface of the pyramid began to hum and large amounts of Psionic energy once more gathered toward the pyramid as though it was a magnet.

Oblivious to this fact, they continued down the passageway. This time along they didn’t have to travel long as they came upon the end of the passage within five minutes. At the end there was a large room, however it terrified Jung witless.

“Good mother of…”

The room that Jung had walked into seemed as though it was a laboratory. There were various types of alien equipment set up throughout the room. Even though there were so many things inside, the room still had a tidy feel to it. What terrified Jung though, were the beings inside the glass capsules.

Inside the glass capsules were various corpses of different species. Jung could identify a couple of them as he had either interacted with them before or read about them in his studies. Many of them though, it was his first time seeing.

Some of them had horns that grew out from their foreheads, some were furry while others had no hair whatsoever. Each species had their own unique feature. What all of them shared though, was their humanoid shape.

The thing that grossed Jung out so badly was that all the corpses were in one way or another mutilated. Some of the bodies were dissected and left as they were. Other bodies were disfigured as limbs were missing and some had limbs that were obviously not their own sewn onto them. All their facial expressions seemed to scream out in pain and agony.

“Just what kind of sick being would…. Tas, what do you think? You think it was some kind of sick mad scientist kind of fellow?”

’It doesn’t look like the work of some psychopath. Look, the dissections and sewing imrpove with each body. It feels more like…. he’s trying to combine different species into one super being…’

“...That clearly matches the description of a mad scientist. Anyways, it looks like this place has been abandoned for a long time. Dust is literally covering everything in here.”

The room indeed looked as though it hadn’t been used in a very long time. The surface of all the equipment and even the capsules was covered in a thick layer of dust just as Jung stated. It must have been decades at the minimum since the last time someone came into the room.

’...What I’m curious about is how this being got ahold of Xena’Ga equipment… Could the perpetrator really be one of our own? Why would they do something so atrocious though?! This goes against all of the Xena’Ga’s beliefs!’

Jung jumped at the sudden anger that leaked through Tas’Zul’s thoughts. For a moment, he just stayed where he was with an expression of shock. Tas’Zul expressing an emotion? For the past four years that he had known the Templar, not once did he express any emotion. Jung came to the conclusion that the Xena’Ga was a species that did not express it a long time ago.

“Woah Tas, you okay man? It’s the first time I’ve seen you angry. Wait can you all even get angry?”

’Of course we get angry. It’s just that we do not like to express our emotions. Back to the main topic, let’s comb through this area. I need to verify whether it truly was a Xena’Ga that committed such atrocious crimes.’

As he read the situation, Jung began to search the whole room without a single word. Although he didn’t know the reason why, he understood that it was an important matter to Tas’Zul. Without one area missed, he went through everything to ensure that he didn’t miss even one small item. In the end though, they weren’t able to find anything else useful.

“Well, we went through everything in here and nothing came out. What do you want to do Tas?”

’For now, let us go back. There is much I need to ponder over.’

After a simple nod, he turned back toward the entrance and exited the room. As he closed the door to the secret passageway, little did he know that the Psionic energy that had gathered slowly dissipated once more into the surrounding area as though nothing happened.

The trip back to the cavern was eerily silent as Tas’zul was deep in thinking and Jung didn’t dare to disrupt it unless a dire situation occurred. By the time that they returned to the cavern, the light that came into the cavern was now faint and the cavern was dark. Exhausted from the day’s adventure, Jung went to his usual sleeping spot and plopped down on the ground to sleep.

The next day, Jung had a conflicted feeling. Ever since the discovery of the laboratory, Tas’Zul had yet to speak one word. At first, Jung enjoyed the silence and peace within his mind. Slowly though, those feelings turned into loneliness. Over the past years, the voice of Tas’Zul was actually a life saver that drew him away from insanity. Jung didn’t know how long he could have made it before he lost his mind from the isolation.

With those thoughts, he began to scan the cavern. It had already been over four years since that fateful day when he fell through a crack and discovered Tas’Zul. Even though his time training inside the cavern wasn’t easy, he could honestly say he would look back on those moments fondly.

Little did he know though, that his time there would abruptly come to a halt.

As Jung trained the next day, he noticed that the floor was vibrating. Alarmed, he instantly became on guard.

“Tas! We got some company!”

’It seems as though the Zvirek have finally decided to explore here.’

“Shit, what do we do?”

’Even though you haven’t completed your training, there is nothing we can do about it. I believe it is time for us to depart this planet.’