In a distant forest there were three siblings huddled around a campfire, all three of them had ragged appearances and seemed as if they had been enduring countless troubles. Their auras were firm and they seemed ready for combat at a moment's notice. Nearby the sound of brush moving and branches breaking sounded out. The three of them all jumped up at the same time and as if they shared a single mind and moved in tandem. One of them jumped up into a tree, another went off to the side and the third simply stood in place waiting. When the last of the three had just finished readying themselves a magical boar, an earth boar, charged out of a bush directly at the one just standing in place. As it reached them this person turned around and viciously thrust out a palm strike onto the snout of the boar. The boar took a step back and looked up at the human in shock. Then while it was distracted the person to the side jumped over and punched the boar and a distinct cracking noise sounded out. The boar quickly turned and looked at this new human fully focusing on it.
When it was fully focused on this human one came from the tree above, his hand shaped like a blade and supported by water element martial energy. It stabbed in between the shoulder blades of the boar and tore directly into its heart, killing it instantly. The trio all looked at each other and smiled satisfactorily. It was in fact the exiled Zhu family siblings undergoing said exile in the forest. Meanwhile back at Naath’s residence new things were occurring. Naath was busy studying a manual containing the most basic scraps of information about soul energy and the soul sea. As he started to read he felt some odd attraction to the information and couldn't help but read it more and more in depth and faster and faster.
After finishing reading the large book Naath felt his soul shudder and the birthmark on top of his head began to undergo great changes. The faded white, black, and grey colors began to become clearer and clearer. The black became darker and darker as if it was an infinite abyss that nothing could escape from. A black darkness that seemed to come from all light simply being absorbed by the spot rather than reflected off of it. The white colored spot began to become clearer and clearer, it became so white and pure it seemed like an infinite void of nothingness that stretched on into infinity. If one was to look too much at either the back or the white mark they would get two distinct feelings.
If they stared at the black mark they would feel as if they were trapped in a deep abyss with no escape. They would feel a sense of absolute dread from the very core of their beings. A feeling of no hope for any form of escape or rescue as if all things had already come to an end. If one stared at the white mark that was bright and pure like the essence of creation and light itself the would feel mesmerised and entransed within this light. They would soon feel their eyes begin to hurt and eventually even a pain would occur from their very soul from looking at it too much. As for the grey hazy spot that seemed like a perfect 50/50 mixture of these back and white colors it grew deep in color and this color formed a trick on one's eyes and it seemed hazy like black and white static.
If one were to stare at this mark for too long they would feel an incredible and irresistible grinding sensation on both their body and their soul. If they stared for too long their soul, consciousness, cultivation, body, everything would be ground into nothingness. This was the feeling that it gave off. As for the middle where there was seemingly nothing between these three spaces, if one looked there they would simply feel empty. Not afraid, not entranced, not in pain, not any feeling at all but a sense of total and complete emptiness. As if they would become nothing at all if they looked at it for a prolonged period of time. The colors continued to become clearer, darker, brighter, and more hazy as time passed. In Naath’s soul sea a small seed with a little black stem the same black as on Naath’s forehead and a leaf of the same white appeared.
This little plant sent out ripples that awoke some sleeping part of his soul. Suddenly Naath cried out in pain and grabbed his head as he fell unconscious. In his soul sea countless memories were coming forth and overwhelming the current Naath, yet the current Naath didn't disappear, he simply became part of these memories. Like someone with heavy amnesia suddenly remembered everything. In his soul sea the tree released two little motes of light that then expanded to large spheres inside of Naath’s soul.
Naath formed a soul body and organised all of his memories and shook his head looking around. He let out a breath and said. “Ah and I was having such a pleasant, dreamless sleep. Looking at my memories it seems like I was ‘asleep’ for almost ten years. Ah it seems I accidentally read something about the soul sea and woke myself up haha of course I did, of course. Even a subconscious form of myself was obsessed with information and learning. Oho this world has some very, very different cultivation stages and methods, interesting. I wonder why that is, hmmm also it seems my old teacher left me some gifts. Or should I say their gifts traveled across this life with me protected by this little void sapling here.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Naath moved forwards and gently caressed the small leaf that was pure white with a smile. While it was small and still hadn't even shed the casing of the seed entirely the leaf was still as large and Naath’s hand, and the stem that was just appearing was as tall as he was. He spoke up saying “thank you little friend for guarding me while I slept, I owe you a favor. I also owe the void a favor as well, hmm speaking of which you two need names don't you? I think I will call the true void space the void mother. After all everything that exists today and ever will exist came from the void I cannot think of a more fitting name. As for you little sprout, you are made from void itself and are a part of me and as I grow so will you and vice versa.
You have potential even I am uncertain of the limits to, I will call you Yggdrasil. In my old world there was a legend of a tree by that name that created many worlds and was the basis for existence itself. Many other legends came from this one such as world trees, trees that hold up the heavens, etc. I feel that you and I together will grow to inconceivable heights and that you will in fact make this name seem small to describe your grandeur.” As Naath spoke the little sprout of a true void tree shivered slightly, seemingly happy with its new name. Not only this but it seemed as if it grew slightly. Naath smiled seeing this but paid it no real mind as he started to look around aimlessly.
Eventually he spoke asking aloud “Ah my soul has returned to a singular state instead of the three variants of the void.” As he finished speaking though he felt a fluctuation from the sprout and vaguely understood it was saying “four” Naath was startled and thought for a moment. After his moment of thought he said “ah right im an idiot the three colors of the void are manifestations of its abilities in their physical forms. True void is colorless and nothingness. I’m an idiot for forgetting that most basic of principles no wonder my true void arts stagnated before. Thank you Yggrasil for reminding me, now then may I ask you to reform my soul once more, this time resembling that mark on my forehead?”
The little sprout buzzed lightly and began to once more devour and absorb Naath’s soul sea which had regressed all the way back to the initial state when he was first reborn into this world. All of his progress was undone upon his death after all and he had to start anew. However he knew this would also be a good thing for his foundation of a void soul. This was the name he had decided upon for his split soul. Having a void soul from the start meant that as he strengthened it his benefits would be incredible. His grasp of the true void arts would only deepen and he would grow much faster than before. As he was thinking and letting his soul be changed and shaped by the sprout, said sprout was already starting to produce the center point of his soul or its core.
It was a completely colorless place with no feeling whatsoever, yet because it was his soul Naath could feel it regardless. It was a profound unexplainable feeling, this part of his soul felt infinitely deep yet singularly finite. The sapling centered itself perfectly in the middle of this giant sphere of nothingness and continued to refine Naaths soul into three more parts connected to this nothingness. One part a pure untaintable white, one park a dark lightless black, a third an odd static mix of the two seemingly capable of destroying and grinding all things to absolute nothing. Then between the three colors invisible channels of nothingness connect them in a large outer circle. Outside his soul in the physical world several maids had heard Naath’s hollar of pain and rushed to help him. However as they approached they all froze.
The four maids that had entered to help Naath and make sure he was okay all saw a different part of his birthmark and began to become entransed. One of them had a pale face and was in a state of complete despair, another was smiling brightly, feeling as if they were in a world of infinite light. Another was bleeding from all seven orifices on her face but couldn't look away. The last one was in a daze and her aura of life was rapidly fading, as well as some parts of her physical body. Starting at her feet she started to slowly disappear. And the same began happening with the maid who was looking at the grey section as well.
The reason none of the maids were able to resist was simply because they were not cultivators and could not free themselves from this state. Naaths parent came in only moments after the maids and saw there condition and quickly used their martial energy to free them from the trance. When they did the one who stared at the black space shuddered and collapsed to the ground a puddle of foul smelling yellow liquid forming under her as she scrambled out of the room. She was clearly utterly terrified. The one who looked at the white space wept silent tears of joy and seemed to come to some sort of understanding and silently bowed and left. The one who looked at the grey space simply collapsed dead, her soul had already been ground away to nothingness.
The final one took deep heaving breaths and her body slowly returned. She was white as if there was no trace of blood in her entire body. She was deathly pale and in a state of such horror from that feeling of nothing that she directly ran away in a deep fear that she would not escape for the rest of her life. This is the terror of the true void, it can consume all things in infinite darkness, create all things in an infinite white void, destroy all things in an endless grinder of nothingness and has infinite yet finite space to contain all things. These four maids had unwittingly come into contact with the true void and each of them was left with a deep unforgettable impression that would later cause them to rise in the far future as powerhouses each forming a unique path throughout the world.