Samael's figure soared fast and strong, his hair fluttering under the raging torrent of the wind. The distant hymns of explosions ringing in his ears.

He had the urge to look back and help Ajax. But he was too weak—far too weak—to make a change. He'll only be a hindrance and cause more problems than good.

He locked his eyes forward, jaws clenched tight. Everyone had gathered in the village today to celebrate the prosperity festival. If what Ajax said is indeed the truth...

Faster! Samael stomped the ground hard, catapulting himself forward.

Eventually, Samael's vision caught sight of Irvel village. Along with the bright lights caused by the festivities.

Thank goodness I made it in time— Samael's thoughts were cut short as bloodcurdling screams reverberated in the air.

He winced as numerous sparks of light illuminated the village in its incandescent glow, accompanied by the tremors and explosions stirring the dust.

Samael's face paled. Was he too late?

Gritting his teeth, he darted towards the village gates, where carnage and death awaited him.

***

Swarms of humanoid abominations roamed around the village, chasing those they cast their gazes at. They appeared to be humans, but their skin had long separated from their flesh. Their bodies pale as corpses, and their heads disfigured. Eyes littered their faces, and their maws clamped wide, filled with sharp teeths.

The village folks scampered for their lives; their screams and pleas for help left trails of echo in the air.

A small girl ran as fast as she could, stumbling to get away from the creatures, tears meandering down her cheeks.

"No! Get away!" She screamed, her frail little hands throwing handfuls of dirt against the abominations. But to no avail.

The creature ran like a rabid dog, jaws clamped wide, ready to devour anything that moved.

It lunged, pinning the little girl against the earth as it drew closer.

The little girl shut her eyes tight, waiting for the creature to drill its fangs into her neck and tear it into pieces.

A huge bang whispered in her ears, sending warm liquid trickling down her skin. With tears drowning her vision, she took a small peak.

There stood Samael, Crimson Raven nestling in his palms. His steel armor marred with the blood of his adversaries.

He shot a brief glance at the girl. "Go, keep running as far from the village as you can. Avoid the southern forest at any cost," he instructed as he helped the girl up.

Samael shifted his gaze up front.

"Devour," he said.

The limp corpse lying on the ground liquified, its body evaporating into a mist of blood, leaving nothing but a small black sphere.

The sphere of Void essence hovering above his palm inched closer to his skin, slowly resonating with his body as it faded into the unknown.

Devoured Void Essence of "Necron" +3

Your power grows stronger...

He shot a glance ahead, his soles shrouded in dark matter. With a swift thrust of his foot, his figure raced forward.

His eyes darted back and forth, scanning the amount of destruction that had occurred in his absence.

Raging flames had taken over a part of the village, while the rest were infested with Necrons. However, he failed to notice any rifts. So how did they breach the towering walls?

But that isn't his concern right now. He must save as many villagers as he can and kill as many of the swarms as much as possible.

He tightened his grip, his eyes narrowing down. He lowered his stance, Crimson Raven hanging from his shoulders. The dark matter coating his soles surged forth.

Samael's figure zoomed ahead, billowing towards the abominations running amok.

Noticing his presence, they growled at him, their saliva meandering down their maws as they sprinted towards him.

Dialing his arm back, Samael's blade drew an arc in the air, severing two necrons in half. However, their bodies squirmed on the ground, snarling as they crawled desperately towards him.

"What the hell..." Samael uttered. Even a normal beast wouldn't survive having its body bisected in half.

Samael raised his foot in the air as it descended with a reckoning boom.

Blood stained his cheeks as the creatures heads burst open, sending chunks of their brain matter soaring in the air.

Raising his hand forward, he uttered "Devour."

Devoured Void Essence of "Necron (2)" +6

Your power grows stronger...

Without batting an eye, Samael flew forward once more. His gaze fixated on the abominations chasing the villagers.

With a swift slash, Crimson Raven cleaved through another Necron, tearing its head in two. This time, the creature fell limp.

Is the head their weakness? Samael wondered.

Casting his sights on an approaching enemy, Samael coated his arm with void matter. With a forceful kick to the ground, he lashed his fist forward.

A reckoning boom echoed in the air as Samael's knuckles drilled a hole through the creatures head. Its body flew back, crashing into a hut with a thundering explosion before falling down with a soft thud, limp and dead.

So their head is their weakness, Samael concluded as he hastily absorbed their essence.

Samael's gaze landed on the shivering villagers. "Leave the village, travel as far north as you can, and avoid the south at any cost," he instructed.

The villagers stood idle, their faces pale. They were tired; he understands that, but only by running can they survive.

"Go!" He roared, breaking the villagers from their stupor. They hurriedly rose to their feet, stumbling as they bolted north.

This won't work; this is too slow. Samael's gaze pranced around. If he continues at this pace, the deaths will eventually pile up. He needs something—a way for everyone to hear his voice.

Think Samael! Think! Thoughts wreaked havoc in his mind as he watched the smoke rise higher by the second.

Wait... Smoke...? Samael's eyes widened. If his void coating has the capability to enhance a part of his body, then how about his voice? Will it work?

Time to find out Samael thought.

Samael leaped upward, soaring through the air as he landed on a roof with a loud thud.

The incandescent glow of the flames devouring the village glimmered in his pupils, along with the villagers desperately running for their lives.

Samael clenched his jaw, his breathing disheveled. He closed his eyes, channeling forth Void matter as he guided it towards his throat.

In all the times he's used this skill, it's always been in the form of external release, but how about controlling it internally? Will it cause him harm? Will he even be able to do it?

No, he has to do it. It's his only choice.

That familiar seed of warmth resonated through his veins, coursing up his body as he channeled it to his throat.

However, it was not so simple. The surge of Void matter nesting in his body would always disperse halfway through, wasting time, effort, and energy.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

You have to work! Samael thought, a frown etching lines in his face. But his attempts were futile.

Again! Samael insisted.

Yet he failed once more.

Not yet, no!

Failure greeted him again.

Damn it, WORK!

No matter how hard he tried, it was all for naught.

Samael slumped down, beads of sweat meandering down his forehead. His chest rose and fell, akin to a boat stranded in the middle of a storm.

No matter how hard he tries or how much he pushes himself, nothing works.

He tried and tried and tried, yet in the end, nothing really changed.

Is this it?

Is this how everything ends?

No.

Never.

He's gone too far to fail now. The people he cherishes live in this village. This is their home. He won't stand by and watch as their only sanctuary is robbed from them.

He himself knows the burden and pain of having nowhere to go. No place to return to.

That pain stays with him.

Samael rose to his feet, flames of determination burning brightly beyond his pupils.

Why isn't it working? He asked himself. Slowly, he closed his eyes, drowning out the screams and pleas for help.

How does he channel his power?

Often, he would feel the warmth the Void had graced upon him and give it directions as he wished.

But is it really the right way?

What is the Void to him?

A power?

A tool?

A way to gain power?

No.

He used to remember a being of great power towering over him. Bathing in the darkness as though they were one.

Well, they were one.

That's the part he missed.

The Void wasn't just a power. It was his power.

It wasn't just some tool he could wield whenever he wanted. It was a bond that formed the moment he decided to bear the weight of its power.

He treated it as if it were some device, giving it commands as though it weren't his.

What he lacked was resonance.

He always thought of it as giving commands to achieve what he wanted. When he should've used it as his own.

The Void was with him, as he's with the Void.

Onyx-dark lines etched down his throat, drilling deep into his skin. They released a soft, tantalizing glow that gave off a hint of mysticism.

Samael could feel the Void matter in his flesh and in his blood. He could feel how they moved and swirled under his skin and the warmth of safety they gave him.

It's time, he thought.

"PEOPLE OF IRVEL VILLAGE, HEED MY CALL AND SEEK REFUGE NORTH OF THE VILLAGE. RUN, RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN, AND AVOID THE SOUTHERN FOREST AT ALL COST!" Samael roared, his voice leaving trails of echo in the air.

Samael's call traveled far and wide, luring the attention of the villagers and Necrons alike.

For a moment, there was silence, then came the storm.

The villagers bolted north of the village, their screams wafting through the air.

"Run! Run north!"

"You heard the watcher! Go north!"

"Hurry!"

The necrons chasing them came to a halt, their gazes all fixed on Samael's location.

SCRAAAA!

Their snarls wafted through the air as they billowed towards him, completely ignoring the mundane folks standing in their way, as though they never existed in the first place.

The villagers watched in awe as the abominations ran past them, bumping through them as they scurried to reach Samael first.

"What the hell..."

"What..."

"Am I dead?"

However, a voice stripped them of their confusion.

"Everyone! Do not waste the opportunity given to us by the watchers! Move! Make haste towards the north!" Elder Eric said, his face marred with wounds.

"That's right! Run!"

"Move!"

"Out of my way!"

Samael watched as the villagers ran north, evacuating the village without wasting a moment. It seems his voice had reached them.

COUGH!

Samael glanced at his palm, his breathing ragged. A mouthful of blood nestled in his hand, some trickling down his lips.

He could feel his throat burning and the searing pain carving through his flesh. It was painful, but he can handle it. Pain's an old friend.

Wiping his mouth dry of blood, Samael cast a glance ahead.

Void: Tier 0 Mark 0

Control: Tier 0 Mark 0

-Marker: 20/20

Quantity: Tier 0 Mark 0

-Marker: 20/20

Requirements met for tier elevation. Proceed or not?

Proceed, he thought.

Control and quantity: Tier 0 -> Tier 1

Void: Tier 0 -> Tier 1

Requirements met! Unlocked: Void skills

New skills gained: [Encompassing Voice]

Skill effect: [Lure] has taken effect!

Dozens and dozens of Necrons surged his way. A tsunami of abominations, a walking calamity of destruction and death. Yet a smile tugged at the corner of Samael's lips.

"Let them come," he uttered, his voice coarse and deep.

The swarm of Necrons inched closer by the second, their snarls and growls reverberating in the air.

Samael tightened his grip on Crimson Raven.

Let's try this out, Samael thought.

Onyx-dark smoke gushed out of his hands. However, they appeared as tame as a knight's loyal squire, ever ready to serve and protect their noble master.

They swirled in a calm, soothing manner, enveloping his hands instead of seeping out. Unfortunately, they were far from perfect. They would occasionally break away, only to regroup.

Now... Samael shifted his gaze towards Crimson Raven.

The Void matter shrouding his hands slithered upwards, latching onto Crimson Raven and enveloping the weapon in their loving embrace.

But contrary to what Samael believed, Crimson Raven didn't deny the power; instead, it harnessed it and melded with it.

The Void matter drilled through the steel surface of the weapon, coating its entirety in its power and at the same time warping its appearance to something far more ominous.

[https://i.ibb.co/9p4G69n/darker-swirling-void-matter-glowing-red-malevolent-crow-head-design-in-buttspike-red-miasma-all.png]

New skill gained: [Void Augmentation]

Samael could feel the increase in his power; he feels as though he can flatten steel with his bare hands, as though he can cleave through boulders with ease.

His gaze shifted forward, landing on the stampede of abominations hurling his way. He glanced up, the ethereal glow of the moon bathing his face in its celestial embrace.

Midnight Samael concluded.

It was now or never.

Samael leaped forward, his body breezing through the wind as he landed on the earth with a loud thud, stirring the dust.

Raising to his feet, he dusted himself. He lowered his stance and hung Crimson Raven on his shoulders.

The swarms of Necrons loomed closer and closer, merely a few meters away from him. Their maws and claws prepared to mangle him to pieces.

Samael's eyes narrowed down. With a forceful kick to the ground, his body darted forward.

His blade drew an arc in the air as it drilled through two of two of the abominations, their heads billowing in the sky.

He grounded to a halt, his foot thrusting forward as they catapulted away the approaching Necron.

Digging his foot back, he threw a wide back swing, rupturing the head of another foe.

Snarls and growls treaded in the air as Samael swung tirelessly, his blade and steel armor bathing in the blood of his adversaries.

The brown earth has long been drenched in crimson, guts and heads roll in the sky along with the rain of corpses.

Samael swiftly dashed back, nimbly avoiding the rabid slashes of the attacking creatures.

He countered with a diagonal cleave, eviscerating the Necron's head in two. Its body plummeted to the ground, adding to the pile of bodies forming a pathway.

If it weren't for the narrow path in his direction, he would've been overwhelmed and killed.

Is there no end to them? Samael thought.

"Void Augmentation," Samael uttered, dark matter latching onto his fist.

With a flick of his wrist, he separated two heads while his fist drilled through the faces of the other approaching abominations.

Sweat meandered down his forehead, his back drenched in its entirety. His breathing was deep and ragged.

This can't go on any longer! Samael thought. His ethos is depleting at an alarming rate; if this continues, he will fall.

His gaze darted back and forth, scanning the horizon for anything he could use. But there was only the raging fire and the blood marring the walls crimson.

Flames? Samael's eyes narrowed down.

Thats right! He hurriedly delved through his Dragon Hoard remnant, withdrawing a concoction with swirling gas inside.

Starlight concoction! Samael thought. Once ignited, it can destroy anything within a four-meter radius, but there's a problem.

The starlight concoction isn't enough to kill all of them; I need some form of fuel, Samael thought.

And I think I know just the right thing, he concluded.

Samael's figure zoomed forward, avoiding the Necrons out for his blood. He breezed through the village, halting in the plaza that once stood grand.

It's still here! Samael thought with glee.

Today was the day of the prosperity festival, which means that the villagers will offer their harvest to the Gods in hopes of good luck.

That also means a lot of crops, liquor, and cattle will sit idly here, untouched. These will serve as his fuel. Fire isn't a problem; there's plenty all around.

Samael's ears twitched as the growls of the monstrosities lingered in the air. They were close. But he will have to time this right.

It wasn't long until the malevolent swarm filled the horizon, nearly blocking away the burning buildings behind them.

It was a sight of horror.

But an opportunity as well.

Samael didn't blink; his gaze locked on the approaching abominations. His eyes watched each and every step they took.

They inched closer and closer.

No, not yet... Samael thought.

Their growls grew stronger by the second, filling the air with their malevolent voices.

Almost... Samael thought, a lone bead of sweat trickling down his forehead.

Their stampede trampled over the crops and the corpses lying in the earth.

Samael glanced at the concoction nestling in his palms, and he uttered.

"Let there be light..."

Then, a blinding light devoured all that stood in its way.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!

An ear-shattering explosion shook the earth. The winds lashed and sent shockwaves of unparalleled ferocity. The houses swept away by their wrathful rage.

The blinding light, albeit temporarily, lit the dark midnight sky. As though a beacon of light were descending from the heavens.

The echoes of the explosion traveled far and wide, their ripples felt even by the mundane folks escaping from the carnage.

They halted their tracks, their gazes shifting towards the blinding ray of light. Their whispers dangled in the air.

"Isn't that from Irvel village...?"

"Have the gods taken notice of our perilous situation?"

"Oh, Taranius, bless us!"

They have taken refuge north of the village, where an old fortress once stood. However, it's now abandoned and left to rot. Fortunately, it seems to still be intact and devoid of any threats.

The Grand Elder stood unmoving, his eyes fixated on the direction of the village. He knows well enough that the gods wouldn't interfere with them. That this light is not of heavenly power. If the gods had cared, the cataclysms wouldn't have happened in the first place.

"Boy, you better be alright," he said.

The night is nearing its end.