Chapter 186: Age of 23
"And who allowed you to surpass us?"
"Hush you old fool, you'll scare him!"
"Bah! Wait who are you calling an old fool? You're literally my ancestor,"
"Both of you, calm down," a serene yet domineering voice resonated, instantly bringing the other voices to a halt. Every word that was uttered seemed to have some kind of pressure that quite literally shook the air. "Good. Now let's welcome the young one properly shall we?"
Night's vision had barely stabilized as he laid his eyes upon the beings that were in front of him. The first thing he noticed was the fact that he wasn't in the meditation chambers anymore, instead, everything around him was turquoise in color, there was no definite ground, it simply looked like they levitated or stood on some kind of really clear glass. In front of him were more than 10 beings, all looking at him with a curious gaze.
"Introduce yourself boy"
As soon as Night heard that voice, he slightly shuddered at how piercing yet calm it was. It almost felt like he had no will of his in, he was simply in the palm of another being. Perhaps the other had no real reason to wait for Night to answer, instead, he was more than capable of forcing out the answer with just his voice.
"Night....." he winced as he leaned one head against his own shoulder, covering that ear, while he used his hands to hold onto his head.
"I see. And do you know who we are?"
".....No...?" he sounded slightly puzzled, only because of how they emitted a vibe similar to someone he knew.
"Very well. Raffox. Would you go on? If you don't mind that is..."
"Of course Senior," the individual named Raffox agreed nearly instantly. He bowed very slightly to make sure he showed respect to the other man but at the same time to make sure he wasn't seen as someone who would simply bow down to others.
"I'm curious. How did you manage to pull that off? And what about the color? It's been a while since I've seen such a color, so tell me. Unless of course, you choose not to. In which case I'll understand," Raffox said as he shrugged. Just the last sentence was more than to convince Night that he could be at ease around this man, however, "but you should know, I will most definitely make sure I get my answer. I hope you're as understanding as me,"
"....I'm not sure what you're talking about...." Night replied as he unconsciously took a step back, this was one of the few times he was confused and scared. Usually, even if it meant his death, Night wouldn't be afraid but after experiencing the mind-numbing pain that he did, he was conflicted.
"You managed to pierce the wall deeper than any of us did. How?"
"I used my Umbr-...." before he could finish it, Night stopped himself. All this time he was around people who were considerably kinder and understanding, which allowed him to freely use the word "Umbrakinesis", however, this was a different situation, he didn't know anyone here, but it was obvious that every single one of them was capable of killing him in an instant.
"Hoh? The answer is something other than weapon aura? But it's obvious that you're a Grandmaster, there's no way you'd be in here otherwise. Urgh, this is becoming pointless but you're the second person to ever appear here, you understand why we're being this on the edge yes? Good. Although, compared to the other person you're considerably weaker and younger. Actually, what's your age? 40? It's hard to say because of how we age,"
"Twenty-three..."
"What."
"I'm 23 years old..."
"Are you lying to me? Do you think I'm someone you can lie to? Perhaps you do. Hahah, you must think I'm foolish...there's no someone who's barely 20 can enter here....there's no way."
"Raffox." the voice the respected individual echoed. Everyone around Night now seemed to have a puzzled and shocked look on their face, everyone except the one that sat down in the middle. The man had a pure smile on his face, "let me handle things from here,"
"Very well Senior," Raffox said as he turned around and walked back to where he once stood.
"I apologize for that. What Raffox meant was that you are the only other person to appear in the span of a century. Now, I can't tell you who the other person was, but let's just say, in terms of weapon aura, he's surpassed everyone here. A true genius if you may, but compared to what you just achieved, his feat is like a child's play,"
"What I just achieved?"
"Why yes. At just the age of 23 you've managed to master weapon aura, so much so that you're probably more skilled than some of us here. But there is still something that remains unanswered. Why is your aura black?"
"Because it isn't just any aura. It's Umbrakinesis, it allows me to control darkness to a certain extent, at least as of now,"
"....I...see...that's pretty interesting and how did you manage to learn this?"
"Well....I can't say that out loud....." Night said, the next second, the other man appeared right in front of him and leaned in close, his intentions were clear. He wanted Night to whisper the truth in his ear.
'That's not what I meant...but okay....Wait why am I even answering to him?'
So far, everything that Night said was in a way forced out of him. It was as if he was meant to and supposed to answer anything and everything the other man asked him.
"I was cursed.....by a Primordial," he whispered slowly, making sure he pronounced every single word properly.
"Prim-"
*Keokkk!*
The man could barely finish one word before he choked on his own saliva. But regardless, it seemed as if he was aware of the Primordials, which wasn't something everyone knew. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't as surprised as the others which meant that there was more to this entire situation than Night originally thought.
".....This is.....absurd...how are you even alive.....actually forget about that. This explains a lot....." the man said as he sighed out loud, he had to calm down and make sure the others don't suspect too much, "very well. Since you're here, I am now going to bestow upon you something that shall very greatly assist you in your future battles. However, you should know that, what I'm about to give you, is still incomplete. With that being said, bear with me..."
The man held Night's hand and slowly, dark lines began oozing out of the man and moved onto Night's body. They crawled slowly, burning his skin very slightly as they moved. It was hot, but nothing that could cause him pain that was worth mentioning. However, once all the lines moved to his heart region, Night felt an excruciating pain that brought him to his knees. It was somewhat similar to what Nate felt. However, Night's mind wasn't in a state to actively take pain at the moment, meaning the second he felt pain around his chest, he was knocked out unconscious.
"....A monster that's going to overthrow the great realm is soon going to be born. Chosen by The Night herself....even I, Zenod, am not worthy of such an honour," the man whispered as he walked back to the others, with every step he took, Night's body continued to dematerialize until he was no more a part of that world.
"Senior...don't you think he reminds you of that other one a little?" Raffox asked as he looked at Zenod walk back.
"Hmmm...well, I'm not sure, but I'd say so, yes," Zenod said with a smile, making sure his thoughts were completely sealed off,
'After all, both of them are voids that consume everything,'