Chapter 150: The Void

The community at the cave’s entrance wasn’t what Grace expected.

She’d pictured desperate people clinging to survival, maybe some defensive fortifications, definitely a general air of doom and gloom. Instead, she found neat rows of houses, a market square with actual vendors, and people.

Sure, people going about their business with all the enthusiasm of watching paint dry, but people nevertheless.

“This is… normal?” Alia said, looking around.

“Relatively normal,” Zephyr agreed.

“All the more reason to keep our guard up, ladies,” Mara said.

A woman walked past carrying a basket of bread. She glanced at the angels, shrugged, and kept walking.

[That’s new. Usually people at least gawk a little.]

“Welcome to Hollowtown,” a man said, approaching them. Middle-aged, weathered face, expression flat as old beer. “Angels, I assume?”

“What gave it away?” Grace asked, trying to get a giggle out of him.

He gestured vaguely at their wings.

Grace blinked.

“Right. Yes. Angels. We, uh… we’re here to help with the Void situation.”

“What situation?”

Grace blinked.

“The… the giant cave of nothingness that’s apparently eating people’s souls?”

“Oh. That.” The man shrugged. “It’s fine.”

“It’s fine?”

“Been there forever. We just don’t go too deep.” He scratched his beard. “You need lodging? Martha runs an inn.”

“We’re not staying long,” Grace said. “We’re here to—”

“Help. Yes. Angels always want to help.” His tone suggested this ranked somewhere between mild annoyance and background noise. “Martha’s inn is that way.”

He wandered off.

[Well. That was mildly weird.]

“Is it just me,” Mara said slowly, “or did he seem…”

“Completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever?” Zephyr finished. “Indeed, he did.”

Grace looked around again. Now that she was paying attention, everyone moved with the same listless energy. No rushing, no laughter, no arguments. Just… existing.

“This place sucks,” Alia declared.

“Technically, I think that’s the point,” Grace said.

A child walked past, dragging a wooden toy on a string. The wheels scraped against the dirt in a steady rhythm. The kid’s face held all the excitement of someone filing taxes.

“Okay, that’s creepy,” Alia said.

“At least they’re not turning to stone,” Grace offered. “Remember the Mountain? People literally becoming frozen statues? This is just… mild depression.”

“Mild?” Zephyr watched a vendor mechanically arrange fruit that no one seemed interested in buying. “This is like watching the world’s saddest puppet show.”

They found Martha’s inn because it had a sign that said “Martha’s Inn” in letters so bland they hurt to look at. Martha herself greeted them with the enthusiasm of wet cardboard.

“Angels. Four beds?”

“We’re not staying—” Grace started.

“One room or four?”

“We’re here about the Void—”

“Breakfast included. Two copper a night.”

Grace gave up.

“One room, please.”

Martha handed over a key without looking up from her ledger.

“Room three. Don’t make noise.”

[I’ve had warmer welcomes from demons actively trying to kill me.]

The room was exactly what Grace expected. Four beds, beige walls, a window overlooking more beige buildings. Even the dust motes floating in the air looked bored.

“Right,” Grace said, setting down her pack. “We need to help these people.”

“Do we though?” Zephyr flopped onto a bed. “They seem fine with being emotional vegetables.”

“They’re not fine. They’re just too drained to realize they’re not fine.”

“So what’s the plan?” Alia asked, bouncing on her bed. At least someone still had energy. “Fuck the depression out of them?”

“That’s not—” Grace paused. “Wait, would that work?”

“One way to find out!”

“Before that, though, we can try some… uh, regular helping? Food, healing, normal angel stuff?”

“Worth a try.” Mara nodded.

“Alright,” Grace said. “You three see what you can do for the town. I’m going to scout the cave.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You’re going alone?” Zephyr sat up.

“Just the entrance,” Grace replied.

“Grace.”

“I promise I won’t go deep.” Grace put her hands up defensively. “I just… want to get a feel for what we’re dealing with.”

Mara studied her for a long moment. After a while, she nodded.

“Stay where you can see daylight.”

Grace almost sighed with relief. She appreciated the confidence. Part of why Grace hadn’t brought Diana or Valkyrie with her on this trip was because she wanted to become less dependent on help. Mara appeared to be on the same page.

“Of course.”

[I’m absolutely going deeper than that but she doesn’t need to know.]

—

The deeper, darker part of the cave yawned before her, a perfect circle of black against the stone. No gradual darkening, no play of shadows. Just light here, then not-light there.

Grace summoned her Blade of Eternia. The golden glow pushed back the darkness maybe three feet before giving up.

[That’s concerning.]

She glanced back. The town continued its listless existence behind her. In the distance, she could see Mara talking to the emotionally-vacant Martha while Alia performed what looked like an enthusiastic one-woman show for absolutely no one’s entertainment.

[They’ll be fine. Just a quick look.]

She stepped inside.

The change was immediate. Temperature dropped. Not cold exactly, but an absence of warmth that made her skin prickle. Every sound became muffled, like someone had thrown a blanket over the world.

The tunnel sloped downward, walls smooth as glass. Her blade’s light created a small bubble of visibility, beyond which darkness pressed in like a physical thing.

[Okay. This is definitely not normal darkness. This is advanced darkness.]

She pressed deeper. The slope steepened. Her footsteps echoed wrong, too quiet and too loud at the same time.

Then she saw them.

Shapes in the darkness, moving with purpose. Not quite solid, not quite shadow. They drifted closer, curious or hungry or both.

[Shadow-demons. Great. Because regular demons weren’t annoying enough.]

The first one reached her light. It had a humanoid shape with sharp angles and too many joints. Where normal demons radiated menace, this thing radiated exhaustion. Looking at it made Grace want to lie down.

Level 70 floated above its head in red letters.

It tilted its head. Then lunged.

Grace swung. Her blade cut clean through its torso, and the demon dissolved into shadow. Dead. Actually dead.

[Good. At least I can still kill things.]

She moved forward. More shapes emerged from the darkness. Three, four. Level 65. Level 72. Level 68. Level 70. None of them particularly strong, but their sheer emptiness made her skin crawl.

One touched her shoulder. Pain flared where it made contact, but there was a second effect. Instantly, Grace’s sword arm felt heavier. Almost tired.

Grace shook her head violently.

“Stay alert, Grace. Come on.”

She channeled more energy into her blade. The light flared brighter, and the shadow-demons stepped back. Their forms wavered like smoke.

[Light hurts them. Good to know.]

She pushed forward, swinging her blade in wide arcs. The creatures danced back, regrouping. One darted in from the side. Grace spun, light blazing, and cut it in half. It dissolved with a whispered sigh.

[One down.]

Soon, Grace found herself in a strange, slow dance. Advance, swing, retreat. The shadow-demons moved like they had all the time in the world. Every brush of contact made her limbs feel like lead, thoughts sluggish.

[This is how they get you, I’m guessing. I’ll just get more and more tired until I slip up and boom, they take my head off.]

She pushed harder, blade singing through the air.

Then she noticed the demons weren’t really trying. They reached for her, yes, but without urgency. Like they were bored.

[It’s like they’re affected too. Even the demons here don’t care anymore.]

One of them grabbed her ankle. Cold shot up her leg, turning her muscles to stone. She stumbled, caught herself, channeled every bit of energy she could into her blade.

The explosion of light vaporized every shadow-demon in sight.

Grace stood gasping in the sudden emptiness. Her leg burned as feeling returned. The darkness pressed in, patient as death.

[Right. No more playing around.]

She pressed deeper. The tunnel opened up, walls vanishing into black space her light couldn’t reach. The floor became uneven rock, forcing her to watch her step.

More shadow-demons emerged, but she was ready now. Quick strikes, constant movement, don’t let them touch. It was exhausting. Every step forward felt like walking through mud.

[How deep does this go?]

Time blurred together. Could have been minutes or hours. The sameness of it all made her eyelids heavy. Even fighting for her life became routine.

Then the tunnel opened into a vast chamber. Grace felt the space rather than saw it. Her light died just a few feet ahead, swallowed by absolute darkness.

She stood at the threshold, blade raised, staring into nothing.

[Found it. The Void’s chamber.]

The air shifted in that darkness. Not shadow-demons. The air itself moving around a massive presence that made everything feel thin and stretched.

Grace took a deep breath.

[Okay. This is what I came for. Time to meet whatever cosmic depression Eternia stuffed down here.]

She didn’t step forward. Not yet. But she didn’t retreat either.

The darkness waited.

So did she, wondering what she should do.

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