Everything in Kyran's vision turned white as the pain consumed his senses. He could no longer see anything, not the black sky or his hands supporting the shape-shifting plates earlier. All he knew was his whole body was on fire that even his bones felt they were already melting.
Amidst the searing white pain, the faces of each Regis clan member, as well as all the people that he did not know actually mattered to him, flashed through his mind.
Kyran suddenly recalled the words of one of his team members when he was still in military school. At a critical juncture of their exam, that person fell into despair because of the difficulty of their task. Then he suddenly said:
"My grandma said, when you face death, some of your memories with all the important people in your life will flash through your mind. I wonder if I'll get to see that before I die. If I can, I wish I could see Ms. Millie's smiling face at least."
'Does this mean… n-no!'
Kyran's heart sank as the reality of dying dawned on him. Though he did not believe what his team member had said before, suddenly seeing the faces of all the important people in his life after being subjected to a myriad of pain scared him. He could not possibly die here!
Before Kyran could fully register what was happening, an invisible force suddenly pulled his consciousness, making everything around him blur.
Soon after, his vision darkened, and the next moment, he was standing in front of their courtyard.
The first thing he noticed was he was no longer in pain.
No. Accurately speaking, he could not even feel his body. This state was similar to when his central core went out of control near the Chaos Palace.
Kyran looked at the courtyard in front of him, and the feeling of nostalgia swept through him. But the scene before him was devoid of color, movements, and sounds. However, as if someone had returned the flow of time and reality, the colors appeared then, followed by the movements and sounds.
In the courtyard, Kyran saw all of the little ones were running toward the open gates while a few male and female teens tried to stop them. The little ones' gleeful laugh echoed in all directions, drowning the teens' unconvincing threats to make them stop.
At the hem of the running, little ones, was a dark-haired cute little girl, dressed in a pink light dress. Her two pigtails bounced around as she giggled while leading all the mischievous little ones toward the gates.
"You can't stop us! We shall conquer the outside world and become the rulers of the courtyard!"
Kyran's heart squeezed, and he felt a sudden lump in his throat as he stared at the little girl.
'Kyra…'
Kyran's view shifted without any warning, and suddenly he saw his grandfather's broad straight back. His long black hair flowed down his back as he gazed at the massive wall in front of him.
They were inside the inheritance room of the Regis main house, and Aron was looking at the whole Regis Family Tree painted magically on the wall.
"Our family had been around for more than forty generations, and your father will soon shoulder all of the legacies left by our forefathers. However…"
Aron turned, and a gentle smile appeared on his face.
"…you may be your father's son, and my grandson, but that doesn't mean you need to shoulder it as well. Your time will come, but not today. And when it happens, it may even have to shoulder an entirely different legacy. Do not bind yourself to the clan, Kyran. Explore the outside."
'Grandfather—!'
Once again, Kyran was not given time to linger on his emotional turmoil as the whole scene dissolved before him.
He was now in a very dark place, making it hard to distinguish directions.
After a few seconds, Kyran finally heard some incoherent sounds from a distance.
Soon, the voices drew near, and he could finally understand what they were saying. But the moment he heard one of the voices, Kyran could barely keep his emotions in check.
"Is there really nothing you can do?"
'F-Father…'
"I'm sorry, Master Cade, Patriarch Aron."
'T-That's Chairman Malia's voice…' Kyran noticed. He tried everything to move and find where the voices were but failed miserably. He had no control over his body—or consciousness.
"I am also at a loss. I cannot find the cause of such an illness. But, maybe if we can see how it happened we may have a clue."
"Please, allow me to have a look with my magic."
'President Callan?'
"If it can help understand my son's illness, then please do."
It was Kyran's first time hearing his father sound so desperate. He gritted his non-existent teeth and even clenched his illusionary hands as he tried to contain his emotions.
"Very well. I will now begin…"
Callan's voice started to fade out.
Finally.
"Kyran…"
Kyran's eyes widened as he recognized the owner of the voice.
From a distance, a small light flickered.
"Forgive me. I had prayed that I can free you from this fate, but the Fates just won't allow it. At the very least, we want you to find your own path… No matter what, your father and I will help pave it."
'Mother…'
Finally, the small flickering light burst out, revealing his mother and father's faces. Both of them looked about ten years or so younger, with eyes filled with tenderness and love.
It did not take Kyran long to understand that this was a memory he had forgotten. He knew he had fallen ill when he was six years old. However, he had no memory of what had happened. Kyran also did not ask because he found out he could not become a mage after he recovered, and he felt really sad.
"I will now seal you. If not, you will soon break my son's body. I cannot allow you to do that."
Cade suddenly said, which made Kyran look on dumbfoundedly.
'What?'
The scene before him blurred, and a blinding light erupted, forcing Kyran to close his non-existent eyes.
When Kyran could finally open his eyes, he found himself looking at his magic cores.
'This…'
His eyes widened as he realized where he was. He immediately wandered his eyes, trying to find his predecessor.
Instead, a deep male voice had spoken.
"You won't find him here."
Kyran turned to face the direction where the voice had come.
Unfortunately, he did not find anyone anywhere.
The voice chuckled and said, "Just where are you looking?"
It was then that Kyran realized that each time the voice had spoken, there was a soft hum coming from his Void core.
"Don't tell me—."
"Why not?"
Then, a faint purple silhouette of what appeared to be a small round… furball with round clear eyes shot out from the Void core and appeared before Kyran.
The appearance of the furball instantly broke Kyran's initial image of a hulking man.
"Your expression tells me you're disappointed."
"I am," Kyran replied without even trying to conceal it.
Instead of being offended, however, the furball burst out laughing.
"BAHAHAHA! Right? I am too! Seriously, what's with this form?"
Kyran furrowed his brows in confusion. Wasn't the furball its form? More importantly, who—or what exactly was he? Or it? Well, he sounded male, so he should probably consider it a 'he.'
"But well, this form happened because of your father."
After the furball said this, Kyran managed to put two and two together, as he replied, "You're the one my father said he'd seal. I had thought he sealed my magic but it turned out it was you."
The furball's round eyes squinted as if it was grinning.
"He did. He sealed your magic cores. But he did it because after I woke up, I needed a lot of magic energy. I mean, I've been out of it for sooooo long, I am starving." He explained and added, "Too bad your little fragile body could not handle it. So yeah, I allowed him to seal me."
"Why do you need a lot of magic energy? Just what are you?" Kyran asked one after another. "More importantly, am I dying? Or am I already dead?"
"To answer your last question, at this moment, that black lightning is destroying your physical body."
"Then—."
"Hold your horses. Right now, you are inside your sea of conciousness. Time flows differently here. Hm…" The furball's clear round eyes looked up as if in deep thought and added, "Actually, there is no time here. We can talk as sloooow as we want and outside, you're body is still in the state of being destroyed. But yeah, you'll die either way."
Kyran glared at him, "Tell me how to leave."
With big round eyes, the furball looked at him, "And hasten your death? No way! You die, I'm toast. I can't wait another thousand years to wake again. No wait. You don't even have any children to pass on your legacy yet!"
"Huh?"
"Anyway~," the furball suddenly appeared on top of Kyran's head.
"Oi—."
"Let's get down to business."
Kyran did not respond and instead looked at the furball sitting on top of his head. But all he saw was the furball's furry bulging tummy. The furball was right, though. If Kyran woke up now, he'd end up dead. But if he learned anything from the first time he found himself inside his sea of consciousness, he managed to overcome a dangerous predicament. This time, returning here definitely meant there was a way for him to overcome his situation.
The furball pointed at Kyran's central core first before saying, "Remove the seal, and I'll take care of that black lightning."
Kyran's mind reeled at the furball's words.
It turned out there was a way, after all.
But still.
The furball sensed Kyran's hesitation. He was not offended, though; he simply chuckled and said, "That's right. I haven't answered your two questions yet. I know you love to ask questions, and don't worry, I actually love to answer! And to answer your questions, I needed a looot of magic energy simply because of what I am."
Kyran immediately caught on to how the furball chose to say 'what' and not 'who.'
"As to what I am."
The furball paused for a few seconds before answering, "I am what your predecessor calls, the True Void."