Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 165: The Empty

Morgan stared at the gigantic wraith in genuine bafflement.

All around them, smoke rose from the smouldering ruins, what was left of them, at the end of the spectral battle.

In truth, without Sarenus’s power, the small group of youths would have likely been obliterated.

The wraith remained in its position as though waiting for a command of some sort.

As the seconds ticked by, Morgan’s bafflement only grew.

"And what exactly am I supposed to do? And how is this even possible?"

In Morgan’s shadow, brilliant white flames ignited, glowing vividly in the darkness, and his shadow took on the appearance of a mirror version of himself.

The new Morgan grinned eerily, white flames licking out of his mouth.

"Well, of course, it’s only possible because of you. Well, your Void World in particular."

Morgan stared at Sarenus in confusion.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"The Void World you possess allows you to form contracts with creatures such as this. A special bond of sorts, in return they inhabit your Void World, and of course you can upon them, the same way you’re able to draw upon my power."

Morgan pondered this new information in wonder.

In his mind, he could already see how this could be useful.

An army of shadow wraiths with limitless power to draw upon.

That would certainly make his life much easier.

His bond with Sarenus had already come in handy on several occasions, bailing them out of troublesome situations time and again.

"So how do I accept it into my Void World?" Morgan asked, staring at Sarenus’s dark form on the ground in front of him.

" Simply acknowledge it. With your body as a catalyst, it should enter the void world with your permission."

Morgan turned to the tenebrous giant before him.

" Can you speak?"

To his surprise, a deep voice rang out

" Yes, my Lord."

" Do you have a name?"Morgan asked curiously.

" My name was Kazarax, but I’ll take on any name you grant me, my Lord."

Kazarax, what an...interesting name."

What was up with the names of all these ancient creatures? Why did they all have to be so...

Morgan was becoming more and more flabbergasted by the minute.

"Is this supposed to be a dream? What is even happening?"

Who would even believe him?

Even in the Brotherhood of Shadows, from what Conrad had told him, shadow wraiths were monstrosities that were feared by all.

The wraiths had an abnormally high affinity for umbralis, which gave them physical abilities on par with those of maestros and even surpassing them in some cases.

" From what Conrad said, most of the wraiths that the Brotherhood has encountered have been human."

"Alright, Kazarax, you may enter my Void World."

A strange energy surged through Morgan’s body.

His eyes widened slightly, his mouth falling open in surprise.

A ripple of energy burst outward with his body at the centre of the phenomenon.

In the next moment, Morgan’s eyes lit up, burning with brilliant white flames.

His dark hair fluttered slightly in a wind stirred to life by the power being released in that moment.

The jet black giant, rooster, then shrank, dissolving into a dark mist that lingered for some time, then slowly flowed into Morgan, entering his body.

The effect was immediate.

Morgan felt a surge of energy course through him, setting every fibre of his being on fire.

His mouth fell open in ecstasy, his eyes widening at the giddy feeling of overwhelming power flowing through him.

He closed his eyes, savouring the feeling for a time before turning back to Sarenus.

The flames in his eyes slowly died out, his eyes reverting back to normal.

He slowly flexed his hands.

In the next moment, he fell to one knee, breathing heavily.

Suddenly, the world dizzily spun around him, every sensation becoming amplified.

His hearing increased drastically, the scents in the air becoming sharper.

The distant moons drew closer, pulsating erratically.

"Now, before you even think about running around trying to form a legion of wraiths, you should know that without the strength to contain these creatures in your Void World, their power could destroy you."

"That is what you’re experiencing right now. It’s also the reason why your kind are extremely rare and difficult to chance upon. And the reason why very few of them even manage to survive."

Morgan slowly processed what Sarenus was telling him.

A wave of fiery pain slammed into him, throwing him back. The intensity of the pain was almost equivalent to the giddy ecstasy from the abundant flow of power he’d previously felt.

He threw his head back, screaming in agony.

His eyes rolled back in his head, his veins pulsating with a dark colour.

Morgan felt an unprecedented panic, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

His body contorted, spasming erratically.

Furious waves of pain ravaged his body, crashing through him repeatedly.

And in the midst of the pain, Morgan could feel something changing, deep within him, awakening a part of him that had been dormant, asleep for the longest time.

Morgan screamed until he couldn’t recognize his voice anymore.

Several disorganized thoughts fleeted through his mind, disappearing almost as soon as they appeared, washed away by the blinding pain.

"What is this? What is happening to me?"

After what felt like an eternity, the pain abruptly subsided, then slowly faded.

Morgan promptly fell to the ground and passed out.

After a long while, his eyes fluttered open.

" You’re finally awake...sleepyhead..." Sarenus said, his voice dripping with mirth.

Morgan stirred in the ground, slowly regaining control over his limbs.

Then he remembered the pain

"Aargh! What was that? What happened to me?"

Sarenus stared at him coolly.

" What you experienced was what happens when your body isn’t strong enough to handle the backlash of accepting a wraith into the Spirit Void. And if you did it, you’d slowly die."

Morgan frowned slightly.

" And how exactly would that happen?"

"Wraiths are beings that have lost control over themselves. Creatures that stared into the abyss for so long that the abyss stared back. The power they had turned on then and consumed them, so in a sense, they are dead. When a Void World wielder allows these creatures into their Void World, that process is miraculously temporarily reversed."

"In other words, these creatures be

come unique, depending on the level of the Void World wielder, they can use the power they had in life. This makes them unique and even extremely dangerous.

But despite that, such a process isn’t without its risks. In the moment they accept a creature into their Void World, the Empty experience the pain of the creature that they accept as though it were their own. It is the price they pay for wielding such power."

Morgan stared at the veliscera wraith standing before him, seeing it in an entirely new light.

From what Sarenus had said, he could clearly feel that the creature before him was no longer a veliscera and feel the overwhelming waves of power rolling off it.

It was simply staggering.

Morgan could imagine such a creature going toe to toe with a maestro, even with the immense power the terrifying assassins wielded.

And to think that such a creature would be under his control.

" In the age of knowledge, Void World Wielders were known as The Empty.

A term referring simply to the vast amount of power that such beings could command.

Others called them this because they thought that such beings were soulless, which is why they could take on the ’souls’ of other creatures. A nonsensical theory.

In my opinion, the Empty have vast vessels, allowing them to take on other creatures.

But with the passage of time, the Empty slowly died out."

" Many were killed simply for living, because people feared what they could become."

Morgan’s gaze turned sombre.

"Well, it’s not a person’s fault that they’re born the way they are. People don’t get to choose how they’re born."

Sarenus chuckled in amusement at the sentiment.

"Well, you’re right about that. You’re definitely right about that. But that’s considering you know nothing about what could happen if one of the Empty were to be corrupted."

" As you’ve experienced for yourself, when the Empty take on a wraith they become immensely powerful, but the process itself is excruciatingly painful. As a result, many of the less resolute and mentally weak would be driven to madness."

Sarenus’ voice took on a darker and colder edge.

" Imagine what would happen if an immensely powerful Void World wielder, an Empty, with access to a legion of wraiths, lost control? And succumbed to madness?"

Morgan audibly gulped, subconsciously shuddered at the thought.

"The destruction in the wake of the wielder’s madness would be catastrophic.

Such a being was known as a Hollow."

Sarenus’ voice turned sombre.

"I once saw a Void World wielder go toe to toe with a Lord..."

The flames in Sarenus’s eyes smouldered.

" It was one of the most harrowing battles I’ve ever witnessed.

Morgan stared at him curiously.

"And who won that fight?"

Sarenus went silent for a while, then spoke.

"The two fought to a standstill