><>4 years prior<><

     Whistling, howling wind blew over the meadow. Paper thin blades of grass danced this way and that as the wind brought disfunction to the prarie. Green was layered with a shade of gray, as the sun was blocked by thickening clouds high above in the sky. No birds chirped; no critters crawled, for they were all preparing for the soon coming storm. With the storm arrived a being, layered in layers of black smoke and smog. It's large feet stepped lightly over the planes, making not a single noise as it observed nothing but the ground on its path. The being's rising clouds were not effected by the wind. It appeared to be in another layer of existence entirely. Droplets began to fall through the being's unaffected form. Only the grass the void form trampled shown it was not a figment of someone's imagination. As the rain grew, it gathered in streams, which together joined together to form one large pond. The being followed this current of water, suddenly finding itself face to face with a rippling reflection of itself. It stared blankly, longingly, almost.

     Sharply, the being of little form turned away from the pond it had just met, eyes clasping, shoulders tensing, breath chattering. A sense of the cold. But not a cold of the present downpour. A cold, hard, blade. The being then wandered elsewhere, this time traveling opposite of the streams, towards the high hills where it could watch over the prarie. Once able to watch over its surroundings, the dark form caught sight of distant sheep as they grazed peacefully. Beyond, a family of wolves lurked. The hungry beasts stalked their prey, licking eager lips for the taste of fresh meat. The being had to turn away once again, feeling a sense of nearly imaginary teeth clamp onto its arms, sinking deep into them as to draw blood. It turned from the hunters and their prey, knowing that the dogs relied on the sheep just as much as the sheep relied on the grass.

     A sense of haze came over the being, as its face continued to show a blank expression, again blissfully watching its own feet trample the grass in the way.

     "..Brother..." A whisper came. The being was startled, head jerking up. Nothing was visible, however. "...I know what will help you..." The whisper continued after another moment of silence.

     "Huh?" The dark being asked, pondering what the voice could mean by that.

     "There is a time to withhold, and a time to let go... You must let go of the mortals if you are to ever find peace.." The whispering grew slightly louder. The void being's eyes creased, turning to show distrust and anger.

     "Impossible. It is my job to protect the mortals. To deny them as important would be to deny myself as their protector." The being scowled, continuing on walking, as if ignoring the voice.

     "Withdraw from the title, then... I see they have caused you great pain, as they did to me..."

     "Who are you anyway? You have no place to even suggest such a thing." The being growled, walking faster upon the grass as if walking away from the conversation in a hurry.

     "..Of course.. I have no place here... Just, think about it.. The mortals need you no longer, so why stress yourself over their protection?.. I will return when the day is new, and we have more things to talk about. ..Until then, think on what I have said." On the last few words, the voice faded into the clouds, leaving the dark void being completely bewildered. The form of darkness paused to mull over this thing's words, specifically those that might hint to who or what it might have been. After meeting nothing but dead-ends at every mental turn, it finally concluded the unrecognizable must have come from the only other being who could come as close to talking through minds as possible; who was good at hiding their evil agendas until later; the only person who it was at all possible for them to break from such a formidable prison; former Lord of The Nether; second most powerful being in all of existence:... you know who.

     Warping itself through the fabric of its planet, the being leapt into the gaping hole that was the void in which the void being/being of void, matched so well. The form, completely surrounded in darkness only illuminated by a sourceless light, scanned the nothingness for something. The void appeared to have no real sense of gravity. At least, no sense of gravity that made sense. Since the void was nothing and also everything at once, it managed to hold special properties. However, I am getting ahead of myself here.

     The two glowing eyes, which were the only things visible of the now nearly formless being, finally caught sight of a speck in the distance. The glowing eyes of the being drew nearer, schillouette becoming more and more clear as it neared this new source of light. After a short travel, the dark form landed on what appeared to be a chunk of the Earth, thrown into this nothingness. Gravity suddenly existed around it as normal, allowing the grass upon this landmass to sway with the slight pressure change the newcommer brought. The darkness scanned this tranquil place, noticing the small but subtle flaws in the physics of how the leaves moved atop the trees; how the grass stirred more like the surface of a still pond than anything. In the center of this greenery, stood a small, simple cottage made of the most basic materials: cobblestone and oak planks. No glass windows allowed view into the house. Instead, trap doors were placed around the outside to fake the appearance of windows. The shack's door was also a tight iron door, having no windows carved into it. The stillness around the structure only made it appear even more intimidating..in some weird, hollow way.

     After stopping to observe for a while, the being's emotions stirred once again, causing it to stomp up to the iron door and knock on it fiercely. There was no answer. Not even a stir from beyond it. The being then moved to extremes, shoving the iron door from its hinges in a short fury. Beyond the door was nothing but an empty unlit room. The being's feet echoed off the stone floors, bouncing all around until they scurried downward, through a poorly lit passage, staircase leading steeply down. The being's glowing eyes peeked through into the passage, noticing how odd it was right away. Though the island the small cottage sat on was shallow and mostly dirt and shrubs, the stairway appeared to drop down endlessly. Taking the shortcut, the being simply teleported to the bottom of the sharp steps, which it calculated afterwards being about a mile deep.

     Once at the very bottom, the lighting and scenery had changed completely. Grand, elaborate decorations of red, gold, and dark browns and greys flooded the form's vision. These colors were used everywhere in elaborate designs, from rugs to banners, decorating nearly every inch of the expansive room around it. Each banner a completely different design, probably having taken at least a few weeks simply to plan out their over-the-top detail. The void stared in wonder, needing time to comprehend the proportions of the room alone. It was indeed a very large room, and appeared to be the only one. A large, elegant bed with drapes and all took up the right side, along with a grand fireplace and other sets of furniture to the side of it. In the center was more of an empty space, but on all other sides were brewing stations, crafting and cooking stations, as well as an entire enchanting corner. With such a grand living space, the void being began to wonder if its prisoner had turned their prison to their favor. Still, no prisoner was in sight.

     "So, what brings you to this forsaken realm?" And there he was. That all too familiar voice. The being's eyes set quickly on where the source of the voice had come from: far off in the right corner. An armchair crafted of leather mostly spun around slowly and smoothly, revealing the man casually sitting upon it. "Didn't expect to ever see you here." The other pair of glowing white eyes shown no excitement or even amusement.

     The dark being decided to cut right to the chase. "Was it, or was it not you who just spoke to me a few minutes ago?" Its voice was stern, jumping to interrogate. Though the man was sitting, his demeanor and consistent ura of mental on top of physical power automatically set off the being slightly, making its stance shift a tiny bit as a deranged smile only joined the man's face. His eyes shown brightly as he stared back at this limitless being, head tilting as his crooked smile creased, as if trying to hold itself in place. Finally, the man's mentality got the best of him, and the brown haired individual burst out into a laughing fit. It was then, as this man attempted to stand from his chair whilest lauguing, that his outfit and such drew attention. They looked completely normal, plain blue shirt and dark jean pants not even decorative like they used to be when he was into such shows of luxury. The man's hair, including his beard, looked trimmed and well kept. His face also appeared fresh and shown no signs at all of regretting all the murderous deeds and blood-filled wars he had brought upon the Earth for centuries until finally being stopped only a couple years ago.

     Finally the man was able to stand, but his meaningless laughter followed every step of his, making them very wobbily as he walked towards the center of the room. It wasn't until he was finally in the center, standing before this greater being, that the high ranking immortal finally spoke.

     "I.. speak with you?!-" More laughing followed. "You really think I could get out of this living nightmare, do ya!?" His question was filled with amused disbelief as he tilted his head a little, still finding his footing. The entire room flickered in an instant, entire objects seeming to have moved around in that split second. "You are crazier than I thought!!" Now that's saying something coming from him. The being stared back puzzled, unsure of how to intimidate a man who looked so unphased by anything!

     "..I know you were somehow behind this. Who else has the power to speak directly into someone's mind?!" The being snapped back, only causing the man to wobble a little. The man's smile shrunk a bit to the serious shout, eyes squinting as he tried to properly observe the being's feelings and emotions, all of which were numb to him now.

     "...Pffff! Well it sure as the burning blazes wasn't me! I have been trapped, here, remember?!" The man's own sanity and balance appeared to be decreasing by the minute, making the being of darkness wonder what was really going on with him.

     "Where are you using your energy then? If you are showing yourself as this weak, then surely you must be hiding something!" The being felt as if he was finally getting somewhere when he watched the man's eyes widen slightly.

     Said man quickly shook himself further awake, as if he had been sleepy, and stood straighter to disprove the being's accusations. "I am perfectly fine." He said with a straighter voice. "It is probably you who is struggling. You probably just imagined that voice. Afterall, don't you remember how trapped I am? I am literally stuck inside my own sword!"

     "Remember! It was my sword before it was ever yours!" The being reminded him.

     "You seriously think I would forget that, oh so powerful Universe!" The man began to tease, taking a single step forwards. One step too many.

     "That is enough!!" Uni flung forth its arm, sending a shockwave over the immortal. As it hit the man and knocked him back, the room's lighting and decor changed immediately.

     In a sudden flash there was a creeping darkness set over the entire room. Only the smoldering embers on the fireplace lit the now hardly excuse of a living quarters. The once well placed, decorative banners were torn from their places and shredded on the floor. By the fireplace all the furniture from the sofas to the chairs to even the bed had been completely demolished. Scattered all across the floor were burnt books. The only ones not turned to ashes had bold writing written over the original words. The crafting tables had been reduced to splinters, and the furnaces full to the brim with ash, still emitting a slow but constant stream of dastardly smelling smoke.

     The brewing corner was probably in the best condition, since scorch markings coated nearly every surface except the space around there, but that corner made up for it with its own hazards: glass shards layering the floor. On the last remaining working brewer some dark colored potions were still in the making.

     Littering the floor also were the shiny metallic gleams of iron, gold, and diamond weapons, nearly all of which had a dry crusty brown substance on them. Nearest to the chair was a shattered iron sword laying in a fresh pool of red substance, some of which was still leaking from the man himself.

     Suddenly, along with his room, this man's appearance looked completely different. First off, his clothes were battered, warn, cut through and even burnt in certain areas. Stains of brown and red stained the clothing in splotches. When he stood again, the man's arms were drooped down before him, as his back slouched forwards. His standing was uneven and often he had to suddenly catch himself from falling forwards or tripping over his own feet were he to try to walk. Atop his head the man's hair was either stuck to his own scalp by dried liquid, or spiking outward, reaching towards the sky as his only desperate cry for help. The hair that followed neither of these patterns spun out of control down his neck until it crashed against the back of his neck just above his shoulders. What could have been his beard was instead a face covered in scorch marks. His head stunk with the stench of burnt hair and his body reeked with the odor of clotted blood, nasty fumes, and strong potions. Under the man's eyes, accompanying the dark smudges of ash, two dark circles stuck embedded under his eyes, only adding to the man's more dead than alive stare. Together, the man looked as if he would have certainly fit in with the undead ghouls which roamed the Earth above. Uni stared at the sudden changes with horror written in its eyes, not even sure what to think. The man only continued his cold, dead stare, knowing full well that this being now knew all it needed to know right then. 

     After a while of silence, the man spoke again, this time his voice raspy and sore. "You torment me..still.. Did you know that? You torment, me, even though you haven't been within miles of me... I still hear their cries. I still feel their pain. I still, I still.. I still see their faces..." His expression changed to ghostly, blank white eyes wandering to a far corner, now refusing to look the void being in the eyes again.

     Still, more silence followed him. Uni, remembering all the things this immortal had done, responded.. without a hint of sympathy. "...You deserve it." What surprised Uni was when the man closed his eyes after hearing that, squeezing them shut as he nodded along in silent agreement.

     "Listen, Null, I-"

     "Don't.. call me Null.." Uni's voice snapped, eyes clasping shut as horrid memories came with the name. "Don't you EVER call me Null!.. I am not Null!! I am NO-T nothing!!. I am something!" Pausing to take deep breaths, Uni regretted allowing itself to get so emotional as to stoop to accidentally letting its own voice crack. Again, Uni repeated in its head, 'I am something..' "..Something you will never see again."

     Angered at itself for its show of weakness, and now eagerness to leave, since it was obvious now that this immortal was no longer a suspect, Uni began to glow a little as a small portal opened behind it. Stumbling on his feet, the man began walking forward with an arm outstretched, urging The Universe to hurry up. "W-wait?! D-d-don't just leave me here! Waaaiii-!!" Uni closed the portal behind it, reappearing in the same grey coated meadow, rain now falling in heavy sheets over the long grass. Uni fell to its knees, then even further on its hands. Emotions filled Uni's heart. Some new, absolutely horrible feeling along with it. Its eyes clamped shut, grunting at itself through the rain for being so weak. The dark being pounded its own chest each time hitting harder, trying to silence the pain inside. The roaring winds and rains drowned out any words of comfort it tried repeating to itself. Still, flashes from the past filled the being's mind. With every beat of The Universe's bloodless heart Uni felt the pain refreshed in its mind. It seemed as if Uni would never truly forget the name given to it all those years ago: Null.

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Uhhh, okay, so that was fun.... Any questions? 😅