To talk about a void is to talk about an empty space. But even an empty space is still a space. So what about a true void? It would lack all characteristics of a space and more. The term "space" would be unable to be applied to such a thing at all, and time would be non-existent, resulting in a changeless and static nothingness. But is that truly all there is? No. A pure void would be devoid of not only space, time, and causality, but also of nothingness itself. The absence of everything. The absence of absence. A paradoxical nature that goes beyond logic. Such a thing is terrifying to think about, for not only it is devoid of everything, but also inapplicable even to devoidness on a fundamental level. A foundation without a foundation. There is only one more terrifying thing than to come across such a thing. That is, to realize that the pure void you are seeing in front of you has a metaphysical will of its own.
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On one of the edges of the Exosphere, there lay an entire troop of spaceships around a bubble, where Penumbra and Amadeus were having their own, uninterrupted conflict.
Amadeus approached Penumbra at high speeds, delivering a blow aimed at his head. Penumbra was able to see through his attack but decided not to dodge. The blow is a direct hit, but...
"What's wrong?"
"..."
The punch connected, but at the same time no damage has been done.
In the next moment, the left arm of Amadeus went flying.
"ՌȝʍԾ ȝՃ ԺȝՏԵՐՄՇԵɿԾՌ. You are no chance for me if you are not willing to use your trump card."
One of Penumbra's abilities, ՌȝʍԾ ȝՃ ԺȝՏԵՐՄՇԵɿԾՌ, denied any and all forms of recovery. Even ethernals wouldn't be able to come back to life. However, Amadeus's body twitched a bit and it quickly grew a new left arm.
"Oh?", said Penumbra, surprised.
"Indeed.", said Zophades. "This Amadeus is different from the one you fought. He is completely immortal even to your darkness!"
Amadeus quickly recovered himself and assaulted Penumbra once again. However, something was different this time.
"ՌȝʍԾ ȝՃ ԺȝՏԵՐՄՇԵɿԾՌ."
Penumbra once again applies his ability to Amadeus. This time directly on his head.
"!!!"
But what went erased wasn't Amadeus' head.
Not only Amadeus was still intact, but the unthinkable had happened.
Penumbra was missing his right arm.
Amadeus finally managed to land a successful hit.
Penumbra couldn't help but think about what has led to this. But after taking a look at Amadeus more closely, he managed to notice it.
"I see. So this is also part of your improvement."
Amadeus' appearance had slightly changed. His body was now bulkier than before, with more muscles, but slightly disproportional to his body size. His face was slightly deformed, but not to the point of unrecognition. He had changed into this form right after being hit by Penumbra's ability. So the result was clear.
"You are adapting."
"Correct!", says Zophades while still inside his hidden dimension. "Your powers are certainly a nuisance to deal with, so the best way to counter it is by superseding them. No matter how complex your abilities are, it's useless to use against the new and evolved Amadeus. You have no chance!"
Coincidentally right after Zophades finished his speech, Amadeus decides to attack once again. This time he was faster and stronger, and his stats kept growing infinitely. This by itself wasn't something for Penumbra to get worried about. The issue was his evolution. Penumbra not only was weakened at the moment but his arsenal was now limited.
Penumbra instantly reforms his lost arm and enacts one more of his abilities.
"ՌȝʍԾ ȝՃ ԵԹՅʅȝԵ."
Numerous pitch-black spikes sprout from the insides of Amadeus. Specifically, the regions inside his body that could be considered dark or almost devoid of light. By manipulating that darkness, Penumbra shaped it into spikes, impaling Amadeus' body from the inside out and through all possible directions.
Then, the spikes interjoined themselves and around Amadeus, enclosing him into a pitch-black sphere.
"Let's try something different", Penumbra says as he slowly closes his hand.
In conjunction, the sphere shrinks, smashing the already impaled body into sub-atomic and quantic sizes. The crushing was so strong not even a black hole with infinite density at the center of its singularity would be able to compare. This event rippled space open, leading the target into the 167000th dimension.
"You might be able to adapt to my abilities, but can you "adapt" to a dimension itself?"
If there was anything left of Amadeus after this event, it was completely dragged into a different dimension at this point. There would be no point in adapting to Penumbra's abilities themselves if he couldn't come back from another plane of existence.
But this line of thought would soon fall short.
Some seconds later. Penumbra notices his surroundings stir up and shake. It was as if space itself was cracking open.
"I see. So not even that could contain you."
It was as Penumbra said. Right after he said that a hole burst open in space, and from it came Amadeus, his body fully reformed, but now more deformed than before.
"It seems your growth does not only consists of what directly affects you but also your very conception of what is happening to your existence. Very intriguing. In that case, allow me to perform another experiment."
Penumbra says as he snaps his fingers, from which another of his abilities, of a unique kind, was enacted.
ՌȝʍԾ ȝՃ ʍȝʍȝՌԵԾ.
Immediately after performing it, something strange happened to Amadeus. Despite being soulless and mindless, he exhibited reactions for the first time. Despite supposedly not having a mind, he suffered a mental assault of the highest order. Memories, conceptions, preconceptions, rationalizations, patterns, associations...everything that could be attributed to the inner workings of a mind...gone. Erased into nonexistence.
This was different from Penumbra's usual way of attacking, as it only targeted the mind of an individual, erasing all properties on a fundamental level, even if the opponent did not have a mind, for the effect would be the same regardless. But despite this, the victim wouldn't die, they would be induced into a permanent catatonic state.
Amadeus now ceased all movement and went into a state deeper than the unconscious. He was inactive and inoperant. It was impossible for him to do anything on his own.
"Ah, you see this, Zophades Volstander? It looks like your son still couldn't come up with a method of dealing with the illogical. A shame. After the previous fight, I hoped you'd have learned something. Dare I say though, I still have some more aces up my sleeve. And I know this isn't all you have. Why don't we settle this here and now?"
Zophades sees the situation and thinks about what to do. His main method of dealing with the ethernal from a safe distance and without having to lift a finger was now compromised. But as Penumbra said, there was still something else to bet on, and that was true.
"This is our last shot before he discovers our location", Zophades says to the troops inside his spaceship. "This thing is more versatile than I thought. It looks like his powers go way further than the metaphysical. His danger to our species and the Substrate is imminent. We have no option but to take the entire Exosphere with him."
"Sir, you don't mean to use..."
"Yes. Prepare the Z-Cannon."
As Zophades discussed with the wanderers remaining, the efficiency of the barrier suppressing Penumbra's workings starts to get weaker progressively, which Zophades also noticed. This would have to be his last attempt. If he failed, he'd have to confront the darkness directly. Something that not even the mightiest will would wish for.
But while Zophades prepared his last trump card, the other party, Penumbra, was aware of that and prepared his own ace in the sleeve, but in a way outside the visions of the wanderers.
"Deploy the cannon now!"
Zophades ordered his troops and so it was done as it was told. From the bottom of the spaceship, a cannon was ejected. Its aim was pointed directly at the bubble containing the pitch-black ethernal, who seemed to be doing nothing at all.
The cannon started to gradually charge. Zophades's spaceship, Sagitaurus, existed in a plane of existence outside the bounds of the real, unreal, and what lies beyond both. There would be no way to properly detect the shot before it was fired.
The cannon was now fully charged. The surroundings started to warp and distort. Similar to how paper starts to degrade itself after being constantly bathed in water. The surroundings around Sagitaurus started to distort and fade from the charging of the cannon. The shot was ready to be performed.
And then...
"FIRE!"
The Z-Cannon shot its projectile towards the ethernal.
A projectile usually starts to move from a certain position and finishes its movement after a certain point or after a collision with an object or target. This projectile, however, ignored all those rules. There was no distance, space, or time for this weapon. For the Z-Cannon, a projectile meant a successful shot, with no exceptions. It didn't matter if the opponent was in another dimension, across time, non-existent, invisible, running, teleporting, or moving faster than time. The projectile would hit its target soon after it was fired. All laws meant nothing in front of the Z-Cannon.
However, even though all of this was true. A certain someone was still able to perform the impossible.
Penumbra, who couldn't actually perceive the shot before it was fired, was able to slightly react to it immediately after it was fired. Such action was beyond comprehension. The projectile that was supposed to ignore distance and space, was in some form, still a normal projectile in the eyes of the ethernal. Though it was still way too fast for him to dodge, he expected this. And thus, it gave him time to perform what he has planned.
BOOM
The shot of the Z-Cannon successfully hits the target. An immense explosion occurs. This explosion kept expanding, engulfing everything and anything. However, as opposed to a normal explosion, this wasn't actually an explosion of light, but something. Upon being hit by the Z-Cannon, the target but also everything that constitutes that plane of existence would be narratively gone. This event erased them on a narrativistic level. So much so that the only thing remaining after the event was a blank space, akin to how a comic book becomes blank after erasing its contents with an eraser. Thus, the "explosion" of light wasn't actually an explosion, but the blank canvas being revealed after the contents of reality were gradually erased into no more. If this keeps going, the entire Exosphere will be engulfed in a matter of minutes.
"Sir, we are detecting no more signs of ethernal activity within that area.", says one of the soldiers within Sagitaurus.
"Hahahahaha", Zophades laughs in ecstasy. "It looks like not even your nothingness is safe from my godlike powers. Thanks to the Japanese man in black, I was able to build the perfect weapon, one that not even Venus would be safe from. I have achieved omnipotence!"
Sagitaurus should have already been engulfed by the anti-narrativistic blast, but it didn't. Sagitaurus existed outside those laws as well, so Zophades could spectate his triumph safely. He had the perfect weapon and the perfect defense.
"With this, there is nothing-"
ԹʝՏʍՇ౮ՅՀՅԹɿφρաɿԵʍՀʍՇՅ౮ՅφԾφρՐՄԳՌԹʅԹՇ
"....What?"
An eerie sound of what seems to be a language that can't be discernable or comprehended echoes around the sector Zophades was in.
ԺȝԲȝԹԵɿՌԳ ౮ȝՌՄՏ ɧȝƙԹՌԵԾՌՐȝɿՏ ౮ԹՌԹɧȝɿʍՐ? Թ ԵԹՏԵȝʅȝՏՏ ʝԾƙȝ. ƙՌԾա ՎԾՄՐ ρʅԹՇȝ, ՏՇՄʍ.
Right after those incomprehensible words were said, the unthinkable started to happen. Something that should've been impossible by any means or possibility. Something outside the illogical.
"S-Sir, the anti-narrativistic wave started to slow down!"
"What?!"
"And more, something of unknown nature started to gather at the center of the wave..."
A pitch-black sphere could be seen right at the center of the giant wave of whiteness. Compared to the whole all-engulfing and continuous blank, it was just a speck, but it gradually kept increasing. And as this happened, the blank started to diminish in size, and what was once erased from the canvas was now reformed as if nothing ever happened.
"I-Impossible!!! There is no way he is still alive!!!"
ՌȝʍԾ ȝՃ ԹՌԵɿԵɧȝՏɿՏ
This time, Zophades was able to comprehend the mysterious words.
"I see you."
Three words. Just three words alone. But it only needed those three to stir up fear and chills to the very core of Zophades and the troops of Sagitaurus. They have been detected. They have been seen. They were not safe anymore. Their doom was now imminent.
"H-How did you survive that..."
The small pitch-black sphere was now half of the size of the blank wave. Within the center of it, one could see two eyes. Penumbra heard them and replied accordingly.
"ՌȝʍԾ ȝՃ ԹՌԵɿԵɧȝՏɿՏ is one of my unique self-built abilities constructed by means of experimentation with the purpose of deciphering the inner workings of the foundation of creation. It applies the principle of [For everything that exists, there exists its antithetical counterpart]. It doesn't matter how powerful, how complex, or how transcendent something is. ՌȝʍԾ ȝՃ ԹՌԵɿԵɧȝՏɿՏ would create its very antithesis and suppress it just like how a raging tsunami would suppress the flames of any building. If someone has no weakness, I make one. If an element has no polar contrast, I make one. In front of me, there is no such thing as something devoid of opposition."
And it was true. Penumbra had created the antithesis of the anti-narrativistic wave. Its negative counterpart. Through it, he was able to counter the effects of the event and superseded it with his own. While it was true Penumbra was weakened due to the bubble and couldn't use much of his unique abilities, the Z-Cannon erased the bubble in an attempt of erasing Penumbra. This allowed him to fully manifest in its full glory once again and at full power. He was betting on this, and it proved worthy.
While Penumbra explained his methods, the white wave was now almost fully engulfed by the increasing pitch-black sphere.
"S-Such thing...", Zophades said in shock. There was no way this was real. Such power defied everything he has seen or understood so far. There was no way to make sense of it. It was simply impossible.
"All energy in the propellers, NOW!"
Sagitaurus propels itself and starts traveling away from the battlefield at speeds that far surpassed the conception of physics and time.
Zophades' tactic was simple.
Run away.
There was simply no way of fighting that thing. He had no choice but to flee.
But something had seen them, and it wouldn't let them go anymore.
While in the middle of the travel, the spaceship suddenly suffers a bump, and it abruptly stops in place.
"What the hell happened?"
"Something grabbed us!"
Zophades looked into one of the cameras that showed the back of the spaceship from an outside point of view.
There he saw his doom.
A massive pitch-black hand, with numerous jaws and eyes, had stretched all the way from the battlefield and chased them here. It has caught them, and wouldn't let go. Its appearance was reminiscent of an eldritch creature in the shape of a hand, with numerous mouths, eyes, teeth, and other small hands pervading it.
It opened the spaceship open, revealing its troops cowering in terror.
All the hundreds of eyes suddenly looked in the direction of Zophades and his troops, and all the jaws and mouths said in conjunction.
"For the glory of our Queen!"
The spaceship was crushed and eaten in a single swoop.
Their screams couldn't be heard.
Only nothingness remained.