"Another success?" came a voice from the shadows, soft and sultry, cutting through the silence like a blade. The question echoed through the room with a quiet authority, and yet, Silas didn't move. He didn't even flinch, accustomed to her presence and the way she appeared without warning, as if the shadows themselves had birthed her into the room. His eyes remained locked on the ceiling, his chest rising and falling steadily, his thoughts too fatigued to acknowledge her with more than a flat response.
"You can say that…" he muttered, his voice hoarse with weariness. There was no celebration in his tone, no sense of triumph, only the quiet acceptance of duty fulfilled. The Void's mission was always his singular focus, and success, while necessary, was often nothing more than a stepping stone to the next task.
The woman's silhouette moved closer, though Silas still didn't turn his head to face her. Her voice was smooth, velvet laced with subtle power, and there was always an edge of mystery when she spoke. "The Void is extremely happy with you," she murmured, a touch of amusement in her words. "Keep it up, and it may even reward you soon."
Silas' lips barely twitched, a trace of a smile that never fully formed. "My mission is to spread the Void," he replied in an even tone, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. "A reward is not necessary."
"Necessary or not, expect one soon," she said quickly, her voice carrying an air of finality. Silas remained silent after her words, his mind drifting into the familiar darkness that accompanied sleep. But sleep didn't come. His eyes fluttered shut for brief moments, only to open again as if the tension in the room wouldn't allow him to fully rest. The room, though silent, felt alive with the lingering presence of the Void, its tendrils creeping into his thoughts, even as he tried to push them aside.
Minutes passed, the quiet settling thick in the space between them. Then, her voice broke through again, quieter now, but still carrying the same eerie presence. "What will you do now?"
Silas exhaled slowly, his mind sluggish but not entirely absent. His voice was quieter this time, his words slower, as if he were thinking aloud rather than answering her directly. "I'll let the young one run rampant for the time being," he said, the words hanging in the air with a certain coldness. "He'll eventually get the void creature killed… and die himself abusing its power too much." There was no remorse in his voice, no regret. It was a calculated inevitability, a step in a grander plan that Ethan, for all his excitement, would never see coming.
"But by then, he'll have served his purpose," Silas continued, his gaze still fixed on the ceiling as if the future he spoke of was playing out before his eyes. "The Empire will be on high alert. They'll notice the disturbances, the deaths, and they'll tighten their defenses. Spreading the Void further will become far more dangerous."
She moved closer, her figure now a shadowy outline in the dim room. "Giving someone else the power of the Void, then, would only do more harm than good," she finished his thought, her tone laced with understanding, but also something colder—approval.
Silas nodded slightly, a gesture so small it was barely perceptible. His plan was already in motion, and while Ethan's demise was only a matter of time, it didn't matter. The boy had been a tool—nothing more. A vessel to spread the Void's influence in the Empire, to create the kind of chaos that would pave the way for something greater. And once that chaos reached its peak, Silas would be ready. The Void would be ready.
Silas' eyes began to close again, the exhaustion finally overcoming him as the weight of his thoughts faded into the background. The woman's presence lingered in the room, watching him in silence for a moment longer before she too faded into the shadows, leaving nothing behind but the faint, oppressive chill of the Void.
With the silence now absolute, Silas finally succumbed to sleep, his mind slipping into the comforting darkness that had always been his companion.
Silas stretched as he sat up in the bed, his body still heavy with the remnants of a deep, dreamless sleep. He slowly became aware of the world around him, the dim light filtering through the small window in his room casting faint shadows on the wooden walls. His mind wandered for a moment before his lips parted in a soft murmur, "…I know what I want as my reward…" His voice was low, filled with a quiet conviction. "I want to be able to use Void magic… and be able to freely transform into a dragon at will for three years."
The room felt as though it held its breath for a moment, a tangible stillness in the air as the words sank in. Then, from the corner of the room, the woman's voice responded, her tone smooth and composed. "…I will report it to the Void." There was no emotion in her reply, only the cold, professional detachment she always carried. She was a messenger, after all, a mere conduit between Silas and the darkness that ruled his life.
The silence that followed her words was profound, almost suffocating in its depth. Silas, too exhausted to consider it further, allowed his body to sink back into the mattress, his eyes fluttering shut once again. The fatigue of countless days spent in service to the Void weighed on him, pulling him into the depths of sleep.
He didn't know how long he had slept when a soft, timid voice broke through his dreamless rest.