Zami stood in the stillness of the Shattered Void Dexus, the remnants of the portal's glow fading from his silver eyes. His body, torn and battered, bore the marks of countless battles. Blood dripped from his wounds, but he barely noticed. Pain had long since become a distant memory, a mere reminder that he still existed in some form.
As he walked forward, each step a defiance of the agony within him, his thoughts drifted. The world outside...
He had glimpsed it once, long ago, before the colony consumed him. He remembered the chaos, the monsters tearing through his clan, the cries of the fallen. He remembered Karesh, the dark force that had entered his body, the seed of power and torment that had driven him to this point.
That world... It couldn't have changed. Eight years had passed outside, but within the colony, he had endured for what felt like hundreds of thousands. Time moved differently here, but the suffering outside couldn't have simply stopped.
"They're still out there," Zami muttered, his voice low and steady. "The monsters. The chaos. The destruction."
Karesh stirred in his mind, his presence faint but curious.
"And what would you do if you went back?" Karesh asked, his tone measured.
Zami's eyes narrowed as he stared into the endless void before him. "What could I do? Am I even human anymore?" He paused, his hand brushing against the hilt of his katana. "No. Not anymore. I broke the limits long ago."
He clenched his fist, his nails digging into his palm. "I'm something else now. Something forged in the colony, shaped by death and rebirth, by battles no human could endure."
Karesh's voice was quiet. "You've become more than human, Zami. But is that a blessing or a curse?"
Zami didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked down at his reflection in a fragment of shattered voidstone. His once-handsome face was scarred and hardened, his silver eyes flickering with an otherworldly light. The glow wasn't human, nor were the shadows that clung to him like a second skin.
"I don't know," he admitted. "But I know this. The world outside can't be quiet. It's still as broken as it was when I left it. Maybe worse. I made the right choice."
Karesh hummed thoughtfully. "You've chosen to stay in the colony, to walk this path of endless trials. But where does it lead, Zami? What are you truly seeking?"
Zami's gaze hardened as he looked into the distance, the endless expanse of the Shattered Void Dexus stretching before him. The void seemed to shift and ripple, hinting at unseen paths and unknown challenges ahead.
"I'm seeking the truth," he said firmly. "The reason for this world. For the colony. For the entities. For everything." He tightened his grip on his katana. "And I'll keep walking until I find it."
The silence of the void was oppressive, but Zami welcomed it. He had walked alone for what felt like eternity, and the solitude only sharpened his resolve.
"Then we keep moving," Karesh said quietly.
Zami nodded and began his march forward. The ground beneath his feet shifted and cracked, each step sending ripples through the void. His injuries slowed him, but they couldn't stop him. Nothing could.
As he ventured deeper into the Shattered Void Dexus, the air grew heavier, the darkness more oppressive. Shadows danced around him, whispering secrets he couldn't quite hear. But Zami ignored them. His focus was unshakable.
"I'm not done," he muttered to himself. "Not yet."
And so he walked, searching for the next path, the next trial, the next step toward the truth. The colony had shaped him into something beyond human, a being driven by purpose and determination. And he would not stop until he reached the very end.