The submersible slammed onto the shore with a sickening crunch of tearing metal, finally stilling, half-buried in volcanic black sand. Inside, Nihil and Elara were thrown forward. After a moment of silence, only the hiss of dying systems and waves hitting the breached hull remained.

"We're here," Elara whispered, voice hoarse with exhaustion. She stared at the now-dead navigation monitor. "Or at least, our journey ends here."

They forced open the main hatch. The air that hit them felt unnaturally pure, rich with ancient pine and damp earth, yet carrying a strange chill. They stood on a narrow beach wedged between the storm-tossed ocean behind them and an imposing primeval forest ahead. Trees so massive their canopies blotted the sky, creating eternal twilight below.

"Silverwood Forest," Elara said, sharp eyes scanning. "Legends say the Elves haven't permitted humans entry for over five hundred years."

Nihil didn't answer. He focused inward, feeling the effects of his evolution. Depth Level 2: The Crack had altered his perception. He saw faint fractures in the air, and crucially, possessed a new sense.

`[Activating: Tier Vision]`

He looked at Elara. A faint visual overlay formed in his mind.

`[Elara Moonveil: A-Tier]`

He felt her existential "weight" – dense, complex, pulsing with controlled energy. He could now gauge his ally's strength.

Suddenly, figures materialized soundlessly from the trees. Tall, slender, moving with predatory grace. Elf rangers. Armor of reinforced wood and leather blended with the forest. Massive bows were slung across their backs, sharp eyes gleaming with cold hostility.

"Humans," one Elf hissed, nocking an arrow. "On sacred soil. You violate the Accord."

Elara slowly raised her hands, showing them empty. "We are stranded travelers. Our vessel was destroyed. We meant no trespass."

The Elves remained unimpressed. The patrol leader, a woman with long silver braids and a scar across her cheek, stepped forward.

Nihil instantly analyzed her.

`[Princess Lyraelle: A-Tier]`

*Leader. Powerful. Dangerous.*

"A submersible of unknown black metal is no lost fishing boat," Lyraelle stated, her voice clear and sharp as ice. "And the aura around your companion..." she looked at Nihil with disgust, "...it is a desecration. A void that makes the forest itself weep."

Nihil sensed their hostility wasn't just racial; they *felt* his Shackles of Nihility as something *wrong*, anti-life.

Just as tension peaked, an older Elf emerged. He wore ornate Archmage robes, his handsome face etched with arrogance and disdain.

`[Lord Elarion Arcanum: S-Tier]`

Greatest threat present.

"Princess Lyraelle," Elarion said dismissively. "No discussion is needed. They are intruders. One a mere human, the other an embodiment of Void sickness. Eliminate them and burn their vessel. Let their stain spread no further."

Lyraelle hesitated. She was a warrior, not an executioner.

Nihil knew he had to act. Fighting was suicide. He had one option: demonstrate value.

He ignored Elarion and looked directly at Lyraelle. "You are at war," he stated flatly.

Lyraelle narrowed her eyes. "What do you know of our war, human?"

"I can feel it," Nihil answered. "This land... it bleeds. Something poisons it from within. Something coming from there." He pointed northeast. "An Abyssal Rift."

The Elves recoiled. This was tightly guarded military intelligence.

"And I know," Nihil continued, "your enemy isn't just strong. They wield corrosive magic that ruins your weapons and fear magic that shatters your troops' morale. You lose more warriors to panic than to blades."

Total silence. How could an outsider know such tactical details?

"I read the echoes of battle left upon this earth," Nihil explained, using partial truth.

Lord Elarion scoffed. "Lies! He must be a demon spy!"

"Enough, Elarion!" Lyraelle snapped, now looking at Nihil with entirely new eyes. "You... can you fight them?"

"I can erase their magic," Nihil stated. "I can erase their fear. And I can erase *them*."

An offer was on the table. Not a plea for rescue, but a proposition of value.

Lyraelle faced an impossible choice. Kill this dangerous anomaly per ancient law, or use this monster to save her people.

"Take them," she commanded finally, ignoring Elarion's furious protest. "Bind them. The Queen will decide their fate."

Nihil and Elara were now prisoners. But they were no longer just stranded victims. They had become a very strange and very dangerous pawn in the Elves' eternal war.

Nihil and Elara walked under heavy guard. The Silverwood Forest was a living wonder. Towering trees with trunks like ancient citadels reached skyward, their canopy so thick only slivers of sunlight pierced through, creating a magical twilight. Glowing flowers and strange fungi illuminated their path.

But beneath the beauty lay signs of endless war. Ruins of shattered ancient guard posts. Warning runes carved into trunks. And patches of blackened, lifeless ground where nothing grew – scars of demonic magic.

After nearly a day's march, they arrived. The Elven capital, Silverwood Spire, wasn't a city built on the land. It was a city grown from it. Living wood and vine bridges connected vast platforms built within the branches of ancient trees. Structures seemed carved from living trunks, adorned with softly glowing crystals.

It was a masterpiece of architecture and natural magic.

They were taken to the highest platform, the Queen's Audience Hall. The chamber was a natural cavern within the largest tree, illuminated by moonlight filtered through a crystalline ceiling. At its center, upon a throne of silverwood and moonstone, sat a woman.

She seemed ancient and ageless simultaneously. Hair white as snow, eyes a deep violet radiating wisdom and sorrow from millennia.

`[Queen Aerwyna: S-Tier]`

Lord Elarion and Princess Lyraelle stood beside her.

"So, these are the anomalies my daughter brought into our heartwood," Queen Aerwyna said, her voice soft as rustling leaves yet carrying the weight of a mountain.

"Mother, they know of our war," Lyraelle stated. "This anomaly... he possesses power that can counter the demons."

"He is a desecration!" Elarion interjected. "His Void aura poisons the very air we breathe! His presence here is an affront to all that is sacred! He must be purged before he opens a gate for his dark master!"

Elara stepped forward. "Your Majesty," she said respectfully. "We are not enemies. We are scholars of the Dimensional Guild, shipwrecked. My associate, Nihil, does possess unusual power, but it is not demonic. It is the antithesis of magic. The power to negate."

"A distinction without meaning," Elarion sneered.

Just as Queen Aerwyna was about to speak, the hall doors burst open. An Elf ranger, drenched in blood and black ichor, stumbled in.

"Your Majesty!" he gasped before collapsing to his knees. "The Echo Vale Outpost... has fallen! They... they came from below... a demon horde led by a... a Demon General!"

Every Elf in the room paled.

"A Demon General?" Lyraelle echoed, horrified. "Impossible. They never send generals for outposts."

"He didn't come to attack," the ranger coughed black blood. "He came to... 'plant'. He carries a 'Seed of Corruption'. He will poison the entire vale!"

Panic began to spread. Losing Echo Vale meant the enemy would have a direct path to the forest's heart.

Amidst the chaos, Nihil, who had been silently observing, finally spoke. His calm voice cut through the panic like a knife.

"How many warriors do you need to retake it?" he asked.

Lyraelle looked at him. "At least three hundred elite rangers, and it would be a bloodbath."

Nihil shook his head. "You think like a warrior. You are wrong." He looked directly at Queen Aerwyna.

"You don't need three hundred warriors," he stated. "You need one bullet. Give me one chance. Take me near the vale. I will erase that Demon General and his Seed before he activates it."

The entire hall fell silent. The offer was so arrogant, so insane... yet spoken with absolute conviction.

Lord Elarion began to protest, but Queen Aerwyna raised her hand, silencing him. She looked at Nihil, her ancient eyes seeming to try and read the soul of the young man before her.

"You ask us to stake the fate of our realm on an outsider human wielding Void power," she said softly.

"I do not ask," Nihil replied. "I offer a solution."

Queen Aerwyna looked at her daughter, then at Elarion, then back at Nihil. Her realm teetered on ruin. Their old ways were failing. Perhaps... perhaps it was time to try something insane.

"Lyraelle," the Queen commanded. "Gather your small strike force. Take both our guests to Echo Vale. Show us... what this 'bullet' can do."

The small elite unit reached Echo Vale's edge. The sight was a wound in the forest's heart. Once-green trees stood blackened and withered, as if life had been sucked away. The ground pulsed with a thin layer of black slime. The silence here was death. At its center, amid ruined Elf outpost structures, stood a massive figure. Demon General Kael'tharr (S-Tier) channeled energy into the Seed of Corruption—a black orb vomiting dark tendrils into the earth. Dozens of lesser demons patrolled nearby.

"The plan is this," Nihil stated, his calm voice cutting through tension. "I go in alone. I disable the sensor Imps. Once the net is down, you attack from three directions. Create chaos. Distract the guards. Clear my path to the General."

Lord Elarion (S-Tier) began to protest, but Princess Lyraelle (A-Tier) raised her hand. "Your plan is better," she told Nihil, though reluctantly. "Do it."

Nihil melted into the dying forest's shadows. Silent. His Void Sonar mapped every Imp's position.

`[Activating: Void Sonar]`

`[Capacity: 50/50 → 49/50]`

He approached the first Imp from behind. The small creature gnawed on squirrel remains. Before it could utter a sound, Nihil's hand clamped its head.

`[Using Void Grasp (Rank E)]`

`[Capacity: 49/50 → 48/50]`

The Imp crumbled silently to dust. One down.

He moved to the next. This time, remote Atomic Manipulation.

`[Using Atomic Manipulation (Mostly Stable)]`

`[Capacity: 48/50 → 46/50]`

No explosion. He simply 'erased' density from a branch above the Imp. The hundred-kilogram limb fell soundlessly, crushing it instantly. Two down. He continued—silent, lethal methods. Within ten minutes, all six sensors were disabled.

In the valley's heart, Kael'tharr felt his perception links sever. Right then, hell erupted.

Glowing Elf arrows rained from three directions, hammering the demon guards. Lyraelle and her rangers attacked, twin blades dancing a death waltz. Elara Moonveil (A-Tier) projected energy shields to deflect demonic fireballs.

Amid the chaos, a shadow walked calmly through the battle—untouched—straight toward the enraged Demon General.

"So, an insect slipped past my guard," Kael'tharr roared, his deep voice vibrating the air. "You smell... peculiar, human. Not the stench of vile Light. Not weak Mana either. You smell... like home."

Nihil stopped ten paces away. He didn't attack the General. He attacked his ritual.

`[Using Void Grasp (Rank E)]`

`[Capacity: 46/50 → 42/50]`

He directed his power at the Seed. The black orb screamed as pure Void essence touched it. Its dark tendrils recoiled, its surface cracking, turning to ash.

"YOU DARE!" Kael'tharr bellowed. He abandoned the dying Seed and lunged at Nihil, massive claws sheathed in hellfire.

Nihil raised his hand.

`[Using Paradox Mirror (Rank E)]`

`[Absorbing High-Level Abyssal Energy]`

`[Capacity: 42/50 → 35/50]`

The fire vanished an instant before impact. Nihil dodged, but claw-tips still grazed his chest, shredding his robe and leaving three deep gashes.

`[Null Reconstruction Active...]`

Torn flesh dissolved into black dust, instantly replaced by new skin. Kael'tharr halted, his fiery eyes wide with disbelief.

"Regeneration... without life magic? Erasure power... You... you are one of *them*!" he cried, not in rage now, but strange awe. "A Child of Void! Why fight for these Light insects?"

He lowered his claws. "You shouldn't be our enemy. You are our brother in nothingness! This world is a prison for power like yours, just as the Abyss imprisons us. Join me! Together, we can shatter this cage and return all to glorious emptiness!"

At the valley's edge, battling Elves paused, hearing the horrific offer. Lord Elarion glared at Nihil with an "I told you so" expression.

Nihil looked at Kael'tharr. Then at the Elves fighting desperately to protect their home. Lyraelle, blades dripping demon blood. Elarion, though hating him, chanting strong protective wards for the rangers.

He saw two sides of an endless war. Two equally absolute, equally flawed ideologies.

He locked eyes with the Demon General. And gave the answer that would define him forever:

"I side with no one."

Kael'tharr went still, then his face hardened into a hateful mask. "Then you are everyone's enemy. And enemies must be erased!"

He held back no longer. Stomped the ground. "[Hell Gate]!"

A black-fire portal exploded open behind him. From it emerged an Abyssal Cerberus—a three-headed hellhound, each maw dripping lava.

"Destroy him!" Kael'tharr commanded.

The Cerberus howled. One head spewed a firestorm. Another spat acid globes. The third unleashed a sonic screech that vibrated the air.

Nihil now faced two S-Tier foes simultaneously. The true battle had just begun.

A hellfire tsunami surged toward him. Nihil used Atomic Manipulation to erect a stone barrier.

`[Using Atomic Manipulation (Mostly Stable)]`

`[Capacity: 35/50 → 30/50]`

The wall blocked most flames, but searing heat still scorched his skin. As he staggered back, acid globes rained down, dissolving stone like sugar. He rolled aside, avoiding direct hits, but the third head's sonic screech struck. Not physical—a neural assault. Vision blurred. His skull felt ready to explode.

Kael'tharr saw his chance. He lunged, massive black-fire sword raised. "End of the line, anomaly!"

At the valley's rim, the Elves could only watch in horror.

*Lyraelle's thoughts:* "He's alone. He can't win. Yet he doesn't retreat. What drives him?"

*Elarion's thoughts:* "Good. Let the monsters destroy each other. Either outcome serves us."

*Elara's thoughts:* "Fascinating. Three simultaneous attack vectors. Forced inefficiency. How will the anomaly react?"

Nihil, dizzy, saw the dark blade descending. He knew he couldn't dodge. Couldn't block. He'd die.

In that fractional second, the Heze mind took over. Not thinking of magic or Void. Thinking of his world's research. How a computer processor could be overclocked—forced beyond safe limits at risk of destruction.

He viewed his power not as magic, but as a system. Every system had limits. And every limit... could be forced.

`[INITIATING META-LEVEL CONCEPTUAL FORGING...]`

`[Analysis: Capacity is battery. Shackles of Nihility is reactor. Can I bypass battery, draw power directly from reactor? Consequence: Catastrophic system damage.]`

`[Hypothesis: Create 'Zero State' where energy cost is nullified temporarily, paid by direct physical damage.]`

"Execute," he thought.

`[New Passive Skill Unlocked: Edict of the Void: Zero State (Rank F)]`

`[Description: User enters 'Zero State' where all skills consume 0 Capacity for 60 seconds. Post-use cooldown: 30 hours. Activation causes severe physical trauma.]`

As Kael'tharr's blade was inches away, Nihil's crimson eyes ignited with light so dense it resembled black holes.

`[Activating: Edict of the Void: Zero State]`

`[Duration: 60 seconds]`

The world around Nihil fell silent. He raised his hand.

`[Using Void Grasp (Rank E) - Cost: 0]`

The colossal black-fire sword began eroding on contact with Nihil's palm. Not just extinguishing—its metal, runes, the very concept of 'sword' dissolved into black dust within two seconds.

Kael'tharr stared at his empty hand in total shock.

Nihil didn't stop. He was a controlled storm of nullity.

`[Using Paradox Mirror (Rank E) - Cost: 0]`

He absorbed a firestorm blast from one Cerberus head, instantly firing it back into another, causing a massive explosion.

`[Using Void Lance - Cost: 0]`

Three pitch-black projectiles shot consecutively, crippling one of the beast's forelegs, sending it crashing down.

`[Using Atomic Manipulation - Cost: 0]`

He touched the ground. Razor-sharp stone pillars erupted, impaling the fallen monster's underside.

For one full minute, Nihil was a symphony of efficient destruction. He wielded every skill in his arsenal, combining them in lethally new ways.

Kael'tharr, realizing he faced something beyond comprehension, tried to flee. Nihil blocked his path.

`[Zero State Duration: 3... 2... 1... Ended]`

As Nihil prepared a final strike, his power vanished. The price came due.

Nihil screamed. Not ordinary pain—pure agony as his body rebelled. He collapsed, coughing blood. He watched in horror as bones in his arm shattered under the strain. Flesh tore internally. Blood vessels ruptured. He was thrown backward, body imploding.

Kael'tharr saw it. Saw the weakness. He grinned cruelly. "The weapon consumes its master! Such power demands a price! He's destroyed himself! My chance!"

He raised his remaining claw for the killing blow on the convulsing, blood-drenched Nihil.

Then he froze. He saw the impossible.

Nihil's shattered body—his broken arm—began dissolving into black dust. From that dust, accompanied by the sound of cracking bones and reforming flesh, a perfect new arm regrew.

`[Null Reconstruction Active...]`

Nihil slowly rose, trembling from the agony of destruction-rebirth. He locked eyes with Kael'tharr. His crimson eyes showed no pain—only infinite void.

Pure, primal fear—unfelt for millennia—gripped the demon's heart. *Kael'tharr's thoughts:* "No... impossible... How... how do you kill something that rebuilds itself from nothing?"

He no longer saw an opponent. He saw a *wrongness* in natural law.

That's when the Elves finally moved. Seeing the General wounded and hesitating, Lyraelle signaled. "NOW!"

Dozens of glowing silver arrows pierced Kael'tharr. Lord Elarion unleashed his ultimate spell—a pillar of holy light hammering the Demon General, making him shriek in agony.

Kael'tharr, grievously wounded and surrounded, knew the battle lost. He opened an emergency portal and vanished inside, dragging his Cerberus's remains with him.

The battle was won.

Nihil lay on the ground, too exhausted to stay conscious. The Elves stared at him—no longer with hate or awe, but pure terror and utter confusion.

They'd won the day not by their strength, but by directing a natural disaster against their enemy. And now, that disaster lay helpless at their feet.

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