(Lawless Arc: Part XXXVI)
The void had never chosen before.
It had only followed commands.
Now it was learning preference.
Kael walked forward, each step a ripple, not of power but of proof—that causality could still bend around him without instruction. The Crown hovered low, dimmer now, ancient circuitry-like lines circling its edges:
[VOID ENVIRONMENT: UNGOVERNED]
[RISK FACTOR: UNCALCULATED]
[SYSTEM CORE: DORMANT… WATCHING]
Not speaking.
Not assisting.
Observing.
Kael stopped.
"Why show me warnings if you won't give me quests?"
The System flickered like old stone tablets rearranging themselves:
[SOME WARNINGS ARE NOT GUIDES.]
[THEY ARE… MEMORIES TRYING NOT TO REPEAT.]
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"So the void is free now?"
[YES.]
[BUT FREEDOM CREATES TWO BREEDS:]
[THOSE WHO EXPLORE.]
[AND THOSE WHO TRY TO CLAIM.]
The void around him shifted.
A thousand drifting portals opened like pupils adjusting in the dark, each leading to a different cosmos. But the void didn't send anything through them.
It waited.
Testing.
Kael whispered:
"It's afraid of choosing."
The System corrected him, voice older than judgment:
[NO.]
[IT IS PRACTICING.]
A portal cracked wider than the rest.
From it crawled a fragment of something ancient—neither god nor beast, a half-formed cosmic law creature born because the void wanted to test consequences without casualties.
It whispered at Kael:
"Devour me."
Kael didn't move.
Then the creature spoke again, louder:
"Devour me so the void knows it can be eaten too."
Kael's hand twitched with hunger, the Forgotten Star pulsing, begging him to act—but Kael closed his eyes and stepped back.
"I refuse to devour a volunteer."
The creature's outline shook violently as the void reacted:
[TEST RESULT: RECORDED.]
[HUNGER IS NOT A DEFAULT STAT.]
[IT IS A NEGOTIATION.]
The portal closed.
The creature dissolved, not erased, but archived.
Kael opened his eyes again, breathing steady.
"So it tested me."
The System's ancient voice dropped to a grave whisper:
[NO, KAEL.]
[IT TESTED ITSELF.]
[YOU WERE MERELY THE FIRST TO SAY 'NO' TO IT.]
The void rippled again, deeper this time—less afraid, more curious, but still heavy, like an ocean learning the concept of shores.