Years ago, back in the Divine realm, my presence was always unwanted. The hierarchy of Gods was a ladder I was never meant to climb.
Each God was associated and born under an elemental domain – a cosmic force that defined both power and purpose.
The Four Celestial Pillars stood at the very top of the order being:
Light- The rulers of creation and the protectors.
Fire- The warriors of judgement, conquest, and destruction.
Water- The managers of life, healing and growth.
Earth- The guardians of balance, peace and wisdom.
Beneath these existed a silent and forbidden element that was considered lowly among the Gods – Void, the absence of all, the black hole of creation.
It was considered an anomaly, a curse among Gods. Few Gods would ever be associated with it.
Unfortunately, I was one of the Gods who was bestowed the Void element.
When gods inherited their strength, their assigned mortal would reflect the element of that domain.
A warrior of flame would be bound to a fire god. A healer would reflect water. A ruler would shine with light.
The mortal's achievements controlled the Gods' fate and therefore their position of power in the Divine Realm.
Each God ranked from 1-10 Fragments, which then put Gods into sub-groups.
Fragment 10 was the strongest of the Gods and going down to Fragment 1 would only see weaker Gods.
This was known to be Divine Prosperity and helped maintain order in the Divine Realm.
But the mortals under me… they had no element.
No flame in their spirits. No destiny in their souls. It was like fate rejected their existence.
People with no elements were known as Outcasts.
Outcasts were neglected by society like the voids. They had no magical power, no mana, and no awakening ability which kept them ordinary.
A God was given an assigned mortal each Divine year which equated to 70 Celestial Years.
As fate had it, every mortal I was assigned had no element, and was purely Outcast.
And so, Gods rejected me for who I was.
"Alan Vocke," Thyris once mocked openly in front of others, "A god without a domain is simply a mistake."
A mistake was I.
I spoke beneath my breath saying, "funny, coming from someone who's domain is being a dick".
Not realising how loud I said it, to my shock he struck fire at me as I sat regretful with fear.
"How dare you mock me", he said.
"I suggest you leave him be Thyris, he's a waste of space and time' said Camilla, one of his Subordinates, as they laughed at me mockingly and walked away.
Their laughter echoed across the silver hallways.
I always believed I was given Void for a reason, a purpose. They saw it all as absence, I saw it as potential.
A saying my only friend who was believed to be executed in the Gods realm was;
"Absence isn't emptiness — it's space where potential waits." She was never seen again.
Yet I was too weak to touch that truth, for there to even be a meaning behind that quote.
I was powerless.
So, I believed all the other Gods. Believed I was powerless. Believed I was a grain of sand waiting to be taken away by the wind.
That very belief was the reason I stood before the mirror and looked for a second chance.
Rowan pushed open a crooked wooden door to a small house. A cozy fire crackled in the corner, and a woven rug lay across the cold, stone floor.
He gently placed me onto a blanket set above the rug.
"There we go," he whispered. "Warmth is life."
Seris leaned her sword against the wall. "Now we wait. Hopefully his family comes before trouble finds us."
If only she knew the irony of her words.
Going forwards for the next 3 months, Rowan would always look after me, care for me and feed me. For that I thanked him.
He decided to name me Silas. A fitting name since they did find me in the forest.
Seris would always go out helping nearby villagers and would go hunting fetching food for the entire village.
I'd grown slightly bigger — still helpless, but at least my neck didn't flop like a dying fish anymore.
Every day, Rowan fed me mashed vegetables and whilst I tried sleeping, he would read pages that had weird text.
Maybe this had something to do with his staff I thought. It could be scrolls.
Seris visited often.
She always pretended she didn't care, but I noticed how she always placed fruit near Rowan's basket — "for the old man," she'd say while glancing at me.
I don't know why she expected me to understand what she was saying.
One rainy afternoon, Seris held me awkwardly while Rowan made soup.
"You sure he won't bite?" she asked.
"I'm not a wild animal…" I internally groaned, though I accidentally drooled on her as I tried to turn my head.
She froze.
Rowan laughed.
"See? Perfectly harmless."
Seris wiped her arm, disgusted but… smiling?
Maybe she was warming up to me… slowly.
One night, Rowan sat by the fire, staring into the embers.
"This world wasn't always like this," he said quietly.
Seris sat sharpening her sword.
Rowan continued,
"Before the wars across elements rose, Elemental Dragons, one for each element roamed the lands and kept peace between all. Spirits blessed the world with Light, Earth, Water, Fire. Peace held for centuries."
"What changed?" Seris asked without looking up.
Rowan's hand tightened around his staff.
"The enemy arrived."
Seris lowered her blade. "The… Devourers?"
Rowan nodded.
Back in the Divine Realm, Gods had complete control of everything. That was until Devourers came in.
It was told that one day, the Void Dragon, Palonias, had turned against the other Elements and the Gods and sought power over all realities.
However, he was stopped by Sherokin, the Null God – King of Gods – and with the help of the elemental dragons, they defeated Palonias.
But with Palonias's Death came the Devourers. The Devourers were evil beasts that caused destruction and killing for whoever was in their way.
It came to a point where they could eventually reach the Divine Realm. They were then simultaneously known as God slayers as the first time in history a God was slain.
They're numbers ending up reducing due to Sherokin's efforts, yet they still roamed realities and kept coming in waves.
"They consumed elements… stole power… corrupted nature itself. They say one touch could drain life from a grown warrior.", said Rowan.
I thought to myself, "God slayers, even here and now?".
Rowan turned to me.
"But we will not let their darkness win."
His voice cracked. Just slightly.
Seris's eyes narrowed.
"And what if darkness is already among us?"
For a heartbeat, she looked directly at the faint purple mark hidden beneath my sleeve.
My arm pulsed in discomfort.
Perhaps she didn't mean anything by it.
Around one year passed and I could walk and say a few simple words. I'd like to think I was a quick learner.
And I could use a wooden stick as a legendary sword — in my imagination, at least. I marched around the living room, swinging wildly.
"Hyah-ha!" I yelled, nearly tripping on my own feet.
Seris leaned against the doorway, amused.
"You swing like a duck with one leg," she teased.
"What a duck?" I asked, confused.
Rowan chuckled. "A delicious bird you are not old enough to taste yet."
Seris smirked. "Point your front foot toward your enemy — unless you want to fall on your face again."
I adjusted my stance.
She blinked in surprise.
"Huh. Quick learner…"
Rowan raised an eyebrow. "He is unusual."
"Unusual can be dangerous," Seris replied quickly.
Rowan sighed. "He's a child, not a weapon."
Their eyes locked — tension heavy in the room.
I stepped between them and raised my tiny arms like a peace-ambassador toddler.
"Fends", I said with my little mouth.
They both stared.
Then Rowan laughed.
Even Seris smiles.
Outside our home… whispers grew.
"The Void child."
"Bad omen."
"He'll bring ruin."
One market morning, a villager pointed sharply.
"That kid—look at his arm! What's that glow?"
Rowan quickly pulled my sleeve down.
"It's a birthmark!" he snapped. "Leave him be!"
"He's cursed," another man spat. "He'll draw the Devourers here!"
Seris stormed over, hand on her sword.
"You want to blame a toddler for your fear? Step forward. I'll help you with your worries."
The man backed off immediately.
But his words stuck in my mind.
Was I really a curse?, Was my existence a danger?
Even I didn't know — yet.
That night, I sat alone near the fire, staring at a small pebble.
"I'm not danger…" I whispered.
My arm prickled — the mark glowing faintly.
I was sat by the campfire outside when I was playing with a pebble.
The pebble trembled.
Lifted.
Hovered.
I reached instinctively — but stopped myself.
If they saw this… I'd lose this new home. Rowan. Seris.
Suddenly the pebble shot upward—
BANG!
It shattered into dust.
Rowan rushed in.
"Silas?! What happened?"
"Rock… fell," I lied quickly.
Rowan scanned the area, suspicious… but nodded slowly.
"Be careful, little one," he murmured, patting my head.
"You're special. The world will notice soon."
That terrified me more than the power did.
Another 2 Years passed, and I started to remember less of the Divine Realm each month.
However, one thing always remained.
The feeling that I was not wanted. Not here and certainly not in the Divine Realm.
Rowan taught me to read simple symbols.
I started getting a feel for this world.
It appears magic and sword craft is the ultimate rule here.
I began reading scrolls at a youthful age.
Seris taught me sword play and balance. She also taught me the elements and crafts of this world.
There were 5 elements in total. They ranged from light, earth, fire, water and void.
She told me that I was Void and for that reason I could be treated differently.
She also said that there were 3 class types. Mage class, Sword class, and Apothecary class.
I still had a long way to go until I chose one of these.
"I don't know much about your powers Silas. They are very rare and you don't come across them very often.", she said.
The world around us remained unstable — scouts reported elemental spirits disappearing, and fields dying without their blessings.
Grayrock was a spark waiting for the wind to blow.
One evening, as I sat with Rowan outside, I tugged his sleeve.
"Rowan… why people scared of me?"
His old eyes saddened.
"Because you're different," he said gently.
"And when humans don't understand something… they fear it."
"Silas… bad?" I asked quietly.
Rowan took my small hands in his.
"No. You're exactly what this world needs."
His voice trembled — hope shaken by uncertainty.
I hugged him.
He hugged me too.
His heart beat slower.
Older.
Fragile.
I silently wished he would never leave me.
Later that night, clouds parted, and moonlight hit the Void mark on my arm. It glowed brighter than ever — pulsing like a heartbeat from another world.
A whisper echoed in my mind:
"Void does not take…
Void becomes.", in that same dark, distorted voice I heard when I was falling through the Mirror of Descent.
I shivered.
Something awakened inside me.
Something ancient.
Something forbidden.
Something hungry.