Zeruth stood still, yet his presence felt like a scream under the skin—itching, biting, laughing.Even in silence, that smile of his carved into the mind like a jagged dagger.
The ground between them was fractured—time itself hesitating to stitch the next moment.
Null didn't blink.
He couldn't.
Because if he did, Zeruth would be in front of him, and this would all be over.
"I see the Echo took well to you," Zeruth finally said, stepping down into the Cradle, his black ceremonial armor rippling like tar.
His feet left no sound.No imprint.
Like time was too scared to touch him.
"You're not supposed to be here," Null said. His voice was low but steady, grounded like a blade sunk into earth.
"Neither are you." Zeruth's smile didn't reach his eyes. "And yet… we always end up in forbidden places, don't we?"
The Echo Fragment still pulsed faintly inside Null's forearm, whispering memories that weren't his. Sovereigns. Betrayals. Endless deaths.
And always, always—Zeruth.
He'd been there.
In every timeline.
Smiling.
[Hollow Reversal – Integration Complete.]
[New Passive Acquired – Epoch Resistance (Lv.1): Immune to minor timeline erosion and low-tier temporal illusions.]
Good.
Because Null had the sickening feeling Zeruth wasn't here to talk.
"You were the one who orchestrated the Fall of Epoch Prime," Null said.
Zeruth didn't deny it.
He didn't have to.
"You think too small," he replied, tilting his head like a curious predator. "I didn't orchestrate the fall. I gave it permission."
He stepped closer.
The Hollow Wastes bent around him.Space dipped slightly, light growing dimmer.
Every inch he walked, Null felt an invisible pressure—like his memories were being pulled out through his breath.
[Mental Resistance Test Initiated...]
[System Core Stable – Integrity 96%]
"I remember what you did in Cycle 9," Null said. "You erased an entire reality just to see if a version of me could survive without language."
Zeruth laughed. Finally.
And it wasn't funny.
It was the sound of a god who had torn wings off angels just to see if they'd still sing.
"That one screamed in a song I still dream about," he said softly. "But you... you've always been the stubborn one. The survivor."
Null's fingers twitched.
His Hollow energy surged—deep, thick, void-born. Not just darkness.
Absence.
He summoned the first phase of his Domain—Hollow Grasp, and the Cradle pulsed in response, dust rising as invisible claws wrapped around the pit.
Zeruth watched, amused.
"No threats?" he asked. "No witty remarks? Just power?"
"Power," Null answered, "is all we have left when monsters like you write the rules."
A flicker passed through Zeruth's eyes.
Not fear.
Excitement.
[Skill Activated – Hollow Grasp (Phase 1)]
[Status Effect: Area Lock Initiated. No external escape for 60 seconds.]
Chains of nothingness lashed out from the pit's edge—black veins of energy that made no noise as they wrapped around Zeruth's limbs.
But the Sovereign didn't resist.
He allowed it.
As if he wanted to see what would come next.
The moon above trembled. The sky cracked just slightly.
And then…
Zeruth moved.
Not with sound.
Not with speed.
But with absence.
He was in front of Null in an instant, breath cold as a tomb.
Null reacted by instinct—using his new skill.
[Skill Activated – Hollow Reversal]
The world snapped back.
Six seconds.
His body reversed—jerking away just before the blow, as if he'd never moved at all. Zeruth's punch missed, shattering the wall of the pit instead, vaporizing layers of stone and time.
Zeruth paused.
Null raised his eyes.
That was their first exchange.
And Zeruth was grinning wider.
"You're finally interesting again," he whispered.
Then, from above, something shattered.
A burning tear in the sky—like paper catching fire—opened. And through it, a hand made of molten glass reached down.
[WARNING – Dimensional Interference Detected.]
[Incoming Entity: Unidentified Outer Sovereign-Class Signature Detected.]
Zeruth turned his gaze upward, sighing.
"Ah. They noticed. That was fast."
Null's breathing slowed. His Domain was burning too much Hollow energy.
He needed to get out. Fast.
Zeruth began walking backward into the shadows.
"I'll see you soon," he said, his voice dissolving into static. "Remember what you are, Hollow Sovereign. Or someone else will decide it for you."
And just like that, he vanished.
The sky sealed shut.
Null collapsed to one knee, his arm throbbing with a dull ache from the Core Fragment.
But his mind was clear.
He'd survived Zeruth.
And worse was coming.
He stood, dusted himself off, and turned to leave the pit. But in the distance—at the very edge of the Hollow Wastes—a small figure watched him.
Thin.
Wearing a mask with no mouth.
And holding a broken hourglass in both hands.
[New Quest Available – Trace the Masked Watcher]
[Reward: Unknown]
Null didn't move toward it.
Not yet.
Instead, he whispered under his breath.
"One step closer."