As much as the memories affected him—touching something deep within his very being—so too did his slaughter weaken the remnants of Void left within the Maelstrom. David could clearly feel it.

But as he slaughtered the familiar people forming all around him, stripping away the terrors of memories that should have been buried all along, David felt his strength waning. Whatever the Void was doing, it was working against him too. The potency of his attacks deteriorated greatly.

They were still effective, draining an additional bit of the Void, ripping it out of the Maelstrom’s control. It wasn’t much, but it added up as he killed a dozen of the people he had long since forgotten. Or so he thought, at least.

But there were also familiar faces. It took a while before they emerged, but Felix, Basti, and William jumped to life. Tearing through his friends didn’t feel the same. Killing Felix and Basti struck him differently than slaying the incarnations of his darkest memories. However, nothing compared to seeing William. He grimaced, and anger sloshed against his restraints. The wrath and fury he felt toward the man he had once considered a friend burst through the gates and filled his very being.

After William’s appearance and the highly compressed [Origin Lightning] attack that followed, the Maelstrom’s tactic changed. David obliterated William even as his body disintegrated, unleashing a flurry of attacks to dismember the man he had proudly called one of his best friends.

The Void feasted on that, devouring everything he had prepared to claim it.

David felt the strength seep from his body—both physical and mental. His strong, seemingly indomitable willpower suddenly felt sluggish and weak. Thoughts, one worse than the next, sloshed against the edges of his mind, filling him with the desire to cave in. To surrender to the Maelstrom and the Void.

He endured well, slowly wearing on his foe’s energy, until three familiar figures formed before him.

David’s eyes fell on the small frame in the middle first; a small boy with vigorous, emerald-green eyes stared at him. He had short, dark hair, his small, fragile hands weakly holding onto the woman beside him. The woman’s hair was like a river of silky black that flowed down to her lower back. She stared blankly at him, the smile on her lips never reaching her eyes.

It was a familiar look—and something he never expected to see again.

The man on the other side of the small boy didn’t bother holding his hand. He stared coldly at David, his features as sharp and icy as ever.

They were his parents, just as he remembered them.

His mother grasped the boy’s hand tightly, but the boy never budged. He stared at David, tracking his every movement.

David stepped closer and lowered himself to meet the boy’s eyes, sadness filling his very being as he reminded himself that the boy was none other than himself. It had been a while, but he could never forget.

Should I… give up?

The thought came suddenly and unbidden. His eyes widened, but he barely realized what had escaped his mind when the traces of Void used the opportunity to move on him—to attack him directly for the first time.

Tendrils of the Void burst from the darkness all around him. They barreled toward him faster than he could react and latched onto him while his eyes remained locked on the small family. His parents shifted, and faint smiles blossomed. It wrenched his heart and made him feel like he didn’t deserve anything as he looked at them, but his attention always returned to his younger self.

Young David continued to stare at him. Straight into his eyes… deep into his soul.

Intense. Cold. Disappointed.

David’s lips twitched. Something within him stirred as he looked at his younger self. It was different from his parents—genuine, even.

He’s not a creation of the Void, he realized, glancing at his parents, his vision finally clear of the shroud that had veiled it.

David got back up to his feet, his eyes never leaving the only figure that didn’t seem to belong to the Void—his young self—and grimaced.

“Fuck that shit,” he growled, focusing on the domain of his soul, built around the palace in his mind, to strengthen his willpower once more.

The tendrils of Void that latched onto him rippled and appeared to hesitate for a moment, but David remained unmoving even as they surged at him again, continuing their ruthless path to consume all they could.

But they failed to consume him.

[Unyielding Vitality] burst forth, fortifying the very power that had turned David into the man he had become.

He stepped closer, feeling the desperate effort of his Body, Mind, and Soul as they restrained the Void’s power, stalling it temporarily. The corner of his lips tugged upward as he felt his Class Skills finally doing what they were supposed to do. It took them a while, but [Unyielding Vitality], [Soul Domain], [Mind Palace], [Indomitable Will], and the painstaking effort to [Reinforce] Body jumped into action at last.

I didn’t expect a frail trace of the Void to be this strong already. But maybe… just maybe, that was for the best.

His path to the designated result had been different than expected, but he was still alive—and about to change the tides. He could feel it clearly.

David’s hands surged toward his parents’ faces, his fingers coiling around them, gripping them tightly.

“I’m sorry for never meeting your expectations,” David muttered, unleashing [Origin Lightning] through his palms.

He lifted the shifters that had taken on the appearance of his parents from the ground, pristine-white lightning pressing hard against their skin. The smell of burned flesh filled the proximity, but there was no need to pay any attention to it. It wasn’t real in the first place.

David didn’t kill the shapeshifted Void instantly. He used the lightning currents to drain the Void, to weaken it as much as possible before pushing [Fearwrought] out. It was the first time he unleashed his newest asset, yet he did not hesitate to intensify it further, filling the eternal darkness around him with fear—flooding it until there was no escape.

At last, once the traces of the Void reached the desired threshold, David’s will surged forward to consume them. There was no need to destroy them. Draining their power until only a minuscule trace of the Void was left—that was all he ever wanted. It was all he needed to complete his plan. After all, he never wanted to work against the Maelstrom, let alone destroy the Void within. He just had to weaken it enough to claim it. To make it his.

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“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you,” he said, increasing the output of pristine-white lightning once again.

David felt something change. It was too subtle to perceive all the details and too early to tell if it was successful, but it was something.

“Thank you for giving birth to me.”

His life hadn’t always been easy. It had been a mess, to say the least. But his parents had given him love. They had overwhelmed him with their love. It had been an obsession, definitely—David was aware of that now. Despite that, his life had been much better than others’, even if he loathed his parents at times.

“I love you,” he muttered, gritting his teeth as he unleashed [Primeval Pulse], squashing the Maelstrom’s last layer of resistance—obliterating the power that had taken on the appearance of his parents.

His eyes, wet and blurry, turned to his younger self—young David—showing the hint of a smile as it disintegrated alongside his parents.

Deryadus’ Arm was the sole reason he had been willing to risk absorbing the Maelstrom. As an Ancient Relic, it was said to be capable of altering all kinds of energy, so it shouldn’t have been a problem to help him claim the Maelstrom and the energy within as well. However, preparing the Relic for the final day had been torturous and expensive, draining his funds considerably.

It was worth the price, though, David thought as he opened his eyes once again.

He was covered in a mixture of sweat and blood, transforming every movement into an uncomfortable ordeal. Exhaustion clung tightly to him, yet David couldn’t tell if it was his body, mind, or soul that was exhausted. It was all and none at the same time.

“I’m alive,” he muttered, leaning back. His back hit the ground softly, a bright smile blooming on his face.

I made it. The Maelstrom is mine now! David screamed in his heart, too exhausted to shout his excitement out loud. Deryadus’ Arm was still intact and worked efficiently, though some changes were happening to it—to him—as the integration of the Maelstrom continued. But that was not something David could influence. He might be able to shift the Maelstrom, but the Ancient Relic was already doing that.

Unwilling to destroy his hard work with ignorance, David waited impatiently until the notifications from the System finally popped up.

Show me what you think about my actions!

[Non-system has been detected in the User’s system. The User has consumed: claimed:...]

The message was cut short and shifted before his eyes. Letters swirled through the holographic screen and reshaped into something new.

[Error. Error! Non-system energy has been integrated into the User’s system! Forceful expulsion of harmful energy is recommended!!

Do you wish to expel the devious substance?

Remark: Expulsion is mandated by the System. Rejecting the–...]

“Hell no!” David shouted before finishing the system message. He couldn’t care less what the System wanted. It was like the exhaustion was washed away as he jerked up to take a double-take at the first part of the mission.

“Don’t you dare to expel it!”

[The User has rejected expulsion of harmful non-system energy, going against the mandate and well-meant recommendation!]

[Error! Error!

The User has forcefully taken control of a Maelstrom. Against all odds, it remained unscathed and did not shatter.

Traces of Nihilum within the subject’s body, mind, and soul have been fully absorbed, distorted, and reconfigured.

A new vessel of the Nemesis’ might has been forged—claimed, shaped, and in full control of the Herald.]

[Where once there was void, a breath was drawn.

In defiance of all laws, it came to be—singular, sovereign, inevitable.]

[Vitae Nihilum has been created.]

[+0.01]

David half-expected to be punished by the System. A mandate by the System was most definitely not something he could refuse without facing consequences. That would make sense, given how much the System seemed to hate the Fissure and everything associated with it. However, as he read through the last messages over and over again, understanding began to dawn on him.

Is it satisfying that I managed to annex the Fissure’s greatest power? That it transformed the greatest adversary of the cosmos into something that can be wielded against them?

He was not quite sure about that, but the System did not give him any rewards for his achievement. Presumably, the punishment he would have received was waived because he made Nihilum his.

Nihilum was an odd name to give the energy empowering the Voidlings. However, upon thinking about it for a few seconds, it was not necessarily wrong.

“I’ll call you Vitae though. That has a better ring to it,” David muttered—not that anyone could understand him either way. Except for Electra.

His throat tightened as he recalled the Sacred Beast and the struggle it had gone through while he was busy wreaking havoc within the Maelstrom. The fact that the System said all Nihilum had been consumed calmed him a little, but there were still lingering traces of Nihilum spread through Deryadus’ Arm. Well… reconfigured Nihilum.

The traces that latched onto the Ancient Relic were Vitae, though weak and fading. Their presence was barely worth mentioning, which made sense given that he had only 0.01 Vitae in total.

Despite that, David did not stay idle and focused on his connection with the Sacred Beast.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips, and he loosened up as the severed connection to Electra returned.

“Good. I was worried for a moment,” he grimaced, closing his eyes to check on the Mythical Electra.

His mind entered the space within the Sacred Beast Core without resistance, the smile slipping from his lips as his eyes landed on the cracks permeating the Core’s insides. Electra levitated high above him, but the Sacred Beast looked nothing like before. The remnants of its will had altered its shape, transforming it into a perfect replica of her form as an Echo.

Electra must have accepted its new role, David mused as he analyzed the post-massacre damage.

[Bloodlife Echo] was almost drained. The Sacred Beast didn’t even have ten droplets of pure Blood left to maintain its form. And that wasn’t even the worst of it. The Sacred Beast Core was dried out and damaged. It could be repaired—however, that would consume a considerable amount of pure Blood. Not that it was a problem, but it would take time to fix the mess.

Scalemore and Serpent Fang weren’t fully drained, but that was probably the only reason they hadn’t disintegrated. Both bound weapons were cracked and looked like a light blow would destroy them.

“That was closer than expected,” David winced as the Mythical Electra continued to regard him in silence. Its form was weak and on the verge of fading, but it had survived. Though he was certain the Beast’s Will had been damaged and partially consumed by the intrusive Nihilum that had surged into the Sacred Beast Core.

“Thanks a lot. Without you, I wouldn’t have made it,” David said—and he truly meant it.

Electra stalled the majority of Nihilum left within the Maelstrom, creating the opportunity he’d needed to take over.

They—David, to be precise—had never expected the bits of Nihilum within the Maelstrom to cause this much damage. It shouldn’t have been this difficult. Not after spending most of the years growing stronger, preparing for this day. All research had hinted that absorbing more nothingness would help him claim the Maelstrom more easily, but was that really the case?

If the theories based on his dedicated research were right… would he have died if he hadn’t cleansed the entire nation and surrounding counties of all nothingness? How much more nothingness was needed to claim a Maelstrom more easily? Would it require the cleansing of an entire world to claim a nurtured Maelstrom?

Why am I even thinking about this? I’ve already claimed a Maelstrom and don’t need to worry about others attempting the same. Not that it’s likely anyone would be stupid enough to do that.

Others did not have his Class Skills, a companion like Electra, let alone the energy storages needed to survive this long. Additionally, nobody had an Ancient Relic of a Fallen capable of devouring and annexing all types of energy and materials. Deryadus’ Arm was unique—and so, too, was the existence of Vitae Nihilum, if the System could be trusted.