《The Void: Ravager》


 Prologue

    36th of Lun, Year 627 AGP


    I have dabbled in many dark arts; Necromancy, Summoning, Death Magic, even the taboo Soul Magic. Alchemy, Transmutation, and Life Magic, while not frowned upon like my specialties, may also be used for various purposes that most vermin consider to be be ''evil'' or ''nefarious''.


    Spell after spell, experiment after experiment, countless times have I used magic to create beings not of this world. However, none have yielded such spectacular results.


    After a millennia of research and the honing of my skills, I have created a being from the great Void, the dark seas above. I haven''t had success like this since I created the Great Plague over a thousand years ago.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    It took decades to even locate the sacred gifts bestowed upon us by the Gods of the Void, let alone to decipher their divine message. They, who possess the power to wipe this planet clean of life, had chosen to give us a chance. And yet the priests insist on their false gods, branding the gifts as evil.


    I seeked to create a spell which would allow me to harness some of the gifts'' great powers. Using a combination of Soul Magic and Transmutation, I succeeded. Unfortunately, Magic has a cost. The Dark Arts are forbidden for a reason. My soul continues to fade away after the powerful spell I had cast to create this... Masterpiece.


    Those damn vermin have slain all of my children. Even Ahn''kur and Vastira, my greatest creations, fell victim to their so called ''Heroes'', beings blessed by their false gods.


    But not you, my child. Where they failed, you will succeed. This message I leave so that you may learn your purpose upon awakening: Destroy everything. Ravage this disgusting world. Purge these arrogant whelps who believe this world to be the only, and show them the wrath of the Void.


    - Erudai, High Priest of the Void

 Chapter 1: Awakening

    Energy coursed through it''s body as it began to stir. The sound of metal scraping again stone broke the silence of the dusty room it layed in. Two red lights suddenly appeared in the darkness as it opened it''s eyes.


    The room was dark and old, with dust covered practically every surface. Despite the pitch black darkness, it could see clear as day in here. As it surveyed the room from the steel altar it sat on, it spotted something slumped over a wooden table which threatened to break at any moment.


    After getting off of the altar and inspecting the figure, it confirmed that it was a humanoid skeleton. It was dressed in black robes lined with gold. Despite all the dust in the room, it was clean and looked good as new. Strange.


    There was a strange, square shaped metal object in the skeleton''s palm. Out of curiosity, it tried to pry it loose from the skeleton''s hand. However, the object suddenly flashed before it projected an image into the air, seemingly incorporeal.


    The image was in fact a blue square, containing words written in a language that it could somehow understand. As if the knowledge was already implemented into it.


    It was a message most likely written by the robed skeleton before death. A mix of strange thoughts swirled in it''s mind as it read the contents.


    Thoughts such as ''What am I?'', ''Where am I?'', and ''What is the Void'' popped in it''s head as it pondered about it''s current situation.


    However, most curious was the matter regarding it''s emotions. Curiosity, apprehension, excitement. None of the emotions it felt seemed genuine. Instead, they seemed to be simulated emotions with the purpose of assisting it in thinking as well as providing a drive for it''s goal to "destroy everything".


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    As it contemplated it''s seemingly simulated emotions and it''s creator, it noticed it''s body for the first time. Having been too distracted by it''s surroundings, it never occurred to it to look upon it''s own body.


    It was shiny and metallic, appearing to be made out of some pitch black metal. Numerous red lights covered it''s body in the forms of streaks and dots.


    While it could not see it''s own face, it surmised that it was made of the same black metal as the rest of it''s body.


    It''s examination of itself came to a halt as it recognised the distinct sound of footsteps approaching. There were multiple of them, so it was possible that it was a group of humanoid creatures.


    The clanging of heavy armour and the voices of humans accompanied these footsteps.


    "This place was supposed to be the home of a famous Mage, so where''s all the damn treasure?" A man said. It could sense the man''s frustration and fatigue.


    Once again it began to wonder about it''s knowledge of the world. It believed it''s creator had implemented them, but why add in such pointless information when it''s sole purpose was to destroy?


    "Idiot. Do you really think it''d be that easy to find a mage''s artefacts?" A feminine voice snapped. "We''re lucky those trap runes were defunct from age."


    It''s thoughts were interrupted yet again. It was starting to get irritated. Perhaps the humans needed to speak all the time in order to keep their sanity. There was a fuzzy memory of a chained man speaking to himself continuously after it''s creator had cast a spell on him.


    The footsteps drew closer, and it finally caught a glimpse of the group. The mere sight of them caused a strange new emotion to surge within it. It took a lot of effort to keep itself under control.


    There was a man, presumably in his forties, leading the group while holding a torch out before him. He was heavily built, with numerous scars along his face. The rest of his body was covered in studded leather armour. A curved sword hung at his waist.


    It couldn''t see the other two behind the large man, but one of them had a long, scaled appendage trailing behind them. A tail?


    "Ssstop. I sssmell sssomething." The humanoid with a tail hissed. As he- was it even a male? After a few seconds of contemplation, it supposed it didn''t really matter.


    The thing was reptilian, and closely resembled a snake. The reptilian approached the entrance to the dark room and promptly put it''s arm through it. What was the thing doing? Whatever it was, it felt an urge to simply rip the lizard apart.


    "A hidden room." The same feminine voice remarked. "Looks like we might find some treasure after all." The man simply grunted in reply, and proceeded to enter the room.


    It was at this moment that the man realised the two glowing red eyes glaring at him from across the room. Alarmed and caught off guard, the man sputtered curses as he quickly drew his sword.


    While it was able to suppress the feelings it had before, it now clouded it''s mind, and took over as the man was now clearly a threat. Ripping the man to shreds was all it could think about. And then, the world went black.

 Chapter 2: Carelessness

    Blood dripped from it''s hands as it stood over two mutilated bodies. The fresh corpses were beginning to create a small puddle of blood as they bled profusely through multiple wounds.


    It had successfully taken out two of the three humanoids of the group that came to it''s room. It stepped on the body of the reptilian, who was halfway through the ''hidden'' room''s entrance, to make it''s way out.


    It had been overcome with a strange feeling which made him charge blindly at the humanoid that entered the room. It had taken a lot of effort to regain control, and by the time it did, it was already engaged in a fierce melee with the human.


    ''The sword wielding humanoid was an annoying opponent.'' It mused. ''His feints and techniques were difficult to deal with until I had managed to learn the patterns.''


    Dispatching the reptilian proved to be a much simpler task as it had managed to surprise them before they could fight back. Although, looking at it''s tough scales, sharp teeth and claws, it was good that it had managed to ambush it.


    However, it too possessed claws, much sharper than the reptilian''s organic ones. It''s claws were metallic, razor sharp, twelve inch long blades which quickly proved to be lethal at close range.


    During the several minutes since it''s awakening, it''s thoughts began to become more like that of an average Human. It felt strange to change from a nigh mindless machine to a self-aware individual in a matter of minutes.


    It was aware that this was not normal by any means due to the memories of it''s creators which, albeit very fuzzy, were still useful for gathering information.


    ''I must focus.'' Quickly snapping itself out of it''s thoughts, it focused on the third and last humanoid. The female humanoid was almost as peculiar as the reptilian.


    She had blue eyes with slit pupils, much like that of the reptilian. However, while she looked almost perfectly human, the way she moved and behaved felt off. It was almost as if she was unused to moving in such a body.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    A strange blue, glowing ''energy'' also covered her, which was vaguely familiar. Was it... ''Mana? The creator seemed to use a similar source of energy for his spells.''


    ''I must be careful.'' It thought as it eyed the humanoid warily, the glowing blue short sword at her waist in particular. He could see that the pommel was decorated by several colourful gems which possessed an even stronger glow than the humanoid''s mana.


    The female humanoid simply stared at him wide-eyed in surprise before drawing her sword, getting into a defensive stance. All the while, she seemed to be keeping the tip of the sword pointed towards him.


    While he- ''When did I begin to refer to myself as a male?'' Despite being in the middle of a fight with a potentially dangerous individual, it still managed to get lost in it''s thoughts.


    ''Perhaps I am starting to use my creator''s identity as my own.'' It thought as it simply stood still and silent, much to the dismay of the female humanoid before him, who found it increasingly eerie.


    For him, what he was referred to as did not matter. However, he felt it would be easier to have at least some way of referring to himself. He didn''t particularly like the idea of being called an ''it'' all the time.


    As a matter of fact, he could swear that something out there was referring to him an ''it'' all the time. Though he couldn''t quite put his claw on it.


    A searing ball of fire quickly brought him back to reality. He had to learn to keep his thoughts at bay. Otherwise, it could get dangerous.


    He dodged just in time by rolling to the right, getting closer to the humanoid in the process. However, a powerful blast produced by the humanoid''s mana knocked him into the wall behind him. Was this the same type of magic that his creator used?


    The walls were tough, despite being ancient, and not a dent was made as he was slammed against it in full force. He quickly recovered and got off the floor, only to be slammed back into the wall by another blast of energy.


    ''Annoying.'' He thought as the simulated emotions began to kick in. At this point he was starting to doubt whether or not they were actually simulations. They felt too real.


    As he got up again, unharmed, the humanoid began to panic, fiddling with her various rings and gems in a rushed manner. After she finished what she had been doing, a new, multicoloured glowing energy surrounded her body. What was more, she began to shift into a different form.


    Before his very eyes, the once humanoid female changed into a large, powerful feline, similar to a tiger, but completely white in colour. It charged him with incredible speed before slamming him onto the cold, hard floor, and proceeded to maul him.


    But this is what he wanted, at least partially. At this range, his claws easily managed to inflict deep wounds onto the feline''s body. He came close to disembowelling it when it leaped off of his body, glaring at him from a distance.


    Despite all of it''s efforts, it''s claws did not leave a scratch on his body. Panting and losing massive amounts of blood, all it could do was stare warily at him as he stood up and walked towards it.


    It whimpered as he loomed over it. As he finished the creature off, it uttered one last word: "Demon." Demon... The word was vaguely familiar. Perhaps due to another of the fuzzy and incomprehensible memories of his creator.


    While he had successfully dispatched the the three humanoids, he now faced yet another problem; He didn''t know the way out of this place. After taking a few steps towards the direction that the group had come from, he had already found several forks.


    ''Perhaps I shouldn''t have killed them immediately after all...'' It thought in regret as it began to think of how it could''ve interrogated them for information. It could take a while for him to find an exit.