Tears started to flood from my eyes as my heart began smashing against my chest. I couldn't even feel anything anymore; my emotions were overloading my body. Sensation itself disappeared. Everything felt numb, and before I knew, it all faded to black. I could feel myself drifting, stuck in this never-ending darkness. Was I dead? Whatever... it's not like I had anything left to live for anyway.

My life was over the second I had gotten cursed. So many people, dead because of me. Astrid... My body felt heavy— yet I was somehow floating seamlessly. All my heart could think about was Astrid, but my mind was picking up on a harrowing feeling.

I could feel my blood start to freeze, my limbs starting to tremble. The pressure suddenly changed, and I started to fall through this atmosphere. The darkness shifted; starting to get illuminated by thousands of, what I assume to be, stars. To my left, I could see a very powerful purple and blue light. It was as if a big star exploded, but stayed stuck in the phase it was breaking apart. In a way, this place was somewhat beautiful, but I couldn't shake this unsettling feeling.

I couldn't restrain my thoughts about Astrid anymore. M-maybe she was okay, she was still alive just a second ago. Maybe she could've used some powerful magic and escaped. She can't have died. I don't accept it, she's way too powerful to die. She's... way too wonderful for this cruel world to lose.

My tears started to fly away; through this star-studded dimension. The farther I fell, the more I started to shiver. My eyes widened, and my breathing became frantic. What was this pressure, it was unlike anything I'd ever felt before. Whatever this was... it couldn't have been coming from a human. The pain in my heart, the chills on my skin, it all disappeared the instant my momentum stopped. Gulping away the last of my thoughts, all the hair on my body stood up. Frozen in place, I was surrounded by darkness once again. This was different though; I wasn't alone.

My vision stayed fixed ahead— worried about what I was actually staring at. I could hear a deep grumble, fueled with aggression. The sheer weight of this voice blew my body back. Six flickering purple lights appeared far above me, illuminating the rest of this beast's face. It looked like it had a giant.. snout? I could see hints of perpetuating red, flowing from its mouth. I think this is a dragon. Just like always, there are way too many questions with next to no answers. My body still won't move; this dragon's aura is way too overbearing.

"So tiny... You're the one who Harlow chose huh?" his voice boomed, seemingly shaking the space we're in.

His voice was so deep, my ears pulsated just processing it. Terrified to the core, my lips refused to move. I couldn't work up even a single sound. Those monsters I saw that day don't compare to this dragon at all. I can't even process the feeling I get just being in his presence.

"Heh, well at least you seem like a kind soul. I don't mind the praise, and do not worry— you don't have to respond. I can still hear you."

H-huh? How can you hear me..?

"I'm a part of you, girl" the dragon grumbled.

"My name is Gheera, and this void is my home."

Wait so, this is the Void?

"It is, and you're now the one who carries the weight of this dimension with you. The Voidwalker."

Gheera lowered his head, making it so his teeth were right in front of my face.

"Tell me your name."

Beads of sweat were falling profusely from my body. His breath alone burned my skin, and the weight of his voice sent all the water flying. I shouldn't act smart and ask him "shouldn't you already know my name," since that'd just be stupid. Oh wait... he can hear me anyways. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath.

"Reimi!!"

"Reimi... I'll be honest, I don't respect you. You're weak and timid, not even able to protect the ones you hold dear" he scoffed.

Gheera raised his head back to where it was and exhaled; smoke leaving the crevices of his mouth.

"Anyways, let me make things more comfortable for you" Gheera muttered.

The space around us started to shift rapidly, I don't even know what I'm looking at anymore. Reality was bending, changing this black canvas into a much more familiar scene. The sun was shining brilliantly; radiating in the now bright blue sky. Few clouds were present, but they were all big and fluffy. Slowly turning to admire this dreamscape, I saw black and purple butterflies dancing once more. They were all over this great field. The ground was erupting life, filled with flowers and grass; accented with a winding stream running all over.

Was this still the void?

"So this is what your ideal environment would be? Interesting."

I turned to see who spoke, and what stood in front of me was quite possibly the most gorgeous yet intimidating person I've ever seen. His jet black hair trailed down to his shoulders, imitating the void I was just in. His skin was flawless and fair— it looked so naturally smooth. However, out of all this, the thing that caught my attention first was his eyes. They were a burning purple, bright and glowing. I couldn't help but stare into them.

"I tried to transform into something that'd make you feel comfortable, not fall in love," he said.

"Well regardless, you seem much more at ease" the man reached out his hand, and I instinctively grabbed it.

"Nice to meet you Reimi, I guess this will be the form I address you in now."

"G-gheera? Nice to meet you as well... You not only transformed yourself but this whole space too? Just who are you?" I stammered.

His expression shifted from a blank slate to a confidence-filled smirk. A huge tree erupted from the ground behind him. I don't think I've ever seen a tree this big; it had thousands of branches all touching the sky. Black leaves adorned them, with white fruits clinging on for dear life. I took a couple of steps back to admire this huge tree, but something stopped me dead in my tracks. My eyes stayed locked on the sky, where two huge orbs stood. One was white, with gold energy flowing within the cracks. The other was black, with blue energy bursting through its flesh. They looked like moons to me, judging from the craters and planet-like shape.

"Who am I huh? That's a loaded question to answer. Just know that I am the void, and the void is me. Never compare me to anyone or anything, since I'm far above it all. Humans are nothing but trash in my presence."

Gheera took a step closer and slowly tapped my forehead, causing me to stumble backwards.

"Including you, Reimi."

He took a deep breath and started laughing.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding, mostly. Anyways Reimi, we're in quite the dire situation aren't we?"

His voice was very soothing now, charming even. Though the rage behind his eyes was still present. The contrasts from everything now to just a couple minutes ago were crazy. My mind didn't know how to process any of this, along with.. Astrid.

I chuckled nervously. "Definitely... But aren't I dead?"

"No, you aren't. I pulled your consciousness in here before you died though since we can still do something about your friend" Gheera said.

"REALLY?!" I shouted with glee.

"What do we do? We need to act fast-"

Before I could finish talking; Gheera turned away from me and started walking towards the base of the tree, leaning against it. He raised his arm up and motioned me to come closer. I couldn't help but run over. If there was any chance to save Astrid, I needed to take it, no matter what.

"Time moves very differently here, Reimi. You could spend the next year of your life here, and still, nothing would've changed in the real world" Gheera said.

"That being said— I know you're very eager. So I'm going to give it to you straight; you're weak, and cannot save her."

My heart sank to my stomach.

"B-but then what did you mean?!"

"Calm" he sharply said.

All my emotions settled in that second; genuinely fearing for my life.

"You can't save her, but I can."

"H-huh?"

He grabbed my shirt collar and pulled me close to his face.

"I'll take control of your body and save her" he grumbled.

"That's possible...?"

He let go of me and I fell to the ground.

"It is, and it's also the only way to save this Astrid person."

I shot up from the ground and curled my hands into fists.

"Whatever you need to do, do it. Please save her.." my voice quivered.

Gheera chuckled. "Consider it done girl."

He slowly started fading away. Leaving behind a slight trail of stardust in his wake. For a couple minutes everything just flowed as normal; nature being nature. Though I was starting to get the feeling that something was awry. The tranquility I was feeling from earlier, was all but gone. The butterflies started turning into monsters, what the hell was going on. They looked like monsters similar to that night. All varying in shapes in sizes, with the only common trait being their grotesque forms and razor-sharp teeth.

With my back facing the tree, I decided that now would be the chance to get my payback. These monsters ruined my life, and now it's time I take theirs. I slam my fist into my palm and confidently smirked. The fields of life started to burn red and black, and the monsters all turned my way. Bending down to launch at them, I gritted my teeth and steeled my resolve. I need to have faith that Gheera will save Astrid; and in the meantime, I'll take care of this garbage. I pushed back against the ground and sprinted at the group of demons, ready to wipe them out.

Astrid's POV

I... couldn't move. Who knew a giant ass rock would be the thing to put me down. My vision was getting hazy, but I knew Gus had the dumbest grin on his face. God I wanna smack it off his face so bad. Reimi was resting on my arm, and even when all battered and bruised; she still looked so beautiful. Heh, only she could pull that off. Gah, why am I so pathetic though. I couldn't protect her when it counted most... What kind of Paladin am I. I guess I should say 'was' since this is it for me.

I ran away from heaven just to die like this huh. I'm really a failure...

I'm trying my best to heal my internal injuries, but I can't do anything too obvious or Gus will definitely kill me on the spot. If I didn't move my head out of the way just a second ago, that would've been curtains then and there. My chances overall are really bleak. If I just had some kind of distraction; I could heal up fast enough to get this rock out of me.

I looked down at Reimi, hoping to at least smile one more time before I go. Wait, she definitely wasn't this clean just a second ago. Where'd all her wounds go? Even the mud on her skin was gone. What the hell? What was this pressure; I've never felt anything like this before. My healing magic accelerated somehow, but all I could look at was Reimi. She moved so fast from the ground to the air— it truly looked like she teleported. She was levitating in the air, keeping her eyes shut. Reimi's normally wavy jet black hair seemingly became even darker and grew messy and unkempt. Just one strand hung in front of her face.

I don't like this, whatever this pressure was; it couldn't be coming from Rei. This is way too sinister... and rage-fueled. My girl is way too sweet, these kinds of feelings could never come from her. Reimi's eyes shot upon, revealing a bright purple. She smiled freakishly wide; I know now that this can't be her. Mad, tired, sweaty, bruised, literally anything and I'd find her gorgeous. Just something about her always resonated with me; ever since the second I first laid eyes on her. That's why I know something is controlling her body.

Since this is the first time in the month-plus that I've known her, where I've genuinely been disgusted. The sweet and gentle aura that I've come to know and love has vanished, and all that's left is a feeling of anger and destruction. Whoever this was wanted blood, and I could tell they would stop at nothing to spill it.

"Finally free, it's been far too long," Reimi said.

It's really hard to process this... since I know that's not her, but it sounds just like her. I don't want to refer to that as Reimi, but what else do I tell myself? I don't know what's going on. I should just concentrate on healing first, while I have this distraction.

Gus and all his men turned their attention to Reimi.

"I'll be damned, you're an even bigger monster than Astrid," Gus said.

"Keep your guard up, men, this one is dangerous."

Reimi raised up her arm, revealing a giant mouth on her hand. Really creepy looking, it was just a black hole with sharp teeth. She moved her arm to the right and swung back to the left. A massive mouth appeared to the right of the men, coming out of this black portal thing. It was... hard to watch what happened to them. The teeth gnawed on everybody, shredding them all to bloody guts and pieces. There was mass hysteria after that; everyone trying to run away just to get torn in half.

Gus tried using his gravity magic, but for some reason, it didn't work. I think that's the first time he's ever felt fear.

"You're meant to be an archon right? Don't tell me this is all you've got" Reimi said.

Gus slammed his hands together, raising huge chunks of the earth rapidly into the sky. I, along with anyone else who was alive, were brought up into the sky. I just needed to focus on healing, I'm almost there. It'll hurt like hell when I take this rock out, but it won't kill me. Reimi raised her arms up, looking genuinely amused. Gus tried to stop her movements with gravity but nothing was working.

"What the hell are you?!" he yelled while throwing the massive chunks of rock at Reimi.

Reimi smiled and snapped her fingers, breaking apart all the rocks. We all started free falling, oh god. I couldn't afford to wait now; I needed to pull this rock out. I dig my hands into the middle and push, releasing the pressure within the middle of my figure. Thank everything I'm strong— since the rock flew out with relative ease. The healing I did was enough since there wasn't any bleeding. I was able to seal up all the damaged organs. Now it's time to fix this big hole in my body.

All the men Gus had brought with him were mostly dead before we even went up into the sky, and the few that were left weren't able to survive the fall. I was able to glide down slowly, behind those two. Reimi teleported in front of Gus's face and said something, but of course, I was too far away to hear anything. Gus started running away, and I've gotta say it's a great look for him. I started racing to the ground, wanting to check up on Reimi... but also to confirm my suspicions.

The hole in my body had all but disappeared by the time my feet touched the ground. I've never had to heal that much before; bleh, I definitely can't use any magic for a while. So I hope whoever this is doesn't attack me.

Reimi and I started walking towards each other, but before I could even say anything she started falling forward.

"Reimi?!" I held out my arms and caught her.

"Reimi please be okay" I said frantically.

I pressed my ear against her chest and heard a gentle thump. I could feel tears start to form, but I couldn't stop them. I can't even remember the last time I've cried for anything.

I chuckle. "What have you done to me Reimi."

While still leaning close to her, I bent down even more and gently pecked her forehead. I picked her up and continued walking down the way we were going.

"We've got a long road ahead of us Rei... but I'm more than happy to spend it all with you."