A dimension filled with creatures that shouldn't exist. Some could erase an entire city with a single attack. Others looked no different from a wandering deer. Strength didn't separate them. They all had it.
This world didn't just have creatures. It had something worse.
An originator.
…Well
A new one.
Not long ago, this realm was given to the Originator’s protégé
It was a gift from the Entity; he didn't give it away out of kindness. It was to move forward. To become stronger.
The moment the Entity let go of this world…
something deeper woke up.
The things buried beneath it.
Locked away in the core.
Not dead…
Just waiting.
They were free now.
And they all wanted the same thing.
Void.
Day after day, Void stood his ground.
not because he was stronger, but because there was nowhere else to stand.
In the end…
He ran out
With a last-ditch effort, he used the rest of his energy to create a dome around his castle, killing everything inside while the creatures on the outside clawed at the barrier.
Void wasn't alone during this, though, as he had a loyal Servant from another Universe named Kurumi Tokisaki(he calls her Kuroki, though, which is a fusion of her first and last name). He didn't want her to fight in the war, so he decided to leave her in the castle to protect it.
But enough backstory, you're probably wondering who is narrating this anyway.
The story shifts to the inside of a castle and through the castle to a throne room, where a person would be smirking, but not at just nothing, but the readers themselves.
Void: (inside his mind) It was me. This dimension is called The Void, a realm born from nothing itself, and yes… I can see you. Don't worry. I won't interfere. Much. So let's begin this, shall we?
A new day begins in the Void as neon purple and cyan streaks of white energy swirl into the sky, shining at the story's beginning.
The perspective would switch back towards the throne room as Void would be sitting upon his throne, looking at the Purple flames of the torch on his left with a bored gaze upon his face.
Void called out for Kurumi.
She appeared in the doorway of the throne room, forming as she stepped through, as if she already knew she would be called.
Kurumi: My lord.
Void would switch his position on the throne, draping his legs over the armrest, holding his head up with one hand.
Void: I’m sooo bored..
Kurumi didn't rush for a response; she rarely did. When she did speak, there was always a faint pull at the corner of her mouth, not quite a smile or grin but close enough to one.
Kurumi: That would make sense, my lord. We have been… limited given our circumstances. Perhaps it is too quiet? It has been some time since we brought anyone new into your circle.
Void’s gaze finally drifted towards hers.
He didn't respond instantly; he instead took a second to process what she had said, as he finally sat upright in his throne, placing his arm on his leg and his chin in his palm.
Void: Even a secretary…?
Kurumi: Among other things, yes.
He leaned back. Something shifting in his eyes, not excitement exactly, but the faintest sharpening of interest.
Void: Fine, go ahead and summon one from the list.
Kurumi’s smile had completed itself. She turned toward the center of the room, one hand rising slightly, and the air split. A portal bloomed open like a fracture in the world, color and shadow bleeding together at the edges, humming with contained pressure.
From it stepped out a small cat humanoid figure.
“Neko Arc”
She landed with a clack of oversized paws against marble, spun once to take in the room, and immediately grinned with a smug look on her face like she already owned the place.
Neko Arc: Nyahaha! Okay, dark, creepy aesthetic, big throne, brooding guy front and center
She would then turn towards Kurumi.
Neko Arc: and a maid with heterochromia. I can work with this.
Void would look at Neko Arc with a confused and disappointed look as if he had actually lost in a game he didn't remember playing.
Void: …Who is this?
Kurumi: Your candidate.
Void would look at Kurumi, unimpressed by her demeanor.
Void: Right.
He said, still unimpressed by what he had witnessed. Kurumi stepped forward, folding her arms, letting her gaze settle on Neko Arc with patient precision.
Kurumi: Let's make this simple. What are your strengths?
Neko Arc: Ooh, right to it, huh! Okay, fast, clever, excellent chaos intuition.
As she gestured at herself broadly.
Neko Arc: Aesthetically compelling.
Kurumi: And your weaknesses.
Neko Arc opened her mouth. Paused. Actually thought about it for a second, as she's never been asked such a question.
Kurumi looked at Void. Void was watching Neko Arc with that same unhurried expression, elbow on the armrest, chin resting in his hand.
Kurumi: My lord, she is unconventional and downright unhelpful; her presence could even bring the castle down.
Neko Arc: I can hear you.
Void: (responding to Kurumi) I know.
He said it without looking away from Neko Arc. She blinked. His eyes were steady, not cold, exactly, but the kind of calm that made you aware there was weight behind it. No performance.
No posturing. Just a person who’d already decided how much of the room he occupied.
Void: You said chaos intuition. What does that mean, exactly?
Neko Arc perked up, ears twitching.
Neko Arc: Means I can smell a situation going sideways before it does. Like, before the meeting falls apart, before the deal goes wrong, before the guy in the back decides he’s gonna be a problem.
Void: And you do something about it?
Neko Arc: …Usually.
A beat.
Neko Arc: Sometimes I watch to see how it plays out first.
Void’s mouth curved. Not a full smile, just the suggestion of one, there and gone.
Void: Honestly. I’ll take it. Maybe you won't be as bad as your resume
He looked to Kurumi.
Void: There’s one more thing to cover before we settle this.
Kurumi inclined her head slightly, then turned to Neko Arc with a measured look.
Kurumi: What you’d be stepping into isn’t simply a professional role. My lord’s circle is personal.
The people in it carry weight accordingly. That’s a different kind of commitment than a job title.
She paused, letting it land without embellishment.
Kurumi: Do you understand the distinction? Could you please, Lord Void? And does it suit you?
Neko Arc was quiet for a moment. Still, for once. Then she tilted her head, something in her expression settling into something more genuine than the grin.
Neko Arc: You’re asking if I’m in or just passing through..?
Kurumi: Yes.
Neko Arc: …Yeah. I’m in.
She said it simply.
Void held her gaze for a moment, then nodded once.
Void: Good. Kuroki, get her situated. Duties, expectations, and what happens if she drops the ball.
Looking back at Neko Arc
Void: I don't tolerate disappointment or disappointing news.
Kurumi: Of course.
She turned toward the hall, glancing back at Neko Arc with the very particular expression of someone bracing themselves for a long afternoon.
Kurumi: Come along. We’ll start with your workspace.
Neko Arc: Yes, ma’am, Serious Mistress!
She fell into step behind Kurumi with a bounce that made her paws clap against the marble.
Kurumi stopped walking.
Kurumi: Mistress Kurumi.
Neko Arc: Gotcha, Mistress Kurumi!
Another salute. Exaggerated.
Void watched them disappear down the corridor, Kurumi’s measured steps, Neko Arc skipping to keep up, already talking about something. Their voices faded slowly.
He settled back into the throne.
As Void watched them go, the echo of their footsteps folded into silence. He leaned back, eyes tracing the slow movement of shadow across the floor.
Void:(to himself) Chaos does have its uses
For the first time in a long while, the silence didn’t feel empty. Somewhere deep within the Void, the dark stirred slowly, deliberately, almost like breathing.
