It was dark. The only things that disturbed this abysmal darkness were the numerous cracks, eyes even, that were floating in it. Visions from various Realms could be seen within those eyes. The creator of this Realm, a figure darker than the Realm itself, was standing tall in the middle and watching the visions within those eyes.
A new crack, different from the others, formed suddenly. The figure did not flinch because he was already expecting it. An arm, wrapped in strips of white cloth, passed through the new crack, making it wider.
Another arm followed the first one, and together they split open the thick darkness, letting the invader pass through. The crack got distorted for a moment because of the sudden rush of raw Energy, but the Realm quickly stitched itself back.
The man in white glanced at the stitched space. "A nice little Realm you got here." He said with an approving expression. Even though there was no sound, the things he intended to say echoed as sensations. "Is this where you trained the ones you send after me?"
The figure did not have a face; it was barely even a humanoid. They were more like a long pillar, slightly resembling a cloaked human. After a moment of silence, their deep voice filled the endless darkness as it was coming from all over the place at once.
"I watched your fight. I knew they were no match for you, but they did their job. They never meant to defeat you, but they were still strong enough to bother you if left alone. They were just some lost souls I found strong enough to pass down my arts. It was all-"
"-According to your plan. Yeah, yeah. They lured me here. I fell for it. Now I'm here." He made a hand gesture, implying them to speed up. "Just tell me what you want."
After another moment of silence, the long figure kept talking. "You killed my Master. You destroyed our sect and crippled me in the process." Their voice became fierce as they talked. "If I couldn't have reached enlightenment at that point and created the roots of this Realm, I also would have died. I am now stuck to this Realm and can't even live outside of it. I patiently expanded my Realm and spread my influence while looking for you." Their last words came out more like a shout. "YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!"
Another moment of silence followed those words. The long figure was clearly trying to keep their cool and took this time to calm themselves down. But before that, the man in white started talking.
"I don't want to be disrespectful, but... The things you said are not really narrowing it down for me. Who was your master again?"
The figure's rage overflowed the void with a crushing pressure, as if the whole Realm was reacting to it. The man stood his ground, even though there was none, and stayed firm before the overwhelming emotions. The figure slowly regained its composure and calmed down.
"It doesn't matter. It is time for you to pay for your deeds."
The man raised an eyebrow. "I have done a lot of things, and there is not a single moment that I feel regret." He eyed the figure out before he continued. "But I have no intention of being defeated by you. There is only one person who can defeat me in a one-on-one."
"I don't need to defeat you." The figure chuckled. "As soon as you tear through my Realm, I sent your Energy signature all around."
The man's expression quickly darkened. The long figure continued, pleased with that reaction. "I had guessed that you had a lot of enemies. I just need to keep you occupied for a while until they arrive."
The man looked around at the endless darkness. "You sound pretty confident about keeping me here."
"You are in my Realm." The long figure slowly dissolved into the darkness. "I created this Realm as an extension of myself." The darkness started to thicken around the man in white. "And in here, I am a GOD!"
The whole Realm became denser, surrounding the man to crush him, or at least imprison him. But the man in white stood there, unfazed by all that pressure.
"You seemed to be obsessed with the darkness. I understand that it draws some people to itself because of its seemingly infinite nature. But I bet you have never seen a true void before."
His clothing started to slide and fall, strip by strip, exposing the endless depth beneath it.
"Allow me to demonstrate."
***
It was calm. It must have been weeks since Elise started to live in this Realm; days seemed to be longer in here, so she couldn't really tell how much time had really passed. And unfortunately for her, it was a calm place. Way too calm.
The biggest living things around here were some colorful flying creatures, feeding on the sweet fruits and berries that grow all over the place, and they were not even bigger than the size of her hand.
Those 'birds' and bugs knew no concept of predators, meaning they had no survival instincts. Whenever Elise stopped moving for even a moment, they were swarming her all over, trying to figure out what she was.
Her new 'master', on the other hand, had no interest in her whatsoever.
After the Traveler left, she had no other choice but to follow that old man. They had walked through the forest for almost two days. Even after all her attempts at starting a conversation, he had stayed silent until they reached a large hut on a grassy hill at its border. There was nothing extraordinary about the wooden hut, but the same thing could not be said about the garden surrounding it.
Various plantations were spreading downhill, with the large hut at their center. Trees with colorful flowers and juicy-looking fruits, terraces filled with various vegetables and vines. These were only the things Elise could recognize. She could even name some of those plants, but the rest were completely alien to her.
The plants she had seen in the forest were indeed beautiful, but they still had a wildness to them. This garden, on the other hand, looked perfectly maintained. Elise was sure that most of those plants were not from this Realm. A different environment had been created for each plant, allowing it to flourish to the fullest. To even think about how much care must have been given to create such a garden had blown her mind.
They had walked through the intoxicating fragrances of the garden, but not towards the hut, instead to the small barn next to it.
"You can sleep here," he had said. "Breakfast at dusk, dinner at dawn. Don't wander around and don't touch anything!" After that, they had not shared a single word since.
Of course, there was no way she could stay there all this time. Not that she did not try. She had decided to dedicate her time to polishing her training. A thousand repeats of push-ups, squats, and crunches, along with constantly circulating Energy within her body.
She still had a lot to hone about her Energy usage; she was still burning out rather quickly. But sitting on top of a hill and doing nothing but circulating Energy was not something she could do. So, she decided to roam a little. Definitely not wandering around, just some harmless roaming.
First, she had watched the old man. A day of his was mostly spent in farming and gardening. Seeing someone at his age working in hard labor like that would be weird in where she came from, but knowing that he was an Energy user changing a lot of things. Although... He was not using any Energy, as far as Elise could sense.
His hands were fast and accurate, doing his job with absolute precision. His movements had resembled the Traveler to her. Knowing what to do in any situation and doing only the things that are necessary. Nothing more, nothing less. The difference was that this old man was not as joyful as the Traveler. If Elise hadn't seen him angry before, she could think that he could only express one emotion. Discontent.
His only unusual behavior was taking a stroll in the forest after he was finished with the garden. Elise couldn't dare to follow him, so she had no idea where he was going. But seeing that he was not saying anything about her little 'roams', had given her the courage to roam a little further.
The forest had a captivating beauty, the kind that inspires people. Why shouldn't I train there? She had thought. She went into the forest. While still being able to see the hut, she started training her sword forms and Energy circulation, trying to learn how to use them both efficiently. If her new 'master' wouldn't teach her, she could learn all by herself.
She trained until the day her new master's discontent turned to her.