"Null! Null, where are you?" Kai's voice was raw with desperation, echoing through the quiet streets. Ashley, breathing heavily beside him, scanned every alley and shop front, her heart pounding. The immediate aftermath of the truck incident had left them rattled and deeply unnerved. They'd lost Null in the chaos, and the inexplicable way the truck had warped, the shadowy figure… it was all too much. They knew Null was connected, somehow, to the impossible.
Their search led them away from the main thoroughfare, down a side street that opened into a small, secluded garden plaza. It was a haven of green amidst the city's stone. And then, they stopped dead.
Null stood there, perfectly composed, his white-streaked hair catching the last rays of sunlight. But it was the company he kept that truly froze them. Beside him was a woman they'd never seen before, with bright auburn hair and wide, cautious hazel eyes. And floating beside her, shimmering with an ethereal glow, was a small, pure white dragon, its sapphire eyes weary but undeniably real. Clinging to the white dragon, with an almost comical display of desperate affection, was Fang, his tiny black form now adorned with a ridiculously jaunty scarlet bow tie.
For a long moment, no one spoke. Kai and Ashley just stared, their minds struggling to reconcile the impossible image before them with everything they thought they knew. A white dragon. Their friend's "lizard" in a bow tie, seemingly enamored with the new dragon. And Null, standing as if this were an everyday occurrence.
"Null!" Kai finally managed, his voice a bewildered croak. "What in the… What is all this?"
Ashley, however, her gaze fixed on Fang, felt a jolt of recognition. It wasn't just the fact he was a dragon; it was the specific, unsettling familiarity. She remembered him. The sheer, overwhelming presence of him during the orphanage incident, when Null had first manifested his terrifying power. Fang had been there, a vast, shadowy form, a voice of immense power, completely different from this tiny, bow-tied creature.
Her voice, usually steady, trembled with a mixture of disbelief and accusation. "Fang?" Ashley stepped forward, her eyes narrowing at the tiny black dragon. "Weren't you… weren't you the one at the orphanage? The giant, terrifying one? The one who was so… high and mighty?" She pointed at his bow tie, utterly bewildered. "Why are you acting like this? You weren't like this!"
Fang, startled mid-preen of Lumina's scales, paused. He turned his amber eyes towards Ashley, the bow tie tilting with the movement of his head. He emitted a tiny, exasperated mental sigh that only Null could hear. Oh, the memories of mortals. Always inconveniently timed. He straightened his posture on Lumina's back, a hint of his former, grander self flickering in his demeanor before it dissolved back into his current, smitten persona.
Yes, indeed, young Ashley, Fang transmitted, his mental voice still carrying a touch of his ancient authority, though laced with a new, weary resignation. I was. That was a different form, a different purpose. And as for my... current disposition, he nudged his bow tie with a tiny claw, it is because the Almighty, in His infinite wisdom, deemed a more… 'companionable' approach necessary. He then added, with a mental sniff, He explicitlyordered me to be like this. Said it would 'aid in the Unwritten King's socialization' and 'foster teamwork.' It's quite frankly humiliating.
Kai stared, his jaw hanging open. "The Almighty...? You mean God ordered you to wear a bow tie and... flirt with a white dragon?"
Null, seeing the confusion mounting, spoke, his cross eyes unwavering. "Every being in the universe has a stone," he stated, his voice flat, cutting through the swirling questions. "But Prime Stones are special. They are granted to specific individuals. Those are the ones who affect... existence." He gestured towards Sooji and Lumina. "Sooji has a Prime Stone. Lumina is its essence."
Sooji, utterly overwhelmed by the sudden influx of questions and the revelation of Fang's cosmic origins, could only manage a dazed nod. "Yes... that's... that's what he's saying." She looked at Lumina, who nuzzled her hand gently, radiating warmth. The energy Null mentioned.
Ashley, however, wasn't done with Fang. "So you're saying... God told you to be a troll?"
Precisely! Fang confirmed, puffing out his chest again, seeming almost proud of the description now that it was tied to a divine command. He said my previous grandeur was 'intimidating' and 'counterproductive.' Apparently, I needed to be more... 'relatable.' Utter nonsense, if you ask me. But an order is an order. He then gave a pointed glance at Ashley. Speaking of granted stones, your own seems to be quite active, young Ashley. You have the Ice Stone, don't you? Though its potential is still… frosty.
Ashley gasped, stepping back. A sudden, involuntary burst of cold air rushed from her, and a thin layer of frost bloomed on the leaves of the nearby oak tree, sparkling in the sunlight before quickly melting away. She stared at her hands, then back at Fang, utterly aghast. "How... how did you know that?"
"And Kai," Fang continued, ignoring Ashley's shock, his amber eyes briefly flickering towards Null's friend. Your stone is quite unique as well, though quite dormant. Not a Prime Stone, but certainly powerful. You haven't quite figured out how to use it yet, have you? Hehe.
Kai, already reeling, simply paled. "My... my what?"
And for those wondering about the bigger picture, Fang added, sensing the spiraling confusion, the Almighty also tasked me with keeping a particular individual safe and generally on track. He glanced pointedly at Null. And for the record, the 'Light God' Asura, Null's... rather volatile brother, is indeed sealed within him. Asleep. Thank the stars. Umbra and Asura are practically two sides of the same very powerful, very messy coin.
A stunned silence fell over the small garden. Ashley stared at her tingling hands, then at Null, then at Fang, then at Lumina. Kai looked like he was about to faint. Sooji, for her part, simply clutched Lumina closer, realizing the sheer, mind-boggling scale of the world Null had just unveiled. Their once-normal lives had been shattered, replaced by an impossible reality of hidden powers, divine commands, and impending cosmic war. And they were all, somehow, right in the middle of it.
"We need to talk," Null stated, breaking the silence, his voice calm, as if he hadn't just dropped multiple universe-shattering bombs. "Properly. Away from prying eyes."
The words "We need to talk. Properly. Away from prying eyes," were barely out of Null's mouth when the air in the small garden thickened. The gentle afternoon light seemed to dim, replaced by an unnatural chill. From behind the ancient oak tree and from the shadows of the surrounding buildings, a group of figures emerged. There were at least half a dozen of them, clad in dark, non-descript tactical gear, their faces obscured by visors or balaclavas. A cold, guttural growl rippled through them.
"You interfering pest!" one of them snarled, their voice digitally distorted, clearly furious. "You've ruined everything! The Conduit was ours!" Their attention was fixed on Sooji, radiating a palpable anger. They clearly intended to seize her.
Before Kai or Ashley could even process the threat, before Sooji could react, Null moved. He didn't speak. He simply shifted. His form blurred, deepening into a more profound, almost liquid shadow, his presence expanding, radiating an ancient, raw power. In his right hand, coalescing from the very air, appeared a katana forged of pure shadow, its edge shimmering with an impossible, inky darkness.
The attackers, despite their anger, hesitated for a microsecond at the sight of Null's terrifying transformation. That was all he needed. With a speed that defied human perception, Null became a blur of dark motion. The shadow katana sang through the air, leaving trails of black light. There was no hesitation, no wasted movement. A swift, brutal dance of power.
He moved among them like a phantom, the katana a deadly extension of his will. He didn't just strike; he unmade. One moment, an operative was lunging, the next, they were simply... gone. Cut into pieces of dissolving shadow, their forms scattering like dust motes in a forgotten memory. Two. Three. Four. The entire engagement lasted less than ten seconds. It was utterly decisive, overwhelmingly lethal. The attackers, for all their anger, were simply outmatched, rendered into nothingness.
Silence fell, absolute and chilling. The only sounds were the distant city hum and the frantic pounding of Kai and Ashley's hearts.
Null stood amidst the fading remnants of his enemies, the shadow katana dissipating back into the air. His form began to shift, to shrink, to reform. He didn't fully revert to his amnesiac human self. Instead, he transitioned into a state that was almost human, almost looking like Fang, but subtly, profoundly different. His skin seemed to absorb more light, taking on a deeper, healthier hue than his usual pallor. But his eyes – instead of the golden-yellow with cross eyes – were now pure, unblemished black, like twin pools of infinite shadow. And from the base of his spine, a slender, whip-like black tail emerged, twitching slowly, almost idly, in the air behind him. It seemed to have a will of its own, occasionally curling and then straightening, giving him an unsettling, almost feral grace.
Kai and Ashley stared, terrified and awestruck. They had witnessed Null's power before, but never so directly, so completely. He hadn't just defeated them; he had utterly erased them.
Lumina, the small white dragon, still perched gracefully on Sooji's hand, purred softly, her sapphire eyes wide as she observed Null.
Fang, however, was not content to remain a mere observer, or a tiny dragon. Seeing the sudden danger, and perhaps wanting to impress his beloved Lumina, he pulsed with a sudden, mischievous surge of power. His tiny black form shimmered with a surge of dark energy, the scarlet bow tie briefly flaring with light. He grew, stretched, and twisted, the air around him crackling.
When the transformation finished, in Lumina's immediate proximity, stood a strikingly handsome human man. He was tall and lean, with an undeniable, roguish charm. His hair was midnight black, swept back casually, and his eyes, though human now, were still the piercing, intelligent amber of his dragon form, carrying an unmistakable glint of mischief and ancient power. And in an utterly absurd touch that was pure Fang, the scarlet bow tie remained, perfectly tied around the collar of his surprisingly elegant, dark suit. He even had a slender, almost imperceptible black tail that subtly twitched behind him, just like Null's.
He immediately turned, a wide, confident smirk on his face, his gaze locking onto the small white dragon perched in Sooji's hand. "My dearest Lumina," Fang purred, his voice now a rich, resonant baritone, "I trust my humble display of transformation proves my devotion? I merely wished to greet you in a form more... conducive to conversation. And perhaps, adoration."
Sooji, who had been shielding her eyes from Null's earlier display, slowly lowered her arm, her mouth agape. She stared at the strikingly handsome man who had just materialized from her tiny dragon's side, realizing with a jolt that it was Fang. The bow tie was the definitive clue.
Kai and Ashley, already reeling from Null's terrifying display, could only stare, their brains completely short-circuited. First, Null turns into a shadow-thing with black eyes and a tail, and now their friend's "lizard" transforms into a dapper, incredibly handsome man who's clearly still utterly obsessed with the white dragon. The threat was gone. But the level of sheer, unbelievable reality they were now submerged in had just escalated beyond anything they could have imagined. Null, with his black eyes and twitching tail, watched it all unfold, as if it were all perfectly normal. They didn't need to do anything. Null had taken care of it, and then some.
End of chapter 32
See you next time