NULL
BY NIKLUAS VERMONT
Cold.
Shadowed.
Jaeger found himself in this abysmal abyss - devoid of warmth,cold breeze brushed through his skin, Jager stood bewildered, a barrage of thoughts coursing through his mind.
"Where am I?", afar, from the vast plain a ripple of light emerged,
'what is this place' jaeger moaned in thoughts
The darkness itself as if paying aid to his question answered:
"I AM NULL".
Jaeger slowly opened up his eyes- it was a dream, face still swollen from the encounter with the monkey king, he looked around the room, his vision blurry- 'where am I" he thought, from the corner of the room a figure leaned on the chair beside him - book on his face, slowly rocking the chair.
'ugh..who are you' Jaeger groaned in pain
"Hey, you are awake?" the figure stated with a gentle smile.
Jaeger took a closer look at the figure - it was a man, his eyes sharp- pupil filled with starry colors, his face slender, he had a brightly-red coloured long hair which was gently packed to his back. Jaeger continued to scan, the man wore a dark colored cloak with well designed armour on his torso, red runes glowing along his sleeves. Jaeger was caught in awe.
Jaeger felt jealous about his beauty - was a guy even supposed to look this good…after a long look, it finally hit him - this guy was…
"Hey kid!, kid, wake up already" the figure said in a brush tone, moving closer towards him.
"Yeah.. I'm,for God's sake you don't have to stand so close to me" Jaeger reluctantly said.
"Good, since you're awake, I can take my leave"- the figure stood up walking away towards the door, gesturing his desire to leave.
"Hey wait, at least explain what happened and how did I ended up here".
The figure took a few steps back and sat on the chair. He let out a sigh
"This person, it couldn't be could it?" the same thought came flying into Jaeger's mind…who would think..
"Ok I'll start by introducing myself" he cracked his knuckles, my name is…
A side character I created - with a lot of potential, he was originally created to steal the spotlight from me, his name…
"Michael van Baskerville"
__________________________________________
Michael van Baskerville was no mere supporting figure. This enigmatic side character, born of one of the realm's most illustrious bloodlines, was destined to eclipse even the protagonist, Jaeger Snyder.
He hailed from the ancient and formidable House van Baskerville—one of the legendary Great Five Noble Houses, proudly ranked third in prestige and power.
The Great Five were:
1. House de Adrealic
2. House Mondroft
3. House van Baskerville
4. House von Ravenscroft
5. House le Catherine
These five exalted families stood above all others in the kingdom, revered not only for their vast wealth, ancient titles, and unmatched influence, but for a far greater legacy: together, they forged the Five-Family Core—an unbreakable bond between the five most powerful Awakened in the realm. This sacred alliance had shaped history, crushed rebellions, and safeguarded the throne for generations.
And also to put it simply - Jaeger's or in other words my greatest rival. Well his destiny was soon to change after all I'm the writer of this story.
'So you asked what happened' well to put it simply you lost consciousness amidst your fight ,I stepped in heroically, killed the beast, saved your ass and brought you here".
Ugh ..This was the exact reason I hated him, his arrogant and pompous words, in the original timeline - he reached the height of a"level 5 terror" before meeting his sad demise.
"What joy" I chuckled within, right now he was still at a "level 5 descended".
"Say, how did you even ended up there in the first place" Michael asked
Silence filled the air, I was tensed, of course I couldn't tell him about the void fruit, I needed to make up a lie that was believable.
"I was taking a stroll and I got lost" I answered.
Michael gave me a stern gaze, I gulped down my saliva..my hands were shaking in fear, my heart racing.. it's either I was screwed or he was stupid enough to believe me.
"Pls buy it, pls buy it"
"Ok" Michael said with a cheerful smile.
"Oh..thank God he was dumb" I exhaled
Michael stood up "Well I have to take my leave now, he said waving his hands…" you have an amazing fighting spirit kid, I look forward to meeting you again" he walked out of the room, with a gentle smile on his face.
My cheeks burned with a stubborn heat, the kind that I couldn't quite hide no matter how hard I tried to school my expression. I turned my gaze away, jaw tight, as if the compliment had been nothing more than a passing breeze.
But inside… damn it all, a quiet warmth spread through my chest, soft and persistent, like sunlight slipping through the cracks of an old stone wall.
I didn't want to accept it. I wouldn't. Not out loud. Not from him. Not my rival of all people.
And yet… deep down, I did.
Those words lingered, settling somewhere I couldn't reach to brush them away. A small, secret happiness I'd never admit—not to him,even in the original timeline.
But it was there all the same.
After a while, I reached out for something in my pocket - it was the void fruit, thank God it was still there looking at it up close it was even more magnificent.
I took a big bite out of it, I munched and swallowed it..after some few bites I finished eating it.
The familiar chime sound resounded again
[You have eaten the fruit of the void itself, from the tree of living void, outcome - your voidblood will increase by 20%
Total voidblood - 22%]
Twenty-two percent, that was a lot, a grin stuck to my face..with that my fear of low voidblood was over, now the only thing waiting for me was the awakening ceremony - and it was just a few days away.
I clenched my fist tight, and with a grin
"Awakening ceremony here I come".
(What happens next, turn the page)