The Void of the Fallen Universe did not welcome visitors.
It swallowed them.
The moment their feet touched the fractured surface of that dead realm, an eerie stillness wrapped around the group like invisible chains. The sky above was neither dark nor bright—it was a cracked expanse of dim violet light, as if reality itself had been wounded long ago and never healed.
Vicky exhaled slowly.
Cold.
Not the normal kind of cold.
This place felt… hollow.
Around them stretched an endless graveyard of floating landmasses, broken pillars, and half-erased ruins drifting in slow, unnatural motion. Gravity here behaved like it had forgotten its purpose. Small stones floated upward instead of falling, and sometimes the air itself shimmered like liquid glass.
Arna stepped closer to Aerito, her eyes wide but alert.
"Big bro… this place feels creepy."
Aerito's expression remained serious, his gaze scanning the horizon.
"Stay sharp. The Void never shows its teeth immediately."
Lucifer, standing slightly ahead of everyone, simply smirked faintly.
"As expected… a rotten universe."
His voice was calm, but the air around him subtly distorted — like the Void itself was wary of him.
Vicky noticed that.
And it bothered him.
They had been traveling for hours now.
No enemies.
No traps.
Nothing.
And that was exactly what made it dangerous.
They moved forward carefully across the drifting terrain.
Each step produced a faint echo — not on the ground, but inside their heads. It was subtle, almost unnoticeable at first, but the longer they walked, the clearer it became.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Arna suddenly stopped.
"Did you guys hear that?"
Everyone froze.
Silence.
Aerito narrowed his eyes. "Hear what?"
"…Footsteps," Arna whispered.
Lucifer didn't even turn around. "You're imagining things."
But Vicky wasn't so sure.
Because for a brief second…
He had heard it too.
They continued deeper into the Void.
Time felt distorted here. Minutes stretched strangely, and distances didn't behave normally. Sometimes a floating ruin that looked close would take an hour to reach… while other times they would cross massive distances in only a few steps.
The laws of space were broken.
Aerito finally spoke after a long silence.
"The first payment… should be somewhere in this sector."
Vicky frowned slightly. "Should be?"
Aerito glanced back at him.
"The Void doesn't keep things where you expect them."
Great.
That was reassuring.
Hours passed.
Still nothing.
The group searched across shattered platforms, through hollow ruins, and along drifting stone paths that formed and dissolved without warning.
Frustration was slowly building.
Arna kicked a small floating rock.
"How big is this stupid place?!"
The rock didn't fall.
It slowly floated upward… then vanished into the violet sky.
Everyone watched it disappear.
Lucifer chuckled softly.
"This universe is more broken than I thought."
Vicky crossed his arms, scanning the horizon again.
Something was off.
Not dangerous.
Not hostile.
But…
Watching.
They reached a massive broken structure that looked like the remains of an ancient gateway. Half of it had melted into black crystal, while the other half floated in pieces like a frozen explosion.
Aerito stepped forward slowly.
"…This was once a transit gate."
Vicky raised an eyebrow. "Was?"
"Destroyed long ago."
Lucifer lightly tapped one of the floating fragments with his finger.
The moment he touched it—
CRACK.
A thin fracture of energy spread across the air itself before fading.
Lucifer's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Interesting."
That single word made everyone tense.
Because Lucifer never reacted unless something was truly unusual.
They kept moving.
But the deeper they went…
The stranger the Void became.
Whispers that weren't really whispers.
Shadows that didn't belong to anything.
And that constant, faint feeling…
Of being observed.
Arna suddenly leaned closer to Vicky.
"…You feel it too, right?"
Vicky didn't answer immediately.
Then quietly—
"Yeah."
Aerito heard them.
But before he could speak—
The ground beneath them shifted.
Not violently.
Not suddenly.
But slowly… like the Void itself had just taken a breath.
Everyone stopped moving.
Lucifer finally turned around fully, crimson eyes glowing faintly.
"…Now it begins."
But nothing attacked.
Nothing appeared.
The Void returned to silence.
Even Lucifer looked mildly annoyed.
"…Tch."
They continued their search.
More time passed.
Still no sign of the first payment.
Even Aerito was starting to look slightly concerned now.
"That's strange…"
Vicky looked at him. "What is?"
Aerito's voice lowered.
"It should have reacted to our presence by now."
Before anyone could respond—
Vicky froze.
His pupils shrank slightly.
"…Wait."
Arna looked at him immediately.
"What happened?"
Vicky didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Because something had just happened.
Not outside.
Inside his mind.
At first, it was faint.
Like distant static.
Then slowly…
A voice.
Cold.
Mechanical.
Ancient.
It didn't echo through the air.
It spoke directly into his consciousness.
—
—Rule of Code was near.—
—
Vicky's heart skipped.
His breathing hitched for half a second.
"…What?"
Aerito instantly turned toward him.
"What is it?"
Vicky looked around slowly, confusion and tension mixing in his eyes.
"…Did you guys hear that?"
Silence.
Arna frowned. "Hear what?"
Lucifer's gaze sharpened slightly.
"…You heard something?"
Vicky pressed a hand lightly against his temple.
"That voice… it said—"
He stopped.
The air around them grew unnaturally still.
For the first time since entering the Void…
Something had finally noticed them.
And somewhere far beyond the drifting ruins…
Something ancient…
Had just awakened.
Vicky's eyes slowly narrowed.
"…Rule of Code…"