The old woman crossed her arms as she sighed.
"First things first… how much do you know about this world?"
Vira looked at her awkwardly.
"Not… much, Nora explained a little about something called Aether and Hollows."
A loud ear-splitting screech could be heard as she stood up quickly, sending the chair sliding back.
"Did you see a Hollow?!"
Vira's hands rose in front of him out of fear.
"Y-yes? Before we came here… we heard weird clicking and then hid."
Her expression shifted instantly.
"It didn't see you… did it?"
Vira's head shook slowly, albeit shakily… he didn't understand what the importance was over the Hollow seeing him.
"Why… does it matter so much if it sees me?"
The old woman pulled her chair back and plopped back down.
"Because if it does, it follows you forever no matter where you go… where you are, it won't be far behind you."
Rubbing her forehead she exhaled.
"And I said no more fucking surprises tonight…"
Vira's head spun wildly trying to wrap his thoughts around what he just learned.
"T-there's no way to get rid of it?"
The old woman scoffed before shaking her head.
"No, unless you're a Nullborn. They're the only things that have a singularity, which could erase the Hollow."
Vira's eyes gleamed.
'Singularity….'
Noticing his face, she smirked and continued.
"Most Void Awakened have one, but they don't live to maturity. They're either killed at birth or taken into containment for studying."
Dread fell onto Vira's face as he stammered.
"W-why?! What's so wrong with them?"
Nora's Grandmother leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees.
"Because they eventually become Nullborns… not a lot is known about how they progress to that stage, but no Void Awakened have had a natural birth and lived."
Finally rising to his feet, Vira hesitated.
"I-I wasn't born like this!"
The old woman's hands rose in the air with an exaggerated shrug.
"That's why you're fucking weird! Only Arcanes and Echoes awaken later in life. Void awakened are like that from birth."
Vira stared at her, for a moment he couldn't even process the words.
The way she spoke about it so casually… like she was just discussing another normal day.
Like his entire existence wasn't a one-in-a-million.
"I don't understand…"
His voice came out small as he tried to find the proper words.
"If Void awakened are born that way… and killed at birth usually then how am I here?"
The old woman scratched the side of her head.
"Boy, if I knew that we wouldn't really be here now would we?"
Vira's shoulders sank.
"Great…"
She pointed towards his stomach and continued:
"What I do know is, that thing ain't normal… nor does it look exactly 'friendly'"
His eyes instinctively roamed to his abdomen, looking at the dark sphere orbiting inside of it.
"I still can't wrap my head around what it is…"
Sighing, the old woman grasped her hands together.
"Let's start with something simpler: Aether."
The word immediately brought Vira out of his overthinking.
"Everyone has it. A way you could put it is that it's life."
Vira tried processing and understanding everything she was saying, slowly and intently.
"Now whether or not those people can use it… is where the differences start coming in. Only a certain group of people are able to actually manipulate it."
Vira's eyes rose in interest.
"Like Nora?"
The woman's hands unraveled, falling between her knees.
"Similar, but people that can manipulate it are called awakened. Nora isn't an awakened, but her Mother and Father taught her ways to slightly be able to understand it."
Vira's face returned to normal, a little disappointed at the answer… he hoped Nora would be like him, he didn't want to be alone in this.
"How does someone become an awakened?"
Vira noticed the shift in the old woman's mood, how dark her face grew at his question.
"Unfathomable and extreme trauma boy… depending on what specific trauma- and your character, determines what you awaken as."
Vira's eyes slowly went wide, it all made sense now.
'Mom… that Nullborn…'
"I know what you're thinking about boy, and no. Remember what I said about Void awakened only being afflicted from birth."
Vira's eyes widened.
"How did you know I was thinking about… my mom?"
The old woman smirked.
"I didn't, I just knew you were trying to find ways to tie things to your weird ass situation."
Vira's shoulders drooped in disappointment as the old woman fiddled with her fingers and continued:
"Before you awaken, you're called a Fragmented. After that is Bound, Breakthrough, Ascended, and Abyssal… There are two more, but only 3 humans have the second-to-last."
Vira rubbed his shoulder in discomfort.
"And the last…?"
The old woman shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know, and no one that exists currently has the knowledge of it either."
Sighing, Vira rubbed his now tired eyes as curiosity built in his stomach once again.
"So what're we going to do…?"
The gray haired woman chuckled softly.
"You're going to join the Scavengers, you need more knowledge and experience of this world and… your abilities."
'Scavengers?'
Vira raised an eyebrow, staring at her.
"What are Scavengers?"