The Forbidden Void: Rise of the Untouchable Son-in-Law

Chapter 7

The Spires were no longer symbols of hope; they were pillars of panic. Following the Plaza massacre, the Valerius household had retreated behind "Level 10 Spectral Wards"—shimmering curtains of light designed to vaporize anyone without a Valerius bloodline.

Jaxen didn't need a key. He didn't even need a weapon.

He stood at the base of the Aurelian Spire, his new "Null-Fibre" cloak fluttering in the wind. Above him, Interceptor Drones swarmed like angry hornets.

[System Notification: Spectral Wards Detected.] [Frequency: High-Density Solar. Analysis: Impossible to penetrate for Mana-Users.] [Void Suggestion: Consume.]

Jaxen placed his palm against the shimmering barrier. The moment his skin touched the light, the ward screamed—a high-pitched magical feedback that shattered windows for three blocks. But instead of being vaporized, Jaxen acted as a ground. The golden energy flowed into him, turning his veins into lines of glowing violet.

The ward didn't just break; it dissolved, leaving a human-sized hole that hissed with ozone. Jaxen stepped through.

---

Inside the Spire, the atmosphere was thick with the scent of incense and fear. Jaxen navigated the servant tunnels, using Void Vision to bypass the patrol squads. He wasn't looking for the guards. He was following the soul-bond.

He reached the Royal Solar, a room filled with floating gardens and white marble. In the center, Seraphina sat on a stone dais, but she wasn't resting. She was bound in "Mana-Suppression Chains." Her father, Lord Valerius, stood over her, his hands glowing with a cruel, dark-gold light.

"He will come for you, Seraphina," Valerius hissed, ignoring his daughter's winced breath. "And when he tries to use that bond to drain you, he will find that I have turned your soul into a bomb. One touch, and his Void Heart will be filled with enough unstable Solar Mana to ignite the atmosphere."

"He... he won't fall for it," Seraphina gasped, her Golden Eye flickering weakly. "He’s smarter than you, Father. He’s always been smarter."

"He is a Null!" Valerius roared, striking the floor with his staff. "A fluke of nature! I am the King of Xylos!"

"A King of a dying city," a voice echoed from the balcony.

Valerius spun around, his aura exploding in a blinding flash. Jaxen stood there, leaning casually against a marble pillar, his arms crossed. He looked nothing like the "beggar" who had signed the contract ten days ago.

"You're early," Valerius sneered, though his eyes betrayed his shock. "And you're arrogant enough to walk right into my trap. Do you see her, Jaxen? One touch to rescue your 'wife,' and you both turn to ash."

Jaxen looked at Seraphina. Their eyes met. The soul-bond thrummed, a cold wire connecting their hearts. He could feel the "bomb" her father had planted—a jagged, compressed mass of energy waiting for a trigger.

"A trap is only a trap if the prey is weaker than the hunter," Jaxen said.

He walked forward. Valerius laughed, raising his staff to trigger the explosion. "Then die, you gutter-rat!"

Valerius slammed his staff down. The energy inside Seraphina’s soul reached a critical point. A blinding white light began to expand from her chest, hot enough to melt the marble floors.

[System Warning: Solar Supernova Detected!] [Manual Overide: Activate 'Void Throat'.]

Jaxen didn't pull Seraphina away. He didn't try to diffuse the energy. He stepped into the blast and placed both hands directly on the source of the explosion—her heart.

"What are you—?!" Valerius’s triumph turned to horror.

The explosion didn't happen. The blinding light was sucked into Jaxen’s palms as if it were being pulled into a vacuum. The roaring sound of the mana-bomb turned into a low, hungry growl. Jaxen’s skin didn't burn; it hardened, turning a deep, obsidian black.

[Siphoning Solar Supernova... +40% Void Storage.] [Void Capacity: 85%. Evolution Imminent.]

Jaxen looked up at Valerius through the swirling vortex of energy. The Lord of the city took a step back, his staff trembling. For the first time in his life, he was looking at something he couldn't control.

"You... you ate it?" Valerius whispered. "That was enough power to level a sector!"

"It was a good snack," Jaxen said. His voice was no longer human; it sounded like the grinding of tectonic plates.

With a casual flick of his wrist, Jaxen shattered the Mana-Suppression Chains holding Seraphina. She slumped forward, and he caught her.

"The hundred days are over, Valerius," Jaxen said, his eyes now twin pits of violet fire. "I’m taking the city now."

"Guards!" Valerius screamed, retreating toward the secret escape lift. "Seal the Solar! Kill them both!"

The massive obsidian doors slammed shut, and a secondary ward—the Spire's ultimate defense—activated. The room began to fill with toxic "Aether-Gas."

Jaxen didn't look at the doors. He looked at Seraphina, who was staring at him with a mixture of terror and awe.

"Why?" she whispered. "Why save me? You could have let me blow up and killed my father in the process."

Jaxen’s expression remained stoic. "Because I don't need a bomb to kill your father. And because you still owe me a library."

He turned toward the obsidian doors. He didn't use a spell. He simply raised his gauntlet and tapped the air.

[Skill: Reality Collapse.]

The ten-foot-thick doors didn't just break; they folded into a single point in space and disappeared.

Jaxen walked out of the room, leaving a trail of black footprints on the gold-leaf floor. He wasn't sneaking anymore. He was a King walking through his own halls, and anyone who stood in his way was about to find out exactly how deep the Void went.