Void Devouring System

Chapter 6

As Darius summoned his power, the air in the ballroom became immediately arid, the temperature spiking until condensation vanished from the champagne glasses held by trembling guests. He stood with his arms spread wide, flames wreathing his tailored suit like a living cloak that licked at the ceiling frescoes without burning the fabric.

"I hope you enjoyed your brief resurrection," Darius murmured, his words distorted by the roar of the flames rising in his palms. "Because this time, there won't be enough left over to bury."

Kael stood twenty feet away with his hands in his pockets, looking bored despite the S-rank threat looming before him. He could feel the vibration of the building's foundation through the soles of his shoes, the earth beneath the marble waiting for his command, but he knew stone alone wouldn't be enough to stop it.

"Less talking, more burning," Kael went on: "Some of us have schedules to keep."

Darius's face twisted into a snarl of pure arrogance. He thrust his hands forward, and a torrent of white-hot solar fire erupted from his palms, screaming across the gap like a miniature supernova.

Kael stamped his right foot.

The marble floor cracked upward, and three thick slabs of reinforced stone rose to create a triangular barrier in front of him. It was a decent defense for a C-rank Earth Awakener, even impressive, but it was like holding up a piece of cardboard against a flamethrower.

The fire slammed into the stone barrier with a deafening boom, instantly transforming the rock into slag, glowing cherry-red before melting into liquid magma that dripped onto the pristine floor. The intense beam of fire punched through the first layer, then the second, incinerated the defense with terrifying ease.

"He is dead!" Someone screamed from the crowd, "Stop the contest!"

"It's an execution," another voice muttered, appalled yet unable to turn away.

Darius laughed triumphantly as he poured more strength into the attack, watching his flames bore through the final layer of stone covering his brother. Kael's figure could be seen through the cracks in the melting rock, remaining completely still as death came toward him.

"Burn," Darius yelled, his eyes filled with golden light.

The final stone barrier disintegrated.

But the fire did not strike Kael.

Instead of igniting flesh, the solar blast struck an invisible distortion in the air inches from Kael's outstretched hand. The flames swirled like water draining down a sinkhole, whirling into a pinpoint of pure darkness hovering just in front of Kael's palm.

Kael felt the Nexus purr in the back of his mind, a deep, resonant vibration that traveled down his spine. The void hunger latched into the sun energy, swallowing it greedily, removing the heat and light until nothing remained except raw, neutral power flowing into Kael's reserves.

Darius blinked, his laughter dying in his throat as his attack simply vanished. He pushed harder, increasing the output, but the outcome was the same: the fire wasn't dispersing; it was being consumed.

"What... What are you?"Darius muttered, the golden light of his skin flickering with doubt. "That is not earth magic."

"You're right," Kael murmured, breaking the strange hush in the room. "It's not earth magic." It's a consequence.

The energy he had absorbed surged through his veins, demanding release and threatening to tear him apart if he didn't use it. He couldn't use the void directly because it would reveal his secret, but he could use it to fuel something else.

Kael slammed both hands to the floor.

The absorbed sun energy transformed into kinetic force and surged into the ground beneath Darius's feet, causing the entire ballroom to shake violently as four gigantic granite pillars burst from the floor surrounding the golden heir, moving faster than the eye could track.

Darius attempted to propel himself into the air, but he was too slow; the pillars slammed together with a thunderclap, encasing him in a tomb of solid rock that left just his head exposed.

"Let me go!""Darius screamed, his solar aura flaring uselessly against the magically dense stone." I'll kill you! I am going to burn down the entire building!"

"You'll do nothing," Kael replied, gently approaching the trapped heir.

With a flick of his wrist, he caused the stone jail to contract, putting thousands of pounds of strain on Darius' ribcage.

Darius gasped, his flames snuffing out as the breath was crushed from his lungs, and the golden glow disappeared from his skin, replacing it with the mottled crimson of a man slowly suffocating.

"Yield," Kael murmured softly, stopping just out of reach. "Or turn into paste. "The choice is yours, brother."

In less than a minute, the failure, waste, and corpse had demolished an S-rank awakener, leaving the crowd bewildered and unable to fathom what they were witnessing.

"Father!"Darius wheezed, his eyes bulging as the stone tightened another inch." Help me!"

Victor Ashworth stood on stage, his face an inscrutable mask of calculating; he did not move or talk; he merely watched, evaluating the value of two sons against each other in real time.

"Father isn't going to help you," Kael murmured, bending down so only Darius could hear. "Because you look weak right now." And we both understand how the Ashworths feel about weakness."

The stone tightened, and Darius let out a high-pitched whimper of pain, his arrogance crumbling under the weight of impending doom.

"I yield!""Darius shrieked, the sound echoing off the vaulted ceiling." I give! Stop it! Please!"

Kael applied the pressure for three more seconds, just long enough for the humiliation to sink into Darius' bones and for every camera in the room to film the golden heir pleading for his life.

With a careless wave of his hand, the stone jail collapsed into dust.

Darius slumped onto the destroyed floor, gasping for air and clutching his broken ribs. He gazed up at Kael with a mixture of wrath and horrified awe, but he did not try to stand; he remained on his knees, defeated.

Kael turned away from his brother and gazed up at the stage; the audience immediately parted for him, giving him a wide berth as if he were an apex predator strolling through a flock of sheep.

"Well?Kael inquired, staring directly at his father.

Victor Ashworth moved to the edge of the stage, looked at the destroyed floor, at his weeping S-rank heir, and finally at the son he had disowned yesterday, with no apology or regret in his eyes, just the dispassionate appreciation of a businessman recognizing a new asset.

"You have demonstrated your strength," Victor said, his voice firm. "The expulsion order is reversed. You remain an Ashworth."

"I don't care about the name," Kael said, interrupting him. "I want the payment."

Victor raised his brow. "Payment?""

"Luna," Kael remarked, "I'd like full authorization for the Advanced Celestial Life Essence treatment." I want the city's best specialists assigned to her care by morning. And I want it paid for through the family's principal account, not the charity fund."

Eleanor rushed forward, her face contorted with rage. "That procedure costs a hundred million credits! You believe winning one duel allows you to—"

Victor looked at Kael for the first time in years, and he saw ruthlessness, power, and potential. "Eleanor," he said sharply to hush her.

"Approved," Victor said. Halden will make the arrangements tonight.

Kael felt a rush of relief crash over him, but he kept his face neutral, nodding once before turning to leave.

"Where are you going?""Darius rasped from the floor, fighting to get up. "We're not finished."

Kael paused and peered back over his shoulder; the empty hunger in his chest was purring, content with the taste of sun energy but yearning for more.

"We are done," Kael replied coldly. "You are no longer my opponent, Darius." "You are just food I haven't finished eating."

He walked out of the ballroom, leaving five hundred of the city's most prominent people looking at his back in scared silence. He had accomplished his goal: Luna would live.

But as he stepped into the crisp night air, Kael looked at his hands and noticed faint, dark veins pulsating beneath his skin. The Nexus was awake, and the whole cost of tonight's victory was just beginning to be realized.