*Content Warning: This chapter contains mature themes, violence, blood, and morally dark actions. Reader discretion advised.*
Void walked toward the remaining survivors with a lazy smile, as if he were choosing fruit at a market.
"Now then," he murmured, "who should I start with?"
His body blurred.
By the time the tavern's lamps finished flickering, Void was already standing in front of the nearest group. One by one, he wrapped his fingers around their throats and squeezed. No techniques, no flair—just merciless, casual strength. Necks snapped like dry twigs. Bodies collapsed at his feet in a growing heap.
Violet's tears would not stop. Her whole body shook, but she forced herself to breathe. *If he's going to kill me anyway… then I'll fight. I won't just wait for it.*
She pushed herself up, knees wobbling. "C‑come at me," she stammered, clenching her fists. "I… I won't go down easily."
Void strolled toward her, then vanished mid‑step.
"W‑where…?" Violet spun around, panic rising. "Behind me?"
"No," a calm voice replied.
He was standing right in front of her, so close she could see the faint amusement in his pale eyes. "Tell me, brat," Void said, tilting his head, "why am I feeling such a disgusting aura from you?"
*His speed… I didn't even see him move.* Violet swallowed hard. *If I don't answer, he'll kill me on the spot.*
"I‑I don't know," she forced out. "I'm… from the Draven family."
"Draven family?" Void's expression did not change. "What's that supposed to be?"
*He doesn't even know…?* Violet bit her lip. "The Draven family is the family of the Heavenly Demon. You really don't know that?"
Void clicked his tongue, annoyance flashing across his face. "Tch. So that old man left things out after all."
Violet's fear twisted into anger. "Why?" Her voice cracked. "Why did you kill everyone? Why them? Just tell me why!"
Void smiled, eyes brightening as if she had complimented him. "Oh? Why should I answer you, brat?" He paused, then chuckled. "Well, I'm in a good mood, so I'll explain. It was fun. Hearing their screams, watching them break—hehehehe—hahahaha. It was so fun I couldn't stop myself."
He leaned in slightly. "Does that answer satisfy you?"
Violet's stomach churned. "You damn devil," she spat. "I won't go down to a monster like you."
Void's gaze sharpened. "You know what I hate?" he said softly, as if talking to himself. "I hate kids. I hate every single one of them. Especially brats who think a few heroic lines make them special, like they're above everyone else."
He stepped closer, voice still calm. "In the end, they're nothing but losers. Idiots who believe their own speeches. Tell me, brat, why are you glaring at me like that? What is it you don't like?"
He pointed at the corpses. "They called you the disgrace of Draven, didn't they? Shouldn't you be grateful I killed them? You should learn from me. That's the only way trash like you live long. Kekeke."
Violet's face twisted with rage. "You want to know what I hate about you?" she shouted. "Everything. Every word that comes out of your mouth. You act like you know me, as if you have any right to judge. Even if I'm a disgrace—who are you to 'take a stand' for me? Who asked you?"
She took a shaky breath. "That's what I hate about you. Now do you understand?"
Void smiled, almost gentle. "Good," he said. "Then let's begin."
***
Violet lunged first. It wasn't elegant. It wasn't trained. It was just a desperate charge from a girl who refused to kneel.
Void didn't even bother to dodge properly. He stepped aside by a hair's breadth, letting her fist pass through empty air, then lightly tapped her shoulder. Pain exploded down her arm, sending her sprawling to the floor.
He watched her push herself up again, eyes flat. "You really intend to fight with that?" he asked. "How admirable. How pointless."
Violet gritted her teeth and came at him again and again. Every punch, every kick, every wild swing was either brushed aside or redirected with the smallest movement of his fingers. To an outsider, it would look like a man absentmindedly swatting flies.
"Stop playing," she hissed, panting. "Fight me seriously."
"Seriously?" Void laughed softly. "If I did that, you'd be gone already."
Her lungs burned. Her vision blurred. Somewhere deep in her chest, something faintly pulsed—an ember she'd always ignored.
*I didn't want this,* she thought. *I wanted to live longer. That's why I never used it…*
Void's eyes narrowed as he watched her waver. "Oh?" he said. "There it is. That disgusting aura again. Are you hiding something, little disgrace?"
Violet clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms. "I… I wanted to live longer," she whispered, more to herself than to him. "That's why I didn't want to use my life force. If I burn it now, I… I might not have a future left."
Void smiled thinly. "You're talking as if you still have one."
Her body trembled. Then she screamed.
Power surged from deep inside her, ripping through flesh and bone. Veins glowed faint crimson under her skin. The air around her thickened, warping as if reality itself disliked the change. Her hair lifted, eyes turning a feverish, bloody red.
Life force.
"It really was there," Void murmured, intrigued. "How wasteful."
Violet's presence exploded. The broken floorboards beneath her feet cracked further under the sudden pressure. She vanished and reappeared right in front of Void, fist already swinging, a gust of raw energy trailing behind it.
This time, he raised his hand properly.
Her empowered punch crashed into his palm. The impact sent a shockwave through the tavern, snuffing out the remaining candles and shaking dust from the ceiling. For a brief second, her strength actually pushed him back half a step.
Her eyes widened with a flicker of hope.
Void laughed.
"That's better," he said. "Still pathetic, but at least you're interesting now."
He twisted his wrist. Pain tore through Violet's arm as he redirected her force and slammed her into the wall. Wood splintered. She coughed blood, but the burning energy in her veins refused to let her fall.
She roared and attacked again—kicks, elbows, desperate strikes empowered by burning life. Each blow could have crushed stone, shattered a normal cultivator.
Void flowed through them like water.
When her foot aimed at his head, he lowered his body just enough for it to pass. When her elbow cut toward his throat, two fingers nudged it aside. Every time she thought she saw an opening, he was already somewhere else, close enough to touch yet always just out of reach.
"You're using your life force just to flail at me?" Void asked, sounding almost bored. "Do you realize how expensive that is?"
"Shut up!" Violet's voice was ragged. "I don't… care anymore!"
She forced even more energy out, burning herself brighter and brighter. Her skin cracked in thin lines of red light. Blood seeped from the corners of her eyes. The tavern creaked as if about to collapse.
Void's smile widened. "There we go. Kill yourself faster, little brat. Saves me the trouble."
She tried one last charge, pouring everything into a single reckless strike meant to take his head.
He simply stepped into her guard and flicked her forehead with a knuckle.
The world spun.
Her blazing aura shattered like glass, scattering into fading motes. Violet's body flew backward, crashing into a table and then the floor. The light in her veins guttered, leaving only cold, biting exhaustion.
Void walked over at an unhurried pace, looking down at her crumpled form.
"That was your grand trump card?" he asked. "Burning your own life just to scratch me?"
He gently nudged her side with his shoe. "Pathetic. Entertaining. But pathetic."
Darkness finally swallowed her consciousness.
***
"Hehehe." Void chuckled as he surveyed the wrecked tavern. "What should we do? I already beat the hell out of her."
He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Ah, right. Interrogation."
A moment later, Violet found herself bound to a chair, ropes digging into her bruised arms, in the same blood‑stained spot the tavern master had once occupied. Void sat across from her, spinning a broken bottle between his fingers.
"Oy, brat. Time to wake up."
She forced her eyes open. The scene hit her all at once—the chair, the ropes, the smell of blood. Panic clawed up her throat. *No… he's going to do the same thing he did to the tavern master. He's going to torture me…*
"Done mumbling?" Void asked.
Her heart stopped for a beat.
"Y‑you can hear my thoughts…?" Violet whispered, horrified. "What kind of power do you even have?"
Void rolled his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself. I can't hear your thoughts. This is just common sense." He pointed lazily. "Your eyes were shaking, your expression changed, and you kept staring at the chair and the rope. The first thing you'd think is obvious: 'Is he going to do the same thing he did to the tavern master?' Right?"
Violet bit her lip, saying nothing.
"If you don't answer my questions," Void continued in a bored tone, "I'll have to get started. And I'm in a very experimental mood today."
"I'm not telling you anything!" she screamed. "Do whatever you want, you damn demon—devil—bastard! Even if you tear off my limbs, I won't talk!"
Void's grin stretched wide, shadows curling at the edge of his smile.
"Well," he said, laughter spilling out of him, "if you say so—hahahahahaha."
His eyes shone like a predator seeing fresh prey.
"This," he whispered, "will be the day Violet vanished."
***
**Author's Note:**
If you reached this point, you're a real one.
Tell me what you think about Void in this chapter (even a short line or emoji is fine). Your comments help a lot and keep me motivated to write the next chapter faster.
If you're enjoying Throne Beyond the Veil, please add it to your library and drop a power stone / review so more readers can find Void's story.