Swen (breathing heavily, yet defiant):
> "Did you really think destroying the Golden Shield ended everything?
You've only hastened the death of your planet."
Shinju's brows furrowed. Koharu, now fully awake, took two steps forward.
Koharu (calm but warning):
> "Shinju… wait. Let's hear her out."
Shinju (snapping back):
> "Why? She's threatening us."
Koharu (firm):
> "Did you forget? My ability lets me see the essence of one's heart.
I looked into hers—it was white. No trace of deceit. She's good."
Shinju stared at Koharu for a moment, though the threads did not loosen.
Shinju (cautious):
> "Being good doesn't mean she's telling the truth."
Swen (hurriedly):
> "First, I need to know—how did you obtain the Eye of Darkness?
I won't tell you anything unless you explain that.
If you truly have a bond with the Lord of Darkness… then kill me.
I have no other choice."
Shinju clenched his teeth, eyes narrowing.
Shinju (short, dominant):
> "Tch… Are you trying to bargain with me?"
Koharu (softly):
> "The information she holds could save all our lives."
Shinju tilted his head; the threads around Swen's chest loosened slightly, allowing her to breathe—but the binding remained.
Shinju (conditional):
> "Fine. But here's my word: you'll tell me everything you know.
When you're done, I'll decide what to do with you."
Shinju lowered his gaze.
Koharu and Swen waited in silence for him to speak.
After a long pause, he began—his voice low, weary, but steady.
> "We… the people who live on the side of the Void, have never known peace."
He lifted his head slightly, eyes drifting into the distance.
> "That place… is ruled by hunger, fear, and silence.
Creatures emerge from the shadows to hunt us.
And after every attack, the only thing left behind… is the need to grow stronger."
A brief silence.
> "That's why we began cultivating the Essence of the Void.
It was the only source of life within the darkness."
Swen listened closely, her eyes fixed on Shinju as if recording every word.
> "The first goal of cultivation was to strengthen the body.
We hardened our veins, reinforced our muscles, condensed our bones.
Each level of cultivation bought us a little more time to stay alive."
Shinju clenched his fist, then relaxed it slowly.
> "But that power… began to change after a point.
The essence no longer merely empowered us—it reshaped us.
As it flowed through our veins, it felt… different.
That power no longer wanted to stay inside—it wanted to break free."
Koharu asked softly:
> "So that essence… is what manifested in your eye?"
Shinju nodded slowly.
> "Yes.
Beyond a certain cultivation level, you must stop merging the essence with your body.
Because once you do, you start to possess the essence.
And possession… means surrender."
His tone grew heavier, each word deliberate.
> "At that point, the essence no longer belongs to you—you belong to it.
Your mind fades.
You become a bloodthirsty creature.
You forget who you are, why you fight.
All that remains is instinct—to kill, to consume, to grow."
Koharu and Swen listened without breathing a word.
> "There were few of us left.
A handful of people clinging to each other at the edge of darkness.
Sometimes, even through hunger, we could still laugh.
That day began like any other…
Until my uncle's eyes turned black."
His voice faltered for a moment.
> "That's when I understood.
The Void's essence had taken him.
His veins darkened, his body cracked apart.
He was no longer human."
> "The first scream came. Then another.
Everything happened in seconds.
My uncle had reached the peak of power—by losing his soul.
He killed my father.
My mother ran after him and fell.
I froze.
Their blood soaked silently into the ground."
> "Something snapped inside me.
Fear turned to rage.
I attacked him.
I don't remember what I did—only that I burned everything just to make him stop."
> "The essence of the Void coursed through my veins.
With each step I grew stronger… and further from myself.
By the time we clashed, we were no longer two humans—just two beings of darkness."
> "At last, he fell.
He looked at me, smiling through the blood, and whispered:
'Don't blame me. Look at yourself—you're just like me.
Power is everything.
If you must blame someone, blame that shield that left us starving and broken…
Well done, my nephew.'"
> "At those words, the essence inside me raged.
My mind blurred. My heart went silent.
For a moment… I became like him."
> "But then…
I heard my mother's voice.
My father's hands flashed before my eyes.
And I whispered—
'I will not become like him.'"
> "I opened all my dantian points.
As my body burned, I compressed the Void essence, forced it, directed it.
While the darkness tried to consume me, I trapped it—
in one place."
> "My right eye."
> "I managed to focus every fragment of Void essence in my body into that eye.
It no longer looked human…
but my mind—had never been clearer.
From that moment, my cultivation limits vanished.
I absorbed as much Void essence as I could…
until I felt strong enough to destroy the Shield."
Shinju took a deep breath, breaking the silence.
He turned his gaze to Swen.
> "I've told you my story," he said quietly, yet firmly.
"Now it's your turn."