The shadows that coiled around them, the subtle shifts in space, the thin, near-invisible threads of void energy connecting everything like a web he had never noticed before. He hadn't just grown stronger—his perception had changed.
He understood now, in a way he hadn't before, that the void wasn't just emptiness.
It was never just emptiness.
It was alive. It had intent.
And now, it was responding to him.
As he and Nina walked through the abyssal pathway, Cruzer flexed his fingers, watching the strands of void energy shift around them. Before, it had felt like he was merely stepping through it—now, he could feel the space itself bending, recognizing him.
Not controlling it yet.
But no longer being controlled by it, either.
Nina glanced at him, her golden eyes sharp as ever. "You're feeling it now, aren't you?"
Cruzer nodded slowly. "It's different. I don't know how to explain it, but… it's like I can see it now. Feel it."
