Void. What did people visualize with this word? A place of pure black? A place of pure white?
Humans cannot imagine the unimaginable. That was Faust's situation. He was in a place that both existed and didn't exist at the same time—its presence both real and false. There were no walls, ceilings, or ground. No air. No scent.
It was nothing—an empty nothing.
He could only feel his skin rubbing against the chains of his shackles, the weight of the executioner's sword wrapped within them, and the fabric of his torn clothes against his battered body.
He could only hear his heartbeat, his breathing, the slight creaking of his bones as he moved, the blood flowing through his veins.
He could only smell the mud and blood clinging to his clothes, the raw scent of his open wounds.
He could only taste the iron flavor of blood in his mouth.
The place was empty. That was the void.
And yet, strangely enough, he had an unnatural extra sense that told him it was not truly empty.
A voice surged from the nothingness, from nowhere, and spoke:
"You have finally realized what the path of alchemy is: to be unstoppable by laws and rules, to act according to your will and bend the world into the shape you desire. The universe itself is ruled by it. For every star, every grain of sand, every life, every speck of mana, all are bound by the laws of alchemy, for alchemy is the law.
"You have achieved the will and resolve of a true alchemist, but your knowledge is still not enough. Learn runes, explore the earth and heavens, create rituals, and defy the laws of creation. Exist above all else. Dominate above gods and humans alike, for you were right: everything is the same, everything is equal.
"For now, I shall grant you one last gift. Improve—never stop improving. If the world tries to hold you back, destroy it. Until you are ready, we shall not meet again. But if you survive, if you endure, if you hold your resolve as one who has lost everything and has nothing left to lose, then you will find me once more. When that day comes, I shall answer all your remaining questions.
"And remember… Keep moving forward, no matter what."
As the voice faded, Faust's vision changed—the void he had been trapped in began to slowly, almost imperceptibly, take shape.
And then, in the next instant, he found himself standing on rocky ground.
"That voice I heard just now... I'm sure it was Red," Faust thought instinctively. He tried to call Red several times but no answer came.
Of course, Red didn't always answer. But this time, it felt different. It felt empty.
He staggered upright, his vision was groggy. It was likely a side effect of being trapped in 'nothingness.' Quickly, he composed himself and began to observe.
"What the hell is this place?" was all that crossed his mind as he gazed into the distance.
The terrain was rough and uneven, made mostly of black stone, with bulbs of colored light emerging from it. Tall and thin black trees grew from the rocks, resembling strange dark arms, as they had no leaves.
Below him stretched a vast plain that reached the horizon. The muddy-green earth looked dead, with nothing but short, sickly grass growing across it. The sky above was an unnatural blend of white, gray and black, the colors swirling together but never fully merging. It was a magnificent yet eerie sight.
Far away, but all around him, other mountains rose—some greater, others smaller than the one he was standing on. Scattered across the vast plain, he could see several points of interest resembling tribes. There were dozens of them. A clear blue river also extended from the foot of the mountain he was on, stretching farther than his vision could reach.
The view was impressive, to say the least.
On another note, Faust realized his mind felt clearer than ever. His thoughts were sharp, his processing quicker. His body, too, was nearly fully recovered; the regeneration potion had worked efficiently.
Suddenly, an image was burned into his mind: a rune, it was seared into his thoughts as if it had always been there.
This rune was far more complex than any he had known before—more intricate than simple runes like Detonation or Heal. And yet, it caused no pain or discomfort. Instead, it felt refreshing, like a breath of pure air.
Knowledge of the rune flooded his mind as well. It was called Devour, an advanced rune. Its full effects were unclear, but it had the ability to Devour enemies. It required very little mana to activate; almost none, in fact, it just consumed mana to connect with the rune user. as it used the enemy as fuel instead. Although Faust was not sure of what that meant yet.
He learned that the rune could be drawn multiple times, but only two Devour runes could be active at a time while connected to the same mana. Furthermore, the rune could not be inscribed on flesh. It had to be etched into a weapon or into the ground. If placed on the ground, the rune was consumable—it would activate once and then vanish.
Faust was intrigued. Until now, he had only possessed basic runes, with the only exception being Bind, an intermediate rune that required too much mana for him to use effectively. Devour, however, needed little mana and apparently had powerful effects.
He shook the thoughts of the rune from his mind for the moment. There was a more pressing issue: he was still shackled, and he knew nothing about this strange land.
And almost as if fate itself wished to answer that question for him, something happened at the foot of the mountain.
Two creatures had begun to battle. Faust hadn't noticed them earlier—they blended almost perfectly with the environment of black stones.
Both were black, their forms eerie and unnatural. One resembled a beetle, though where pincers should have been, there was instead a gaping, fully-formed mouth filled with teeth. Its bites were so ferocious that Faust could hear the sound even from atop the mountain. Its back was protected by a dark, hardened carapace.
The second creature was larger, towering over two meters tall. It resembled a mantis, but its body was covered entirely in gleaming black scales. Its front legs were shaped like shotel blades, curved in elegant half-moons. It was beautiful—and terrifying.
Within moments, the mantis creature had slain the beetle, slicing through its carapace with frightening ease. It devoured the beetle's head and abandoned the rest of the body, walking away from the mountain's base.
Sweat formed on Faust's forehead as he watched.
Mentally, he was not afraid. But his body was, responding instinctively to the presence of a predator far beyond anything he had ever encountered.
Even the bear he had subdued some time ago could not compare. These creatures were stronger, much stronger.
This place was dangerous. It was deadly.
"I need to rid myself of these shackles, and I can't afford to waste time," Faust thought grimly. "I'm not even sure if I'd be able to outrun those weird things normally, let alone while shackled."
He felt no shame in fleeing from those stronger than him. Until he achieved his goal of becoming truly absolute, he would survive by any means necessary.
He began walking across the mountain's summit, searching. Eventually, he found a stalagmite protruding from the rocky ground. Faust wrapped his chains around it, bracing himself.
He pulled with all his strength.
Almost an hour passed before he finally managed to snap the chains connecting his wrists and feet. But the shackles themselves remained locked tightly around his wrists and ankles.
They were tight to the point even dislocating his fingers would not free him. The iron was thick and heavy; trying to smash the shackles against a rock would likely break his own bones before the metal gave way.
He had no choice for now.
He would have to survive like this until he found a way to remove them.
Faust observed the grayish sky as a thought passed through his mind:
I'm alone once again, truly alone.