Chapter 24: Void(2)

The atmosphere had become silent. Only the creaking of the ruins could be heard as the remnants of the village settled around them.

Star, however, floated through the air towards the three of them, who were still staring at him with a mixture of shock and astonishment.

"Come on down, flying boy..." Zuru jeered. "You are one amazing enigma, you know that, right?"

But Star only smiled mid-air, his eyes narrowing towards Zuru with lethal scrutiny. ’Stupid boy doesn’t have a clue what’s coming. Hahahaha... I have no use for silly, powerless souls. I might just trash his anyway.’ A low, raspy laugh escaped his thoughts before his gaze shifted to Sarah. ’Aaaaah, hers is perfect...’

His eyes suddenly widened when they landed on the Red Queen.

’The aura drifting from her is on an advanced level. More organized. More refined. More trained.’

His gaze travelled lower.

’Plus, those gorgeous breasts.’

He whistled joyfully. ’I’m definitely taking her soul. Hihihi!’

He spread both arms. ’I’ll get to it right away.’

Smiling evilly, he closed his eyes and sharpened his focus. Summoning the Soul Reaper wasn’t some casual game. It required maximum concentration and energy, both of which Star had already begun channeling. As expected, he felt that familiar rush coursing through him, filling his body with a strange, exhilarating power.

The three below continued waiting for him with their arms open as he descended. None of them had any idea what was going through his head, nor that Star was already imagining them as the first steps in his long-awaited enjoyment of freedom.

When Star opened his eyes, they were completely impassive. Cold. His hands stretched forward.

"Soul reap—"

His breath caught.

Star blinked rapidly.

The sudden rush of power coursing through him had stopped. Worse, he could feel his consciousness beginning to slip away, as though something deep within him had suddenly grabbed hold of the reins.

That was when he spotted it.

The golden ring on his finger had begun to glow.

"Shit!" he murmured.

The demonic marks along his face began receding, and the scars faded with them. In an instant, it was as though an entire part of him had simply been shut down. His body went limp, and he began to fall.

"Whoaaaaaaaaa!"

His yell echoed through the ruins as his descent rapidly gathered speed, as if gravity had suddenly remembered it had a job to do and was determined to make up for lost time.

"Ugh." The Red Queen sighed tiredly. "You should have just held your composure and made a better aura-filled entrance."

She stretched one hand forward. Red energy surged around her palm, and with a calm motion, she slowly raised her hand through the air. Similar red energy shimmered around Star’s falling body.

At once, the downward force acting on him became lazy. His momentum thereby slowed, and then he landed gently on the floor.

Sarah and Zuru smiled gratefully at the Red Queen before rushing towards their friend.

"Star... Star..." Sarah called as she approached. She crouched beside him, her eyes filled with concern.

Star groaned as he slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes like someone who had just woken from an unusually long sleep. He raised his head and scanned his surroundings.

Half of the village was already in ruins, but relief flickered in his eyes when he noticed that at least the other half was still safe, and that was where McCoy had probably gathered the people he could to safety.

With that assurance, Star finally turned towards Sarah and Zuru.

"Hey, guys," he said weakly, staring up at them.

Just then, Zuru leaned over him so suddenly that Star flinched.

"Well, you look okay," Zuru said proudly, showing his teeth.

"Well, you look..." Star recoiled in disgust. "Like shit."

The cheerful light on Zuru’s face immediately dimmed. He cast a glance down at himself. The stinky beast blood was still smeared all over him, and judging by the smell, it had apparently decided to become a permanent part of his identity.

"I guess we can all agree on that," he admitted shamefully.

Sarah and the Red Queen laughed. Star joined too, causing Zuru’s shame to heighten even more.

"Yeah, great," he growled.

"You really did great, kid," the Red Queen said with a huge smile after the laughter finally died down. She placed a firm hand on Star’s shoulder, an action that completely contradicted her lazy expression. Star nearly groaned from the strength of her grip.

"Your mother will be truly proud of how you’re doing."

Star was just forcing himself to keep a smiley face while her grip was killing him. But just then, his eyes lit up. He stared directly at the Red Queen.

"You know my mo—?"

"Yeah, you really did good." Sarah chimed in innocently. She stared at him with an envious smile. "But how did you do that?"

Star barely heard her. His attention remained fixed on the Red Queen, curiosity written plainly across his face. The Red Queen noticed, but she had no intention of discussing the matter further, especially not in front of the others.

"Star?" Sarah called politely.

"Yeah, um, yeah," he answered, stuttering. "I was, um..."

He paused, then finally looked at Sarah, his mind catching up with her question and dragging him back into the situation at hand.

"We need to leave here now," he said immediately, the urgency crystal in his voice.

He glanced at the Red Queen once more before pushing the matter aside for now. His mother was dead anyway, so whatever the information shouldn’t be priority now. Safety first.

He turned back towards Sarah and Zuru. "My uncle. He’s dangerous. We need to leave."

Zuru’s brows furrowed. "How does your uncle have anything to do with... anything?"

Even Sarah’s eyes carried the same curiosity.

Star exhaled. "Look, the fact that Luragon is a lone beast—"

"Hang on." Zuru cut him off, frowning slightly. "Luragon?"

Star nodded. "The winged beast that I just released from the Chimera Convergence magic."

He looked from Sarah to Zuru, then finally at the Red Queen. All three stared at him as though he had just announced that the moon was actually a giant chicken.

Star inhaled before slowly breathing out.

"Yeah, I know it sounds crazy and all, but all you need to know is that Luragon was once a pure, beautiful beast. One that my uncle awakened after he was imbued with his royal beastly vial." He allowed himself a breath before continuing. "Then he cursed it into that thing with a dark magic called Chimera Convergence, a dark art used to seal two beasts together, and sent it after me."

"’Cause he wants you out so he can claim the throne," the Red Queen supplied lazily.

"Yes," Star answered. "Exactly."

"So you’re saying that that thing..." Zuru began, his expression twisting as he pointed towards the ruined battlefield, "...is actually two beasts joined into one?"

Star nodded.

The Red Queen stared at him thoughtfully. "That’s why it was able to use ice and that black power that made my attacks disappear."

"Void," Star supplied.

"Yes, whatever," she replied lazily. "Because it’s an ice beast and a void beast joined together."

Star looked at her briefly before looking away.

He felt the urge to correct her. It wasn’t actually a void beast. That black power belonged to something far worse.

It was a fragment of the soul of the demon within him, merged with Luragon. A part of himself had been fused into that beast, and even admitting that to himself still made his stomach twist.

But he decided against correcting her. One careless explanation could lead to another question. Another question could lead to the truth.

And the truth was something he could not afford to let loose yet.

Sarah lowered her eyes, pity and anger vivid in her expression.

"But why would someone cast out such power? I mean, people wish they were royalty for the sake of these beasts and their powers."

Star stared at her.

For a moment, he said nothing.

The question struck somewhere deeper than she could have known.

He could finally tell them everything.

He could tell them about Dante.

Tell them that his uncle had willingly given up his own beast just to steal his.

Tell them what had truly happened to Luragon.

Tell them that the monster they had just fought was not simply some creature Dante had created.

It was connected to him.

To his soul.

His chest tightened.

He had lied to them so many times already. Every explanation had been another carefully placed stone in a wall between himself and the people who were beginning to trust him.

Yet Sarah was standing there looking at him with concern, not suspicion. Zuru was staring at him like an idiot who somehow still believed everything would work out. Even the Red Queen, mysterious as she was, had just saved his life.

For once, Star didn’t want to lie. And his lips parted slightly.

But then, the image of the horror in people’s eyes when they saw his demonic self, flashed through his mind.

A shiver ran through his entire being.

’What if they cast me aside?’ His fingers slowly curled. ’What if they fear me? The real me.’

He looked at Sarah. ’Demons took their family from them. What if they hate me?’

The thought hurt more than he expected.

’No... It’s too risky.’

Star shook his head almost imperceptibly before looking back at Sarah.

"May... maybe he..." His voice faltered. He swallowed. "Maybe... He created that monster to... to kill me." He lied.

And somehow, this one felt heavier than all the others.

Deep down, Star knew the truth: Luragon had been merged with a part of his soul. Yes, his soul. The demon within him was already intertwined with who he was, which meant Athrax, the Soul Reaper, was not simply some foreign power. It was a part of him, no matter how much he hated admitting it.

During the merging, Luragon had been corrupted by that darkness. That corruption had twisted the beast into what it had become.

Dante however, knew that the piece of Star’s soul, Athrax, once it came anywhere near Star, would unleash the demon inside him. Once that happened, the villagers would see what Star truly was and that would be a huge taint to his name and father’s name.

But Dante had overlooked one thing.

He didn’t know about the golden ring.

And that single secret had saved Star from losing himself completely.