It came in waves. Some were small, gentle but firm shoves against his psyche. Others crashed down on him with all the force of the sea, threatening to send him sprawling. Henry twirled out of Damien’s body, shadows sputtering as he slipped out of the circle.

Despite the pain racking his body, Damien didn’t move from his spot on the ground. He set his jaw and took slow breaths, keeping control over his mind. Magic seared his flesh and dug into his eyes like starving insects, but it was nothing compared to what the Void had done to him.

“I don’t think it’s working,” Henry observed from beside Mel. “You’re trying to forge his mind, but it has already been cleansed in the Void. There is little pain you can inflict on him that would be worse than what he has already felt.”

Mel’s mouth turned down in annoyance. “Nobody is immune.”

“Nor is he,” Henry said, bobbing in a shrug. “But I know what you’re trying to do. It will be ineffective.”

“I know some of your true nature,” Mel said. “You may be growing more human, but you still have a long way to go.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“There is more than one type of pain,” Mel replied, turning on her heel. “Come. Leave Damien here. Your presence will make this more difficult. Perhaps, someday, if you are unlucky enough, you might understand what he will go through. For now, Sylph needs our attention. Havel is having difficulties.”

Henry cast one last glance back at Damien, then followed the tall woman away. A tiny part of Damien registered their departure, but he was too focused on his trial to observe more. The waves of agony were abating, built something new seemed to be taking their place.

However, to Damien’s annoyance, he couldn’t tell exactly what it was. As the last dredges of physical discomfort finally faded away, his chest started to feel hollow. Something was missing.

Damien’s brow furrowed as he searched for what it was. He’d been isolated from Henry for longer periods of time than this. It felt more. He didn’t dare reach out to Herald out of fear of failing the trial, but the unease in his chest was growing.

A heavy weight settled on Damien’s shoulders, pressing down on them like the world itself. He stiffened his back, gritting his teeth and pushing against it. Cold nipped at his extremities and he reached for his Ether to reinforce himself.

There was no response. His Core was inert and unresponsive. Logically, Damien knew that Ether permeated every single part of his body. It flowed through his veins and flooded his muscles. Yet, when he tried to scan for it, there was nothing.

Sweat trickled down his forehead and the feeling of loss expanded. Memories of friends and family floated to the forefront of his mind.

His eighth birthday - the only one his father had ever attended - when he had been gifted a sword and promptly had it confiscated by his mother. His first hug with a girl that wasn’t his mother. Successes in his work at Runecraft. The day he had first met Henry.

Memories flashed faster and faster, charring and warping at the edges as a flame consumed them. Damien groaned, trying to hold onto the scraps with everything he could. The endless sensation of loss stalled for a mere instant. Then it resumed.

Everyone and everything other than himself slowly burned away. Even Herald and Henry became kindling. Darkness bloomed before him, the only light a massive pyre of everything that he knew.

Damien extended a hand toward the flame, but another one caught it. The rest of the world fell away as he found himself standing in a plane of infinite black. Aside from the burning history before him, there was nothing.

Nothing but the man holding his hand. Moon’s cold eyes pierced into Damien as he released the boy’s hand, allowing it to fall back to his side.

“Moon?” Damien asked.

“In a manner,” Moon replied. For anyone else, it would have been impossible to tell the difference between the two. For all intents, they looked identical. However, the truth was in their eyes.

Damien’s were full of a mixture of pain and determination as he struggled to maintain what made him who he was. Moon’s were two pitch black saucers, windows into nothingness.

“Why are you here? I thought you died!”

Moon’s lips quirked. “Death is such a strong word.”

“Well, help me.” Damien nodded at the burning memories. “I need to stop that. Mel is trying to reinforce my mental energy. That’s why you’re here, I assume? To help?”

He stepped toward it again, but Moon’s open palm met his chest.

“No.”

“What? I can’t lose that! They’re my memories. What else would the point of this be? She’s threatening what I care about to make me access more of my mental energy so I can protect myself. It’s obvious.”

“I know,” Moon said. “This is no longer the woman’s training exercise.”

***

“Are you sure this is okay?” Henry asked, watching Damien doubtfully. His face was twisted into a grimace of fear and pain. His hands clenched into white balls at his sides and blood trickled from where he’d bit his own lip.

“The fear of loss is an incredible motivator. You might not understand how much humans value their sense of self, but it is our greatest and most treasured possession. He will do anything to protect it.”

“And if he fails?” Henry asked.

“Nothing. It is perfectly safe. Everything is an illusion within his own mind,” Mel replied. “There is no risk to Damien. Not even the Void will cause trouble, since he isn’t under true stress. It is only his mind that fights. However, once he comes out of it, he will know the truth. This method only works when you believe it is truly happening. He’s got one shot. If he fails, then he’ll have to reinforce his mental fortitude some other way.”

“And you’re completely certain its safe?” Henry asked. “I‘ve seen variations of techniques similar to this before, but I haven’t been physically present for any. The minds of mortals are one of the few things I still do not understand.”

“Completely,” Mel confirmed. “There’s absolutely no factor in this out of my control. He’ll wake up in a few days, either stronger or no worse for the wear than he started today.”

***

“Well, can we save all of that,” Damien said, gesturing impatiently at the pyre, “before we do whatever it is you want?”

“No. That would defeat the purpose.”

“What is the purpose, then?” Damien demanded.

“The woman does not understand,” Moon said. “She cannot grasp the true might of the Void. What it is. What it does to the mortal mind. A simple illusion will not grant you strength.”

“This is an illusion?” Damien asked, blinking. “It feels real.”

“That’s because it is,” Moon replied. “It would have been a pointless exercise for you. I have changed it. The stakes are now very real. Any memory that is completely consumed will be gone forever. If they all burn away, you will be left with nothing but yourself. Emotionless and finally unshackled. A perfect vessel for the Void.”

Damien took a step to the side, narrowing his eyes. “You aren’t Moon. He wasn’t like this. He cared.”

“Correct,” Moon said, tilting his head to the side. “I am not Moon. You are.”

“Then who are you?” Damien asked, edging toward the fire. If he could get it it fast enough, he could try to smother the flame before it consumed everything. Luckily, it didn’t look like his memories were burning very quickly. Whoever the intruder was, he had absolutely no plans of losing who he was.

“A strange question to ask when you were the one that brought me into your body - twice. First on accident, and next on purpose.”

“That means absolutely nothing to me,” Damien said. He tried to dive for the flame, but his body didn’t budge. A gray hue washed over the world, freezing the fire in place. Against Damien’s will, his head turned until he was looking at the fake Moon again.

“You know who I am.”

“No, I really don’t,” Damien said. For some reason, he wasn’t scared. He knew he should have been, but he wasn’t. “What are you doing to me?”

“Your unimportant aspects have been repressed. You would not have been able to stand in my presence had I not distilled you down to your true form.”

“And just who are you, then?”

“I have already answered this. You know who I am.”

“No, I really don’t,” Damien said. “I can tell you’re part of the Void, which I feel should be a lot more worried about than I actually am, but that’s it.”

“Your previous iteration was considerably more apt.”

“Moon was alive for Cycles. That’s hardly fair.”

“Time is meaningless in the face of Eternity. Unlike the rest of my fellows, I have no interest in the lives of mortals. I am concerned with the universe itself, not the feelings of its occupants.”

And then, finally, Damien knew who he was speaking to. If his emotions weren’t currently stuck in a frozen pyre, he probably would have started praying to anything that would listen.

“You’re the one Henry wouldn’t talk about,” Damien said. “The leader of the Void.”

“I am the Void,” Moon said, his face melting away until it was a smooth, featureless oval. “And my purpose is to ensure the universe continues to function. By taking the Void into yourself, you have established a link with me.”

“Don’t you have better things to be doing? Like, I don’t know, killing Second?”

“I am doing what must be done. Wherever there is Void, then I too exist. However, the continued existence of humanity in the universe is not my concern. It is the universe itself that I protect, and the Corruption does not pose a threat to that. Whether the Eight Planes remain split or collapse, the universe will continue on. Imbalances will right themselves. That is the way of things. Humanity need not be present.”

“Then what’s all this about? If you really don’t care at all, how come you’re bothering me? Because I have a pretty big interest in keeping humanity alive.”

The featureless man shook his head. “Your emotions are starting to leak. Moon was a clever man. The runes he stole from me prevent the Void from completely consuming your body, so my grip over this world is tenuous.”

“That just gave me about three more questions than you answered. Were you enemies or something? And why does it sound like you yourself have emotions?”

“I am not the rest of the Void. I do have emotion. The rest, aside from Henry, are manifestations of my power. They exist to do what I created them for, even if they have gained some desire of their own through the millennia. And I was not enemies with Moon. He did not interfere with the universe, so I did not care what he did.”

“You just said he stole stuff from you.”

“Enough. I have come here for a single purpose, but I forgot how easy it was getting lost talking to mortals. Your little minds cannot stay on one topic. Soon, the fire will consume everything in that pile and you will become a true Void entity. Your memories will be lost, and you will exist only to protect the Cycle.”

Damien’s eyes narrowed. “That sounds… oddly familiar. You aren’t telling me something.”

Even though Moon’s face was featureless, something rippled across it. Fear? Sadness? Damien couldn’t tell.

“You asked me to do this.”

“Moon did, you mean,” Damien said, a chill running down his spine. “That’s it. That’s who the Void creatures are. They’re versions of me from other Cycles. Ones that failed.”

“All but the original. I made the first as a favor. I may not be concerned with mortals, but they do lend a certain amount of energy to the universe.”

“Then step in!” Damien said. “You could stop Second, couldn’t you?”

“I can step in no more than you can become god. I am bound by the universe. I exist to protect it, but the Corruption is part of it. I cannot harm anyone part of the universe unless it acts against the greater good.”

Damien opened his mouth to ask another question, but a burning cold pain flared in his chest. He hissed, clutching at his heart.

“Time runs out for you. In honor of the promise I once made, you will have a chance to preserve yourself and gain the ability to learn my power. The Void is not yet yours to grasp. If you fail, it will consume you.”

“Wait,” Damien gasped, fighting to speak. “L-last question. Who was the favor for?”

The gray light vanished and the fire roared back to life. Moon’s faceless form nodded toward the pyre. “First. Deal with the flame. If you do not find sufficient conviction, I will greet you in the Void.”

Moon’s body rippled and splashed to the inky darkness at their feet, vanishing in seconds and leaving Damien alone with his burning memories.