NULL VOID

[UNKNOWN LOCATION]

In a desolate land, lacking in people or animals, a lone man walked through the dunes of sand in his path. The shawl on his head and face protected him from the elements, and the light clothes he wore gave him reprieve from the scorching sun.

He struggled to climb up a steep slope of sand - the desert sand making it especially difficult to get a good footing - and as he got to the top of it, he stopped and looked to the horizon.

"Didn't think I would be here for a while longer" he said while taking in the scene in front of him.

He placed his hand on his shawl to prevent the sudden strong winds from blowing them off. Then with a sigh, he began his descent from the slope.

On the horizon was a large marble structure that looked like it had been made entirely of polished black stone. A tower-like structure that stretched from the ground of the desert up to the clouds in the sky. It shone in the desert sun, constantly drawing attention to itself. Though, there was no one in this part of the world to even see it. No one but the man.

The structure was located in this desolate land known to a few as the 'Null Realm'. The Null Realm was a place once filled with beings of great power. Gods and deities who lived off the prayers of the people of Quasar. They possessed abilities unlike those of Quasar who could only use a single magic skill for their entire life. They possessed true magic. The ability to create and destroy, to mend or break, to change destinies.

They had lived separately from the countries of Quasar for centuries. Content to simply observe the people and allow them to live their lives how they please.

But all that changed when Roa attacked.

The beings began receiving even more prayers initially. The citizens of the Northern and Southern countries prayed constantly for aid from the gods.

The gods could do nothing for the people though. They were not allowed to tamper with the affairs of mortals. So instead, they sent a select few of their children to the world. The demigod children were tasked with fighting for the good of the world and to try ending the war.

But the children had different views on how the war was to be ended. The children were warriors, people who had lived with the sword for their entire lives. They saw the submissiveness of the Northern and Southern people as a weakness.

So, they decided against joining them and instead split themselves between the Eastern and Western countries. They became the very thing they were sent to destroy.

After this, the people scorned the gods. They cursed and swore at them, labeling them as evil for releasing such upon them. And as time went on, they stopped praying to the gods altogether.

The gods, who no longer possessed the gift of man's prayers, had to banish themselves back to Heaven or risk extinction. They were restricted from viewing the land of man and could do nothing about the current war

And so as time went on, the people forgot. They forgot about the gods and the injustice done to them. They forgot about the demigods and how they came to be.

They forgot everything.

.....

But immortals never forget.

.....

The black walls of the castle looked almost threatening to the man as he walked towards it. The sunlight shone on the marble and seemed to be completely absorbed by it, giving the castle an eerie look. He walked up the black stairs to the castle, stopping now and then to check for any traps in the surroundings. He reached the large door leading in, stretched a hand forward and placed it on the door.

An arc of black electricity traveled through the door and converged on his hands. His eyes widened in surprise, and he tried pulling his hands back. It was stuck though, so he closed his eyes, used his other hand to protect his face, and waited for the pain.

A moment passed, and then another before he opened his eyes slowly and looked at where his hand was. It was still intact and there was no pain. Instead, the hand passed through the door as though it were intangible, or an illusion.

He brought the hand out and looked at it, he squeezed the fingers, testing their durability, before stretching them out again to touch the door, and watching as the door rippled and pulsed under them.

He took a deep breath, and after shutting his eyes, began walking through the door to the other side.

...

The inside of the tower looked just as glamorous as the outside of it. The same black stone lined the walls and floor. The man looked up and saw that the roof looked just like the desert sky at night; with large clouds and bright stars, complemented with a full, shining moon. The roof also seemed far closer than the outside portrayed it to be, making him presume that there were other floors in the tower.

At the center of the room was an altar almost as tall as the man. It rose from the ground in five pillars and spread out at the top, each pillar ending in the shape of a hand with the palm facing up.

A voice then spoke up, startling the man out of his thoughts

"Very few have left here alive after entering." The voice said, "What reason do you have for desecrating this land?"

The man turned towards the altar and watched as a woman seemed to rise from its shadows. The black marble floor rolling off her body like it was water. She had a long black robe on, the hood on the robe concealed her face, revealing only her mouth to the man. Her hands were joined together and had the black robe concealing it as well.

The man's hands twitched towards where he kept his knife at his belt, but he stopped when a black spike rose from the ground and sped towards his chin. The woman in black had a finger exposed from her robe, pointing it at the man menacingly.

"If you do not wish to die a painful death, I suggest you not try that again," she said.

The man rose both hands in the air and took a step back away from the spike at his throat, "I'm sorry," he said, before grabbing onto his shawl and pulling it off, "My name is Hakeem, and I am a humble servant of the gods. I have something with me-"

He hesitantly reached behind his back again, keeping an eye on the woman to ensure she didn't skewer him for it. When he was sure she wouldn't, he pulled out a scroll from a pouch and presented it to her. "I was told to come here in this scroll. But I don't know the reason why..."

A black pillar rose from the ground in front of the man. It reached the height of his waist, before forming an outstretched hand at its peak.

Hakeem placed the scroll on the hand and watched in intrigue as it sunk into the ground - scroll and all - before re-emerging in front of the woman.

The woman scanned over the contents of the scroll for a while. The seconds ticked by and Hakeem became more and more nervous as he stood in the room; he resisted the urge to tap his hands on his thigh though, knowing that it would look disrespectful.

"It seems to be an original summons" the woman spoke up after a while. She stretched the scroll out and over the altar, one of the pillar-hands grabbed onto it and made it dissolve in a shower of blue light

"So do you know why I was called here? " Hakeem said after watching the light disappear for a while. He took a small step forward "I mean, was it the gods themselves that called me here?"

"Yes Hakeem, it seems you have earned the favor of the gods. You have been chosen for a path greater than that of most men," she said

Hakeem's eyes widened in glee, his face splitting into an intense grin, revealing rows of perfectly white teeth. "Please, tell me what it is," he said

"Very well Hakeem." She brought her hands up and grabbed her hood with it, pulling it down. The hood fell off to reveal a woman who looked to be in her late 30's. Her fair face and green eyes made her into a beautiful visage, even with the scar running down the left side of her face, along with the lack of hair on her head.

"Tell me; what do you know of the 'destiny of the two brothers'?" she asked

Hakeem's hands clenched once she said this. He shut his eyes, trying desperately to shut out images of blood and death and fire. Trying to calm his mind before answering.

After a few moments - and many deep breaths - he rose his head again to look at the woman with an ugly scowl on his face.

"Everything," he snarled, "I know everything"