Gone (0.7)
...It was gone.
Nova tried to calm himself as the uncertainty of the situation made him feel panic starting to set in. He took a deep breath and concentrated on finding that mysterious energy...
But nothing changed. The energy wasn't there.
Nova tried to convince himself that it was just hiding. Playfully concealing itself or something along those lines...
But that was impossible.
The energy of that peculiar thing was impossible to miss. It constantly released energies even when it was asleep. Even when he woke up and it restrained those energies enough for him to move freely in it's space the energies never completely went away.
It was like endlessly putting water into a huge water balloon with a bunch of holes poked into it. The balloon would hold a lot and wouldn't pop as long as the pressure wasn't allowed to build up but it would constantly leak the same water you were filling it with.
All beings passively released energy in this way. It was just that the amount that this thing gave off was immense. You absolutely could not ignore it even when it was being intentionally restrained.
Another reason why Nova was certain that it was totally gone was because he was even more sensitive to its unfamiliar energies.
The spiritual energy used by The Law could be found in all mortal souls. The Law forcibly weakened all the System and Host souls by stealing the majority of their soul's energy in order to control them better. As a direct result of this, your first introduction to the System World would always be the feeling of your existence being faint. It was hard to explain but if you asked any of the hosts or systems they would say that it was similar to being alive and knowing you were going to die soon.
A very floaty and unsettling feeling. The unnaturally light feeling of your soul wavering wasn't dissimilar to becoming so lightheaded that you feel nauseous.
Soul energy was essentially your life force. In the System World you could tell which souls completed more missions by how stable their soul was.
The Law would do the bare minimum of care it possibly could towards the systems. As a system you would only be given enough spiritual energy to continue functioning. If a system was too weak then they wouldn't be able to handle the influx of spiritual energy passing through their soul. So their soul only had to be nourished enough to continue slaving away for The Law. Every system was absolutely desperate for spiritual energy. All it meant was that their soul would become slightly more solid and they wouldn't feel like they could stop existing at any time. They were so grateful that everytime they gained even the smallest amount of it as a "reward" from The Law they would proudly boast about their "upgrade".
At least, if you were a host, The Law would be inclined to take the time to reassure you. Motivate you with empty promises and beautiful dreams set at a ridiculously high price. Allow you to see some sort of payoff for all your hard work and labour.
After all, if the hosts weren't encouraged to do their job to the best of their ability then what if they gave up on missions? How would The Law collect the energy? The Law would never allow the Systems to complete tasks on their own because it couldn't risk the systems realizing what their real function was as an energy conduit. Then they might rebel! Just look at that system that called itself Nova as a prime example!
The point being, Nova was a system. A system who was just as desperate for energy to nurture the soul with as any other system was. Actually, he was probably way more desperate than any of the other systems had ever been. After all, that is what led him to finding out the truth of how every single soul in the System World was being manipulated by The Law.
The thing in the void had a power that wasn't spiritual energy. Nova had never encountered any other being like it in all his years of captivity. There was absolutely no way he wouldn't notice the presence of something so different from him.
It was like living in a rose garden for years then suddenly moving into a fish market. Just like it would be impossible not to smell the fish, it was impossible for Nova to not sense the foreign energy of that abnormal force.
Nova cursed into the nothingness.
Of course, there was nothing there to respond.
He couldn't see a thing so he just walked in what felt like a straight line, worried that the thing might not be able to find him if he strayed too far from his original position.
While screaming HELLOs and WHERE ARE YOUs into the abyss he was so frustrated he felt his eyes tear up and clenched his fists. He shouldn't have been so distracted that he fell asleep. He should've stayed up and strategized first. Communicated some more with that being and made a plan. What if it had left and wouldn't return? What if he had escaped the prison that was the System World only to exchange it for this endless void? What if everything he had done was for nothing and he would never know why anything happened? What if-
Nova could no longer cry over what ifs. His body froze in shock and his eyes burned from the sudden introduction of light as he looked towards the familiar rift between dimensions that had just opened up a a couple feet away from him.
After a few seconds of not reacting he realized that the rift was reaching towards him. Now, it was only a few steps away from reaching him.
Without any time to think and process this new development, Nova turned around to face the opposite direction and ran!
...Except, he didn't get the chance to run.
Instead, he was instantly pushed back by that familiar force! It then wrapped itself around his legs and threw him into the rift!? Why would it-
Nova's question was answered immediately. In the split second before the rift closed he felt it. The Law. It entered the void with wild energies, as if the energy it absorbed had turned against it, attacking itself. The last thing he saw was the blinding shine of energies colliding as the mysterious presence pushed against The Law, blocking it from reaching him as the rift closed.
....and then he was gone.