I Do Not Consent To This

'Hahh... what's she doing in our home, Void?' Quinn, who had just awoken—when Void reached the same's abode—asked, 'Didn't know you were that typa guy, but I would appreciate if you don't do that stuff with my body, you feel me?'

'Quinn. You are awake; and much calmer than I thought you would be,' Void said, completely ignoring Quinn's remark, 'She insisted that she would help with the work that Adolf Heim assigned me as the first task of our cooperation together; it might be because of your blunt and indifferent personality that so inclines you to ignore her, but do keep in mind that she is a very important figure in this place. You cannot just take her friendliness for granted—even though it may have malicious intent behind it—as she is one of the direct descendants, and thus, a very important figure as well.'

'Right-right,' Quinn hurriedly excused that piece of advice for later consideration and asked: 'Say, what the hell happened when I was gone? I couldn't really see anything other than... black. How much time has passed? It only feels like it's been a few hours to me...'

'So, regarding that,' Void said, 'I had to comprise a little, so the current situation may not look the best...'

———

'Ngh... I guess that was for the best,' Quinn sighed after carefully listening to Void list the things that happened in his absence, 'These people don't know shit about the Demise Energy, so it's not much of a problem; we can always leave out the more important details and whatnot. I don't understand why this woman is here though—she can't possibly have any knowledge on Demise Energy, so what's she thinking? Maybe she just wants her own personal observations on it; or—she's going to try to fucking kill you and/or read my memories. I mean, she can try, but I doubt she could lay her hand on you for even an instant.

'The Headmaster though, huh? I really don't have the best impression of the Vampire nobility because of these two snakes. But, to think that the Vampire Ring Bearer was this close the whole time; . C'mon. Give me back my body so that I can politely escort this woman out of our place, then,' Quinn said.

'What are you talking about, boy,' Void replied, 'I will not allow you to use this unstable body of yours no matter the situation. I can do whatever you need me to without it affecting the body in any shape or form; you could say that it is in better hands than yours—for now.'

'Hah, you're not fucking taking over my body, Void. Enough of this shit. I can just ask Andre to make some more of those Soul Suppression talismans.'

'Quinn, surely you do not delude yourself with the thought that a mere talisman can halt the progress of your awakening?' Void asked with genuine concern which ticked Quinn off a bit, 'Even so, how do you reckon you will overcome my will and stop me from doing as I wish—to protect you from yourself?

'You...' Quinn was about to begin just before Void interrupted him: 'Quinn, give up—just for tonight. I suggest that you hone your mind and soul from within; I am sure that you have felt it now that you have experienced the presence of the Shadow Heart within you, but you may either wish to oversee my actions from your own eyes or stay isolated in a Shadow Space within yourself. If anything of importance is to occur or I need your... special expertise, I will call upon you.

'I am sure that you will find much to do whilst in mental conflict for the long while that you will spend in isolation. But, it is of the greatest import that you are ready to face your awakening with a stronger will, and that primal desire of yours to grow stronger.'

After keeping silent for a while, Quinn finally responded: 'I'm strong enough, Void; its not like I'll suddenly just lose my powers and prowess. Its just the absurd wishes of other entities—like the Shadow Heart—that forces me to move and pick a fight with the gods, and from there, my easy-going life might as well just be over. Now, I won't say that I haven't enjoyed the journey till now—facing some strong and interesting people and monsters, and growing stronger—since that would just be a lie...

'But... I'm not as stupid as to think that such immense power, and the capacity to harbour even more and harness the same doesn't come at a cost. I can feel that I've lost a part of myself ever since my existence as a Human died; ugh, I don't wanna be dramatic and sentimental now, but I don't what I might become after going through the awakening—if I can even make it.'

'You will make it, Quinn; if you do not, the Realms are doomed to be stuck forever in this accursed cycle that we Shadows have beared witness to,' Void ensured Quinn, 'We can worry about the other things after we are in the clear in regards to your safety and survival after the awakening. We shall talk later; for now, heed my advice. Leave this place to me, Earth to your clone, and strengthen your resolve in the meanwhile. While you may not care about random peoples' live—be it the ones one Earth or Nyxterra or anywhere else—you need to accept your destiny and fight for the same; with that kind of resolve, you may learn things that I could not dream of—because you were born a mortal outside the grasp of the Higher Will.'

Quinn could only grunt before wishing Void good luck with the Vampire planet, 'Whatever, man; the next time I'll be speaking up is when I've gotten my body back from you—be it by either taking it forcefully or not. Well-! I'm out~'

And, just like that, abruptly, Quinn was no longer responding and retreated to the depths of his consciousness to contemplate on ways to hone his will-power and mind. Although he always has a lot to say to Void, he nevertheless agrees with him and carefully considers his advice. As for the many things that he cannot understand that Void talks about, he would simply overlook them and contemplate them another time—like right now, when he has such free time.

———

"Quinn~" The guest which was now invested in working on Void's research project by happenstance called for him.

Just enough to satisfy Vivienne's curiosity and to make her quit being an annoyance, while trying not to get on her bad side for Quinn, Void decided that he could grant her access to the slightest bit of Demise Energy that he manifested and contained in a special vessel. Of course, he made sure to instruct her not to open the container unless she wanted a part of her missing.

Following her call for him, Void basically appeared right behind her only to witness a disastrous turn of events. "What... have you done?" Void analysed the situation: the container was open, but there was no damage or traces of annihilation anywhere, and a formless lump of Demise Energy was wobbling unstably on Vivienne's palm.

'No!' Void panicked, a sight that would have surprised and worried even Quinn of all people, 'It cannot be—that a Primordial Energy can be in the hands of a lower being at random. Curses! She had no Energy just a while ago... so how come she is unharmed by that Demise Energy? And... why is there a faint amount of Demise Energy radiating from her now?'

"Ah-hahahahah!" Vivienne burst out laughing as if out of character, "I never thought I would see your expression change from that of stoic boredom, junior. Although, I prefer seeing that face, this dumbfounded look is not bad either~"

'It must be Potential Energy that lay dormant inside of her. Rrgh, to think it reacted to the Demise Energy; this is not good—another variable just entered the grand scheme of things,' Void theorised, 'But, it does not seem that she is surprised by this. Could it be that she controlled the reaction? Was her goal to get her hands on Quinn's Demise Energy from the start?'

As Void thought of what he could do in this situation, Vivienne stood up and faced him rather awkwardly—again, slightly out of character for her. "I, uh... sorry, Quinn, my precious junior, but I should have said this sooner; I actually possess Demise Energy as well—but, it was just that I have kept it hidden for the longest time. I was just so amazed by what I had heard from professor Adolf and wanted to observe your control over such an unstable kind of Energy that I had to learn whatever I could from you..."

As the young lady kept going on and on, Void was just about done with her lies, 'Why is she lying about possessing Potential Energy? Does she genuinely think I am stupid? What a shameless being...'

Eventually, Vivienne switched to another topic as she came closer to Void, almost touching him, "Anyway, we can discuss the trivial matters later."

"Say, Quinn, would you happen to have any... tea?" She placed hands on his shoulders and moved them slightly towards his neck, her breathing seemed to be getting heavier and she had a completely different look in her eyes. She whispered into his ears, "I'm really thirsty~"

"Well, I just so happened to get some from the Hea-" Void, unfazed, replied without exerting any kind of force that would otherwise harm Vivienne or violently shove her back, but was interrupted as she tripped him and sat on his abdomen. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about, Quinn..."

'Oh, no,' Void racked his brain, 'Quinn! Quinn, help, this woman is going to do something to your body! ...Damn it, it might take a while before he can take control over his body for a moment. What do I do?'

Vivienne's faced inched closer as Void summoned every power within himself to stop himself from using any kind of force on Vivienne and thought of what he could say to get to back off.

'Ugh... I just left like a few hours ago, Void; shouldn't that be just a few minutes out here? What the hell happened in the-' Quinn stopped in his tracks as he saw the situation through Void's eyes, 'Brother... what the actual fuck? And, why am I in control of the body?! Didn't we just talk about this?'

'Help yourself first, Quinn; I could not think of anything to get her to stop without using force,' Void explained, sounding disappointed in himself. 'Fuck. Uhh-'

"I'm a minor!"