Year 2080 (Post-Jailbreak)

  Renny Veyne was one of the five Year 4 students chosen to experience the Void for the first time.

  They were being escorted by the 97th ranked Diver in the world, Goliath, and his team.

  There was a break in the floor.

  Not a crack—an opening.

  A perfect outline, cut cleanly into the concrete, dropping straight into darkness.

  The Door.

  It was closed.

  Coffins stood upright, suspended over the closed Door, each sized for a single person.

  Each student was accompanied by a Guardian supplied by Dive Academy.

  What could go wrong?

  Everything.

  The Door opened and the Coffins dropped into the darkness.

  Renny was in awe the whole time.

  He didn't really know who this Goliath guy was, nor did he care all that much.

  His focus was on the Void.

  He was told his parents were killed when a Door opened and Voidspawn poured through.

  That was the whole reason he joined Dive Academy — to be able to kill Voidspawn and prevent others from going through the same thing.

  He'd been studying Voidspawn and the Void for years, yet he'd never actually seen it for himself.

  Nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to witness.

  The “sky” around him suddenly turned pitch black.

  A colour so dark it seemed to suck all the light inwards.

  The landscape was the same colour, barely distinguishable from the sky.

  He could see small specks on the ground — Voidspawn, perhaps.

  The Coffins landed.

  Everyone stepped out.

  Renny fiddled with the Voidshield on his Dive suit, nervous but also excited.

  His Guardian raised an eyebrow.

  “Don’t fidget with it. Do you want to experience the laws of the Void?”

  Renny quickly stopped.

  Jessica looked over and rolled her eyes.

  “Always the oddball, eh, Veyne?”

  Renny ignored her.

  He'd always wished she would just keep her mouth shut.

  Annoying brat.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  Goliath stood nearby, gripping his composite sword with both hands, ready.

  His armour covered his entire body from head to toe.

  His build was pure muscle and size, towering over the others at a whopping 197 centimetres.

  His visor was down, but Renny could tell he was wary.

  He was in a fighting stance even when there was no apparent danger.

  Goliath spoke in a grim tone through the Standard Void Communications Device (SVCD), “Cut the banter. We’re in the Void. Be alert.”

  Silence.

  Suddenly, a Shadow rose from the ground and grabbed Jessica’s leg.

  She screamed.

  Heads turned.

  Her Guardian acted fast, bashing the Shadow into the ground before killing it with his knife.

  It dissolved into the Void.

  Renny tensed.

  They'd just announced themselves with that scream.

  Goliath, annoyed and tense, said, “I told you we needed to be careful.”

  The Front Scout spoke, “Voidspawn spotted, twelve o’clock. It’s seen us.”

  Goliath, “Fuck—everyone get in formation.”

  In front of them stood a lone figure.

  It was pitch black, with white eyes.

  Oddly symmetrical for a Voidspawn.

  It wore a cowboy hat and what looked like a full black leather jacket; a midnight shotgun was slung across its back.

  It was thin.

  Renny instantly recognised him — and judging by the gasps of the other students, so did they.

  So did Goliath.

  He gritted his teeth.

  “Retreat. Now.”

  Before them stood former #10, Bullet.

  He was an inspiration to many, an icon of discipline and skill.

  Bullet proved you didn't need monstrous powers to stand atop the world.

  Yet after he disappeared into the Void during a failed mission, it was predicted he had turned into a Voidspawn.

  And here he was.

  The Pacer — the one responsible for controlling the pace of the Dive — spoke: “SSS threat — Whisper encountered. Standby for combat.”

  The Pacer looked around, confused, “Wait, what? I didn’t say that.”

  Pacer: “He’s coming!”

  Pacer, panicking, “Comms have been hijacked by… Whisper? I can’t tell.”

  Pacer—no.

  Whisper, in a hoarse, wispy voice, “Yes, they have.”

  A Shadow popped up from the ground in front of the Pacer and slit his throat with a Voidmatter knife.

  Everyone was confused and shocked.

  They just stood there, frozen.

  Who were they supposed to listen to?

  Goliath roared over the comms, “GET BACK TO THE COFFINS, NOW!”

  That snapped them into motion.

  A nearby Guardian slashed at the Shadow—

  A black hand grabbed his wrist.

  Whisper had swapped places with the Shadow — a simple yet annoying ability of Shades.

  The Pacer announced, “Whisper, Shade class confirmed.”

  Renny suddenly froze.

  Wait — wasn’t the Pacer dead?

  Whisper smiled, staring straight at Renny.

  He mouthed a yes.

  Then a black pistol materialised in his hand, and he fired it at Renny.

  Renny’s Guardian stepped in, bringing his shield up, Heartlight surging into it.

  Renny’s Guardian dropped.

  Dead.

  Didn’t he shield it?

  How did it go through the shield?

  He didn't hear any sound during the bullet's impact.

  Think later.

  Had to keep running.

  Goliath and his team engaged Whisper while the Guardians helped the students get back to their Coffins.

  A Shadow sprouted from Renny’s dead Guardian.

  Goliath, “Front Scout, Back Scout, Striker One — help them!”

  The Front Scout rushed over and slashed the Shadow with his sword.

  Once again, Whisper swapped places with it and shot the Front Scout point-blank in the chest.

  Then he turned and fired at the other students.

  The Guardians pumped massive amounts of Heartlight into their shields after seeing Renny’s Guardian die.

  This time, it stopped the bullets.

  Renny realised that unless one poured a huge amount of Heartlight into a shield, the bullet would phase through it and kill.

  What a terrifying ability.

  Whisper chased the students nearing their Coffins.

  Goliath and his team tried to run after him, but suddenly some of them tumbled — their legs sliced cleanly off.

  Screams followed.

  Renny's eyes snapped back while he ran.

  He caught glimpse of a thin black wire of Voidmatter where they had just stepped.

  Whisper planted those?

  When?

  He couldn’t think about it.

  He had to run.

  Whisper caught up to Jessica and her Guardian, the slowest of the group.

  Renny wasn’t looking, but he heard Jessica’s scream cut short.

  "AHHH—"

  Gunshots rang out.

  He reached his Coffin and sealed the lid just as a Shadow slammed into it, dissolving on contact with the Heartlight shield.

  He fumbled with the launch mechanism.

  Outside, he could hear screams and gunshots.

  He covered the windows of his Coffin, tears rolling down his cheeks, his breathing ragged.

  He didn’t want to know who died.

  He slumped to the bottom of the Coffin, shaking, flinching ever so slightly whenever a gunshot went off.

  Each shot made the Coffin vibrate.

  Not loud.

  Just a dull, hollow thud — like someone knocking from the outside.

  He wanted to help, but there was nothing he could do.

  Screams and shouting continued for the next few minutes.

  He thought he heard Goliath shout to surface over the comms.

  “SURFACE, NOW!”

  That definitely was Goliath.

  “KID, LAUNCH TO THE SURFACE NOW!”

  The screaming stopped.

  It was just the clanging of metal on Voidmatter.

  Renny shakily activated the mechanism, and the Coffin took off.

  As it ascended, he heard the sounds fade into nothingness.

  Silence.

  Nothing but his thoughts to occupy him.

  Don’t fidget with it. Do you want to experience the laws of the Void?

  Always the oddball, eh, Veyne?

  Yes, they have.

  GET BACK TO THE COFFINS, NOW!

  SURFACE…

  He'd arrived back on the Surface.

  Everything was a blur.

  People spoke to him. He didn't hear any of it.

  Another Coffin dropped in through the same Door he just came back from.

  He thought he saw a mark on it — something like a red eye.

  The world tilted.

  He stepped out of the Coffin, stumbled—and passed out.