NOVPUBReeva looked in the hooded man’s direction and noticed that he wasn’t losing any power. The black hands of the void had also grabbed onto him, pulling him toward the dark painting. With a brief moment of thought, Reeva deduced that the man must also be a mystic, like him. 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
"What the hell..." the hooded man muttered, his eyes darting around the room in a panic. His face was filled with fear, and his body instinctively reacted by grabbing the hand of darkness, trying to tear it away from his body. But it was no use — the void’s grasp was far stronger. Its entire form was imbued with mystic power, making it impossible to resist.
Then something happened. Reeva’s eyes, still attuned to mystic power, saw energy reacting around the hooded man. He couldn’t quite make out the form, but he knew the man had just used mystic power.
The air grew colder. Reeva sensed the chill more acutely, amplified by his heightened perception in this black-and-white world. The hooded man extended his hand outward and touched the void’s arm, and the cold intensified.
Visibly recoiling, the void hand pulled back after the hooded man’s touch. Reeva was stunned. This was someone he recognized, the very reason he had come here in the first place. He was here to do business with this mystic.
The Ice Mystic.
He was a prominent character in the second arc of the novel, deeply involved in the heated plot of the mystics’ uprising — a movement to spread knowledge of their powers and create more mystics. There was a snippet in the book mentioning his presence in Tumidus before the second arc began, so Reeva had sought him out. If he found him first, it could change everything.
The man’s name was Leon. He had been hunted down by the church for refusing to submit to their authority, leading to his deep hatred for them. Most illegal mystics had become mystics by accident, and the church often arrived to give those who stumbled into this fantastical world of superpowers an ultimatum:
Would you rather be under us or against us?
There were no other options in the church’s book. Most mystics chose the first option, as the church’s power extended far beyond Eyre. That was why this place had been renamed Eyre Continent and the Eyre Empire. In this vast land, the Sun God reigned supreme as the sole deity, hoarding all the people as his believers, boosting his power to an unprecedented degree.
No other god could challenge him on this continent.
The belief in the Sun God is deeply rooted in the minds of the people. They’ve spent their entire lives worshipping this deity. Evidently, the Ice Mystic isn’t one of them.
The void’s hand shifted its focus, changing from simply grabbing the Ice Mystic to attacking him outright. Ferocious and fast, the hand moved through the air as if it belonged there. The Ice Mystic grabbed his hood and pulled it down. The loose fabric whipped outwards, and he quickly froze it, creating a makeshift weapon for himself.
Swinging his improvised weapon, the Ice Mystic fought back against the void’s hand. The void’s presence was overwhelming — more than enough to crush the Ice Mystic — but it had not fully descended into reality yet. Just like the gods above, it could not exert its full power without meeting certain conditions.
To descend fully into this world and wield their complete might, gods required immense power and sacrifices. This move was not to be used lightly, mainly appearing in the book as a checkmate attack for religions at war with one another.
The gods had avatars, but no one truly knew who they were. They often concealed their identities to observe the world from afar. For the Sun God, many believed the Pope was the avatar, but this theory had its detractors.
With the hood off, the Ice Mystic’s appearance was revealed — a man with pale skin and short, naturally blonde hair. He didn’t look like a typical Eyre farmer or commoner; he looked like he had been raised in the north. His eyes were as fierce as the void hand that was attacking him.
Reeva watched in surprise. The void hand’s grip on his body weakened, thanks to Leon’s efforts. When the mystic exerted more power, the room grew colder, and fog escaped from his mouth.
"Are you a mystic?" Leon asked Reeva, his voice strained with exhaustion. He managed to squeeze out a few words while his hands were busy fending off the void. His struggle grew furthur as his power dwindled.
"I can’t use my power here!" Reeva replied short. If he sue the power here the balance inside his body would flip in the favor of the white belief and he doubt he would help the ice mystic in that state
"Why..."
Leon started to ask, but he was too preoccupied with the void hand to continue. Reeva could have left the room by now, but he didn’t know where they had brought him. Worse, he didn’t feel right abandoning Leon to face this alone.
Reeva glanced at the black painting, thinking of a way to stop it. It was likely trying to consume their mystic power, using the picture as a medium to connect to the world. If he could destroy the painting, he might sever the connection.
Without waiting another second, Reeva made his decision. His hand reached inside his coat and pulled out a pistol.
Bang!
The shot was deafening in the tight room. Reeva’s ears rang, barely able to withstand the noise. The black-and-white world shook as the bullet cut through the air, striking the picture frame. The painting flipped over from the impact. Reeva half-expected this wouldn’t work, knowing the object was likely imbued with mystic force.
The hand struggle to move as the medium change the place of contact. When the thing flip over and land on it face, the painting also got covered by the floor
