Chapter 1: Rebirth

Light poured through the wood, awakening me from the abyss of approaching death. I tried to stand only to have my body wracked by agony and only then did I remember the previous night. Dim images wreathed in the fire of hatred and sorrow and then "Noc ...Noctys…" I looked over to see him only to see bloodstained wood, and then a quick thought went through my mind He's not there, did he survive? This thought was quickly set aside as a heard hushed laughter from the right of where I laid. I quickly turned only to be met by another spasm of pain and a fanged smile set within a pale face.

"Don't mind me, I'm just here watching the man I'm supposed to be saving suffer just a little more," He grinned malevolently, "Shame I wasn't here for the worst of it." His appearance wasn't that hard to grasp aside from the Blood red eyes and shark toothed smile he appeared to be a normal human, albeit dressed rather oddly. He wore a long coat black coat made from the hide of some unknown animal. His gloves were scaled on the outside like a dragon and a bandolier of knives were strung across his chest. Underneath was a black shirt with stains of darker red splotched among them as been if they had been through many battles. Across his back was slung a long sword with a 5 foot blade shining bright in the morning sun, a strange glint coming from the ruby embedded in the hilt. He wore standard issue dragon hide leggings which gave him the appearance of the newly arrived militia, the same group of which had attacked his village. All agony was then replaced by rage, as I quickly placed a swift jab at him only for him to leap backwards quickly and dodge the incoming attack. My inability to realize that this would only cause further pain led to such. He put his head to his forehead and howled with laughter.

"You sadistic bastard! I'm going to kill you!" I screeched at him, anger overcoming all other emotion. "I swear I'm going"

"Shut up. You have a previous death threat to carry out. If you really want to, join me. If not then what do you have left to live for?" His previously carefree demeanor had turned deadly serious. I wasn't sure how to take what he said but I knew there was only one way to find out for sure.

"Who are you? How did you know" I began to ask, barely conscious from the pain induced trauma of even existing. "I accept."

"Good, now that's settled," He walked over, lifted his left leg behind him "It'll be easier on me if you were unconscious. Fewer questions that way, by the way, the names Izoku." His leg came flying forward and connected with my jaw. The pain of another broken bone and the agony of my injuries overwhelmed me, I blacked out again.

I came to on soft bedding, a room of some sort surrounded by walls of solid steel. I was like an animal, trapped, lost, and afraid. He said he would help me yet I trust him and end up confined. Trapped. That word echoed continuously throughout my mind, a reminder and a curse. Trapped and lost within this mad world I live and dwell forevermore. I'm hollow, a being of nothing. No one to trust, no one to guide me, no family to love or friends to cherish, only hate, hate for one and only. "Blaster Blade" I murmured. I stood walking for word to what appeared to be a door in the all. I heard a loud ripping behind me only to turn back to see what looked like a gash through space time itself. Out of it stepped the same man from earlier.

"I'm guessing you have questions?" He questioned which really began to tick me off, he knew it too. It was his goal.

"The real question is can I trust that you're the one to give me a straight answer or not. I don't have time for any of your smart ass games. I don't even know who you are or what you want but I don't go down without a fight you bastard." I snarled back, feeling renewed rage beginning to well up.

"Well if I'm not mistaken, you seemed pissed off about something. You're not going to coming here. If you really want to avenge your brother you'll have to fight for it." He remarked in a smartass kind of way, now he was really making me mad. As if he was testing me, testing my will and my self control. In an instant that was lost.

I grabbed onto him and slammed him against the wall, grabbed two of his knives and struck him through the hands connecting him to the wall. This stopped his carefree demeanor instantly as the realization of his impending doom settled back over him. A shroud of sorrow and regret, the same one that I was put under. I rushed through the wormhole only to be enveloped by splitting agony as if every strand of my being was being ripped apart. I tried to trudge on through the pitch black darkness as the pain continued to grow too overwhelming height.

Back in the other room, Izoku tried to free himself but was unable to do so easily. "That little son of a bitch. You just can't trust people nowadays. " He gave a terrific pull on both hands at once splitting bone and flesh along the blades of the knives. He winced in pain wondering why it was so entertaining when it happened to other people but not so fun when it happened to him. He watched as the bone and flesh knit his hands back from their split form. "That kid ruined my gloves…" he looked down to see the long gash still shining bright with blood. "Now I guess I better go save his sorry ass before its too late" he muttered to himself.

I continued on through the wormhole, agony being but a companion in this dark hallway as it began to rend flesh from bone and raze my entire being. I was so close that I could see the light at the end of the hallway. I surprised to feel a hard kick on my back, accompanied by Izoku yelling "You little shit!" , propelling me through to the outside of wormhole straight into a solid wall on the other side needless to say I passed out again.

I came too with a splitting headache with him kneeling over me with a wide smile spread upon his face. "I hate you…" I replied trying to stand. I put my palm on the ground trying to prop myself up only to fall back down.

"I can live with that. Hey Rdia! He came too finally! What is this, third time I saved his sorry ass?" Izoku called out.

"Second," retorted a feminine voice to the left only too look to the side and see a woman walking towards me with Ice blue hair and eyes to match, a clear complexion with the rest of her body covered by a long purple cloak with a white lining running along the edge, "don't make yourself seem better than you actually are." She looked down upon me and sighed. "Is he really the one?" she asked looking back towards Izoku who just knelt they smiling a 'No shit, why else you I bring this pathetic waste of space' smile at her. "Very well, you know he'll have to go through the initiation right?"

I looked over to Izoku seeing his smile grow wider. "I'm looking forward to it, this is gonna be fun." He looked down at me, a frown flashing across his face. "Now that I think about it, what is your name"?"

I looked him dead in the eye, and replied "I'm not anyone one you should waste your time on. I'm just a void in the way of everybody, a nothing, a waste of space."

His smile lessened and he said less cheerfully than before "Even though that's mostly true," now he's trying to piss me off again, "You shouldn't talk bad about yourself, you're going to defeat the Paladins aren't you? That's no small task to accomplish. You say your nothing then hell, we'll call you that. Actually that's a bit annoying to say every time we want to say your name, how about Void? It's fitting isn't it?" His smile widened as I began to black out again. "Oh shit, what this time?"

As I was fading into darkness I murmured "Thank you Izoku, I now have hope because of you. I have been reborn as Void, as the hollow shell of what I once was,"

Wow Izoku's an ass, but oh well. This took me forever due to many months of procrastination and card games, I'm hoping to get back to this ASAP though. See you all next chapter. Boring disclaimer from Part 0 applies here and throughout this story.