The obsidian platform slowed.
Before Null loomed a massive construct suspended in the void—an impossible gate made from corroded Sovereign thrones fused together by the bones of fallen titans. Screaming winds circled it, each gust carrying fragments of memories not his own.
[Approaching World Anchor: The Sovereign Gate][Warning: Initiating Trial of Recognition]
The gate didn't open. It watched him. Judged him. The air grew thick with ancient will.
Suddenly, thousands of golden chains erupted from the void, each ending in the crown of a fallen Sovereign. The crowns ignited, flaring with dying divinity, and hurled themselves at Null like meteor strikes.
Most would have begged. Most would have bowed.
Null lifted a single hand.
His Hollow Core pulsed once—and the air inverted.
[Skill Activated: Devour – Divine Echo (Lv.1)][Crown Signatures: Nullified. Divine Memory Absorbed.]
The first crown shattered into black ash mid-air. The others slowed, swirled, and froze… before crumbling around him like worthless dust.
He didn't kneel to kings.
He consumed them.
The gate creaked.
A face formed in the throne metal—ancient, royal, and weeping blood.
"You… have no past. No soul. No bloodline. You carry no name worthy of passage."
Null stepped forward. "I carry hunger. That is enough."
He placed his hand on the gate. It resisted.
He pressed harder.
[Reality Pressure Detected. Initiating Hollow Surge.][New Skill Unlocked: "Hollow Overbirth – Pulse One"]
The metal groaned as a black light burst from Null's chest, washing over the structure like a devouring tide. The screaming stopped. The wind died. The gate shattered.
Not opened.
Broken.
On the other side lay the First Layer of Sovereign Ruin—a landscape formed by dead gods, echoing kingdoms, and beasts that should not exist.
And standing on a hill of bleached roots… a girl.
Eyes pale as frost. Skin gray like ash. Draped in priestess robes from a church that hadn't existed for millennia.
She looked at him, unblinking.
"So the Hollow has arrived."
Null tilted his head slightly. "You are… aware?"
She nodded. "I am the [Last Votive]. My purpose is to warn what cannot be stopped."
She paused, then smiled sadly.
"You… are going to devour us all, aren't you?"
He stepped past her.
Didn't answer.
Because yes.