Scumbag Fate System-Chapter 55: Void (2)

Yor pushed herself up from the ground.

Her legs shook beneath her, and her breathing came in ragged gasps. She rushed toward the Void while her black sword was gripped loosely in one hand.

But when their blades met, the clash was weak and hollow without any real force behind it.

Her strikes came slowly and were predictable. Lacking the precision and speed that she normally had.

The Void sneered while easily deflecting every attack with minimal effort, and its masked face showed nothing but contempt. "Is this really all you have? No strength or will to actually fight back."

Yor’s blade trembled while she tried to press forward, but her arms felt like they were filled with lead.

"Do you know why you’re so weak right now?" the Void asked while parrying another halfhearted strike. "Because deep down you agree with everything I’m saying. You know I’m right."

"I don’t-" Yor started, but her voice broke.

"Your existence didn’t just hurt your family. It forced them to choose between loving their daughter and protecting the world from her." the Void continued while its voice was calm and matter-of-fact, like stating simple truths.

Yor next attack was even weaker, while her sword barely made contact before being pushed aside.

"Helena wanted to help you. Marcus wanted to protect you. Aldric wanted to hide you. Miya wanted to fix you. But none of them could agree because the problem was too big."

"Shut up." Yor muttered as she gripped her sword harder.

"Your existence pushed your grandparents to their deaths."

Yor swung again but the Void caught her wrist.

Effortlessly.

"They went to Silent Peak because staying home wasn’t enough. Because you needed more help than they could provide." The Void said while pressing forward and forcing Yor backward with each word. "If you’d never been born, they would have lived peaceful lives. They would have grown old in this beautiful city surrounded by family and friends."

Yor stumbled while her foot caught on rubble and she barely kept her balance.

"Instead, they died in those frozen mountains searching for a cure that didn’t exist. For a solution to a problem that had no answer. And why? Because their granddaughter was a mistake."

"They loved me!" Yor shouted with a glare as her eyes turned a bit red.

"They loved what you could have been." the Void corrected while its wings spread wider. "Not what you are. No one can love what you actually are because what you are destroys everything it touches."

It struck hard while knocking Yor’s sword out of the way. And then following up with a blow from its wing that sent her sliding backward across the stone floor.

"Every time you smiled, your parents had to wonder if it would be the smile that killed someone." the Void continued while advancing slowly like a predator stalking wounded prey. "And even then, they suffered from thinking like that. All those years being unable to help you, broke something inside them."

The Void swung its swords, waves of magic blades rushed out. Yor eyes widened before she quickly rolled to the right, dodging the attacks.

The Void chuckled. "They pulled away from everyone, including each other. And eventually they stopped feeling anything at all except guilt and fear."

Yor tried to raise her sword but her arm lifted halfway.

Then fell, making her grit her teeth.

"This beautiful city that was once your family’s pride is now in ruins and filled with Fiends." Void said while gesturing at the destroyed basement around them. "Thousands of people used to work and live in this once lively city... And all the effort amounted to nothing from one girl’s breakdown that she couldn’t even control."

"I didn’t mean to-" Yor gasped with her eyes widening.

"Intention doesn’t matter when the result is a fate worse than death." the Void replied coldly as it instantly vanished and appeared in front of Yor. "Those people are still left in an emotionless state while this city remains destroyed. Your family is still broken beyond repair, all because you existed."

It reached forward while grabbing Yor by the throat and lifting her off the ground. But she didn’t even try to resist while her sword fell from her limp fingers and clattered against the stone.

"Do you know what you think about late at night when you can’t sleep?" the Void asked while bringing Yor’s face close to its masked one. "The thoughts you bury so deep you pretend they don’t exist?"

Yor’s hands came up to grab the Void’s wrist, but she had no strength left to pull away.

"You think that the world would be better if you’d never been born." The Void said while its voice dropped to an intimate whisper. "You think your parents would be happier. Your grandparents would be alive. This city would still stand. Those third years would still have their futures. Those students in the mall would still have their emotions and their full lives."

It threw Yor down hard while she crashed into the ground and rolled several feet before coming to a stop.

"And you’re right." The Void said while walking toward her slowly.

Yor pushed herself to her hands and knees while coughing and gasping for air.

But she couldn’t find the will to stand.

"So let me ask you something." The Void continued while stopping a few feet away. "What’s the point of continuing to resist? What’s the point of fighting to survive when survival just means more suffering?"

Yor’s arms gave out while she collapsed fully to the ground.

"Even if you escape this time, even if your friends somehow save you, what then?" The Void asked softly. "You’ll still be forced to live a pitiful existence. One where you can never be truly happy. Where you have to always keep perfect control over every emotion."

It crouched down beside Yor’s prone form.

"You’ll have to keep people away forever. No close friendships. No romance. No family of your own. Just endless isolation while watching everyone else live normal lives that you can never have."

Yor’s hands clenched while her fingers scraped against stone.

"And the guilt will never go away." The Void said while reaching out to stroke Yor’s hair almost tenderly. "Every smile you see will remind you of the smiles you stole. Every laughter will remind you about the silence you create. And every day, you carry the knowledge you’re a danger to everyone."

The Void stood and began walking in a slow circle around Yor’s collapsed body.

Her vision blurred before a tapping sound echoed out.

For a moment... She thought she heard footsteps. But she inwardly laughed at herself, it was just the damn Void.

"Your life will be empty and painful... Filled with nothing but regret and the constant knowledge that you don’t deserve to exist."

It completed the circle while stopping in front of Yor again.

"So tell me." The Void said while its voice was soft and reasonable. "Wouldn’t it be better to just give up?"

Yor didn’t say anything while her lips moved silently, but no words came out. She didn’t try to stand or reach for her sword or do anything except kneel there with her head down as she’d already accepted defeat.

"You agree, don’t you?" it asked while stopping directly in front of Yor. "You’ve always known this was how it would end. That eventually the burden would become too much to carry... It’s time to give up and be at peace."

Yor’s hand trembled before sighing.

Maybe it’s right... What’s the point, anymore?

Her fingers lifted as she recalled the trial waiting for her at the academy. One where she will be expelled and have to return to her home filled with emotionless people.

It’s best if I just stop here... And the pain would finally stop.

Her fingers were inches from the Void’s hand.

"That’s it." The Void said softly. "Just take my hand and everything will-"

Crack!

A fist crashed into the Void’s face with devastating force.

The entity’s head snapped to the side while its whole body lifted off the ground from the impact. It flew backward through the air before slamming into the far wall hard enough to crack the stone. Rubble rained down while the Void’s form crumpled to the ground in a heap.

Yor’s eyes went wide with shock while her raised hand froze in place. She looked up to see Reinhard standing in front of her.

His fist still extended from the punch and a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Sorry." Reinhard said while lowering his fist and rolling his shoulders. "But I’m not letting you have her."