"Control... it."

Pain wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling to Killian.

Splitting headaches and a feeling of helplessness. Weakened bones, and always tripping on his own feet.

As a child, he and Keith hadn’t always been the healthiest and that set the pace for the expectations his family had for them.

While he fell sick less frequently than his younger twin, the Dominic family had expected them to live for ten years at most before they’d succumb to their weak bodies.

The curse of twins, they had said.

"Ugh." Killian grunted in slight relief, pushing the dagger into his skin, countering the pain raking his head the only way he knew how. "Now, you should all behave."

The pain subsided within his head.

Surviving till fifteen surpassed the expectations. Awakening now, completely demolished the expectations. He had no plans to return to being helpless because of his element.

"I said," he rose from the ground he stooped on. "Behave!"

BAM!

He slammed the Void-Bat on the ground, startling the tendrils scattering under him. They shivered to a stop, and in an instant, the excess returned under his legs.

"So stubborn..." He breathed heavily, gently lowering to the ground. The fire framing his Void-Bat finally stabilised, burning gently with smoother edges.

He felt his mana adjust as the Void’s hold on his HEART had stabilised. "This is settled."

He glanced at the human-rabbit, and smiled slightly. She was standing a few meters away from him. "I am alright now. Were you scared?"

She studied him, a small concern on her face. Then she threw her face the other way. "I understand now. You are a weird type. Like me."

She is fast on the uptake.

"And that’s why I saved you, and let you see my ’weird’ element. I still have less control over it, unlike you."

To be fair, I am battling with a forbidden element and none of hers are forbidden.

"So do you trust me now?" he asked.

She glanced at him, thought for a while, then looked away again. Killian sighed, keeping a hand on his hip. "Take your time then. You don’t have a choice anyway."

She snapped her head, and grit her teeth at him.

Killian rolled his eyes playfully. He returned the Void-Bat to the inventory.

Just then, the alert he had been waiting for came. The tendrils had left nothing of the beast. Not even a single bone was left.

They moved from the scene of kill back to his side like spoiled, satisfied children. The human-rabbit returned to Killian’s side as they slithered back.

[Capacity: 31% → 38%]

Killian smirked, dissolving the domain skill and withdrawing all the tendrils completely under his feet. "That’s progress."

If he ate consistently, then likely at 50%, he might be able to hear the sarcastic voice of the Void once again.

Another notification came, that wiped the smirk off his face.

[Void Reborn: 0.1%]

I hate decimals. This will take a while.

"What are we doing next?" The human-rabbit broke his train of thoughts, her small hand held onto his trousers.

She looked around the forest. "This place is different from my home. Are you looking for something?"

"Yes, something to eat."

Her hand released his trousers, and she wiped it off her white dress. "Your type is greedy. You attack others’ realms just to kill and eat them. Will you eat me next?"

Killian frowned at the gesture she made. This girl isn’t as grateful as she should be. "There’s clearly a reason why these realms are available for simulation."

"Yes, there is." She folded her small arms across her chest. "Because humans are bored with playing games in their homes so they play in real life."

She turned to the cracks on the ground. "Sadly for me and my family, we look like easy win points. Sadly for that big guy, he looks like the last boss. Just getting ambushed at our homes."

Her eyes peered into his as she spoke. Her reasoning was sound but Killian had nothing to counter with.

After all, the Void had also told him; there was no reason he could give to justify the reason why humans were the ones in charge of controlling population.

Under the guise of the Will of the Goddess, Wardens existed to keep other creatures under control so they wouldn’t invade or attack humanity, the chosen ones.

He had no information as for why this was so.

It had been that way since he could remember, and likely since his grandfather could remember.

Gone were the days when powerful creatures from other realms stood up to humans.

It was now free-use and a show of strength.

"I don’t know," he said, as much as he didn’t want to. "But I do know that the current system doesn’t accept you or me. Bottom line, we should agree more than we disagree."

The human-rabbit’s small arms were still crossed over her chest. She nodded once, and marched ahead.

Killian watched her leave. That was so stiff. And where is she going? He walked along with her, counting till when they’d see a beast that will make her run back.

Their surroundings were still as quiet as when they entered. It comforted Killian that there was no other beast in the near vicinity. He stuck the dagger to a garter, and relaxed his arms.

A few steps ahead of him, the human-rabbit stopped moving. She turned to him with a blank expression, and her crossed arms dropped.

Killian sighed. "Are you tired of walking? Should I carry—" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

He registered the fearful expression on her face in milliseconds, and his legs moved to close the distance.

"<Burst>"

What? Killian’s fire instantly flared over his right and left, wrapping them in swirling motions and gathering in his palm. Without initiating a skill, he shot the ball.

A surge of mana jumped from his HEART, provoked at the sudden initiation. A ball of fire sped from his palm, charging at the sword-shaped liquid flying towards the human-rabbit.