Just before Ren rushed forward, Nexus snapped the book shut and smiled under his mask. "Finished-" He said, taken completely by surprise as Ren rushed him. He dropped the book, but held his ground as Ren's fists collided against his armor helplessly. Nexus stepped back and conjured up a large blueish shield that bared a strange insignia at its center, blocking Ren's followup strikes as his free hand summoned yet another weapon. As Ren began to flare up, his punches became stronger, and stronger, until the breadth of Nexus' shield cracked, from top to bottom. "What?" Nexus hissed. He stepped back yet again, and brandished a blue short sword, but before he could counter, his shield cracked in half against the force of Ren's fist. Nexus calmly moved is sword closer to his chest and side-stepped the beserker-rage that Ren had awoken, and gripped the hilt of his blade with both hands, extending its length until it matched the weight and size of a broadsword. He swung towards one of Ren's legs with optimum stance, but still refused to inflict any lethal damage on the enraged boy.

It was at that moment Ren was enveloped in shadows, Screaming in agony as the blade hit his leg before dark mists coalesced around his form. there would be silence for a while, before Two, piercing, dull, white glows appeared where his eyes were now residing, out of the mist trailed a large greatblade and a dirk, followed by a figure with a hooded cloak of shadows, encased in armor decorated with what looked like bone... he looked at blue blankly, then swung his blade towards blue's chest, driving the dagger towards his shoulder as pure, unadulterated, chaotic darkness surrounded the man, all of his fears, doubts and losses made absolute. A avatar of the darkness many try to hide.

"What...what am I doing?" Ren could just about hear his own voice as he saw his blades slash towards the man.

Nexus Moved to the right a moment too late, taken further by the sudden flux in energy that the boy displayed. The dagger struck deep into his shoulder-plate and pierced his arm, spurting chunks of armor and blue blood into the air. Nexus' eyes flared chaotically, and his armor began to glow, taking shape to encompass his entire body in a shell of thicker, more appropriate armor. His head remained uncovered, but he tore his shoulder away from Ren's weapon, and the hole in his armor was sealed. Nexus pulled his broadsword back with both arms, circumventing his injury completely through sheer will, and slashing at Ren as his blade glowed, covered in shimmering blue flames that refused earthly convention. He slashed at Ren Vertically with his weapon, aiming now, to disable the man completely.

Ren would disappear into mists right as the blade would've connected, it would all seem like blur to nexus, as the darkness enveloped him...
An unnatural voice, not that of the boy he fought would eminate through the smoke, "Your Weak, pathetic, child's play"

Ren's greatsword would then come swinging out from the shadows as they recede a split second after he disappeared, the blade thrusting toward Nexus's spinal column, the blade completely shrouded with shadows that almost whisper the lamentations of the damned. Ren would attempt to grab the man as he thrusts the blade forward with his dagger, pushing him into the strike and whispering "I taste the essence of your very soul.... it is sweet..."

Nexus' eyes widened as Ren disappeared into the smoke. "Void.." He said under his breath, taken aback by his ability. Nexus rose his blade up as soon as he was able, barely able to divert Ren's larger blade just over his shoulder. His armor released a pulse of energy to prevent penetration or rending of the exterior, as well as pushing Ren's attempt to grapple him away, allowing him to roll to his side and regain his balance a moment later. Nexus stood and backed away, sizing up Ren curiously. "Enough of your incessant ramblings, fool! Where did you learn to harness the void!?" Nexus interrogated, raising his flaming sword to defend once again if need be. His face was covered moments after speaking with a sharp helmet that allowed enough room for peripheral vision with its wide angles eye slot.

Ren seemed to stop, looking piercingly into the eyes of Nexus... and the mist would once again envelop him... then he'd hear screams, children dying, every last doubt and fear of his manifesting at once in his mind in a barrage of emotion and psychic energy, an unrelenting force pushing against the fibre of his being, Then out of the smoke came a glowing hand, ren would attempt to grab the man by the head, and he'd feel his very soul being tugged from his being as the Void creature that once was ren fed upon his essences

Nexus' eyes darted back and forth from behind his face plate, but as memories of turmoil began to grip his mind, his blue aura glowed even brighter. He felt Ren's hand grip his helmet, but responded without heed to his attempted strike. "Your chaos is not that of the order," Nexus began as his sword began to shift to match Ren's own blade perfectly, "But know that I have not survived for eight thousand years within the grasp of Yzeira's void to fall prey to an infant!" Nexus dispelled his helmet and left it to fade in Ren's clutch, darting forward a few feet before spinning around and donning a new armor once more. This time, it grew darker in coloration, and began to mimic Ren's form exactly, save for the dominant blue hue. "I've little time to be wasted on you-" Nexus paused and glanced up at his four glowing orbs of energy above them. With another movement of his eyes, they crashed towards Ren, blessed with the same magical prowess that he himself harnessed, but fused with another magical energy that bore properties directly adverse to the void.

"You face a perfect creation of the void, creature."

Ren stared up emptily at the orbs... and just stood there, almost accepting his fate, he'd let the orbs crashing into him, or so Nexus might've thought, For at the very last moment Ren simply vanished, and a split second later Nexus would feel the sting of cold steel wrapped in his gut, assuming he didn't predict r=Ren's motion, after a split second he'd feel utter agony as the shadows emanated from the blade tore at every fibre of his being, sucking a way at his soul until he'd be nothing but a dry husk, Ren would be laughing insanely, savoring the essences as they flowed into the blade!

Assuming Ren was hit!: Ren was blasted by the orbs, crying out, the mists would dissipate, leaving a severely burnt, crying boy, who seemed to have no clue as to what happened, looking about at the apparent smoldering hole he sat in, staring terrified at nexus in his form, as if he'd never seen it!

The twisting blue energy followed Ren into the mist, pulling his body and soul out of the darkness that it hid within. Nexus held his newly formed blade at the ready, allowing his magic to worm its way into Ren's body and burn him from the inside out, but as he was about to strike the killing blow, Ren's dark form faded, and revealed the boy as he was before, burnt and broken before him. Nexus loosened his stance and stood down, dispelling his darkened form and returning to his standard set of light armor. The blue clad warrior was taken aback, unsure of how to react to this new revelation. He'd just lost himself moments earlier, and now Ren was helpless?

"I should... I should put you out of your misery. But-" Nexus turned his head towards the book that was now in tatters on the floor. "I've done all I've come for."

Ren sat there, staring at the man, paralyzed with utter fear, unable to recall any of the events after the villagers fled... he cried out in anguish, yelling at the man to leave him be... and he sat there... and sobbed for some time... before a burning rage built up in him...
"They... They left me to die... Why?! WHY?!"

Ren would walk to the town hall, assuming that's where they all gathered... his smoldering, burnt, bruised, cut and bleeding form staggered through the door, sad eyes looking over all the figures there as if they'd stabbed him personally. He'd eventually look for laura, and assuming he saw her.. would meet her with a cold, sad stare... then look away... muttering and crying.."You left me to die..."

Nexus stalked away from Ren and conjured a collection of dark blue lights around his hands. In moments, they traveled up his armed, and ate away at his body, until his was completely gone in a plume of magical resurgence.

The townsfolk were locked up inside, but once Ralph noticed Ren's figure through the slit in the large wooden doors, he unhinged the lock and let him in. Several people rushed to care for him after he spoke, bringing bandages and ointment to treat his wounds. Laura looked down at him, confused by his statement.

"We couldn't stay and fight that... Thing, Ren.."

Ren snapped at her, shouting angrily, "You all left me to die! all of you! not a single one of you have the back-bone to stand up for yourselves and this village, that man was a threat!! look what he did to me..." he grimaced as he was treated, grumbling bitterly. "Save it to the man who is a relative stranger to do anything... typical"

He'd waive those treating him away, slumping against the wall, grimacing at laura with a pained, betrayed expression... "Couldn't do sod all against that bloody... blue haired bastard.. he read your book... and left me like this..." He would almost throw the words at her. "I hope your precious novel was worth it!"

And then he'd take a deep breath, shaking in sorrow.. quietly he'd say. "I.. I'm sorry"

Laura backed away from Ren, as did most others as a black mist enveloped his very being, pulling him into nothingness. "What the hell?" Ralph called out, rushing towards Ren's decaying body. "Ren? Ren!" He shouted, attempting to stop his friend from fading. But before he got close, a dark figure appeared out of a puff of black smoke, and stabbed its right hand, coated in sleek black energy, through his chest. As the smoke settled more, it revealed a woman's figure with darkened black skin, hair, and a pair of hollow eyes rested within an earthly mask that covered her already obscured face. She backed away from Ralph, and left him to fall to his death, disappearing again, along with Ren's entire body.

Within moments, Ren had vanished, and nobody knew where he had gone.

---

Ren found himself tumbling across a cold, red cobble-stone floor moments after his fellow villagers disappeared until he came to a stop, inches away from the bare feet of a short woman that overlooked him with black, barely visible eyes that sucked in the small amount of light that a few torches in the room provided. He body was covered in a suit of fluttering darkness that hugged her flesh and ended near her knees, neck, and elbows, and he hair was pitch black, just like her eyes. What was familiar, was her mask. It was just like the mask Nexus wore, but less separated from her being, as if it were a part of who she was.

Ren looked at the woman, taking in each and every feature he could, slowly moving, ever so gently to compensate for his beaten form, to face her fully.. her mask instantly sent a jolt of fear into his mind, and he instinctively tried to shift away, but his wounds caused him to grimace in pain and not get but a meter further from her. Suddenly all too aware of the absence of those who were there but moments ago, Ren's face drained of colour, he found himself unable to tear his gaze from those black eyes of the feminine figure in front of him..

"Who... where... am I?... Who.. who are you?"

The woman didn't respond immediately, but she dropped to all fours and began crawling around him like a curious animal. "Void," She whispered, pointing at Ren. "Where did you come from."

"V..v.. Void?... what're on about miss?" Ren looked at her odd movements with a panicked stare, unable to back away he merely tensed up, causing him no small degree of discomfort as he hoped she wouldn't attack him, his fear showed true on his face, he had no idea what she was talking about.

"You'll answer me! Where did you come from!" The woman hissed angrily, disregarding Ren's remark. "Void! How do you live with Void?"

Ren cried out in confusion. "What are you talking about?! I have no idea! what is this void rubbish?!... I'm just Ren.. I came from the village... I tried to stop a man causing trouble and taking a book and then this! he sighs.. looking at her eye to eye he slowly sits up, his fear and confusion paramount as he slowly adjusts.

The woman growled aloud in anger and approached Ren aggressively on all fours, but paused and turned her head towards the back side of the circular room, where a small staircase lead upwards, hugging the wall. A pair of men appeared, walking down the stairs, one wearing a pair of dark grey, loose fitted pants that were barely visible with each step past the covering of his reddish trench coat. The other was familiar, wearing the armored leggings that Nexus had been wearing earlier in the day. It was in fact Nexus, as it became clear as his short blueish hair came into view. The man with him however, was not familiar. He wore a long red trench-coat, a mask just like his allies, and had rough, orange hair that flourished out and hung at each side of his jacket's collar. Nexus reached the bottom of the stairs first and motioned towards Ren with one hand. "Shadra, please," Nexus pleaded, looking at the small, black-draped woman sternly. She stood up on two feet and cleared her throat before backing away and allowing the two men a clear path to Ren.

"Is this all?" The new man asked, approaching Ren slowly. His eyes were a deep red, from the pupil to the sclera, and examined Ren without delay. "I told you, Nexus. I'd abandoned this foolish venture shortly after Shadra's creation. Why are you wasting my time with this?" It was hard to notice, but the red-headed man was holding a blue book in his left hand, keeping it hidden behind his figure. He turned to Nexus and waited for a response. "Are you going to explain yourself?"

"He's worth studying-"

"He's worth nothing. Shadra is a testament to how worthless this child is, is she not? Do you think that I should validate the existence of another void creation, just because you've chosen to express any modicum of curiosity? Preposterous, and once again, a waste of my time." The man glanced at Ren again before turning around and ascending the stairs. "Do what you will with him, I'm going to meet with Ra'Ja'Ka regarding the barrier. Please conclude this drivel as soon as you can, and return to your task, if you would be so kind."

As the man left, Nexus looked at Ren, and then to the floor.