The silence was harsher than the fire.

  Ray sat on the ground, watching the smoke rise from what used to be his vilge.

  Houses reduced to ashes, walls crumbling slowly, as if they were weeping from within.

  "Everything… is gone."

  He didn’t know how much time had passed. Minutes? Hours?

  But his body felt heavy—and his soul, even heavier.

  He slowly turned his head toward the path leading into the forest.

  "Did anyone survive?"

  But deep down, he knew… no one made it out of those fmes. No one but him.

  ---

  He stood up with difficulty, leaning against the trunk of a scorched tree.

  He could still feel a faint warmth in his right palm,

  As if the fire that had suddenly appeared hadn’t completely left him.

  "What happened to me?" he whispered.

  It wasn’t just a core.

  It was something deeper… older.

  Then he heard the voice again—not human, but as if it pulsed from within:

  "The Core of Nothingness… was never meant to be controlled."

  Ray froze.

  "Who are you?!" he shouted into the emptiness.

  But no answer came.

  ---

  He decided to walk. No destination—just away from the ashes.

  In the forest, the air was calmer, cooler,

  But something felt different… like the trees themselves were watching him.

  As he moved slowly forward, he saw a shadow shift between the trees.

  He raised his hands cautiously, ready for whatever might appear.

  "Who's there?"

  The shadow paused… then stepped out.

  It was a girl, wearing a grey cloak, her eyes the color of burnt honey.

  "Are you Ray?" she asked, her voice emotionless.

  "Who are you?" he replied quickly.

  "That doesn’t matter now. What matters… is that you’re still alive."

  She looked behind him, toward the distant smoke, then said calmly:

  "The hunters won’t stop. You’re a target now."

  "Me? Why?!" he shouted.

  She stepped closer, whispering:

  "Because you carry something that shouldn’t exist."

  ---

  Ray’s heart pounded. He was overwhelmed.

  "You… you know what’s happening to me?!"

  She stared at him silently… then pulled a bck stone from her cloak, etched with ancient symbols.

  "This stone… only responds to the void."

  "The void? You mean…?"

  "Nothingness," she said, her tone ft.

  "And this stone responded to you."

  ---

  Ray took a step back.

  Everything was happening too fast: the fire, the voices, the power, the hunters, and now…

  A mysterious girl telling him he carried the Core of Nothingness.

  "I don’t understand anything!" he said, voice rising.

  She looked at him for a long moment, then said:

  "You will. But not here."

  She turned and started walking.

  "Follow me, Ray… before they find out y

  ou're still alive."

  Ray hesitated for a moment, but deep down, he could feel it…

  That this girl wasn’t ordinary,

  And that his next step… wouldn’t be just another escape—

  It would be the beginning of the journey.