Chapter 9: Breaking Point
The moment Voth moved, the air changed.
It wasn't the sound—there was none. It wasn't even the darkness—Karen had seen darkness before. It was the absence, the yawning void of intent. An overwhelming pressure clamped over the training complex like a vice. He was only using his physical body and raw Soul Energy—no Domain, no weapon, no true effort.
And still, he was untouchable.
Karen's petals lashed forward from Shadow Bloom, shadowy constructs whipping like thorns toward the figure. But Voth merely tilted his head and walked through them. The petals shredded and scattered into black mist before ever reaching his cloak.
Leslie tried to flank him from the side, launching three compressed Soul Blades in quick succession. The energy blades hissed through the air with admirable precision—only to blink out the moment they neared the Hollow Knight.
A dark gauntlet rose lazily.
Boom.
A wave of force sent Leslie flying into the far wall. She crumpled to the floor, groaning, barely conscious.
Marie screamed and unleashed a dozen lances of shimmering light, her desperation making her lose form. The lances bent midair as Voth flicked his fingers, dissipating her attack with a breeze of Soul Pressure.
Jim charged, his fists crackling with blue soul constructs. He darted left, then right—too fast for a normal eye—but Voth wasn't normal.
Without looking, Voth's knee rose and caught Jim in the ribs mid-dash. Crack. The boy flew backward and smashed into the wooden railing, coughing blood.
Karen clenched her fists. "Shadow Bloom: Thornstorm!"
The proto-domain responded, coiling and pulsing with intensity. Vines and petals exploded outward in a barrage. This time she infused it with her raw emotion—fear, anger, the desperate urge to protect.
The thorns twisted toward Voth, but he moved at last—half a step. The assault missed.
"You are learning," he murmured, "but you do not understand power."
Cassandra, breathing heavily and holding her ground beside Karen, whispered through clenched teeth. "He's not even serious…"
Karen nodded silently. The realization had long since dawned. This wasn't a battle. This was a demonstration.
They were nothing to him.
"Fourth Spirit Cycle," Voth said, eyeing Cassandra. "You have talent… but you're not your mother."
Cassandra's face twisted, shame and rage boiling beneath her skin.
"And you," he said, turning to Karen. "You're... interesting."
Before Karen could respond, he vanished.
He reappeared behind her.
A cold hand wrapped around her neck.
Her body froze, every muscle locking as Shadow Bloom shuddered under his grip.
"Your domain is flawed," Voth whispered in her ear. "Half-born. Incomplete. A beautiful toy... but not a weapon."
"Get… off…" Karen choked, shadows coiling weakly around her.
But her Proto Domain was unraveling. His Soul Pressure was too much. Like trying to breathe at the bottom of an ocean.
He hadn't even released his Soul Domain.
He didn't need to.
A second away from unconsciousness, Karen heard it—a voice, sharp and full of thunder.
"Let. Her. Go."
Voth's eyes widened slightly.
Then a blast of silver-blue Soul Energy erupted across the hall like a tidal wave, tearing through the walls, blowing apart windows and lights.
Joshua Ikemba had arrived.
....