Chapter 3 — The Void

Darkness. There was no ground beneath his feet, no sky above him, no warmth, no cold. Only an endless black void stretching farther than the eye could see. Taichi slowly opened his eyes.

"...Where... am I?"

His voice echoed into infinity, but there was no answer. He looked around desperately. The alley was gone. The officers. The child. The Living Uniform. Everything had disappeared.

"...Is this... inside my mind?"

He began walking, though there was no floor beneath him. Every step created faint ripples across the darkness, as though he were walking over an invisible sea.

"Hello?"

No reply.

"...Can anyone hear me?"

Silence. Then—a voice. It did not come from one direction. It came from everywhere. Deep. Ancient. Countless whispers speaking as one.

"...Welcome..."

Taichi immediately turned.

"Who's there?!"

The darkness rippled as two enormous crimson eyes slowly opened within the void. They were impossible to measure, as though the darkness itself had become alive. The voice spoke again.

"...I..."

"...am the Void."

Taichi instinctively clenched his fists.

"So... you're controlling that thing."

A low, amused chuckle echoed across the endless darkness.

"...No..."

"...That uniform..."

"...is merely..."

"...my hand."

Taichi frowned.

"What do you want?"

The crimson eyes stared silently at him before finally answering.

"...Endless despair."

The words carried no anger or excitement. They were spoken as a simple fact. Taichi glared upward defiantly.

"I won't let you...I'll stop you."

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The Void remained silent for several moments before it laughed. Not loudly. Almost... curiously.

"...Why?"

Taichi blinked.

"...What?"

"...Why..."

"...do you fight?"

Without hesitation, Taichi answered.

"To protect people."

The Void asked again.

"...Why?"

"...Because they need someone."

"...Why?"

Taichi hesitated.

"...Because..."

His voice softened.

"...Because I made a promise."

The crimson eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"...To whom?"

"...My parents."

A faint memory surfaced in his mind: his mother's gentle smile, his father's warm hand resting on his shoulder, the day before the invasion, and the promise they had left him with.

"Live as someone who protects others."

His chest tightened.

"I couldn't save them...but I can still protect everyone else."

The Void spoke gently, almost sympathetically.

"...That promise..."

"...is a chain."

Taichi's expression hardened.

"No! It gives me strength!."

The Void did not argue. Instead, it simply asked another question.

"...Tell me..."

"...What do you want?"

Taichi opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"...I..."

He had never thought about it. The Void waited patiently.

"...Not..."

"...what the world wants."

"...Not..."

"...what your parents wanted."

"...You."

"...What..."

"...did Taichi Konoha..."

"...dream of?"

Silence settled over the void as a memory surfaced. Walking home from school. Laughing with Endou. Training with Roland. Watching Sakura nervously practice singing beneath a cherry blossom tree. She had smiled at him, and he had wanted...

His voice trembled.

"...I..."

The memory continued. Sakura blushing. Looking away. The words he had never said.

I like you.

His heart ached.

"...I wanted...to ask Sakura out someday."

His shoulders slowly lowered.

"I... wanted to travel... to laugh with everyone again... to have... a normal life."

The words escaped almost involuntarily.

"...Just...for a little while."

The Void's voice remained soft, never mocking, never forcing.

"...Yet..."

"...you buried those wishes."

Taichi looked downward.

"...There wasn't time...I had responsibilities."

"...Responsibilities..."

The word echoed through the void.

"...Or..."

"...chains?"

Taichi remained silent as the Void continued.

"...While you fought..."

"...millions rebuilt their lives."

Images appeared within the darkness: children playing, families eating dinner, couples walking together, concerts, festivals, schools reopening. Normal life. All the things Taichi had protected. All the things he had never allowed himself to have.

"...They lived."

"...You served."

Taichi slowly closed his eyes.

"...They deserved peace."

"...And you?"

His breathing became uneven.

"...I..."

The Void spoke almost gently.

"...You became..."

"...the world's hero."

"...But who..."

"...became yours?"

For the first time, Taichi couldn't answer. The silence felt suffocating, and a small laugh suddenly escaped his lips.

"...Heh..."

He immediately covered his mouth.

"...Why...am I laughing?"

The Void's eyes glowed brighter.

"...Because..."

"...your heart..."

"...has finally begun..."

"...telling the truth."

Taichi's heartbeat quickened.

"...No..."

The memories continued: countless missions, sleepless nights, endless battles, the loneliness after the Bravers disbanded, and watching everyone else chase their dreams while he continued fighting.

"...I..."

Another laugh escaped him, longer this time.

"...Hehe..."

His own voice sounded different now—lighter, almost playful. He frowned.

"...What's...happening to me?"

The Void asked one final question.

"...Tell me..."

"...Taichi..."

"...If no promise..."

"...bound you..."

"...If no expectation..."

"...held you..."

"...What..."

"...does your heart..."

"...wish to do?"

Taichi stood motionless. Then, very slowly, a delighted smile spread across his face as a tiny giggle escaped his lips.

"Hehe..."

His voice had become softer, brighter, almost... feminine. He looked up toward the crimson eyes as the sadness in his expression slowly melted away, replaced by excitement.

"...I..."

He giggled again.

"Hehehe..."

"...I think..."

"...I want everyone..."

"...to feel what I felt..."

His smile widened.

"...Endless despair

"...sounds..."

"...kind of fun..."

The Void answered with quiet satisfaction.

"...Then..."

"...be reborn."

The darkness rushed toward him and embraced him completely.

"...Welcome..."

"...Witch of Greed..."

As Taichi disappeared into the endless black, his laughter echoed through the void, no longer the laughter of Earth's greatest hero, but the delighted, playful laughter of someone new.