Void Immortal: Age of strife
In the span of a mere heartbeat, a thousand years had passed and nearly all of Lord Rhaegal's darkest fears had materialized into grim reality.
The world, once free, now lay shackled beneath the dominion of the ancient War Gods and their near-omnipotent clans. In the wake of Lord Rhaegal's death, these formidable factions had consolidated their power, absorbing lesser clans into their fold and obliterating any who dared resist, much like the fate that befell the Void clan.
As for the powerless masses of humanity, life had become a mere shadow of its former self. Reduced to servitude and relegated to the status of expendable pawns, they languished under the rule of whichever clan held sway over their respective continents.
While the clans permitted the advancement of technology, it was only in service of their comfort, and only those humans skilled enough to craft such innovations were granted entry into the great cities where the mystic cultivators dwelled. The remainder of humanity found themselves relegated to reserves, cast aside until deemed useful.
On the distant shores of the 8th continent, Marcus Eldric, along with his mother and young sister, eked out a meager existence amidst the looming shadow of the Soul Refining clan. They like countless others were caught in the merciless grip of a world reshaped by the irresistible power of the mystics.
Marcus, a young man barely past his teenage years, made his way through the cramped passageways of his settlement in the sweltering heat. The air hung thick with noxious fumes emanating from a cluster of chemical plants that loomed nearby, employing the majority of the settlement's inhabitants.
Marcus had to breathe through an air filtration mask that he had fashioned himself to stave off the effects of the poisonous air. It was designed in the likeness of the ancient shinobi masks worn by legendary ninjas.
Arriving at his destination—an expansive junkyard nestled on the settlement's outskirts—Marcus wasted no time, banging sharply on the decrepit gate.
“Andy!” His voice echoed through the desolate expanse.
In response, the gate creaked open of its own accord, granting Marcus entry as he quickly made his way toward the dilapidated dwelling situated at the heart of the junkyard.
“How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?” grumbled an elderly man, emerging slowly from a shed adjacent to the house.
"It's Mr. Stevens to you, Marcus," he asserted firmly.
"Ah, come now," Marcus countered with a playful grin, removing his face mask. “After all the time we've spent building stuff together we should at least be on a first-name basis, don’t you think?”
"I'm not joking, Marcus," Mr. Stevens retorted, brandishing a socket wrench in Marcus's direction. "Call me by that name again, and I'll unleash Rufus on you—don't think I won't."
“Alright An- Mr. Stevens, you're the boss,” Marcus relented with a chuckle, dropping his backpack to the ground.
"Did you manage to find it?" Marcus inquired eagerly as Mr. Stevens set an automated tractor into motion, its mechanical whir filling the air.
“Finding a functioning air filtration membrane, let alone five, is no easy feat," Mr. Stevens remarked, his tone tinged with a hint of resignation. “The chemical plants nearby are the only facilities that use the stuff for their exclusive cultivator areas and they don’t dispose of them until they are basically run down”
A shadow of disappointment crossed Marcus's features at the news.
"However," Mr. Stevens continued, his expression brightening slightly, "I did manage to salvage three somewhat usable ones from their most recent batch of discarded equipment."
With a surge of joy, Marcus enveloped Mr. Stevens in a spontaneous embrace.
"But what exactly do you plan to do with these? They're practically worn out," Mr. Stevens queried, his brow furrowing in concern.
“Don’t worry about that boss, I’ll decide if they’re useful or not,” Marcus declared, his grin undiminished. "So, where can I find them?"
Mr. Stevens shook his head, gesturing toward a heap of discarded materials on the left. "And don't forget our agreement," he reminded sternly.
“I haven’t Mr. Stevens- Matter of fact, I’m almost done with the spine brace but I’m gonna need a couple more high-grade servos” Marcus explained as he inspected the membranes.
“I got a couple servos stashed in the shed,” Mr. Stevens offered
“Awesome- I should have the back brace finished in a day or two," Marcus responded, carefully stowing the membranes in a sizable cloth bag.
"By the way, when are you going to whip up one of those fancy face masks for me? The toxins from these plants are surely gonna kill me before my time,” Mr. Stevens remarked with a cough, his voice strained.
"You know what? I'll toss in a mask on the house when I drop off the brace," Marcus promised.
"That's my boy. Just make sure you get home safe, son—and give your mother my regards," Mr. Stevens replied warmly as he retrieved the servos for Marcus who tucked them securely into his backpack.
"See you later, Andy," Marcus called out, already darting toward the gate.
“You annoying little brat— Rufus!!” Mr. Stevens hollered, the echo of his voice fading as Marcus vanished from sight, leaving the junkyard behind.
Shortly thereafter, Marcus's phone buzzed with an incoming call from someone Marcus knew as Elsie. "Where are you? I swung by your place earlier," she inquired.
“I went to see Andy about some parts I needed for my project,” Marcus replied
“You know he absolutely hates it when you call him that,” Elsie chided.
“What? that’s nonsense, he loves it,”Marcus retorted with a playful grin.
“Whatever- stop by mines before you go home?” Elsie suggested
“Sure,” Marcus agreed, his attention momentarily diverted as he noticed a group of young men approaching in the distance.
Ending the call abruptly, Marcus hastily tossed the bag containing the membranes onto an adjacent rooftop before scrambling up after it, seeking refuge from the approaching group.
Holding his breath, Marcus remained motionless until the group of five had passed, their voices fading into the distance. Resuming his journey toward Elsie's house, he neared his destination only to be startled as Elsie leaped from a first-floor window of a nearby building, landing squarely on him.
“What the hell, Elsie?” Marcus exclaimed, his voice tinged with shock.
“We have to run, come on,” Elsie urged urgently, planting a kiss on Marcus's lips and then pulling him up from the floor so they could run away.
Moments later, they heard Elsie's father's enraged voice emanating from the window she had just leaped from, a litany of curses echoing through the air.
"If you keep this up, they won't allow me near your house anymore," Marcus remarked as Elsie began to slow her pace.
“Oh come on, my dad was just being annoying again and I really needed some space,” Elsie explained casually, her gaze falling upon the heavy cloth bag Marcus had been carrying.
“Mr. Stevens actually came through with the goods?” Elsie inquired
"He did, though they're not in the best condition. But I'll figure something out," Marcus replied, scrutinizing the salvaged items to ensure they hadn't suffered damage during the earlier events.
“So did you miss me?” Elsie pressed, her voice teasing as she trailed behind Marcus.
“Well kinda,” Marcus said as he began walking again
“I said did you miss me?” Elsie repeated, seizing Marcus's right earlobe in a playful tug.
"Ow, ow, ow! Yes, alright? I missed you," Marcus conceded, attempting to free himself from her firm grasp.
“Awesome, I missed you too,” Elsie declared, enveloping Marcus in a warm hug from behind.
They soon arrived at Marcus's residence, slipping through a side window that was accessible via a ladder that was just out reach. Marcus lifted a crate on the floor which revealed a hidden button. The ladder began descending the moment he pressed it and they quickly climbed into a space that doubled as his bedroom and workshop.
“Damn, I am so hungry,” Elsie exclaimed, peeling off her shirt leaving only her bra and pants on.
"You do realize my mom could walk in here any minute, right?" Marcus cautioned
"What? I'm not exactly naked—though I could be," Elsie teased, her tone suggestive as she traced her fingers along her abdomen and then lingered on her bra strap.
“I have work to do,” Marcus replied, deliberately turning his attention away from her as he began to unpack the filtration membranes.
"Could you at least rustle up something to eat? I swear, I haven't had a bite since yesterday afternoon," Elsie pleaded, her stomach growling audibly.
I have some bread over there by the books—although I was saving it for lunc-," Marcus began, only to spin around and find that Elsie had already devoured half of it.
"Come on!" Marcus exclaimed, making a futile attempt to grab the remaining bread, but Elsie deftly evaded his grasp.
“Fine, I’m not gonna finish it see?” Elsie said as she jumped on top of Marcus which caused them both to fall to the ground.
"Have a bite," she offered, attempting to feed him, but Marcus swatted her hand away.
"I'm not hungry right now, and get off—I need to get back to work," Marcus insisted firmly.
"Hey guys, am I interrupting something?" a voice called out, prompting both Marcus and Elsie to turn and discover someone peering in through the window, having ascended via the ladder.
With a sudden burst of energy, Elsie got up and pushed the young man through the window cauing him to fall onto a heap of refuse below. "You're such a pervert, Ryu!" she accused sharply.
“Owwww- are you insane?” The young man protested as he gingerly regained his footing.
"Next time, call before you come up here," Elsie declared sternly
"But you're not even supposed to be here," Ryu countered.
At that moment, Marcus emerged and gently pushed Elsie aside. "Hey!"
"Sorry, man. you can climb back up," Marcus called out, peering through the window.
Ryu agreed to Marcus's invitation and began to ascend the ladder once more, while Elsie hastily donned her shirt. Shortly afterward, Marcus and Ryu resumed their efforts on the project, while Elsie went downstairs to help his mother.
A few hours later, another figure approached, clambering up the ladder to join them—a young man of imposing stature, dwarfing both Marcus and Ryu.
"How's it going, Jakob?" Marcus greeted the newcomer as he squeezed through the window, joining them in their makeshift workspace.
"Same old grind, but just clocked out, so that's a silver lining," Jakob replied, his gaze drifting toward the refrigerator-sized contraption that Marcus and Ryu were engrossed in.
"You've been tinkering with that thing for weeks now, and you still haven't spilled the beans on what it actually does," Jakob remarked, a hint of curiosity coloring his tone.
A smile played across Marcus's lips as he glanced at Ryu, who was diligently typing away on his computer. "How's it looking on your end?"
"The code is solid. I think we're ready to give it a try," Ryu interjected.
Now turning back his gaze to Jakob "Better yet, why don't we just show you what it does?" Marcus suggested, casually resting his arm on the machine, a hint of excitement glinting in his eyes.
Jakob helped Marcus and Ryu carry the device downstairs to where Marcus's mother, sister, and Elsie were engaged in some household chores.
“What’s this?”Marcus's mother inquired, her brow glistening with sweat.
"It's an air filtration and cooling device," Marcus explained, his voice tinged with pride. "It's designed to last up to a month on a single charge. Given the toxic air and unbearable heat I thought it would come in handy”
Marcus positioned the device near the sole open window with the help of Jakob “Essentially, it can purify the air throughout the house while also keeping it cool, eliminating the need for these face masks indoors."
As soon as Marcus activated it, the temperature within the living space began to plummet, while the noxious odor that had lingered dissipated gradually.
“This is incredible, Marcus,” his mother marveled, drawing closer to examine the device.
“Woah dude, if you could make more of these, you could sell them to people in this settlement and others for so much money,” Jakob said as his eyes lit up.
“Well I’d obviously love to do that but the parts are so hard to come by and they're mostly in the possession of the clans,” Marcus explained with a hint of frustration.
“That sounds like a solvable problem to me,” Jakob countered optimistically.
"It's fine, what you've accomplished already is truly remarkable. You shouldn't take unnecessary risks," his mother interjected, her tone gentle but firm.
“Yeah, just wait for them to dump more parts in the junkyard and you can salvage them,” Elsie chimed in
“Yeah you’re right,” Marcus agreed, exchanging a congratulatory high-five with Ryu, a sense of pride evident in his demeanor.
“You know what? Let’s celebrate Marcus’s achievement with a nice meal” His mother suggested warmly.
“Yay,” Elsie exclaimed enthusiastically, bounding off toward the kitchen.
“Mom,” Marcus called out in a soft but concerned tone “Can we afford it?”
“It’s alright honey,” His mother retorted
“When are you ever not hungry?” Ryu asked as Elsie emerged from the kitchen with two plates of food
“Shut up four eyes,” Elsie quipped to Ryu, handing a plate to Marcus before taking a seat beside him.
Marcus's mother soon joined them, bearing two more plates for Ryu and Jakob. As evening descended, they shared laughter and stories, the weight of their troubles seemingly lifted in the warmth of companionship and good food.
Image created by Black man on Pinterest
Void Immortal is a story being written weekly by Ogechineke Elenwo and I've been permitted to share it here on Hive. It is currently not available anywhere else.
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