To survive, you need strength. You have to become strong. To become strong, you must have talent.

  These talents include awakening a bloodline, sprouting a spirit root, or at least having a small amount of affinity toward any elements.

  Regrettably, I had none of these talents. And so I became a null. Which didn't mean I couldn't become strong. Every living being in this world can absorb essence filled in the air.

  It's just that they must have either a bloodline to carry this essence across their body and store it inside their cells, or a spirit root which grows as it devours the essence.

  People like me, without either of these, have no way to store the essence, as our breaths remove the absorbed essence with each inhale and exhale.

  Only a small percentage of humans have talents. That made people try to find alternative ways to effectively utilise the essence, and eventually after countless experiments, they found a way.

  Body cultivation.

  Unlike essence cultivators who prioritise the growth of soul, blood, or spirit root, body cultivators forge their bodies with essence.

  They choose suitable elements from the essence, train in extreme conditions with said element, and turn their bodies into an 'Elemental Body.'

  They take longer than ordinary cultivators to train, and if they reach the same level, their strength is miles beyond ordinary.

  However, unlike ordinary cultivation, the mortality rate of body cultivation in the Star Fall region is nearly one hundred percent.

  The main reason for this is scarce resources. This was also the main reason the Broken Sky Sect expelled disciples without any talent. They simply didn't have enough resources or manpower to gather them.

  So, being in the sect, people like me had no future. At the same time, if we were expelled, then we weren't bound by the sect anymore. So we were free to do anything for survival.

  That included trying our luck at gathering resources for our cultivation needs independently. This was what the warden of my dormitory, perhaps the only person in the entire sect who considered me as human, told me.

  He gave me two directions: one toward Broken Sky City, the city below the mountain, where I could live a normal life. It was under the protection of the sect, so I could live the rest of my life peacefully.

  The experience of studying in the sect would help me land a job there easily and thus uplift my lifestyle.

  The second direction was toward Star Fall, a place where monstrous abominations wandered. A place filled with endless possibilities and ways to die.

  The mountain gate loomed before me, half-swallowed by mist. Beyond this gate stretched the Star Fall mountain range, farther than my eyes could reach.

  The stone path outside the sect slithered through the canopy of trees, almost like the stretched tongue of a huge dragon.

  Star Fall gets its name from this structure. Old myths say the mountain range is the dead body of a fallen dragon.

  I took a deep breath. The sect grounds ended here. Living inside the sect was exhausting, for sure, but it protected me from the treacherous abominations wandering outside.

  Now, I was about to be exposed to a world where power ruled fate.

  "Are you really sure?" My warden was surprisingly a young man. He had a huge frame, half his face covered in facial hair. His dark skin glittered in the evening light, his always-smiling face now overturned with worry.

  "That's a hellish space, for sure. But there lie endless possibilities. If you're lucky, you could awaken an Elemental Body. Don't you know how many people would die for that?" His once-smiling face now held anxiety.

  I sighed internally. I'd already had my guard up the moment he started yapping about body cultivation and the future that awaited those who found success in that path. Any ordinary disciple with shattered dreams might jump at the chance, but I was no ordinary disciple.

  Sure, knowing that a future awaited me if I took a risk was reassuring, but the risk outshined the gain. I wanted strength, sure. But that didn't mean I'd throw my life away for it.

  Especially not after knowing the risks included in that gain. Moreover, he had either unintentionally or intentionally hidden something about Star Fall.

  Void fractures.

  A natural phenomenon where reality in a place shifts into another realm or timeline. The horrifying fact of this fracture is that the realm contains another self of it's victims who forgotten by the heavenly laws.

  If one wants to escape from the fracture, they must defeat their mirror in that world. Failing to do so would interchange their roles, making them eternally forgotten by the heavenly laws.

  Such people are called Lost Souls, and the beings who replace them are called Voidlings.

  I had no idea what would happen if I became a Lost Soul. What frightened me the most was the thought of being stuck in one place eternally. I would rather live the rest of my life ordinarily than become unknown.

  It gnawed at me badly that my warden had omitted such an important thing. Was it really his negligence or did he have hidden intentions?

  Did he really think I was some illiterate girl who never read a basic wilderness survival book? And all the while, he promoted body cultivation like his future depended on it, while omitting every negative.

  Sure, a body cultivator in the early stages might be overpowered compared to essence cultivators.

  However, when essence cultivators start forming their domains, that's the Foundation Building stage, it reverses.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Fights involving domain masters usually turn brutal and turbulent, filled with world-destroying skills and catastrophic aftermaths.

  No matter how much they train, human bodies never match natural phenomena. So, most body cultivators remain stuck at the strength of Essence Gathering until they die.

  That's also the main reason the sect expelled people without talent. After all, spending a huge sum of resources on someone who would stop at Essence Gathering wasn't an economically good idea when the same resources could be used to train someone with no limits.

  This man had perfectly manipulated his words, trying to imprint false hopes on someone he thought was desperate. He was suspicious.

  "Fighting continuously to become stronger isn't really in my consideration. And you already said the mortality rate there is one hundred percent. I'm not a fool to throw away my life like that," I shrugged my shoulders, turning to the path leading down the Broken Sky mountain.

  I could vaguely see the structure of the city in the distance. If I started walking now, I could reach it by sunset. Traveling at night, especially in a forest, wasn't safe.

  "You… SARA!" I flinched. His voice was louder now. The fake pretense he had kept until now seemed to slip slightly.

  He moved closer, forcing me to take a step back. In his eyes, I saw the same emotions I'd seen in the rest of the disciples.

  Desperation. And above all, anger. It was my mistake to think there would be someone with kind intentions toward an orphaned girl like me.

  I shook my head.

  "I have to go. Until then, goodbye."

  It's better we never meet again after this, I muttered internally. I didn't wait another second as I turned to walk down.

  The mountain breeze trailed along me. My hair waved along with it. The coat on my shoulders sagged like a dying beast. I shrugged it off, letting it fall into the dirt.

  I didn't need anything from them anymore, not even their pity disguised as cloth. I took the flower from my pocket, inhaling its scent as I walked.

  The ring on my thumb vibrated, pulsing once, twice, like a heartbeat. Weak but alive.

  Good.

  The serenity I now felt was more refreshing than the stressed life in the sect. If possible, I wanted to open a small tea shop in the city and live the rest of my life in contentment.

  Perhaps finding a man to marry would be a good idea. A smile graced my lips, only to freeze at the people who suddenly appeared in my sight.

  The temperature appeared to have suddenly plummeted as the sun hid partially behind the rugged mountains.

  James Fang leaned on a tree, his two canines flexing their muscles before him. They lunged in my direction upon seeing me, blocking every possible path I could take.

  "Surprised?" James smirked haughtily, raising his chin. His attempt to appear dominant was overshadowed by the memories of his bruised face when I beat him before.

  His two canines hadn't stood a chance with me before, as they became punching bags whenever they annoyed me. Despite not being a woman, I was the number one fighter in the whole apprentice circle.

  There were no boys who hadn't challenged me in the sect. Without surprise, everyone lost to me. James wasn't the strongest of them, but he was a persistent one.

  He always challenged me, and so I made him miserable every time he came to me, that way he wouldn't annoy me for a few days.

  What I was trying to say was that he's rather peculiar. Almost like a masochist. I cracked my knuckles, stretching my shoulder muscles, ready to fight.

  Since he came, it was better to give him his daily dose. Consider it my leaving gift. His two canines visibly paled.

  I smirked.

  "What, already become a coward to mommy's fist?"

  Both of his canines were fat, but unlike Bai Qing's, their muscles were stuffed together, almost like meat shields. I liked to beat them as unlike others I didn't need to suppress my physical power.

  My words seemed to agitate them. Normally, these would be enough for them to rush at me. However, today they didn't.

  'Strange. Does they become smart? No way!'

  They sweated, trembled, and their eyes were evasive. I frowned. Something was wrong. Surely.

  I peeked at James. He also had the same expression as them. Almost like he was trying to hide his guilt. It alarmed me enough to turn serious for the first time.

  "S-Sara…" James gulped. "Did you think about my offer before? You don't have to become a maid, I promise…"

  "Shut up," I snapped at him. It was strange, he was begging. Unlike his usual demanding tone. This strangeness made me anxious.

  My instincts were screaming danger at me. But how could that be? I looked around. There was no one except the four of us. I was sure of it.

  I might be talentless, but my perception was top-notch. Even the sect master hadn't escaped it. And in Broken Sky, she was the strongest. So technically, no one could escape from my senses.

  'There's no one nearby, no traps… then what's this odd feeling of danger?'

  The same danger I felt from Bai Qing. Like a venomous snake had marked its scent on me.

  "Then, I'm sorry," James's next words pushed my panic to the edge, "sleep now, everything will be fine afterwards." He said this before pulling out a container from his pocket.

  A pungent smell invaded my nose as he opened the container. Sounds of slithering suddenly came from every direction.

  "What are you doing? And what the hell is this?" I snapped at him. His face had a surprised look, almost like he was caught off guard by the same thing.

  "James…" I strolled to him, evading the gasps of his two canines and side-stepping into his front before tripping him to the ground.

  However, my attempts to get the container from him failed as this fool accidentally threw the whole liquid on me.

  "You bastard…" My throat retched at the pungent smell, my voice dropping the moment I saw the colour of the liquid.

  Purple with golden circles. Void Caller. My face paled at the understanding.

  There was a cursed pond in Broken Sky Sect that could call the void. It was protected under the sect with an array, sealed from releasing its scent to the atmosphere and thus preventing a Void Fracture.

  "V-void… v-void…" James gasped in horror, clutching at my legs in sheer terror.

  "Y-you… I-I am sorry. I didn't know…" He stuttered, shivering into me.

  The slithering sounds intensified as the forest seemed to come alive. I took a deep breath. There was no turning back. Once one called the void, it would answer back. And we have to question it.

  The next second, like a transparent screen shattering into pieces, the atmosphere around me started to shimmer. I pulled James by his collar, stared deep into his eyes, and asked,

  "Who gave this to you?"

  There was no way this fool could lay hands on something like Void Caller. Even his grandfather wasn't influential enough to do so.

  There was another person behind him, someone who wanted me to die. From the stunned expression and betrayed face James showed, I was sure he was being used as a weapon by that person.

  Whoever that one was, they wanted me dead.

  'If they have enough influence to obtain something like Void Caller, why use such a dangerous move to kill me, an expelled disciple?'

  Such a person might have the strength to remove me without going to such extremes, right?

  After all, the appearance of a Void Fracture doesn't just affect the people pulled into it. If the pulled people fail to clear it, the monstrous entity coming outside would turn catastrophic to the surroundings.

  Knowing such disastrous consequences and still using it meant whoever was trying to kill me, the purpose wasn't simply to kill me.

  The surroundings around me started to disorient. Because of the liquid on me, I could feel the pull to that distortion increasing with every passing second.

  I turned down to look at James. His canines happened to stand a little distance away from both of us, so they were now standing outside the fracture, trying hard to break the distortion.

  'These fools.'

  Both of them were bleeding. Their hands had almost turned to bone. Even their fat bodies filled with muscles had now become thin.

  James was also in a panic, clinging onto me like a koala. I asked him again,

  "Tell me, who gave this to you?"

  He snapped out of his senses. Then, gritting his teeth, muttered, "Bai Qing…"

  "Oh…"

  Surprisingly, I felt nothing. Because I knew, she couldn't have done that without assistance. And I was sure, just like she used James, she was also being used.

  I lowered my head near his ears and muttered, "Tell her, whoever is behind you granted her an enemy. An enemy she shouldn't have provoked."

  "What?"

  I turned deaf to his words as my body used its full strength to throw his body out of the fracture.

  Void Call had another feature. Except for the person who called it, the fracture never wanted others.

  That's how I reached this hellish place… a place that hid another version of me. A version of mine I never wanted to meet.