The scene shifts to Noah, cd in his combat suit, flying over the ocean. He is on his way to find a suitable pce to test his newest weapon—the Rift Creator, which he had assembled just yesterday.

  He hadn't brought Lissandra along, even though she had insisted on accompanying him to fight by his side in case of danger. But precisely because of the potential risk, he didn't want her to come. He understood the danger of the Void, and while Lissandra was a unique being, no one could guarantee that the Void's influence wouldn't affect her detrimentally.

  Noah believed that, with the support of the rune and his own abilities to escape, he could avoid any threat that might arise. And if he couldn't avoid danger, he had two backup experience cards as options. Surely, the System wouldn't let him die, right?

  Of course, while Lissandra wasn't physically present, she could still assist him, guiding him through the suit's interface as they searched for a suitable isnd.

  "There, this one will do," Lissandra indicated.

  They were above the Pacific Ocean, the world's rgest ocean, containing the greatest number of isnds. Hence, he chose it.

  Why not the Atntic, which was closer to home? First, it was too close—Noah worried about unforeseen consequences, so he preferred to go farther away, ideally to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, away from poputed isnds. Second, the Atntic had far fewer isnds—around 800, while the Pacific had over ten thousand.

  This is why he decided to open a Void Rift in the Pacific, and now, he had finally found the right isnd.

  Amid the endless waters stood a secluded isnd. Ocean breakers gently caressed its golden sandy shore, leaving behind silver streaks. Noah thought it would make a wonderful pce for a retreat.

  The isnd was about 3,000 square kilometers in size. There were no people, only wild nature and animals. Located in the central Pacific, the isnd was nearly uninhabitable, so he chose it for his experiment.

  "When I get back, I'll buy myself an isnd and make it my own," he thought, surveying the surroundings. He felt the urge to acquire an isnd, turn it into a resort, or perhaps build a research base on it. Deciding to take care of this once he returned, he firmly made up his mind.

  He slowly descended onto the sand, feeling its softness beneath his feet, though he couldn't feel the wind through his combat suit. He decided to begin the experiment right on the beach since the isnd was covered in dense forests with little open space.

  "Well, first, let's accept the mission," Noah said, taking a few steps over the sand, just beyond the reach of the waves. He opened the mission panel.

  [Void Quest Series, Css B: First Encounter with the Void (Accepted)]

  "All right, time to begin," he said, taking the Rift Creator out of his inventory.

  As soon as he held the staff, topped with a purple eye embedded at its tip, the eye began to spin ominously, as if surveying the world around it.

  "How exactly do I use this?" Noah took a deep breath. He felt a bit tense, not knowing how the staff actually worked.

  "Let's give it a try."

  Gripping the staff, he began to feel its power. The sand at his feet started to tremble, caused by the release of his powerful magic. Then, he concentrated his magic into the staff, and the purple eye at its peak began to glow brightly.

  "Shhh!"

  He aimed the staff forward, and a purple beam shot out from the eye, striking the ground. In that instant, the entire isnd trembled, forest birds took flight in fear, and animals began to scatter in panic.

  Realizing he had activated the wrong ability and not opened the Void Gate, Noah stopped, but not before the beam had carved a deep, indelible scar across the isnd—a rift that sliced it from one end to the other.

  He could already see the end of the rift, where seawater was beginning to seep in. He scratched his head awkwardly, surprised at the staff's power. The strength of this artifact was far beyond that of his previous weapons.

  Perhaps this was also a result of his significantly enhanced magical energy. After improving his magic capabilities, he hadn't tested his earlier weapons, so he couldn't gauge their current effectiveness. But one thing was clear: the Rift Creator was incredibly powerful.

  "Looks like that's not it. I'll need to try another approach," he said, realizing this wasn't the ability to open the Void Gate.

  Focusing his mind on the staff again, he started to feel its energy. His consciousness seemed to sink into the artifact, and he sensed something unique.

  "Found it!"

  Noah opened his eyes abruptly, and powerful magic began flowing from his body, causing the sand to rise into the air while the trees bent under the force of the magical wind. He poured all his magic into the staff, activating its power.

  A purple glow burst from the staff. Instead of closing his eyes, he raised the staff, allowing the energy to fully unleash.

  "Whoom!"

  A low sound filled the air as a pilr of purple energy shot up, connecting the nd and sky. Purple arcs of lightning emanated from the staff, spreading across the area.

  The enormous waves, stirred by the ocean wind, hadn't yet reached the isnd before they were diffused by the force emanating from the isnd, which created new waves heading in the opposite direction. The trees on the isnd snapped under the force of the energy surges, and light arcs from the top of the pilr dispersed the clouds, clearing the sky.

  One by one, these arcs of energy tore through the earth and the sky. Such a powerful release of energy couldn't go unnoticed. Many nations detected the anomaly and began redirecting their satellites to observe, but all satellite images were blocked, showing only flickering static, crackles, and hisses.

  Heimdall of Asgard, using his magical eye that saw all nine realms, was watching the scene unfold. The purple energy radiating from that pce stirred an inexplicable sense of unease within him. Even Odin, in his Odinsleep, used his powers to glimpse this scene. But as Noah's power reached its peak, a mysterious force interrupted their observation, leaving both unsettled.

  The Ancient One, too, sensed this power's manifestation. Initially cautious, she opened a portal to the nearest point to the isnd where Noah was and gazed at the purple column that shot into the sky and the arcs of energy spreading around. She frowned.

  When the arcs drew near to her isnd, she recalled visions of the future in which she encountered this power and its consequences. As an arc nearly reached her isnd, she waved her hand and stepped into the mirror dimension.

  "Hah!"

  At the center of the energy burst, Noah gripped the staff, then retracted all the energy that had been raging around him. In an instant, the pilr of light and rings of energy began rapidly shrinking, as if time were rewinding, until all the energy condensed back into the staff. Then, he delicately swung the staff before him, and a crack, glimmering with a purple light, opened up.

  "Is this it—the Void?"

  ------

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