HEX: Aspect Of The Void

"This place… Is not Blank Canvas!" I revealed.

Jared's eyes bulged as he heard me. Sweat dripped from his head as he stared at me with a disbelieving look. His eyes darted around the strange world around us, taking in its ambiance. A clouded expression covered his face, but he quickly shook it off.

"No! I refuse to believe that! That's impossible, there's no way you could…" Jared protested, refusing to accept my words.

Unbelievable. Even with the evidence right before his eyes, he still won't believe it. This isn't your world anymore, Jared. It's mine.

"Is it so impossible to consider?" I asked him.

"What? Of course! There's no way anyone can make an entire world from nothing." He retorted defensively.

"I'm guessing you're the exception since you're a 'Hero'." I smiled.

"Exactly! I'm an avatar specifically made by the gods. A new breed of humans that possesses the ability to change the world. You can not compare to me in any way. What you speak is nonsense! There's no way you can create another world within Blank Canvas!" He said confidently.

So that's how it is… Those sly bastards.

"Think about it carefully Jared. You claim to be superior to me, correct?" I asked.

"O-Of course I am!" He said nervously.

"But, aren't the gods more superior to you?" I asked.

He frowned at my statement and made a glare.

"Of course they are! I just said they made me as an avatar! Isn't it common sense that I'm weaker?!" He replied impatiently, angry at me for wasting his time.

"Now tell me what you did! What is your trick?"

This little brat… It appears I overestimated him. Surely he has power and potential, but he lacks a lot of refinement. Not only is he ignorant, but he is unable to properly use his power. He is mistaken about two major things in this discourse.

"You are well aware that the gods are more powerful than you are, yet you can make your pocket world while still within the normal world, transporting yourself and whoever you wish to the pocket world… Is it, therefore, impossible to consider that someone weaker than you are can do the same?" I asked him

His eyes widened as I said this. He considered my question. Truly, he is able to create his Blank Canvas while in the normal world, overlapping the two. He is also able to bring out objects he projects from that world and materialize them in the normal world. That's how he was able to provide chairs for us to seat on, his chair and desk as well.

Putting that into consideration, it should also be possible for someone to make their pocket world while within his as well. Since he can't control the Aspect of the normal world, he can only control his own, which means he uses his Aspects to make the Blank Canvas. For him to be able to achieve that, he needs a vast amount of essence. Since he is a Hero, I suppose it isn't an impossible feat for him. With these factors, the conclusion is that even someone weaker than the owner of a world can create a subspace, or a pocket world within the original world, so long as they have personal essence to spare.

If it is Essence, I have more than enough to spare!

See, this body has been in stasis for thousands of years and it has been accumulating essence since its creation. Currently, I possess a phenomenally high amount of essence within me, though I possess no Aspect.

Since one needs essence, loosely translated as the power source that charges Aspects or the potential within one person to be able to control Aspects, and Aspects, the material constructs themselves, to create something, I only have one, Essence.

I use Hex to hijack already existing Aspects, but I have none of my own. In a situation where I need to make my world, and he is guarding his Aspects, the question is… How do I obtain Aspects?

The answer is my use of ROOT. All my treasures within ROOT possess Aspects. This means I have a nearly endless supply of Aspects at my disposal.

"ROOT" I called.

"Access Divine Grade Treasury"

"<<CONFIRMED>>"

"<<ACCESS GRANTED>>"

"<<TREASURY OPENED>>"

ROOT's purple window appeared in front of me, revealing the items within my Divine Grade Treasury.

"W-What are you doing?" Jared asked in a confused manner.

"You're mostly wrong about two things, Jared," I said to him.

"Firstly, your assumption that one can't create their world if they aren't a good or a Hero," I said.

The two conditions which are needed for that to happen are indeed out of reach for most beings that exist below the divine realm, but… My plans for Talia, Shamac, and Ana, as well as the rest of my subordinates to follow, require them to be able to construct their realms, devoid of the control of the gods. Therefore, it isn't something impossible, to begin with. What makes him different from others is the fact that his body is made up of special Aspect qualities and he has a large amount of essence. That is all. If I can replicate its effects on my subordinates, I should be able to achieve the same results. I should thank him for this discovery.

"Secondly… You made a fatal error in thinking you are superior to me in any way. Jared, your ignorance is nearly amusing as it is sickening. You know nothing of your existence or the existence of this world." I stated.

Upon hearing those words, Jared lost it. His eyes shone brighter blue as his entire body became engulfed in blue energy, causing waves of power to flow throughout my world.

"How dare you? Do you think you can spit out nonsense and get away with it? Who the hell do you think you are?!" Jared yelled in anger and frustration.

Looking at him now, he bears no resemblance to the easygoing and calm Jared I saw when we first met. Everyone shows their true colors when confronted with an overwhelming force that challenges them. He was so confident and lax previously because he believed in his strength and thought nothing could challenge him. But now… He feels threatened. He now has a point to prove, and if he doesn't, he won't be able to live with himself.

"You, You're nothing to me! I'm a Hero! I'm special! Who are you?!" He let out in fury.

Suddenly, the world I made started to tremble and quake. How terrifying… The amount of essence he has is nearly as large as mine… Just what manner of existence did those gods create? His tantrums caused rifts and cracks to appear in the dark world and it started to tear apart.

"It seems this is the limit. This world is done for" I observed.

The cracks grew wider and then with a shattering noise, the world I created evaporated, bringing us back to Blank Canvas. Jared groaned and clutched his chest in pain, suddenly letting out screeches of discomfort.

That's what he gets for pushing himself too far. Creating a world takes a very high amount of essence, making Blank Canvas and maintaining it for this long must consume a considerable amount. However, that still shouldn't be enough to provoke this kind of reaction. Creating a world is one thing, destroying it is another. Since he destroyed my world, he used double the amount of power he needed for Blank Canvas to do so.

This is because, while creation needs the two conditions and clear images of what the creator wants to manifest the world, destruction of another person's world requires the assaulter to override the Aspects used to make that world by releasing even greater amounts to overwhelm it. Jared used too many Aspects and Essence, more than his body can handle and now he's suffering the drawbacks.

This is why this boy is a waste. Even though he has nearly 2/3 of my total Essence, he behaves like a complete amateur. Unlike him, I have Treasures to help me in case I need to refill my reserves, but he has no such thing. I was considering taking him under my wing and using him to learn more about the gods and also as a good tool against them, but considering his major flaws and the risk associated with actually taking him from their possession, it's best I don't take trouble myself.

But, he's still very dangerous in his own way. Someone with so much power, but with an immature mind and little control over it… Such a person is not fit to have such power. I need to get rid of him. Even if I don't do so now, I'll eventually have to destroy him.

For now, I'll just focus on the objective of this test and wrap this up.

"SELECT DIVINE TREASURE #9,001," I said to Root.

"<<CONFIRMED>>"

"<<EXECUTING COMMAND>>"

"<<GENERATING THE CLEAVER OF CHAOS>>"

Immediately, purple and black flashes of lightning flashed and clapped all around me as a huge mass of energy radiated about me. A great dark purple Axe appeared on my hand as it beamed with destructive light.

"Keughhh… What… The… Hell…" Jared muttered, straining to speak as he witnessed the energy surge about me and the ax I held.

"Divine Grade Treasures are capable of destroying worlds like this… I wonder what happens if I focus my attacks on just you… Hero!"