CHAPTER 36: BELONG TO NO ONE

Hermes stood at the edge of the rift.

The trees behind him swayed in a gentle summer breeze, but the wind before him was completely still. The veil shimmered like a curtain made of smoke and water...undulating, rippling, but never fully opening unless you stepped through.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been staring. Seconds? Minutes? Time had already started warping just from standing too close.

Magni was the one to break the silence.

"You’re not usually this quiet." He said, hanging upside-down from a branch above, his legs lazily swaying.

Hermes didn’t even flinch. "Do you think people can be born without meaning?"

Magni flipped and landed beside him. "All the time! In the Void, there are entire species born by accident. We once had a creature that was just... teeth. No mouth. Just teeth. We called him Gnash."

Hermes chuckled despite himself. "That’s terrifying."

"It was. He kept biting things and didn’t know why." Magni smiled, more gently this time. "But I don’t think that’s what you meant."

Hermes sighed, arms crossed. "I grew up believing I had no parents. No family. I thought maybe they’d died or abandoned me. When I found out I was a Voidling, I thought...well, maybe they were some Void monsters. Maybe I was made from two weird shadows that fell in love during a storm or something."

He kicked a rock near his foot. "But to find out I didn’t come from anything. That I just... happened. No lineage. No legacy. Just a baby spat out by an exploding hole in the universe. I don’t know what to do with that."

Magni was quiet for a beat.

Then he gave Hermes a strange, solemn nod. "You are the firstborn child of the Unknown. The Belch of the Rift. The Baby of Cosmic Gas."

Hermes groaned. "Please stop trying to make that a title."

"But it is one." Magni grinned. "In the Void, that would be a very respected name. I mean, do you know how rare it is to be born without cause? Most of us are consequences of something. You? You’re a possibility."

Hermes raised a brow. "And that’s... good?"

Magni tapped his chest. "It means you belong to no one. You are claimed by no force, no lineage, no cursed family name. So you can choose who becomes your family. That’s rare. It’s freedom."

Hermes looked at him. For all the dramatic nonsense Magni usually spewed, this one actually made sense. A strange, Void-flavored kind of wisdom.

He took a breath. "Okay. I’m ready."

Magni clapped his hands. "Excellent! Brace yourself!"

The moment Hermes stepped forward, the rift swallowed them.

It was like being dipped into molten glass.

His vision twisted. Gravity turned inside out. Up was sideways. Left was more of a suggestion. Hermes found himself falling...no, rising...through space and color. Shapes had no names here. Birds with six eyes flew backward, trees hummed lullabies in languages Hermes didn’t recognize, and somewhere in the distance, a man was screaming at a clock that had grown legs and walked off.

"Welcome to the Void!" Magni shouted, arms wide. "She’s a bit moody, but charming once you get to know her!"

They passed floating rocks, orbiting a giant jellyfish that wore what looked like a powdered wig. On one platform, insectoid creatures dressed like Victorian nobles sipped tea and debated time travel ethics. Just beneath that, cavemen and dinosaurs were locked in an epic laser gun battle.

Hermes was too stunned to speak.

"Try not to think too hard," Magni advised. "The more you try to understand the Void, the more it messes with you."

He stomped on a nearby floating orb, and a crack opened in the air. A molten tunnel spiraled downward.

"Come! My humble abode awaits!"

They dove through.

The descent was quick but felt long. Lava coiled around them like veins. The heat didn’t burn...it felt oddly... nourishing. As if the magma welcomed them.

At the bottom was a cavern of glowing red crystal and roaring fire. Everything shimmered with heat. Pools of lava bubbled, casting shadows that danced like spirits. Screams echoed in the distance.

Hermes stiffened. "Is this... the Underworld?"

"Technically, yes," Magni said cheerfully. "But we call it the Basement here. Underworld just sounds cooler so that’s what I call it in the human world."

A burst of flame engulfed Magni, and when it cleared, he had changed.

Gone was the humanoid Void prince. In his place was a towering, lava-skinned beast with curling horns and cracks that glowed from within. He looked like a volcanic deity with a ridiculous grin.

"Home sweet home!" Magni roared, voice echoing.

Hermes didn’t reply. The screams were getting louder.

Magni turned to him. "Don’t be scared. The wailing means she’s doing fine!"

"She?" Hermes repeated. "Who’s she?"

Magni led him through tunnels of jagged obsidian until they reached a massive chamber.

There, a lava beast the size of a small house lay on her side, heaving and groaning. Her multiple eyes were squinted shut in pain. Her limbs were a mess of chitin, fire, and spines.

Screams echoed as tiny lava imps exploded out of her tail one by one, squealing into the air before splashing into nearby pools and swimming off like tadpoles.

Hermes stared in horror. "What in the Rift is going on?!"

"Oh, she’s giving birth!" Magni said proudly. "That’s Aunt Chlorrha! She’s been in labor for like... seventeen weeks!"

"Aunt?!"

"Yep! And look!" He pointed. "That one looks just like Uncle Glorb!"

Hermes covered his mouth, speechless.

One of the baby imps crawled up to him, glowing like a furnace with eyes too big for its head. It sniffed Hermes, blinked twice, then belched fire before waddling off.

"Awwww," Magni cooed. "He likes you!"

"I thought you were taking me to meet your family, not..." Hermes gestured wildly. "...this whole hellspawn birthing scene!"

Magni tilted his horned head. "Well, this is my family. Just because they look like angry barbecue accidents doesn’t mean they don’t love hard."

Hermes blinked.

Then he started laughing. Tired, disbelieving laughter.

"Of course they do."

The lava beast looked at him mid-scream and waved one molten tentacle.

Magni waved back. "She says hi! Come on, let’s eat some coal bites and get to know everyone!"