Chapter 36 – Hunger and Control
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The Abyss Within
Luo Fan sat cross-legged, steadying his breath as he focused inward. The ruined temple walls around him stood silent, the air thick with dust and lingering echoes of a past long erased.
Shen Mu stood a short distance away, arms crossed, watching carefully. "If you're going to tamper with remnants of the Devourer, you need an anchor. If it starts to consume your mind—break the connection immediately."
EchoStar flickered beside him, its screen flashing caution symbols.
> "Let me add to that—if you start looking extra evil, I'm smacking you with an emergency system reboot."
Luo Fan let out a slow breath. "Noted."
He closed his eyes and reached inward.
For a moment—silence.
And then—
A pulse.
Dark. Cold. Endless.
It was unlike any energy he had ever cultivated. Not qi. Not spiritual force.
It was pure hunger.
A formless void, stretching infinitely, pulling everything into its abyss.
Luo Fan's breath wavered. He wasn't being devoured—not yet—but the sensation of weightlessness, of dissolving into nothingness, sent a chill through his core.
The Devourer's power was still inside him. Dormant, but very much alive.
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Taming the Void
> "Okay! First impressions—this is officially the worst idea we've had so far."
Luo Fan gritted his teeth, focusing. If he wanted to control this power, he needed to understand it.
The void rippled around him, a vast sea of darkness. And within it—something stirred.
A shape. A presence.
Not the Devourer itself.
A fragment. A leftover piece of what once was.
Luo Fan focused, reaching out mentally. He didn't push or fight. He simply observed.
And something—someone—stared back.
> "…You are not the one who devours."
The voice echoed, distant yet close. Ancient, yet new.
Luo Fan narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
The darkness shuddered.
> "…A remnant. A whisper of what was consumed."
> "…And you… are the one who defied the end."
EchoStar buzzed.
> "Boss, I'm just gonna throw this out there—making friends with the remnants of an eldritch entity might not be the safest play."
Luo Fan ignored the system's complaints.
This presence—it wasn't attacking.
It was watching.
Testing him.
He took a slow breath. "If you're a remnant of what the Devourer consumed, then why are you here?"
The darkness pulsed.
> "…Because you bear the mark of the Void."
Luo Fan's chest tightened. The mark of the Void. Was this the consequence of taking in the Devourer's power?
> "…And because… you have not yet decided what you will become."
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The Choice Ahead
Luo Fan's mind sharpened.
There was no hostility in the voice. Only… curiosity.
And something else—
Expectation.
A test.
> "What will you do, Defier of the Reset?"
Luo Fan exhaled, steadying himself. He had already chosen to study this power, but the deeper he looked, the more he realized—
This wasn't just about using the Devourer's energy.
It was about deciding what it meant for him.
Shen Mu's voice cut through his thoughts. "Luo Fan."
He opened his eyes, the void fading. His surroundings snapped back into focus.
Shen Mu studied him carefully. "What did you see?"
Luo Fan met her gaze. "Something is waiting. Watching."
EchoStar hummed.
> "…Great. Because that's exactly what we need. More cosmic entities paying attention to us."
Luo Fan smirked despite himself. "Better than being forgotten."
The sarcasm in EchoStar's voice returned immediately.
> "Oh sure, because nothing bad ever happens when powerful beings take a special interest in someone."
Shen Mu exhaled. "If you've gained anything from this experiment, use it wisely. Power without control is just destruction waiting to happen."
Luo Fan nodded. He understood that better than anyone.
This power—this hunger—wasn't going to fade. It was now a part of him.
But whether he consumed or controlled…
That choice was still his.
And he intended to make it count.
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[Chapter End.]