Chapter 46: The Puppet of the Void and the Resistance of Hope
After Kael's painful reaction to the pure energy from the Life Seed, Void-Wesley attacked with even greater fury. He was no longer just shooting bolts of dark energy, he was also using the Void energy around him to strengthen his armor, sending whispers of fear and despair into Kael's mind. The luxurious top floor of Fisk Tower, once a symbol of power, was now the arena of this deadly dance between the Void and the Echo.
Kael fought with all his experience as the Chitauri core and the Echo Carrier. His flawless marksmanship allowed him to target even the slightest gaps in Void-Wesley's movements, his energy-enhanced bullets tearing small gaps in his dark armor. But Wesley now had superhuman durability and speed; his wounds were healing rapidly, his attacks becoming increasingly more brutal.
Aslan was trying to support Kael in this clash of cosmic forces. With his agility and street fighting skills, he distracted the Void-Wesley, buying Kael time at critical moments. However, he was defenseless against direct attacks from the Void energy. On several occasions, he was saved from fatal blows by Kael's Echo shields that he had created at the last moment.
"That entity within you," Kael said, trying to analyze the Void-Wesley while dodging the attacks. "It has taken over not only his body, but also his mind. But there must still be the real Wesley somewhere out there."
The Life Seed glowed powerfully in Kael's palm. Kael realized that the energy emanating from the seed was not only harming the Void entity, but also purifying the suffocating dark energy around him. This gave him an idea.
"Aslan!" he shouted. "Delay him as long as you can! I'll try something!"
Kael focused all of his attention on the Life Seed and the Chitauri core. He tried to combine the energy of the two ancient artifacts, to combine the pure, purifying power of the Life Seed with the core's ability to focus. This was an extremely risky move that he had never attempted before. If he failed, both he and the seed would be harmed.
Kael opened his eyes as Void-Wesley threw Aslan aside and lunged at Kael. The seed in his palm was no longer just glowing, it was also emitting a soft, green light and a wave of life-filled energy. Kael focused this energy in the form of a beam toward Void-Wesley.
When the beam hit Wesley, there was no explosion or destruction as expected. Instead, Wesley's body began to shake violently. The pure Void glow in his eyes flickered, and indescribable pain and confusion appeared on his face. The Void entity within him resisted and screamed in the face of this pure life energy.
"Wesley! Fight him!" Kael shouted. "Don't surrender to that darkness within you!"
For a moment, a glimmer of that old, familiar expression appeared in Wesley's eyes. A moment of hesitation, a moment of "awakening." But the Void entity was not about to relinquish control so easily. Wesley's body shook even more violently, sending out an even stronger wave of dark energy around him.
At that very moment, the ominous vortex at the top of the tower grew larger and darker in response to this internal battle. A thin, dark thread of energy began to seep from the center of the vortex toward the New York sky. It was not only a source of energy, but also a portal for the Lords of the Void to Earth, and that portal was now about to open completely.
"Kael! Look up!" Aslan cried in terror.
When Kael looked up, he saw the impending disaster. If that portal were to open completely, the end that awaited Earth would be nothing less than the wrath of the Lords of the Void. He needed to put aside his fight with Wesley and focus on this greater threat.
But the Void-Wesley would not give him that chance. Regrouping, he charged at Kael with all his might. "You will stop nothing, Echo Carrier!" he roared. "The world will belong to the Void!"
Kael found himself at a crossroads. Either he could continue this hopeless battle with Wesley, or he could focus all his attention on the portal that was about to open. Either choice would be disastrous.
And at that very moment, one of the enormous windows at the other end of the hall exploded with a loud bang. A familiar yet unexpected figure entered: Wilson Fisk. But this was not the usual controlled, cool Fisk. His expression was a mixture of terror and anger, and he was holding a strange, technological weapon that they had never seen before.
"Not in my city!" Fisk roared, pointing his weapon not at Kael or Wesley, but directly at the dark energy vortex above them. "No one destroys my kingdom without my permission!"
This was a move Kael had never expected. Was the Kingpin here to protect his own city, rather than a puppet of the Void? Or was this another game?