Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 1966: Answers in the Night

Jun’Tal eventually fell asleep after the movie and the emotional-control tests were finished, while Ning remained on the island long enough to make sure the boy’s power had completely settled. Once the System confirmed there was no unusual buildup of energy inside him, Ning left the shelter behind and disappeared from the island.

He arrived inside Prince Tarian’s private quarters in Veronoth without warning, appearing near one of the windows before quietly taking a seat and waiting. The prince returned several minutes later, opening the door while speaking to one of his guards outside before stepping in and closing it behind him.

Tarian noticed Ning almost immediately.

The prince jumped back and reached for the weapon at his side, but he stopped himself once he recognized who was sitting inside his room. His panic lasted only a moment before irritation quickly replaced it.

"What are you doing here?" Tarian asked. "And how did you even get inside?"

"I’m here to answer your questions," Ning said. "You wanted me to surrender myself for questioning earlier, didn’t you?"

Tarian stared at him for a few seconds, clearly wondering whether this counted as cooperation when Ning had broken into his private quarters instead of going through any official process.

Still, this was probably the best opportunity he was going to get, so he walked farther into the room and took a seat across from Ning.

"Fine. Then I have quite a few questions."

"I know, but wait a moment," Ning said before the prince could begin. "Someone else should hear this too."

Tarian frowned. "Who?"

Ning did not answer immediately. He closed his eyes for a moment, locating the person he wanted before lifting one hand and snapping his fingers.

A man suddenly appeared in the middle of the room.

He was a lean Beastman wearing dark clothing, and the instant he realized that his surroundings had changed, his entire body tensed. His eyes moved rapidly from the walls to the windows and finally toward the two people inside the room, while one hand instinctively reached toward his side.

The panic faded once he recognized Ning and Tarian.

Tarian was far more confused.

"How did you do that?" the prince asked. "How did you bring him here?"

"You’ll know very soon."

"Okay... Who is this then?"

Ning looked toward the Beastman. "You don’t need to hide your face from him. He isn’t going to reveal your identity to anyone."

The man remained silent for a moment, clearly unhappy about having that decision made for him, but eventually he sighed.

"My name is Varek," the Beastman said after a moment. "Although you probably know me better as Void."

Tarian stared at him.

"Void?"

Varek nodded.

The prince looked him over again, this time with open disbelief. Without the unnatural darkness covering his body, Void looked almost ordinary, and his lean frame was nothing like what Tarian had imagined beneath the famous hero’s clothes.

"You’re much smaller than I expected."

Varek gave him a flat look.

Tarian realized how that sounded and quickly corrected himself. "I mean, I expected Void to be larger. Stronger-looking."

"You’re not the first," Varek said.

Ning smiled faintly while Tarian continued studying the Beastman, apparently struggling to connect the quiet, scrawny-looking man in front of him with the hero who had held the number-one position in the world for years.

Eventually, Tarian turned back toward Ning.

"So what is this all about?"

"Before I say that, I must apologize. I’ve revealed something Varek here most likely wanted to keep safe, so I must reveal to Varek something about you," Ning said.

The prince narrowed his eyes. "What do you know about me?" he asked.

Ning turned toward Varek and pointed toward the prince. "He has a Rank 10 ability."

Both Varek and the prince were surprised at that information. For one, the surprise came from the fact that there was not one but two people higher-ranking than him. For the other, the surprise came from the fact that his information was leaked.

"How do you know that?" the prince asked. "Who told you that? No one but my—"

"I know things you could never imagine someone else knowing," Ning told the man. "And I am here to tell some of it. Why don’t the two of you get comfortable, and I can start talking."

The prince looked at Ning for a moment longer before gesturing for Void to sit down, before doing the same.

"Start with Tritus."

Ning nodded. "Tritus is dead. Completely dead. He isn’t hiding somewhere, he didn’t escape, and he isn’t coming back."

Tarian’s expression became serious. "How?"

"I killed him."

"I gathered that much. But how? As far as we know, he might just be the strongest awakened individual on this planet."

Ning considered how much detail was necessary before continuing. "Well, you are wrong on two things. Tritus wasn’t simply another awakened person with an unusual ability. He was something far older and much more powerful than that, and he had been manipulating people across this world for a long time."

"What do you mean?" Void asked.

"Imagine him as a very old force that has probably been here since before the big war 300 years ago," Ning said.

The prince frowned, not fully understanding what Ning meant. "And the second thing?"

Ning smiled. "Tritus wasn’t of this planet."

Void’s expression shifted slightly. "Not of this planet? He was an alien? What?"

"Well... in the most basic meaning of the word, yes. But he’s lived here long enough that it’s hard to call him that. Not to mention, he isn’t exactly a person or a living being from any of the worlds out there. He is what is known as a Constellation."

Tarian frowned at the unfamiliar word, while Void remained quiet.

"You don’t need to understand what that is just yet. Just know that he was not of this world. So I partially killed him for that," Ning said.

"How do you know he wasn’t of this world?" the prince asked.

Ning smiled as he looked at the two. "I know because I’m not of this world either."