Cail received the card out of curiosity. It looked very official with a government mark stamped into it.
If this organization is legal, then the reason why they probably lack staff is 1. There aren't enough Void users, 2. They all kept dying so they gotta replenish it quickly.
The woman seemed to be determined to get a good impression on Cail, she wanted to approach him, but Cail backed away. Sensing that Cail was still wary, the woman did not mind and her determination didn't waver.
She started talking like a tour guide: "We are now inside a void rift." Then she opened her arms and twirled, "And thiiiiis city, is a city eaten by the void." As the wind blew her dress, chimes sounded from the metallic bead-like design on her skirt.
"Weirdo," Cail said to himself. Since this woman was happy to help, then he might as well ask, "How did I appear here? Is there a way out?"
The woman smiled cheerfully. "Aya! You're finally talking to me." Cail frowned and before he could even say anything, the woman cut him off, "You appeared here because the Nyx city is dying!" That sounded awfully happy.
"Dying?" Remembering what she had just said about this ruined city, he guessed, "Is Nyx city about to be eaten by the void? Why?"
The ever-glowing woman did not answer, but she looked behind Cail. She seemed to be a bit off, "I'll answer that, but we should keep going." Before Cail could even react, she suddenly grabbed Cail by the arm and dragged him.
Cail felt like he was clamped down by iron. The temperature of the hand that was holding him passed through his sleeves, and all he could say, it feels cold as ice.
They were running as Cail felt like he was more of being dragged around than running. He asked, "Who are we running away from?" Not knowing anything in this situation felt awful.
"Hmmm?" The rainwater hit the woman's white hair. It resembled silk floating in midair. Hearing Cail's question, she looked guilty, "Ahh... We are running away from the Tyrant."
Seeing her expression, Cail looked exhausted. "That Tyrant was after you, but now that you're dragging me, it's now also after me now?" Okay, it's his fate now.
Just from the name, Tyrant, Cail already didn't feel good.
"Hahahahaha." The woman's laugh felt awkward. She lifted Cail up, and Cail manually dodged the broken wall that was about to hit his face.
The two of them hid in a pit covered with broken debris, the panting Cail straight up said, "You dragged me into a mess."
The woman patted Cail's back. "Aya! I was saving you! Tyrant doesn't have a good temper and he might bully you once he sees you!" That was a strong pat, Cail almost felt his lungs detaching.
Hearing that excuse, Cail concluded that this woman is a bit dumb, or she thought he was dumb.
Feeling already exhausted and his injuries flaring up, Cail gave up. "So how do we leave this place? And also, can you expound what you mean by the Nyx city is dying?"
"Why do we need to leave quickly?" The woman seemed confused, "This place... This is a treasure trove for artifacts!"
"Artifacts are the things I'm not lacking!" Cail screamed inside. Although as a dealer, he is not allowed to use it.
"I don't need artifacts. I just want to leave. And also, you didn't answer, why is the Nyx city dying?" Cail went straight to the point. This place seemed to dangerous. He could feel something but couldn't pinpoint what it was.
Hearing that question once again, the woman looked panicked, she hushed Cail, "You see... I'm not supposed to tell you this..." She hesitated but continued, "In the VRA, I heard the staff talking about how the void seemed to be slowly eating away Nyx city."
Hearing that, Cail didn't panic, "That's a big deal. Are they doing something about it? And why is that even happening?"
Contrary to what Cail expected, the woman shook her head, "It's not a big deal. Void eating cities are not rare. As for why it will get eaten, I'm not sure... But the readings show that void energy in this area is increasing. That typically means more people will undergo void awakening, more void rifts opening, more void creatures wandering, and cults moving."
She drew a circle on the ground, "Around this area is the void rift. Everyone who is a void user will be dragged in." The circle wasn't useful in estimating the area.
Cail felt confused, "What do you mean a lot of cities are being eaten?" Why don't I remember anything about that.
The woman smiled, "That's because once a city is eaten, everyone will forget about its existence. Oh, you're in that state now. Once you enter the void rift, most of your existence will be forgotten, depending on how long you stay inside. In the first few minutes, people will forget what they recently did to you. Then after that, the phenomenon of you being forgotten will slow down. It will take 15 years for people to completely forget about you."
She looked up and saw the darkened sky, "That only applies to people though. Once a city gets eaten, everyone will forget about their existence immediately."
"Different from entering the void rift, a city being eaten means dragging everyone together."
Cail understood, but somehow, still felt a bit confused, "What about this city?"
"This city?" The woman touched the fallen wall in front of them, "This city didn't come from our world. This city belonged to a dead world eaten by the void."
Cail's breath hitched, "A world could get eaten?" The existence of other worlds is exciting enough, now world could be eaten.
"Oh, yes. It can get eaten." The woman answered ominously. "This rift is named v-92012; there had been records about this world. Based on the information they got during the exploration, in this world, void energy was the norm."
Cail nodded; he had also realized that a while ago, but "A world being eaten, does that mean people inside die?"
"No." The woman paused. Then she pointed at the sky, "They survived after their world was eaten, but... They were wiped out by something else. This is the void. The distance is limitless and there are numerous creatures roaming around here. Well, not just creatures, but even Gods."
After that was silence. Cail felt that this should not be his main problem, but deep down he still felt like he was somehow involved.
The two of them just sat in the hole. After a few minutes, Cail finally couldn't hold the boredom in, "Are we just gonna stay here?!"
The woman looked a bit timid, "What if we met the Tyrant? I'm staying here."
Hearing that name, Cail couldn't hold back his curiosity, "What did you do to get him to chase after you like crazy?"
The woman looked down at the pebbles and said in the tiniest voice, "Well, I ran away from our engagement party— wait why are you distancing yourself from me? Come back!" The moment she raised her head, Cail was already bolting away as if something was chasing after him.
Cail felt that this woman was insane. What did he get into this mess for? If that Tyrant knew that his runaway fiancée is with a man, what would he think?
Based on how hard and how scared that woman was, it was obvious that the Tyrant was someone powerful.
"Hey! Don't run! Come back!"
Damn, I don't wanna be a cannon fodder because of this lovers' quarrel!