First Battle
I walked out to the streets with Asherah.
The peace from earlier was gone—smoke was rising from various parts of the city.
Just to be sure, you don't have any weapons on you, do you?
...Of course not.
I figured, so I brought one for you.
It doesn't have any special abilities, but it's a sturdy sword. It should be good enough for self-defense.
...I appreciate it, but I've never used a sword before. I doubt I'd even know what to do with one.
Just as I was thinking that, the moment I gripped the sword Asherah gave me—
...Huh?
Hmm? What's wrong?
N-no, it's nothing.
I'm sure this is my first time holding a sword, but strangely, I could feel an oddly familiar sensation at my fingertips.
As if I've handled one my whole life.
...
I gave the sword a few test swings.
...It came to me so naturally I was taken aback.
Oh, wow! That doesn't look half-bad!
Still, you should stay back for safety.
You might not have fully recovered yet.
I'll handle frontal combat, so you should oversee the overall situation and give the orders.
Will you be okay by yourself?
Of course! I won't be beaten by anyone when it comes to the sword!
And since our objective is to rescue the Observer, we should avoid combat as much as—
As Asherah was speaking, she looked behind me and her expression turned cold.
When I followed her gaze, I saw a space bleached gray in the distance.
The sun should still be warming the day, yet I felt a chilling cold that sent shivers down my spine.
That's...?
A [Void Rift]...!
It's my first time seeing one in person...
A Void Rift?
What is that?
...A liminal space created by Voidborns that have fallen to the ground.
They say that within it, the laws of reality slowly begin to warp, and eventually, everything becomes a part of the Void.
The biggest problem is...
That it will only continue to grow if left alone.
So it means we can't just let it be.
Otherwise, it will do great damage to the city. Is that right?
...Yes.
I wanted to avoid combat as much as possible, but... I can't just leave those things as they are.
I could start seeing dark creatures flickering in the distance.
As if noticing our gaze, they started charging toward us.
I've heard that inside the Rift, there's a Voidborn that serves as the core, a [Rift Lord].
The Rift will disappear if we defeat it!