If he had a heart, it would be hammering in his chest. Of the many emotions thundering within Xyn, relief was the one most strongly felt in the aftermath of his brief but trying battle.

  That was close...

  His choice to close his impromptu collar around his opponent's neck was mostly in jest, to give Alison an ironic death. In retrospect, he realised that any other approach would have almost certainly resulted in his death.

  Shock and desperation had struck him with no less force than they had Alison following the collision of black and blue.

  And he wasn't even the strongest one. Radiant Knights aren't a joke.

  Xyn felt like a frog who had crawled out of his well. He didn't doubt that he was strong, but the idea of being undefeatable left the young man. The notion which had taken residence in his heart had been there for most of his life; it took time to purge.

  For several minutes, Xyn, having become Grey, wrestled with himself. Logic and evidence warred with emotions. Eventually, he reached a satisfactory conclusion.

  This world, likely, almost certainly, has stronger individuals. I'm not the strongest - currently. Yes, as of now. Xyn glanced up. The heavens are my ceiling. I'll grow stronger. There are ways. Paths. If they don't exist, I'll create them. Same as always.

  Agreeing with the sentiment, he nodded to himself.

  Now, for my spoils. A Radiant Knight's pockets can't be shallow.

  Excitement scattered Xyn's calm. He dove down and followed the long red smear that Alison's sliding corpse had painted across the smooth floor of the crater.

  Touching down, his gaze brushed past the cracked shield emblem before reaching the glowing silver band on the Radiant Knight's middle finger. The storage ring had remained intact.

  Xyn wasn't shy about his thievery.

  Come to daddy.

  A crescent of silver severed the finger, and a clump of darkness clung to it and floated upwards. The ring wobbled in his palm for a handful of seconds before Xyn drove his will into it. There was some resistance, but that fell in moments. A mental connection was instantly formed between Xyn and the magical tool.

  Instructive information on its functionality was injected into his head through this link. This feature was a must for non-space users, though it was mostly superfluous for Xyn. While different from Void Vault, it was similar enough. He took to it as a fish would water.

  Oh...

  Xyn's mind's eye expanded to capture a large cubic space resembling a warehouse. Various objects and items were scattered about. The psionic browsed through the storage ring's contents.

  Weapons, there are none-no, here's one.

  A giant sword appeared at Xyn's behest. Materialising in a vertical position, its tip plunged into the floor.

  The double-edged blade was unwieldy. To a normal human, at least. Even with its blade 10% buried, its pommel reached Xyn's nose. The sword glowed with a warm golden light. Xyn studied the sword with mundane and magical senses.

  This must be a decorative sword. It's incredibly durable, sure, but its lone enchantment is a light show. Wait. Maybe this is what signifies that one is a Radiant Knight? Could be. In any case, it's not a weapon.

  Xyn replaced the blade with a leather-bound book. He flipped to a random page and...

  "Figures," he muttered.

  Failing to read one book, he tried another and another. Alison had several shelves of books. Skimming their pages, Xyn couldn't understand a word. That said, he was confident they were fictional, going by the few and far illustrations.

  He's really into fantasy-fantasy, heroes, dragons and princesses. But even more than any of that, he loves himself.

  Half of Alsion's storage space was occupied by artworks of himself. Paintings and sculptures. They depicted him as heroic and grand, a god amongst men.

  I'm full of myself, but this is too far.

  Xyn shook his head at the man's vanity.

  "Jackpot!"

  The crater echoed with the word as Xyn began giggling to himself. Alison was indeed no peasant. Over a thousand monster cores filled his storage ring. Furthermore, notes and coins were plentiful as well.

  This must be Radae's currency, Xyn thought, letting a coin dance between his fingers. They're all enchanted. Perhaps it's their way of preventing counterfeits.

  Clothes and accessories, furniture, silverware, decorative trinkets, vases and pottery...Xyn moved on, but what followed wasn't too useful to him. Alsion kept a small pool's worth of water, alcohol and juice. Foodstuff was present as well. Desserts and delicacies were bountiful.

  Xyn had a duplicate taste test a few cupcakes and biscuits and confirmed that Alison was indeed a noble. What stood out, though, was the abundance of fish. Thousands were packed in large crates. The beige wood was wrapped in a preservation enchantment.

  Why was he carrying so many fish around? Fishy. Does being Radiant Knight pay so poorly that he has to double as a cargo ship? Was he on the way to a seafood feast or something? Questions.

  Rubbing his hairless chin, Xyn continued his inventory check. Three other Ignis Collars were found, along with two other Truth Stones and Traveller’s Stones.

  Is this all?

  As all hope of finding something useful was about to fade away completely, Xyn found a most unexpected item. The handheld device dropped into his palm. He stared at it, split between excitement and disappointment.

  How immersion-breaking. This is supposed to be a fantasy world!

  The phone's black screen reflected his contradictory expression. He flipped it over and examined the back and sides.

  No two ways about it. This baby must be Almon's doing. Well, let's see what we have here.

  Xyn brought Alison's right hand near and pressed his pointer finger to the pad on the phone's backside. The screen lit up as it recognised its owner. Xyn blinked at the sea of clouds that the Radiant Knight had as his wallpaper.

  Text and numbers occupied the touchscreen. Xyn could understand the latter, but not the former. More importantly, he recognised the icons and their arrangement. Almon hadn't reinvented the wheel. Seeing this, he was confident in what would follow.

  Xyn's Void Vault was devoid of a phone. The psionic tried to separate himself from technology as much as possible. That said, he did use it from time to time. While he loathed humanity's reliance on it, he recognised its usefulness.

  Many of Xyn's more complicated techniques had come about through a collaborative effort between him and artificial intelligence. For example, Void Vault. Without the Rose Union's artificial intelligence and space-stitching technology, the project would have died as a cool concept in his head.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  After noting the lack of signal bars and a half-full battery icon, Xyn scrolled down from the top. He saw a familiar smiling face and tapped it, turning it from grey to yellow.

  {Sparky here. How can I help?}

  The Void Prince knew what was said without knowing a word. He followed up with his request.

  "Change phone's language to Vetren."

  There was a pause before the phone responded in a familiar tongue.

  {Done. Is there anything I can help you with?}

  "Disable all password protections."

  The artificial intelligence moved as it was ordered. With it accomplished, he relegated Alison's various body parts to the Void Vault. Clearing that eyesore, he focused on the phone. He dove into...a puddle. No, even that was overselling it. There was next to nothing on it. Alison and Xyn were kindred spirits when it came to technology.

  Six pictures were the extent of the Radiant Knight's digital library, and five of them were selfies. The last picture showed a distant golden palace beating back the darkness of night with a gentle but unyielding light.

  This must be in Radae. Probably the capital. Majestic, for sure. No wonder he was so proud of it.

  Xyn scoured the phone for more. Minutes passed before he concluded his inspection.

  Next to nothing.

  The Void Prince sighed. It was one of disappointment...and relief.

  For the best. How sucky would it be if there were pictures of him and his family and friends? Yeah, this was for the best. Conscience clear. And...the phone still has its uses.

  Xyn glanced around the crater as the winds whispered nonsense in his ears.

  I've lingered here long enough.

  At the thought, he took flight.

  There was no need to summon the bone dagger. His destination was set in his mind. It had been since he first heard about the existence of the other transmigrator. He left the crater in a hurry and cut a swift line from east to west. Xyn was eager to meet someone in the same shoes as him.

  I wonder what they'll be like.

  The Void Prince moved toward finding the answer, driven by pure curiosity.

  A journey to find another like him would end up instead becoming one where he would find himself in another.

  If he had a heart, it would be hammering in his chest. Of the many emotions thundering within Xyn, relief was the one most strongly felt in the aftermath of his brief but trying battle.

  That was close...

  His choice to close his impromptu collar around his opponent's neck was mostly in jest, to give Alison an ironic death. In retrospect, he realised that any other approach would have almost certainly resulted in his death.

  Shock and desperation had struck him with no less force than they had Alison following the collision of black and blue.

  And he wasn't even the strongest one. Radiant Knights aren't a joke.

  Xyn felt like a frog who had crawled out of his well. He didn't doubt that he was strong, but the idea of being undefeatable left the young man. The notion which had taken residence in his heart had been there for most of his life; it took time to purge.

  For several minutes, Xyn, having become Grey, wrestled with himself. Logic and evidence warred with emotions. Eventually, he reached a satisfactory conclusion.

  This world, likely, almost certainly, has stronger individuals. I'm not the strongest - currently. Yes, as of now. Xyn glanced up. The heavens are my ceiling. I'll grow stronger. There are ways. Paths. If they don't exist, I'll create them. Same as always.

  Agreeing with the sentiment, he nodded to himself.

  Now, for my spoils. A Radiant Knight's pockets can't be shallow.

  Excitement scattered Xyn's calm. He dove down and followed the long red smear that Alison's sliding corpse had painted across the smooth floor of the crater.

  Touching down, his gaze brushed past the cracked shield emblem before reaching the glowing silver band on the Radiant Knight's middle finger. The storage ring had remained intact.

  Xyn wasn't shy about his thievery.

  Come to daddy.

  A crescent of silver severed the finger, and a clump of darkness clung to it and floated upwards. The ring wobbled in his palm for a handful of seconds before Xyn drove his will into it. There was some resistance, but that fell in moments. A mental connection was instantly formed between Xyn and the magical tool.

  Instructive information on its functionality was injected into his head through this link. This feature was a must for non-space users, though it was mostly superfluous for Xyn. While different from Void Vault, it was similar enough. He took to it as a fish would water.

  Oh...

  Xyn's mind's eye expanded to capture a large cubic space resembling a warehouse. Various objects and items were scattered about. The psionic browsed through the storage ring's contents.

  Weapons, there are none-no, here's one.

  A giant sword appeared at Xyn's behest. Materialising in a vertical position, its tip plunged into the floor.

  The double-edged blade was unwieldy. To a normal human, at least. Even with its blade 10% buried, its pommel reached Xyn's nose. The sword glowed with a warm golden light. Xyn studied the sword with mundane and magical senses.

  This must be a decorative sword. It's incredibly durable, sure, but its lone enchantment is a light show. Wait. Maybe this is what signifies that one is a Radiant Knight? Could be. In any case, it's not a weapon.

  Xyn replaced the blade with a leather-bound book. He flipped to a random page and...

  "Figures," he muttered.

  Failing to read one book, he tried another and another. Alison had several shelves of books. Skimming their pages, Xyn couldn't understand a word. That said, he was confident they were fictional, going by the few and far illustrations.

  He's really into fantasy-fantasy, heroes, dragons and princesses. But even more than any of that, he loves himself.

  Half of Alsion's storage space was occupied by artworks of himself. Paintings and sculptures. They depicted him as heroic and grand, a god amongst men.

  I'm full of myself, but this is too far.

  Xyn shook his head at the man's vanity.

  "Jackpot!"

  The crater echoed with the word as Xyn began giggling to himself. Alison was indeed no peasant. Over a thousand monster cores filled his storage ring. Furthermore, notes and coins were plentiful as well.

  This must be Radae's currency, Xyn thought, letting a coin dance between his fingers. They're all enchanted. Perhaps it's their way of preventing counterfeits.

  Clothes and accessories, furniture, silverware, decorative trinkets, vases and pottery...Xyn moved on, but what followed wasn't too useful to him. Alsion kept a small pool's worth of water, alcohol and juice. Foodstuff was present as well. Desserts and delicacies were bountiful.

  Xyn had a duplicate taste test a few cupcakes and biscuits and confirmed that Alison was indeed a noble. What stood out, though, was the abundance of fish. Thousands were packed in large crates. The beige wood was wrapped in a preservation enchantment.

  Why was he carrying so many fish around? Fishy. Does being Radiant Knight pay so poorly that he has to double as a cargo ship? Was he on the way to a seafood feast or something? Questions.

  Rubbing his hairless chin, Xyn continued his inventory check. Three other Ignis Collars were found, along with two other Truth Stones and Traveller’s Stones.

  Is this all?

  As all hope of finding something useful was about to fade away completely, Xyn found a most unexpected item. The handheld device dropped into his palm. He stared at it, split between excitement and disappointment.

  How immersion-breaking. This is supposed to be a fantasy world!

  The phone's black screen reflected his contradictory expression. He flipped it over and examined the back and sides.

  No two ways about it. This baby must be Almon's doing. Well, let's see what we have here.

  Xyn brought Alison's right hand near and pressed his pointer finger to the pad on the phone's backside. The screen lit up as it recognised its owner. Xyn blinked at the sea of clouds that the Radiant Knight had as his wallpaper.

  Text and numbers occupied the touchscreen. Xyn could understand the latter, but not the former. More importantly, he recognised the icons and their arrangement. Almon hadn't reinvented the wheel. Seeing this, he was confident in what would follow.

  Xyn's Void Vault was devoid of a phone. The psionic tried to separate himself from technology as much as possible. That said, he did use it from time to time. While he loathed humanity's reliance on it, he recognised its usefulness.

  Many of Xyn's more complicated techniques had come about through a collaborative effort between him and artificial intelligence. For example, Void Vault. Without the Rose Union's artificial intelligence and space-stitching technology, the project would have died as a cool concept in his head.

  After noting the lack of signal bars and a half-full battery icon, Xyn scrolled down from the top. He saw a familiar smiling face and tapped it, turning it from grey to yellow.

  {Sparky here. How can I help?}

  The Void Prince knew what was said without knowing a word. He followed up with his request.

  "Change phone's language to Vetren."

  There was a pause before the phone responded in a familiar tongue.

  {Done. Is there anything I can help you with?}

  "Disable all password protections."

  The artificial intelligence moved as it was ordered. With it accomplished, he relegated Alison's various body parts to the Void Vault. Clearing that eyesore, he focused on the phone. He dove into...a puddle. No, even that was overselling it. There was next to nothing on it. Alison and Xyn were kindred spirits when it came to technology.

  Six pictures were the extent of the Radiant Knight's digital library, and five of them were selfies. The last picture showed a distant golden palace beating back the darkness of night with a gentle but unyielding light.

  This must be in Radae. Probably the capital. Majestic, for sure. No wonder he was so proud of it.

  Xyn scoured the phone for more. Minutes passed before he concluded his inspection.

  Next to nothing.

  The Void Prince sighed. It was one of disappointment...and relief.

  For the best. How sucky would it be if there were pictures of him and his family and friends? Yeah, this was for the best. Conscience clear. And...the phone still has its uses.

  Xyn glanced around the crater as the winds whispered nonsense in his ears.

  I've lingered here long enough.

  At the thought, he took flight.

  There was no need to summon the bone dagger. His destination was set in his mind. It had been since he first heard about the existence of the other transmigrator. He left the crater in a hurry and cut a swift line from east to west. Xyn was eager to meet someone in the same shoes as him.

  I wonder what they'll be like.

  The Void Prince moved toward finding the answer, driven by pure curiosity.

  A journey to find another like him would end up instead becoming one where he would find himself in another.