The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 167

Chapter 167: Holes In The Sky [3]: Null

“What?” Elizabeth asked in disbelief.

“I believe I was clear enough, no?” The being said before repeating “you are worthy enough to be my bride.”

Elizabeth’s bloody face shifted between different emotions as she processed Null’s words, disgust, anger before finally it all disappeared.

“So, let me get this straight,” she said slowly. “You open a rift in our skies, let hell spill into my world, and now you want to marry me?”

Null raised a brow. “You assume I had a hand in opening the portal.”

“Didn’t you?” she snapped.

He sighed, almost theatrically. “No, no no. That… was my brother’s doing. The portal, the Primals, the chaos—none of it was my design.”

“I merely bored with staying alone in my castle all day, so when I sensed one of my siblings opening a rift, I naturally grew curious, and followed it.”

He paused and gestured around casually. “And next thing I knew, I’m here.”

His tone was as sincere as possible, without a hint of trickery but Elizabeth remained unconvinced.

“And you expect me to just believe that?” She said “you descended from the portal like the primals do and you had a primal by your side.

“Is that what you call them?” Null muttered before turning to the headless corpse of the primal he descended with before adding “he was my loyal general who wouldn’t let me wander into the unknown, unprotected, even though this was nothing but an insignificant shard.”

“A shard?” Elizabeth muttered.

“That’s right, this is but a single shard of my entire being” Null answered “your world seems to have a seal placed on it. It seems beings of higher strength cannot just casually invade.”

“But that doesn’t matter,” he added “what matters is that you’re going to be my bride and I’ll finally have company in my castle.”

Elizabeth frowned, gripped her sword tighter and pointed it at him,

“I don’t care if you’re responsible for the portals or not” she started “I don’t care if you’re some lonely primal or a wandering shard—I’m not marrying you.”

Null stared at her, the amusement in his eyes slowly dimming. “You’re refusing me?”

“Obviously!” She snapped “you think a few words about how lonely you are would make me forget that one of your kind almost killed my grandfather?”

“I guess not” Null muttered almost regretful, before his tone suddenly changed “that’s it, I’ve decided.”

Elizabeth looked at him strangely. Null was far stranger than she’d expected. She had fully anticipated a fight the moment she struck down the Primal beside him—but the attack never came.

Instead, he started talking—rambling, really—about marrying her, which completely threw her off. Still, Elizabeth wasn’t naïve.

She knew this was just a trick to get her guard down… Or so she thought.

His next words threw her off completely.

“I’ll stay here,” Null said plainly, as if announcing he would be moving into a neighbor’s house.

Elizabeth blinked. “What?”

“I’ve made up my mind,” he said, arms now crossed behind his back as he casually strolled past her,

“if those human books thought me anything, it’s that love takes time to blossom and I’ll stay by your side to ensure that you accept my proposal.”

She turned to follow him with her blade still raised. “You can’t just decide to stay.”

Her dragon, Nova, floated above them, confused as its tamer. It had expected a fight between them but this being was behaving in the weirdest possible way.

“Why not?” he asked, glancing at her with a smirk. “I’m not invading, I’m not destroying, and I’ve already lost my general. Seems only fair I get something in return.”

“Listen,” she gritted her teeth in annoyance “I don’t know what games you’re—”

“No games, I promise” Null cut her off, “it’s just that this is the first time I have been truly fascinated by something”.

He took a short pause before adding”well, not counting those human books, they have fascinating stories.”

“As for your grandfather,” he turned towards a the corner where Elizabeth had moved Scrappy “I would like to apologize on behalf of my brother’s doing.”

Elizabeth moved to block his line of sight but Null’s apology also seemed genuine.

“I know my words mean little. But if it brings you any solace, know that I do not share my siblings’… enthusiasm for mindless destruction.” he continued.

Elizabeth clenched her jaw, unsure of what frustrated her more—the absurdity of his proposal or the sincerity in his voice.

“I do not deny that I have destroyed my fair share of universes throughout the millennia” he paused “but I’ve come to find that it brings me no satisfaction as it does my siblings and father.”

“And for the first time in my existence,” he pointed to his chest “I felt something stir right here.”

Elizabeth didn’t know what to reply.

She could choose to attack, but her first two attacks had told her all she needed to know.

She couldn’t leave a scratch on him even if he stood completely still.

Null turned to her, head tilted slightly and an immense pressure immediately fell on both her and nova.

“Besides,” he added, “if I truly wanted to force this upon you, I would’ve done so already. But that defeats the point, doesn’t it?”

“Damn it” she muttered under her breath. This pressure felt just like Malrath’s and she hated the way it made her feel useless.

Null immediately withdrew his aura and apologized

“sorry about that,” he said “I just wanted to prove my point.”

Elizabeth exhaled as the pressure was lifted off her shoulders as her breath became heavy.

Nova also landed and walked closer to them, ready to attack the moment Null let out another aura.

Elizabeth let out a long sigh. She had no idea how to deal with someone like Null and she wasn’t strong enough to force him back so she could only grit her teeth.

“Fine” she let out in a low, resigned voice “as long as you’re not harming anyone, you can stay.”

Null’s eyes lit up with an almost childlike glint. “Splendid! I’ll consider that a soft yes.”

“It’s not,” Elizabeth grumbled.

“Oh, details,” he waved her off. “Consent is a process, after all. I’ll win your heart eventually.”

Nova growled lowly at his words, threatening to ignite it’s purple. Null merely raised a hand and smiled at the beast.

“No need for hostility, mighty one,” he said gently. “I quite like dragons. I had a pet once—well, it tried to eat me, so I had to erase it from existence, but I’ve always admired your kind since.”

Elizabeth looked at him but chose to say nothing else, instead, she turned to the rift in the sky and said “what about that?”

“Is something else going to come out?” She asked.

“No,” Null answered before adding “but just to be safe, allow me to close it.”

With a snap of his fingers, the clouds around the rift and the rift itself dissipated into small particles.

“That takes care of that.” He muttered and turned to her “…Now then, where shall I sleep?” Null asked as if it were the most natural question in the world.

Elizabeth spun around, incredulous. “What?”

“Well, if I’m staying, I need a place to stay, don’t I?” he replied, smiling innocently. “Preferably somewhere near you.”

Nova growled again, this time more aggressively.

Elizabeth rubbed her temples. “You’re a powerful being are you not?. Why not just… conjure a castle or something?”

“I could,” Null nodded thoughtfully, “but that defeats the purpose. I’m here to learn. About you. About your world. About this strange thing called love. Besides…”

He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. “I like the way you scowl when you’re annoyed.”

She took a step back, sword still in hand. “You’re unbelievable.”

“I’ve been told that before,” he admitted, smiling like it was a compliment.

Before she could answer, a groan was heard behind them.

Elizabeth immediately turned around and rushed towards Scrappy who was now waking up from unconsciousness.

“Grandpa!” She called out as she got close enough.

Null chose to stay back with Nova since he didn’t want to scare the old man..just yet.

Although he looked mostly human, his eyes and ears plus the tail would immediately make anyone notice that he was anything but human.

“That’s right,” he muttered “I need to blend in if I want to live amongst humans.”

With a snap, his tail retracted and his ears shortened. His sclera turned white and his pupils remained completely black.

Although the changes weren’t much, he now looked completely human, with his pale skin, long black hair and white clothes.

“Who’s that?” A voice suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts and he turned to see Scrappy sitting up and looking directly at him.

“Well, he—” before Elizabeth could complete her words, Null cut her off and said with a smile,

“Hello grandpa.”