Nero stood in the center of the dojo, his expression unreadable as the five clones continued their relentless training in Muso.
Each executed precise strikes, refining their techniques in an unspoken rhythm.
They were independent entities, not fragments of his mind or soul, but fully functioning extensions of his will.
And now, he would add a sixth.
He invoked one more clone, reaching the limit of his current capacity.
A familiar, controlled pulse of magic rippled outward as the new entity took form.
Unlike the others, this one had a different purpose, to replicate the strike that had shattered the helmet.
The clone assumed its stance, inhaling deeply, exhaling slowly.
Every movement was deliberate, each breath measured.
Its muscles loosened, coiled in a paradox of relaxation and readiness.
The tension in its fingers eased as they adjusted their grip.
The air around it seemed to shift, as though drawn into the gravitational pull of something unseen.
Nero stepped back, his Raven Eyes narrowing as he focused entirely on the clone.
This time, he would do more than witness. He would see, feel, and understand.
Every subtle motion, every shift in balance, the faint quiver of energy threading through the clone's limbs, he absorbed it all.
The clone's foot shifted slightly, redistributing its weight.
The shoulders eased down, releasing unnecessary tension.
The wooden blade's edge gleamed under the dim light, vibrating almost imperceptibly as the clone settled deeper into the Muga mindset.
The dojo was silent but for the rhythmic sound of the clone's breathing.
Minutes passed, and then ten, then fifteen.
The clone moved with the cadence of inevitability, surrendering itself gradually to the flow of Muga.
Each failed attempt did not frustrate it, nor did it falter.
It simply continued, adapting, responding without conscious effort. The dojo air grew thick with anticipation.
And then, at the forty-five minute mark, it happened.
A perfect, singular arc cut through space.
The helmet did not merely crack, it shattered once again, disintegrating into nothing, as if its existence had been erased by the weight of an absolute force.
The strike carried a precision so profound it seemed to exist beyond physical law, as though the blade had intersected the concept of the helmet rather than the object itself.
In that instant, Nero saw them.
For the first time, with his Raven Eyes honed by the smallest glimmer of understanding, he could perceive the wisps of Void Principle.
They drifted like tendrils of shadow, curling and twisting in delicate, hypnotic patterns.
They weren't just darkness, they were absence, consuming without motion, devouring without hunger.
Each wisp left a faint echo in reality, a lingering void where existence had been erased.
His mind raced.
Between his exchanges with Dumbledore, Mu, and Zen, he had come to an understanding.
Every Principle, unless awakened under extraordinary circumstances, demanded a sacrifice from its wielder.
Learning a Principle meant allowing it to take root in the mind, to alter perception, to reshape thought itself.
The stronger the Principle, the greater the toll.
Void's price was perhaps the steepest of all.
Understanding Void meant embracing it, letting it in, surrendering himself to it.
That was the price.
Many had been lost to it, their minds warped, their personalities eroded until nothing remained of their former selves.
Void did not merely empower, it devoured.
It was a force that demanded not just understanding, but submission.
But Nero refused to be consumed.
He had already developed the foundation of a solution, his Occlumency powered by barrier technique.
Originally crafted to process memories from his clones, it was a system born out of necessity.
Where most Occlumens constructed static walls or misleading facades, Nero had pioneered a dynamic, magical filtration process.
Rather than blocking knowledge outright, he could compartmentalize, sort, and regulate it.
When his clones' memories returned to him, their experiences did not flood him all at once.
Instead, he received structured, digestible streams of information.
By applying the same principle here, he could create a controlled mental partition, one that would allow him to perceive Void without succumbing to its corruption.
And theoretically, in the worst case, he could outright isolate the Void inside his mind.
He focused, summoning the mental framework he had so meticulously refined.
Layers of barriers formed within his consciousness, like a sieve designed to regulate.
The Void wisps remained before him, pulsing gently, waiting.
This time, when he let his awareness brush against them, they did not pull him in.
Instead, he observed.
His Raven Eyes traced their movements, categorizing the way they coiled and dispersed.
He noted subtle shifts in the air, how the wisps seemed to unravel when they moved too far from the site of the strike.
He cataloged every nuance.
The slight decrease in magical pressure, the way the surrounding mana recoiled from the Void's presence.
He felt the subtle shift in his own perception but remained anchored, his mind shielded against the instinctual hunger of the Void.
He could feel the principle attempting to latch onto his thoughts, searching for cracks in his defenses, for any gap through which it could seep.
But there were none.
For the first time, he was learning.
Not in a passive way, or by being changed by it.
But by refining his flowing understanding of Void. By mastering control.
He felt the faintest glimmer of progress, a thread of insight that whispered at the edges of his consciousness. Void was not simply destruction, it was the absence of form.
It did not seek to destroy for destruction's sake.
It was a return to stillness, a cessation of motion.
A concept that could erase, yes, but perhaps, if wielded correctly, could also preserve.
Eastern and Western principles.
The idea bloomed slowly, like the first light of dawn.
What if Void could be a tool of preservation as much as obliteration?
What if understanding it meant not just resisting it, but redefining it?
His clones continued their work on Muso, their strikes echoing through the dojo.
But Nero was currently focusing on a path split from theirs.
He had stepped into the abyss, and he was finding a way to keep himself whole.
And maybe, just maybe, he was beginning to reshape the abyss in return.
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