The Void of Boxes
Ron and Locki were dead. The people of Hero Town had already been slaughtered by the Titan. There was no news of the real Aurora, Carter, Lia, Dream, her daughters, or DA.
Ron opened his eyes. He was crammed inside a tight, suffocating box with Locki and a few familiar faces from Hero Town. The space was packed wall to wall, with no room to move. Murmurs echoed around him—people whispering about how the Titan had killed them.
Ron couldn't process anything. He just stood there, back against the cold wall, listening numbly.
Everyone assumed they were in the afterlife.
Everyone except Locki.
He was certain this wasn't the afterlife—he had seen the underworld before. This was something different. Locki tried to think of a way out, but there was none. This place suppressed everything: powers, abilities, logic, concepts, probability, time, space, even imagination. The only things that still functioned here were thought and speech.
Ron was drowning in thoughts when a familiar voice interrupted him.
It was Carter.
He stood to Ron's left. Locki was on the right.
"So… you died too," Carter said solemnly. "By now, the Titan would have already destroyed the entire macrocosm. He's probably confronting the Beyonders as we speak."
Ron and Locki quickly explained everything to him—the Titan's defeat and how they ended up here. Carter's face darkened with fury, but he could do nothing.
"I've heard of this place before," Carter said quietly. "DA mentioned it during one of our training sessions. He talked about a box where nothing works… I think this is what he meant."
Locki asked, "How does this place work?"
Carter answered, "This place was created by the same being who made the 'Crack of Scenarios.' Not even the Beyonders' power works here. Nothing can save you from this place."
"So we're doomed," Ron said with a tired sigh.
Ron continued, "I knew something felt off. I sensed Black Sorcery from that fake Aurora, but I dismissed it. I thought it was just the aftereffect of my fight with the Titan."
He paused. "The power spike was so overwhelming that, before I knew it, everything went dark. I woke up here."
"If only someone with actual knowledge was trapped with us," Locki muttered.
Time passed.
According to Earth's standards, hours became days. Days turned to months. Then years. They couldn't move. Despair crept in. Madness slowly consumed the minds of those trapped.
Then, one day, Ron—eyes closed, still lost in regret—suddenly heard a voice.
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[Let me tell you a story about this place—'The Void of Boxes.']
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Reality wrapped and twisted around Ron. He found himself floating in infinite black space.
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[This place was created by Mr. Gonzalez to trap and contain beings known as 'The Outers.' The Outers are far more powerful than all Beyonders combined—though still weaker than a handful of the strongest Beyonders. One day, the Outers tried to destroy this place and free their kind. They confronted Mr. Gonzalez at the bottom layer of the multiverse—and were effortlessly defeated. Since then, the Outers have stayed hidden. This place has remained empty… until Gravo Gonzalez brought you here.]
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Ron could see it all play out—visions flowing like a dream. He watched Gravo Gonzalez rescuing souls and placing them into this box for safekeeping.
Then the voice spoke again.
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[Does Ron want to become friends with the Fourth Wall?]
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Ron smiled softly. "Yes. We're friends."
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[Ron and the Fourth Wall have become friends.]
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The voice continued.
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[Does Ron want the Fourth Wall's help?]
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"Yes," Ron said. "Friends help each other."
He blinked—and was back in the box.
Suddenly, lightning surged from Ron's back. A massive mouth formed behind him and devoured the entire void. Ron watched as countless other boxes were revealed, each containing a trapped Outer. The Fourth Wall consumed everything—all the Outers and imprisoned souls—except Ron, Locki, Carter, and the people from Hero Town.
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[You have earned a new title: 'Destroyer of the Void of Boxes.']
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Ron, Locki, and Carter opened their eyes… and found themselves back in Hero Town.
But it was in ruins.
Not atomized like the Titan's usual work—this was different. Buildings lay in rubble. Ash and debris were everywhere.
Each man ran toward his home.
Ron reached his front door and stepped inside.
Blood. Everywhere.
It looked like a massacre had taken place. A trail led him to a room where he found Dream—his wife—lying lifeless, cradling their daughters as if trying to protect them.
Ron dropped to his knees. His mind went blank. Tears streamed down his face. He didn't even know how they died.
Elsewhere, Carter walked into his apartment. He froze.
Lia's body lay in the bloodstained living room.
He dropped beside her, speechless. Even with all his intelligence, even with his billion-IQ brain, Carter couldn't figure out how she died. He wept in silence.
Everyone believed the Titan had killed the people of Hero Town—but left the place intact. Perhaps he sensed Ron's power while Ron was trying to destroy the pocket dimension.
News of Dream, her daughters, and Lia's deaths spread quickly.
The funeral was massive. Everyone came. Even Mr. Gonzalez and Gravo Gonzalez were there.
Everyone had seen the battle in the Void of Boxes—how Ron, Locki, and Carter fought the Titan.
Eventually, the crowd left. Only Ron and Carter remained, standing quietly at the graves of those they loved. Locki watched from a distance.
He had always known Ron to be cheerful, kindhearted, and selfless. Locki was one of the first people Ron met after awakening in this world—and had always kept a close eye on him. Ron had risen quickly, launched his own business, and in just three years became one of the top three richest people in the world.
Now, he knelt by his family's graves, broken and sobbing like a child.
Carter, too, had sacrificed everything for the town—his parents, his comrades, his peace. But he never broke. Until now. Locki saw him cry, truly cry, for the first time.
Locki couldn't bear it.
Then, a soft hand touched his shoulder.
He turned.
It was DA.
"I know how you feel," DA said softly. "But trust me… this is for the best."
"DA? Where have you been? And where's Aurora?" Locki asked, shocked.
"I've been recovering. And Aurora… she must have returned."
"I want to meet her. Can you take me to her?" Locki pleaded.
DA nodded. "Fine. I'll take you to her."