Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

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The crowd bursts into murmurs upon his admittance.

Cedric heard mostly disbelief and surprise in their voices, and that confused him a bit since he thought that they already knew about this and that they just called him here to confirm this.

That said, he didn't blame them. If he were in their shoes, he'd probably be surprised too.

Just thinking about somebody claiming to understand the language of Void Creatures, of all things, sounds like madness. It is for this very same reason that Cedric had a headache about what to do about this information.

"...It's not that we're unwilling to believe you. But, surely you understand how outlandish this concept is, don't you?" The Titan's voice sounded once more.

"Yes, Sir. I understand your doubts. Even I, myself, couldn't quite believe I could actually do something like that," Cedric replied humbly this time.

"How about we put your skills to a test?" The Titan suggested. "We will play recordings of sounds that the Void Creatures made, and you tell us what they mean... if they even mean anything at all."

Cedric nodded and said, "Alright, Sir. I'll do my best."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Very well, without any further ado, here is the first recording..."

Suddenly, a deep and harrowing sound echoed throughout the entire room. Cedric didn't doubt, even for a second, that this was made by a void creature. In fact, he could even almost see where it originated from. It's as if his brain was supplying him with the missing image of the disembodied voice.

But that's not where his focus lies right now. He must interpret what this sound means.

However, he has met a problem already...

The sound recording ended, and a pin-drop silence descended into the room. Cedric could feel the gazes on him, causing him to sweat coldly.

"Well?" The Titan's voice shook him out of his reverie, prompting him to tell his findings.

"...I didn't hear any words from that recording, Sir," Cedric replied truthfully. "But it does sound a lot like a...like a mating call."

Pfft!

Some people were unable to prevent themselves from reacting due to the incredulity of Cedric's claims.

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A mating call? Seriously? Void Creatures can create sounds akin to that of a mating call? What kind of nonsense is that?

Cedric could already feel their distrust of him rising. Some were probably thinking that this was a waste of their time. They're probably thinking that he's just an attention whore, trying to act all mysterious so that he can take advantage of some privileges.

To this, Cedric could only sigh and accept it. He was truly in a difficult position here. Truthfully, he could've just said that he didn't understand anything from the sound recording just now and left it at that. But he didn't want to take chances. He's under scrutiny here; even the tiniest shift in his emotions is being monitored, so he didn't dare to lie or keep any relevant information from them...even if it means embarrassing himself.

"Here comes the next one..."

Surprisingly, the Titan doesn't seem too concerned; he didn't berate him nor accuse him of being a liar. He just played the next voice recording.

Cedric didn't have the time to ponder that too much because the voice recording was already playing. Once again, the unmistakable sound of the Void Creature echoed inside the room, filling everyone with dread as they listened to it.

"Drip, drop, swim, feast, kill!" Cedric's expression turned strange as he translated the words he heard on the voice recording. "This set of words was repeated three times in that same order in that clip."

Silence

Nobody said a word for a bit. They all stared at Cedric with varying expressions; most were still doubtful, but a few were showing signs of belief.

"Next." The Titan's flat and indifferent voice sounded once more.

Another voice recording played out, and once again, Cedric had to focus.

"Left, left, right, hop, drop, swim."

Another one...

"Jump, jump, jump! Fly, twist, turn!"

And another one...

"Brains, Suck, Brains, Eat! Brains, Good."

And more...

Clip after clip was played, and Cedric did his best to translate everything as he understood it.

At this point, nobody could say a word. They all just stared at him, thinking about various things in their minds.

Some were still skeptical; others had started to believe him. Mostly because to them, his interpretations were starting to make sense.

What Cedric didn't know is that most of these voice recordings were taken from the remains of guardians who perished while Void Walking. It came from their badges that recorded sounds the moment their owners were near death. Since the badges are made from Void Ores, the void couldn't erode them, and they could be retrieved.

The camp could then discover what happened before the dying moments of their people.

Many guardians have perished during Void Walks, and it's only their badges that could be retrieved from them as a form of remembrance; the void withers all life to nonexistence, after all.

These voice recordings also help the camp to understand the population within certain zones. It tells them what kind of void creatures had been active so that they can plan around it.

Of course, they'd prefer if the owners of the badges returned alive as well. The camps are already short-staffed, after all, and training new ones would take longer. Unfortunately, the void is unforgiving to its victims and doesn't follow the whims of living beings.

Most of the people here were commanders at the very least. All of them have a wealth of experience traversing the void and have certainly met many void creatures in their tenure. They've become familiar with the sounds they make.

This is why some of them were starting to believe Cedric's interpretations. Because to them, if those Void Creatures could truly speak, they would certainly say something like that.

But, wasn't this such a chilling thought, though?

Because who would've believed that Void Creatures can speak? Weren't they believed to simply follow the instincts of the void to devour all life forms? How come they can speak words?

And yeah, sure! Just merely understanding the words they're saying doesn't necessarily mean that void creatures are, in fact, somewhat intelligent.

But if Cedric's translations were to be believed, then it's pretty much confirmed. Because one of his translations went like this:

"...I hear two creatures, and they seem to be... conversing? Arguing with each other? Something like that."

"The first one said: Mine, Place, Area, Leave!"

"The second one replied: Lies! Me, Place, Here, First! You, Leave!"

"I'm guessing that they're fighting over a certain territory."

"Then, the first voice said, You, me, fight. Stronger, this, place, get!"

"The second voice said: Agreement. You, Lose! I, Win! I, Claim, Here, Place!"

"After that comes the sounds of their fight. That's all I heard from that clip."

His previous translations were already unnerving. This one, though? It's downright chilling.

This goes beyond understanding what the Void Creatures were saying. It implies a deeper and much more terrifying thought.

It means that some void creatures were indeed intelligent. It's made obvious by the fact that they can have a full conversation with each other. And from Cedric's translations, it could be said that they are showing territorial habits, and they also knew concepts such as provocation.

Honestly, it sounds mad. It's completely against preconceived notions about void creatures. It is for this reason that some didn't believe Cedric still.

It's not because he's not convincing. They just didn't want to believe it. They are scared at the idea of void creatures possibly being intelligent. And nobody could blame them for that.

"I'll play one final clip, and you can rest," the titan spoke.

This time, he could barely conceal the grimness in his tone. However, nobody commented on it.

Then, the voice recording started playing. As soon as it did, Cedric visibly winced.

He wasn't the only one. This particular voice recording was harsh and soul-chilling. Anybody who listens to it will feel greatly disturbed, disoriented, and scared.

That said, it had the harshest effect on Cedric, specifically since he could understand the words being said in it. He bore the full burden of the void's might even through this voice recording.

Its effects were so strong that Cedric started bleeding from his eyes, nose, and ears.

The sight horrified those who were watching.

"Officer Dawnbringer! Are you okay!?" The titan's voice inquired, his tone full of worry and audibly apologetic.

Cedric just gestured positively with his hands. He didn't trust his voice right now because his mind was completely shaken. He wiped the blood off his face. He felt weak, and his face visibly paled. However, he held on.

When he recovered enough, instead of confirming his state to the listeners, Cedric chose to tell the words he heard from the voice recording.

"The Void embraces all."

"The noise of the Primordial Chaos has long been a nuisance to our once silent home."

"I, as the Oracle, am chosen to enact the will of the Void."

"Hear me, children. Our mother carries the prince, and soon, he will be born to lead us all!"

"He will be unstoppable! We will be unstoppable!"

"Break their walls! Swallow the Primordial Chaos! Plunge everything back to eternal silence!"

"The Void will never be stopped!"

"..." Cedric released a shaky breath, and his face was visibly paler than before.

"That's all it says."

These were his last words before he fainted from weakness.