Nothing

What are Nothings

If one takes a moment to consider that when a star is sufficiently massive it will crush its core down far that it produces a singularity or a black hole. But what of the mortal soul?

If you consider that immortal beings vie for the power of mortal souls to sustain them and power their plans, and that there are no end of supernatural monsters that prey upon the soul for sustenance to maintain themselves, then the mortal soul has a lot more punch to it than we may credit it. Mortals themselves suffer trials daily, and sometimes the weight of their world begins to push so hard on them that they can't get up. Some of these people might succumb to depression and even suicide. There are others though that are struck so hard and fast that they never had the chance to progress that far. When the weight of one's whole world collapses in an instant, there is the chance that the soul, like the star, will implode on itself until it forms a a sort of singularity that normally punches clear through the real world and into some other place. The body left behind is soulless and will waste away as an empty shell, and anyone who looks into the eyes of that individual will know they are not home.

The Structure of Nothings

Nothings can appear in many forms and shapes, but they have a similar composition and behavior regardless of their origin. It is also possible for supernatural souls to follow this path, but they tend to look much like other Nothings as opposed to forming some kind of super being. Just as black holes have simple structures and can be described by few numbers, Nothings also have a common structure that is relatively simple.

Aura

Most people encounter the aura of a Nothing and no more. The aura of most nothings is densest within a few hundred feet of their outer shell. The aura produces a powerful effect of inducing sadness with or without the induction of memories. The closer one gets to the Nothing, the denser the field is and the more powerful the effect. A glancing blow, often by hearing the Nothing's call, can suck the joy out of a person in and instant but nothing they can't survive. Close proximity to a nothing, however, can strip the will to live from a mortal and even a supernatural to leave behind a silent, hopeless husk that will eventually die. This process does not, however, make another Nothing. Nothing auras usually reach a point of failure within a tenth of a mile, but some of the largest ones known have been able to effect those that hear it from tens of miles away.

Outer Shell

The exterior shell of a Nothing can take on almost any shape. Some may look like dark, shadow versions of themselves and others might look like a being from Lovecraftian horror. An esper that becomes a Nothing may look like the object that acted as its body in the waking world. They are always dark and colorless regardless of their shape with grayscale being the best they might show for variation.

An important thing about the outer shell is that it is nearly impenetrable to magic and weapons. A Nothing can be restrained or sealed, but they are almost impossible to destroy unless one mends them or uses madmen against them. To a Nothing, there is nothing outside that could ever hurt it more than what created it, and the outer shell does not transmit information about such through it so there is no way to know what is inside without finding a way in directly. Attempts to scry into a Nothing are usually lethal to those scrying for many reasons.

Inner Shell or Murk

If one managed to press through and somehow breach the outer shell, they would reach a thick, dense, fluid like layer that fills the space between the outer shell and the core. To any mind that touches it, it is a poisonous, infectious substance that is made up of the fragments of the Nothing's world when it collapsed. If you could find a way to parse it, you could begin extracting memories or fragments of them from the Murk. The flux within the Murk is what drives the aura outside, and it is the Murk that also causes their characteristic vocalizations which almost always sound like something drown out and reflected in deep water.

The amount of dismay in an ounce of murk, if you could ever handle it, could kill a city of thousands. Even immortal beings are not immune to the effects. they may not die, but they may find themselves fighting the poison that if unchecked will turn them into still, silent gods. Fortunately, the durability of the outer shell makes this concern nearly moot.

The Core

At the core of the Nothing is the soul that caused it. The soul in almost always locked in the moment and circumstance of their creation. For example, in the core of one Nothing was found a father clutching the body of his son. While such things happen and do not create Nothings, the pose does no reveal exactly what happened to that soul to create it. Some information could be found in the Murk, but most of it will be too distorted to be useful.

The core is still a viable soul, and because of this, it is possible to save the soul of a Nothing. If the soul can be reached and shaken from the darkness, and if it can be instilled with even the tiniest motivation or hope to move on, the nothing can be destroyed and the soul can move on. However, to do this requires one of those who can approach a Nothing and survive. namely, Madmen.

Effects on People and Places

People and creatures

The effect on most people is as described earlier. In short, the closer one is to a Nothing, the more severe the effect. Being in contact with the distal edge of the aura can cause profound sadness and spontaneous crying. As one moves into the aura, this can turn into lingering sadness up to causing permanent depression of varying severity. Once a person gets too close they may lose their will to live and even settled into a numbness caused by profound depression that leaves them as husks until they finally expire.

Wildlife

The effects on wildlife are almost the same as those on sentient species. A sure sign you are tracking a Nothing is a tail of animals that seem to have just laid down and stopped functioning. they may be alive, but they will no longer respond to stimulus or even a need to eat or drink. Unless plants have emotions, they are spared from these effects.

Inorganic beings

In the case of automatons and androids, susceptibility lies in their ability to feel emotion. A machine with no emotion is not affected at all by the aura or any other part of the Nothing. An android with emotions, however, is subject to the effects of the aura. If they have a built in cut-out, they might suffer less damage. Otherwise, Nothing can turn a high end android life form into a doorstop.

Madmen

Madmen are the sole exception to these rules. These are not merely bold people, these are psychologically damaged individuals that have impaired ability to feel or process emotions. They are often beings who endure pain through manic behavior, and most of those that can handle a Nothing are ones who likely hallucinate or otherwise have malignantly convinced themselves they are unaffected. Agents of Chaos, usually with Lady Luck's blessing or that of The Jinx are also able to endure.

Wonderlanders are a special sort of madmen. Those than form its core are often off their rocker enough that they can safely be around a Nothing and think it unsightly perhaps but otherwise of no threat. Not ever denizen of a Wonderland is a madman, but most of them are at least a little off kilter. If you had to hunt for likely helpers, you could look here. Then again, if you knew what you were getting into trying to recruit nutters from a Wonderland, you may already be mad.

Chodonex

Chodonex are a being of chaos and one of the rarest species in the universe at present. They are innately immune to the permanent effects, and the sadness they sense and experience often drives them to act. They are one of the few species that can cross the outer shell and reach inside a Nothing without any other aid.

Muses

Muses are at risk for death from Nothing. Exposure can kill them almost instantly as they are beings of imagination and inspiration, and a Nothing is the infinite ability to consume that. Muses that survive these encounters often bear scars and have some degree of madness that was not present before. These creatures become Whimsies, and they are among some of the most dangerous creatures one can face as they can break reality with no restrictions.

Locations

It is very rare that a Nothing appears in the real world. However, if it were to happen, it is possible that it would have apparent effects on the area. Those near the Nothing would see their world darkening and turning gray. In reality nothing is happening to the environment, and it is their perception that is changing. Unlike unholy beings or other such creatures, they do not warp the world around them at all, and their effects are limited to physical interaction and emotional interactions.

In the dream world and other planes, a Nothing can wreak havoc. A Nothing us a sink that consumes creativity and imagination and leaves a vacuum in its wake. Landscapes wither and turn gray, and with time they may even bend and disintegrate into darkness. This aspect has made them a tool of Darkness from time to time. A good example of this is in the movie Neverending Story where the Nothing consumes the universe until nothing is left. If not for their pattern of movement and motivations, the Nothing may well cause such an issue. Dreamlands have madmen though, and most Nothing are at least contained.

Saving a Nothing

Morticon and Zen once encountered a Nothing in England where the muse Miguel, and the result was a damaged muse that went on to become a Whimsy. But that was not where they stopped. After having been in the real of dreams for some time and dealing with the powers of chaos and imagination directly, they had dome to the point where they were taking on things no one in their right mind should fight, and they did so routinely. With Zen, being an agent of chaos at that point, protecting Morticon, who was working more with fate, they reached into a Nothing and were able to open it up. Their reality was strong enough to break its reality, and deep inside they found a sight that tore at Zen in particular. A father, a mouse, clinging to his son's body. This was not his son's body but his memory of it, and the weight of grief and guilt had destroyed him. Only by reaching the core were they able to convince him that his son was not in his arms but waiting for him elsewhere. They removed the core fro the Nothing, and it ceased to be.

The primary issue with getting to the core is the outer and inner shells. Some people when faced with heart crushing pain break into laughter and they can't stop. Their perception warps so much that they can't feel things like they ought to, and this is what lets them in. Attacks and magic are almost useless against a Nothing, and psionics is a death wish. You have to reach into a Nothing with a soul, and the soul must be committed to the effort of its own will. Only then is it strong enough to reach inside and extract the core from the circumstances that made it.

Had Thomas March known this, he might have saved the spirit of the Nothing he trapped abd bound, the one that had injured Candice White and made her a whimsy. If one could have convinced his friend Hatter that he ought to try it, he may well have succeeded. Even Bandy Pyro might have succeeded. These people all have one thing in common: they are denizens of a Wonderland. Not every Wonderland or denizen of on fits the bill, but they all have a denial of reality stronger than a dream built into them by being part of a Wonderland. While they may be armored against them, most of them would never know they could save such a wretch if they found one.