Elemental Cats

The three figures in dark grey robes bowed at Toz when they saw him arrive, but it seemed like they weren't interested in any other pleasantries.

"The Representative wishes to meet you."

"The Representative is the cult leader, by the way."

Frank's whisper telling Toz about who wanted to meet him didn't do much more than that. Toz still had no idea why the leader of the Cult of Nihiltas wanted to meet him. The only thing they had in common was the Void. However, there shouldn't be anyone who knew Toz had the void attribute.

Toz looked at the three figures for a few moments as he thought about it. Eventually, he decided to follow them back to meet with the Representative of the Void. But he wasn't going to take any unnecessary risks. After telling Frank to inform the others about his departure, he transmitted a message to the cats through his inclination.

The cats were in various places around the Bunglehoppers' base and the city, but after Toz called for them, they ran over to follow him from a distance, making sure that the cultists didn't notice them.

The cultists didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry, but they still kept up their pace, and despite being further away, it didn't take long until they reached the cultists' base.

Since they were an unofficial branch of the Church of Nihiltas, Toz expected something like an actual church to be their base. Granted, Toz didn't know if the Church of Nihilats had churches, but the cult didn't, at least.

The Cult of Nihiltas' base was a single large cubical building that seemed to house every cultist. Aside from a single large door, there wasn't a single opening in the grey cube. There also weren't any embellishments or decorations, and Toz began to wonder if it was a wise decision to follow the cultists to their base. Unfortunately, it was too late for Toz to change his mind, and the only thing he could do was follow the three cultists into the cube.

They met several other cultists on the way. Since they all covered their faces and bodies with large hoods and robes, Toz couldn't get a good look at them, but he still sensed how their gazes followed him into the building.

As he entered the cubical building, Toz felt dense void mana in the air. It was a paradise for people with the void attribute. However, Toz hadn't met a single other person who could use the void attribute, so he wasn't sure how many would get to enjoy the benefit of training in the base of the Cult of Nihiltas.

Toz followed the three cultists through a hallway, but he stopped for a second at the first room they passed by. There wasn't a door, so Toz had a clear view into the simple room with nothing but a bed and a mat in the center. However, what caught Toz's attention wasn't the bare, grey walls. It was the cultist sitting on the mat and training their void mana.

Toz kept moving, but he couldn't stop thinking about how there was a void mage as soon as he entered the building when he hadn't seen a single one before that in his life.

Toz's thoughts about it being a coincidence were blown away after he saw how almost every room had a void mage training their mana in it.

Toz trailed behind the three cultists with a weird feeling. There was no way that everyone in the building was born with the void attribute. It just wasn't reasonable for there to be so many void mages gathered in one spot by coincidence.

Toz hadn't had much experience with the twelve great religions, or any other religion for that matter, but he could tell that Nihiltas was most likely the reason behind there being so many void mages.

Eventually, the three cultists stopped in front of a door, the first one Toz had seen in the building. They made way for Toz as they bowed and directed Toz into the room.

Toz pushed open the door, not knowing what to expect.

The room wasn't really any different from the rooms Toz saw earlier, just slightly bigger and with a table and two chairs instead of a mat and a bed.

The chair opposite the door was occupied by another figure in dark grey robes. However, their robes were slightly different from the other cultists' since they had a light grey lining. But the clearest difference from the other cultists was the fact that the person didn't hide their head beneath a hood.

The representative's completely hairless face looked up at Toz as he entered the room.

Toz didn't sense any ill will from the grey eyes. But he didn't sense any other emotions, either, so he didn't immediately relax.

Toz accepted the Representative's offer and took a seat on the available chair.

Toz looked at the Representative, waiting for him to speak. Fortunately, it didn't seem like he had any intentions of playing mind games or being annoying, and pretty quickly opened his mouth.

"The believers of Nihiltas greet you, Toz, Traveler of the Void."

Toz wasn't quite sure what to think of the greeting or the title he had been granted by the cult of Nihiltas, but at least it didn't seem like they were going to take an aggressive stance against him.

"Likewise."

Toz nodded his head in respect as he greeted the Representative.

Toz was about to ask the Representative a question, but he was interrupted before he could speak.

"I sense your curiosity, Traveler. Fear not. The Void holds all answers. However, this isn't the time for questions. I asked to meet you in order to greet a brother of the Void. And now that I have met you, I must first extend an invitation to you.

"Do you wish to join our brotherhood?"

The representative had spoken with a neutral and emotionless tone all throughout his speech. However, he looked at Toz with an intense gaze as he asked his question.