A Villainess Should Be Strong

Estelle first did her best to imagine herself as an existence. An existence with a worth tied down to her.

Her soul count. It was now sitting prim and proper at 43, which was one point lower than when she first checked the instrument.

Estelle took a deep breath in and started focusing. Visualizing her calm self sitting down, her breath steady, and her mind tranquil.

Estelle's breaths were rhythmically controlled. She counted a beat inside her head, to which her heartbeat and breathing pace would adhere to in terms of frequency.

The voice had left her, so 'nothingness' in form of silence enveloped her entire being. No interruptions, no sounds, no noises.

Estelle was able to focus on herself. Not only as the person who does activities on a daily basis, but on a much deeper level that allowed her to explore herself.

A thrill spread through her as she honed her mind, her focus' intensity rising as she reached a higher level of visualization with each try she made.

On the first try, she could only feel a faint outline of herself sitting in front of her.

But by the tenth try, she managed to make herself, her physical body appear in front of her.

The true intent of 'nothingness' was that the Eterna- the endless realm, had endless possibilities.

Through these possibilities, Estelle was able to separate the element of nothingness within herself.

As the Ruler said, nothingness was everything. 

This included Estelle, who although couldn't count as a true denizen of the Eterna, could stay within this silly realm.

Estelle gleamed with excitement as her hands trembled at this new discovery.

She could finally see the aspects on which she was able to branch upon. Within herself, she could visualize the things that were 'incomplete'.

She felt in tune with herself. No longer was she separated from her physique. Her body, her mind, and her soul all collaborated to form one complete entity.

Nothingness covered her emptiness. 

She felt in peace.

Estelle continued her arduous travels to the point where sweat was dripping off her forehead. Her lips trembled as she persevered through the complex emotions she felt throughout the process.

Day by day, her understanding of this nothingness ploy increased.

But she still faced a bottleneck. It was because she couldn't utilize the element in cohesion with her own power.

The nothingness was always an external component in her journey to actually gain the ability to use this element.

It was like oil and water. Estelle's primary Creation Magic was the body of water, and the element of nothingness inside her was the oil.

They wouldn't mix no matter what.

It frustrated Estelle to the point where she thought to give up. But she knew that the moment she gave up, she would lose her last chance to return to the Surface.

That was why, she never gave up.

One day, she tried her training session one more time. 

This time, something was a bit different.

Her mana coursed through her with such smoothness that she hadn't seen even under her improvements.

It was a scenario that overshadowed every single step she had taken in the past. 

The improvement she gained in this one training session was so vast that she herself couldn't believe it.

At the end of the session, Estelle was gleaming with hope and admiration for the power she had obtained.

"I found it," Estelle proudly announced in her next meeting with the Ruler.

The Ruler grew silent for a few seconds, but then regained its calm.

"..This early? You should've taken on my bet after all. You exceeded my primary calculations," With a meaningful tone, the Ruler said.

"What would I have gotten anyway? It was too risky," Estelle rebutted, dismissing his claims.

"Well... Some gifts that might help you, I suppose," The Ruler answered, fleeting away without notice one more time.

Estelle thought of the gesture as quite rude at first, but then she grew to realize that the Ruler was actually being called. To do its service.

The Ruler had duties to perform, because it was, in fact, the Ruler of the Eterna.

The Ruler rarely visited the outer layers. When it greeted Estelle right after she arrived in the realm, it was because Estelle was a foreign entity that sparked his sensors. Because she wasn't supposed to be there.

Thus, the Ruler descended down into the lower realms and met with the stranded girl.

That was where their encounter started.

The once dry encounter, which was filled by anxiousness from Estelle's part was quickly soothed with a budding friendship between a voice that did not have a physical body and a girl stranded in the Eterna.

The Ruler was also quite fond of Estelle, noticeably. 

Even though it was busy, the Ruler would always find time to visit Estelle amidst her breaks. 

These breaks were normally short and concise. Estelle knew that her time was limited, unlike when she was in the Underworld.

If she did not manage to solve this predicament before her soul count ran out, then she would really be reduced to 'Value 0' and become a permanent denizen of the Eterna.

Estelle's days were all spent with productivity. None of her hours were wasted.

Because this was the realm of nothingness, the concept of things like hunger, sleepiness, and basic human needs were ignored. Estelle stood within the thin lines of a rightful existence and a creature who faced the law of nothingness.

The Ruler always told her that the reason why Estelle was allowed in was that her soul was special. That because of a loophole created when her soul power drastically dropped, she was categorized as a valueless creature.

This phenomenon was attributed to Estelle's special existence. She had a particularly strong soul, with a value higher than her peers. The 'System' counted her as a 'Value 0' being, but she actually still had value left.

Although it had dropped below half, this count was undoubtedly at least twice the worth of a normal soul's digits.

Estelle efforts weren't rewarded with nothing. She felt herself constantly improve.

It wasn't a visible improvement, but rather a promotion within her own self. She was able to explore things she couldn't do inside the Surface, where the law of the realm restricted her from many matters.

For example, if she had to perfectly imagine how a certain object worked before she could manifest it with her Creation Magic in the Surface, she was able to perform the same feat without having a complete imagery in the Eterna.

It was a stark difference. Because the Surface was so developed, the laws were stricter.

Meanwhile, the Eterna was filled to the brim with freedom. Although Estelle only stood inside the outer realms, she was still mystified by the benefits this realm brought her.

The Ruler also told her that in order to conserve her soul power to the max, she had to live life like she was still in the Surface. Which meant that, her time flow would also be based on the Surface.

One day inside the Eterna equaled to one day in the Surface.

It was a regretful trade, because Estelle knew that as long as her soul power could guarantee her safety while traveling through the 'Eterna'.

Everyone had their own perception of nothingness.

Just like everyone had different ways to unlock their proficiency in using the nothingness to their advantage.

Estelle had always wondered. Nothing was present inside the Eterna.

The only one who retained their consciousness was the Ruler itself, who was an omnipotent existence within said realm.

That would mean the lack of life inside the realm.

She had actually asked about this matter previously, to which the Ruler replied that the Eterna did not allow conscious beings. Because when one reached 'Value 0', they would instantly be reduced to nothing but remnants that couldn't retain their awareness.

But what Estelle had wanted to ask was actually not that.

It was another pressing question.

One day, she decided to ask after her training session ended.

It was nearing the end of her tenth day staying inside this realm. She had gotten somewhat accustomed to the strange rules and laws regarding this place, but it still couldn't help her understand everything.

Why did the Eterna exist?

Since it was a realm for the valueless creatures, shouldn't there be life?

Why was the Ruler the only one put in charge? With such a large realm, why was it alone?

Why was the Ruler alone, without any other companion?

Wasn't that such a cruel fate?

Estelle couldn't understand why.

The Ruler should be a powerful entity.

But it was bound to this realm. The Ruler's knowledge and power was uncalled for in comparison to its lack of completeness.

"Why are you here?" To satiate her thirst for an answer, Estelle asked this simple question.

Even as she was asking, Estelle tried to observe every single emotional hint she could pick up off the Ruler. 

She was worried that she had intruded into a forbidden matter, but she genuinely wanted to know.

Other than admiration, she felt pity for the Ruler.

Because even for how powerful it was, it lacked the most fundamental thing. 

The most important thing for Estelle.

The Ruler, who face this question, once expected this visit to be the same as the previous ones, where the two would have meaningless chatters.

Even these meaningless chatters were worth something to the Ruler.

However, instead of having these peaceful talks, Estelle had decided to ask a question the Ruler was afraid to answer.

The Ruler was taken aback. 

How would this question be answered?