Decided to take my own stab at Void sickness since the idea has been simmering in my head for a while, and I've recently seen an uptick in posts about Void-related effects (listed below).
general traits || super effects || Frenzies || Void sickness by @great-shot-terrible-gambler || Void sickness by @songs-of-future-past
As I previously mentioned in "RZ and the Void," my headcanon is that Void users have (2) main stereotypes: empty (tired, hungry, emotionally drained) and devouring (eating, sleeping, and/or seeking fulfillment). These wouldn't apply to all users ofc, but it got me thinking:
What would happen if the Void was overused?
In my opinion, Lightbearers who exclusively use Void are exempt from most of its ill effects. Yes, they still need to anchor themselves to avoid losing their identity, but they never lose control of their Light. Lightbearers who predominantly use Void, but also use other paracausal powers, are still susceptible to Void sickness but rarely experience it.
For everyone else, Void sickness would come in (3) stages: Hunger, Starvation, and Famine.
Hunger is the most common form of sickness, and the easiest to overcome. Just like physical hunger, symptoms include low energy, cramps, cravings, and general irritability. Supers require more Light to cast; class abilities take longer to recharge; Void Breaches occur more often, but are less effective. Void users are encouraged to switch to Solar, rest, and eat but not overeat.
Symptoms usually resolve within a few hours to a few days, depending on circumstances.
Starvation is the "burnout" phase of Void usage. Extreme hunger is accompanied by migraines, muscle aches, chills, exhaustion and aggression [or confusion]. Void users have trouble sleeping, resting, or focusing, and may binge-eat or drink excessively to self-soothe. Some also engage in risky behavior to maintain the Light needed for supers/abilities, resulting in a vicious downward spiral.
Physical changes are often subtle - while many expect things like blackened eyes and seeping Void energy, the real symptoms include under-eye bags, sunken cheeks, cyanosis, and pallor. Awoken lose the "glow" to their eyes and Exos' bio-lights flicker or appear more dim. (Exos are often overlooked as their bodies are inorganic.)
To combat Starvation, Void users are ordered to rest, eat healthy, drink plenty of fluids [if human or Awoken], and avoid using paracausal powers. Physical and mental therapy are encouraged.
Famine is the final, and most dangerous, stage of Void sickness. It is the stereotypical "beserk, indiscriminate, devours-everything-in-its-path" sickness that everyone associates with Void. Its symptoms vary from Void user to Void user, but can include things like:
heightened sensitivity to Light (allows user to track Light sources and Devour them)
ability to drain nearby persons of their Light without casting a super
unconscious ability to make nearby persons feel Weakened or Suppressed
inability to retain Light, causing the Void to seep from their body or cloud around them
extreme [sometimes mindless] aggression bordering on bloodthirstiness
for some, a desire to destroy; for others, a simple desperation to satisfy their hunger
extremely cold body temps, which result in cold injuries for humans and brittleness for Exos, and a paradoxical increase of Light in Awoken skin (due to their origins in deep space)
physical manifestation of any fears about the Void, like blackened eyes [or no eyes], black maw, fangs, and claws
muffled hearing - tuning them into the Void at the cost of everything else
Although Famine is fortunately rare, it generally cannot be resolved without killing the affected Void user, since it requires complete severance from the Void itself. The user will also lose their ability to wield Void for a time, though they may feel its pull.
Meditation, therapy and self-discipline exercise are mandatory for Lightbearers associated with the Vanguard.
But what about Lightbearers who exclusively use Void? What protects them from Famine?
Void-only Lightbearers interact with the Void in 1 of 2 ways: they're constantly balancing on The Edge, precisely knowing and testing their limits, or they conserve energy like a predator and find ever-increasing ways to draw out more Light for themselves. Either way, they come to know the Void intimately, resulting a phenomenon known as Ascension.
Ascension is almost like a foil to Famine. Rather than being fueled by ruthless destruction, Void users wield their Light like a knife, cutting away what will feed them the most. Sometimes it's a horde of Thrall, sometimes it's a single Knight. The user remains entirely in control when using their abilities/super and any manifestation is of their own making (claws, fangs, blades, bows).
"Ascension" has been observed in multiple well-known Void users, including Ikora Rey, Saint-14, and Pahanin. @themetalmenace is unofficially confirmed to have reached "Ascension" as well.
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Author's note- I'm aware of the similarities between my headcanons and the ones I linked. "Famine" was specifically inspired by "Void Frenzies," but is based on the 2022 Void 3.0 update, comparing D1 to D2 Void aspects, and tracking the Iron Medallions via their Light in the Gjallarhorn mission.
Everything else is based on my experience as a Void Guardian; maladies like hunger, iron deficiency, the flu, emotional burnout, and depression; vampires; black holes; and this old comment from Discord.⤵️
All that being said, I don't own the concept of Void sickness, and any comments/additions are welcome!
♠️ ‘ ‘ Some of us.. touch the void.. make it apart of us… … … Then we take on a name… Nightstalker…’ ‘
{ Void users within the Darkage, Tevis Larsen and Andal Brask. }
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⚜️ ‘ ‘ His body is cold.. not usually that..cold.. as I wield what is left of my fallen brother.. I only pray to the traveler above… that I won’t.. go under..’ ‘
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🃏 I hope you guys enjoy these newly finally updated designs of Andal and Tevis of our Hunter crew. I know they are different than the comics or slight official designs in game but I wanted to have fun with these. When I first started this blog I didn’t know how to design Tevis and Andal so I used as a placeholder the designs from the artist @sylenth-l ( amazing work please go check them out). So now these are MY official designs for the Raincloud and Sunshine Boys. NOW- some headcanons of the Sickness AU’s world of Void based users- well atleast for these two.
How the Void works in this AU:
Void isn’t a common thing to gain within this universe especially in the darkage, you would need to gain it either by fully subcoming to the fine line between light and dark or picking it up from another Void user. The Void is more cold and numbing in this AU, and usually distorting the light, kinda like an ever growing battle of light and dark within their bodies. With this the user with experience high levels of possible insomnia, night-terrors, and even hallucinations of the ones that was before them ( only if they picked up the void from someone else). Void usually locks/tethers to certain parts of the user’s body causing those points to be fully numb compared to the fade towards the chest which feels more line pin and needles ( aka foot tingle tingle feeling)
Tevis - Tevis in this AU used to be an Arc based hunter, but due to his body not being able to fully control the current of the Arc he had gained lightning scars of where Arc usually sits on a person ( arms and legs), When covering them up with interesting tattoos, it actually blended the tattoos and scars within the light/darkness in his body. With this causing the “eyes” of his arms and legs to pulse with void whenever he is mad, or goes for a shot with his bow.
Andal - Andal was a Solar Hunter in the AU before picking up void, the help of solar aided him actually being able to control it. Causing it also be formed into a more solid/collected form of 2 blades. He also has less likely the changes of the void creeping up through his scars and/or mouth like Tevis’s smoke. But the void has caused some of Andal’s hair to start slowly turning gray due to the constant stress of the nightmares.
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(that is all any more questions of these 2 or void users for hunters/others please throw into my “ask me” box!)
GOOD EVENING. YOUR "VOID FRENZY" HEADCANONS. HAND THEM OVER 🔫
GEEZUMS OK-
so um.
for me to talk about my headcanons for Void Frenzies, I gotta first talk about the Void and how it relates to Nightstalkers especially, cause, y'see-
The Void is a quirky lil thing.
There are numerous accounts and lore bits that talk about how the Void is, even though it's technically Light, almost like an entity unto itself.
"...I've discovered another little trick to getting in good with that yawning mouth of nothing we call the Void: exhaustion. When I start slipping into that twilight, where I'm not sure if I'm awake or dreaming, I can feel the absence. It's close enough to touch. I guess it doesn't matter if it's literal or metaphorical. The Void just likes it when I'm running on empty." - Nightstalker
"The Void ain't special. It sure is creepier than Solar or Arc, that's for sure. But it isn't special. Just show it respect, thank it for a lovely evening, and make sure you always pay your bill. So to speak. Then you've got nothing to worry about. See?" - Shard of the Traveler (Nightstalker)
"There are those who see the Void as dark. It is the folly of the simple mind, unable to perceive the brilliant richness of nothingness. The Void is not only the absence of Light, but Dark..." - Apotheosis Veil
Even further, countless lore tabs talk about the risks of using the Void and the reasons why it can be detrimental to use, especially for Nightstalkers, who balance on the knife's edge of powers and abilities that could prove to be exceptionally dangerous if not exercised with paramount discipline:
"I've had a dozen Hunters ask me why it's so hard to summon a Dusk Bow. I asked 'em what they thought of the Void, and their eyes told me everything. You can't be afraid. That's the secret. No fear." - Tevis, Log Entry 19338
"Picking it up is the easy part, Hunter. Putting it down again, well, you’ll find that it’s addictive, that power. This weapon is something special. Your Light gets twisted. Changed. You find the power to punch through and borrow something from the other side. The Void opens up a hole, and draws from the deep. Go ahead. Carry it a while, Hunter. You’ll feel how heavy it can get.” - Cayde-6, The Nightstalker's Trail
"Doesn't matter how good you are—you stay out there too long, you're not coming back. Not the same way you left, anyway." - Tevis Larsen, Graviton Forfeit
So I asked myself, what happens when a Guardian does go too far into the Void? What happens when the Void they take from finally decides to take something back?
And that's when the idea of Void Frenzies came to me.
So, how do they work?
I imagine they happen to Nightstalkers more often than Sentinels or Voidwalkers just due to the nature of their class and how it works, as well as my own personal knowledge being more expansive when it comes to the Void subclass for Hunters compared to Void Titan and Warlock. So for brevity's sake, I'm going to solely be referring to Nightstalkers for this. Although y'all can feel free to add on your own thoughts on how this might happen for Sentinels and Voidwalkers!
There are a few ways that Void Frenzies can be triggered, but more often than not they tend to be caused when a Nightstalker overtaxes themselves and overuses their Void without giving themselves room to breathe or time to calm down. Huge bouts of emotional turmoil and/or copious amounts of stress can also make a Nightstalker more susceptible to snapping thus triggering a Void Frenzy.
The telltale signs of a Void Hunter experiencing stress that, if it becomes uncontrollable, could lead to a Void Frenzy are as follows:
Living things such as trees, flowers and grass begin to die and wilt around them and any living creature feels like its energy is being siphoned from their body, mirroring the effects of the power we know as Devour.
The temperature of the air around them suddenly drops and turns stagnant. It's not just cold, it's also thick and musty. Unnaturally still. Entropic. Dead.
Void energy begins to course along their arms and face. It creeps under their skin like dark tendrils that they seem to be unable to control, as if it's infecting their very body. The Light underneath the skin of Awoken Guardians turns a dark purple. Their eyes, and the lights in Exos' mouths and optics, turn a brilliant violet, and their sclera—the whites of their eyes—turn black. Energy seeps from their eyes like thick, smoky tears. Purple smoke also can escape from their nose and mouths, even billowing up from the hollow cheeks of Exos.
They seem distant. Hungry. Tired. They become far more prone to spacing out. More often than usual. The Void likes when they run on empty, and the emptier they are, the stronger their connection to the Void becomes until, without proper discipline and control, it consumes them.
When a Void Frenzy occurs, it begins with the Hunter expelling a MASSIVE amount of Void energy around them as if they were casting a Super. Void Light bathes their form and often times will manifest in bladed weapons that look much like Spectral Blades, or in some cases, claws. This varies from Hunter to Hunter.
After this point, they have slipped into the grasp of the abyss and it will refuse to let go. They're only goal will to be to kill and consume as much energy as they can to feed the insatiable appetite of the emptinesses gaping maw. They cannot differentiate between friends and enemies and will attack anything that they see. The Void does not discriminate between energy sources and now neither do they. They do not control the Void anymore. The Void is in control of them. They are ferocious, insatiable, and extremely dangerous and will not stop consuming everything in their path until they either pass out or get shot.
The only ways to combat a Void Frenzy is to wait until their own energy has become exhausted and they burn out (which is not recommended as trying to contain Hunters in a Frenzy has proven to be nigh impossible), by suppressing them with the very energy that is controlling them and thus severing their own connection to the Void, or by killing them and allowing their Ghost to rez them so that the Light bathes and grounds them. The Vanguard tends to opt for killing Guardians in Void Frenzies on sight as it acts as a sort of hard reset that has proven to be the most effective and reliable method for quickly snapping a Guardian out of a Frenzy without causing too much extraneous stress, trauma or damage.
Guardians that have suffered from Void Frenzies are often given a one to two week mandatory leave of absence from their duties—the length being determined by the severity of the incident—and are encouraged and given the resources to take care of themselves until they have recovered enough and feel fit for duty.
In the fight against the Darkness, the last thing they need are Guardians losing themselves.
“Did you know it used to be controversial to harness the Void?” - The Drifter
It was once considered taboo to use Void powers, as some viewed the Void to be "dark"; however, the Void itself is defined as being absent of Light or Darkness, and Void Light is merely a means to manipulate it and where all Void energy originates, the use of Quantum Vacuum for it’s various effects.
The Guardian (My Version), Young Wolf, God-killer and King-Slayer is one of the strongest Void users - second only to Ikora Rey of the Vanguard. However, unlike the usual purple, their Void manifests as a glowing, harsh pink colour. Excellent for blending in with the foliage of Nessus that they can mostly be found patrolling.
