The Void Within plot is taking a hiatus! All plot point earning activities have been paused starting November 11th and are expected to resume in February 2025. Enjoy a break from the grind over the holidays! The plot will return with updates to the pacing, balancing of the activities, and bug fixes.
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Pre-Plot Teasers
The first formal announcement of the "The Void Within" plot came as part of the announcement video of the "New Era" of Neopets on July 17, 2023:
A silhouette of Nyx appeared alongside the name reveal of the plot at timestamp 2:43 of the New Era announcement video
Numerous other teasers and mentions have been dropped since and even before then. Here is a summary of all that is currently known about the developing plot.
2023 Faerie Festival
After the main event of the 2023 Faerie Festival was over, returning to the festival hub revealed a comic with Vira and a lesser-known faerie.
2023 Trick-or-Treating
For the 2023 edition of Trick-or-Treating, excerpts of books were found at the bag locations which mention several established villains and their experiences with the void. Most notable is Vira's entry (location 6) which she snuck into the collection of tales.
Read the Excerpts »
2023 Advent Calendar
In the 2023 Advent Calendar, there was periodic dialogue overlaid. Orion, who we first met in the 2023 Festival of Neggs, returned to warn Reina of his foreboding visions. He used a lyre to share his visions, which appeared as the comics published on December 26th through 29th. The comics also contained the first images of a plot character, Nyx, although her name was not revealed until the March 2024 AMA.
Read the Dialogue »
(Aesop also assured us that the Petpet hasn't yet perished. Will we get to help save it during the plot??)
The Greyening
Shopkeepers started appearing with a new grey look and bleak flavor texts in March 2024. In the March 2024 AMA, TNT Aesop said they are feeling drained and cannot be painted another colour. Starting in late April, various dailies began to turn grey as well. The affected shops and dailies in order of the changes appearing were:
Unis Clothing
It's okay, I understand if you don't like anything...
Have I always had such poor taste?
Grooming Parlour
Blah, what a dreary day... What do you want?
An item? You can click on them yourself. I need a break.
The Bakery
The Breadmaster says , ‘Yech'
This batch is too sour. Seems I overproofed the dough...
Hubert's Hot Dogs
Huh... Oh- Hubert's Hot Dogs
Get em while they're... lukewarm?
The Neggery
Super Happy Icy Fun Snow Shop
Moderately Content Icy Amusement Snow Shop
I'm testing out new shop names. Do you like that one? Yeah, me neither...
The National Neopian Bank
Grumpy Old King
Coltzan's Shrine
The Discarded Magical Blue Grundo Plushie of Prosperity
Giant Omelette
Wheel of Knowledge
The wheel additionally started awarding some grey prizes at this time. It's unknown if these items are time-limited or will remain as prizes indefinitely.
Wheel of Knowledge Grey Prizes
The Money Tree
The Money Tree additionally started showing some new grey items at this time, donated by a "Mysterious Yurble". It's unknown if these items are time-limited or will remain as donations indefinitely.
Trudy's Surprise
The slot machine additionally started awarding some grey prizes at this time. It's unknown if these items are time-limited or will remain as prizes indefinitely.
Trudy's Surprise Grey Prizes
View all Greyed Images »
2024 Festival of Neggs
In the Festival of Neggs, Kari, having been hit by the grey curse, was too sad and uninspired so Orion had to help her out. He again had visions, and discovered a new Petpet species and found an object possibly related to the plot.
Other Mentions
We know that the plot involves a faerie, and the following further supports the plot featuring the faerie obscured in the 2023 Festival of Neggs comic:
Hey TNT! I really wanted to know, where would you say your guys' priorities are at for the coming one to two years? For example I'm so excited for a potential new plot, I've been training my pet in advance as well for it! But there's also a lot of site upkeep to be done. Where will your focus be, and any news you could give us on upcoming plots or features? ~~christiaan258
Hey there! After many meetings and discussions, we are hard at work with updates to the future events in Neopia to make for the best experience. We also have our work carved out for the Battledome that we want to address and the work on making UC Paintbrushes as perfect as possible. Thank you for your patience! ~~Yarner
As for the plot, our narrative team has already mapped out most of the storyline, and we are tentatively aiming for the release of the first chapters next year. Once we get through some of the upcoming events such as the Faerie Festival and Advent Calendar, we will likely start having some of the other disciplines join us in working on the plot! Although I don't want to give too much away, I can say that the next plot will be a heartfelt tale involving a certain faerie long overdue for a resolution... ~~Aesop
From Neopian Times, Issue #965, published July 29, 2022
During the December 2023 AMA, Aesop revealed
the plot would be interesting regarding colour. Is this more than just the Grey shopkeepers? He also asserted it would involve a new location.
The September 2023 AMA teased that the plot would contain a Battledome element, and more was later revealed about this aspect within the plot:
Hey TNT, thank you for the NCUC, now all our lab rats can look beautiful. Speaking of, with the upcoming plot, how hard should we train? Will those of us who have been training our pets for years and have a decent battledome set have a challenge?
Although we are planning on ensuring that the Battledome is accessible to new users who are not as familiar with it, there’s a strong possibility that you will be facing off against some especially tough opponents who could give even the most seasoned Battledome veterans a run for their neopoints.
And on the opposite end, we’ll also ensure that users who aren’t big fans of the Battledome still get something to do during the more battle-heavy sections of the plot!
~~TNT_Tumble
From Neopian Times, Issue #1000, published January 26, 2024
The March 2024 AMA was focused around the plot. Much was discussed, and it was hinted that Vira and the faerie have a 3rd counterpart in plotting their upcoming misdeeds.
March 2024 AMA Recap »
Off-Site Content
Additional imagery and references have been made off-site on Neopets' official social media channels. Apart from any images that were also duplicated in the on-site News, we've seen the following images.
Facebook
X (formerly known as Twitter)
Plot Launch Branding Changes
Plot Launch & Upcoming Tie-Ins
In the March 2024 AMA, TNT revealed that more teasers would drop in the upcoming Altador Cup event. In the May 2024 AMA, however, TNT announced the plot would launch on June 17, and the AC would be delayed until July 2024.
At midnight on June 17th, Meridell and Meridell Castle appeared greyed. At 10am, the plot hub launched along with the first page of the first chapter of the story in the form of a comic. Visit the Void Within Hub and our other guide pages for more info!
