Astral Prism

Since the end of his slumber, Keosius had not felt threatened for a long time. Even the newly born Balor was just a slightly troublesome little problem in his eyes.

But now, this call from the void makes him feel an immense threat.

"It's time to see the truth behind all of this."

After a moment's thought, Keosius pondered this.

If the opponent is truly capable of eliminating me, then I could have made my move during the initial battle; there's absolutely no need to lure them over.

With Red Dragon's current strength, the only ones who can prevent him from escaping are the Devil Lord with Quasi-divinity in the Abyss. However, these beings are rejected by the material world and it is difficult for them to appear in the Prime Material Plane in their true form.

The entity behind that definitely has interests in the Red Dragon; otherwise, it wouldn't have nurtured it into a world boss in its previous life. Perhaps he could use this to stage a scene of snatching food from Snatching Food from the Tiger's Mouth, taking the power that should have been given to "Keosius" from the hands of that entity.

With that thought, Keosius folded his wings and pressed them tightly against his body, then lowered his head slightly and carefully slipped into the passage.

This place is spacious enough for many demons and Fallen Giant, but it is too narrow for Keosius. However, it is the only passage to the depths of the lair.

Fortunately, his Darkvision allowed him to see everything clearly, and his pale gold pupils shimmered faintly in the darkness.

Finally, he entered the deepest cave.

The cave was filled with unclean black and red bloodstains, writhing worms, and acidic liquid that corroded everything.

However, that's not all there is to it.

"This is."

A rare look of surprise appeared in the Red Dragon's eyes.

A twenty-faceted prism floated in the center of the cave, each facet engraved with chaotic runes, from which countless dark yellow beams of light shot out.

A black, chaotic mist permeated the surroundings, with tiny particles constantly moving erratically and emitting piercing shrieks, making it resemble a miniature Abyss.

"Astral Prism".

Keosius murmured the name.

In his eyes, this twenty-faceted prism was a gateway to the Astral Plane, only temporarily corrupted by the power emanating from the demon.

Astral Plane.

A familiar name.

That was a pure spiritual world, a silver void between all true planes.

This place is boundless, incredibly mysterious, yet also incredibly dangerous. The warships of the "Githyanki," the "Astral Pirate," often drift with the Milky Way, launching raids on various planes, but they are only a tiny part of the Astral Plane.

There exist things even larger and uglier than these— Astral Beast, Astral Whale, and floating islands formed from the corpses of ancient, dead gods.

Even powerful and mysterious Planeswalkers would consider this plane a transit point that is best left as soon as possible.

They often skip the exploration step, preferring to use magical devices to accomplish it. The most direct method is through Astral Conduit or Color Pool, which can transport a person directly from the Prime Material Plane to any Outer Plane.

"The Astral Plane?"

If it weren't necessary, Keosius would never want to enter the Astral Plane at this stage. He already possessed the strength to establish a foothold Astral Plane, but he couldn't handle the unknown dangers.

"Come on, this is our inevitable destiny."

"Don't be afraid, don't hesitate, accept it all."

The deep call echoed once more from the Astral Prism, but this time the voice was much stronger, almost like a tidal wave, continuously washing over the Red Dragon's mind.

"No..."

"We must not be swayed by this voice."

The Red Dragon shook its head, its pupils flashing.

Even the desire for power cannot lead to recklessness.

After a moment of contemplation, he summoned the [Calamity Dragon Eye] and spat out raging flames, personally creating a dragon-shaped avatar made of flames.

The Dragon Sorcerer's powerful will distorts reality.

The illusory dragon eye was embedded in the incarnation's eye, becoming its eye to observe the outside world, and also the connecting channel for the Red Dragon to control these magical flames.

"Start it."

With just a slight exertion of his will, Keosius caused every rune on the prism to emit a faint starlight, and the Astral Plane Gate slowly opened before him.

Under his control, the fire elemental avatar roared with a scorching wind before heading straight into the passage.

Through the [Calamity Dragon Eye], Keosius saw a rainbow-like tunnel of light behind the door. He traveled an imperceptible distance until his surroundings blurred, and finally passed through the last portal to arrive at this deep void— the Astral Plane.

"Is this the Astral Plane...?"

The Incarnation of Flame of Keosius stood on the dark rock, muttering to himself.

In his previous life, he was just a mercenary wandering the Prime Material Plane and had never accepted a high-level mission across dimensions. Only now has he witnessed this magnificent sight.

—All around was an endless void, with silver currents flowing through the darkness, dotted with countless twinkling stars. This was not just a source of light, but could also be a portal to other dimensions, or a projection of some outer space.

There are enormous floating islands in the void, which may be the corpses of Astral Beast, or even the remains of forgotten ancient gods—their origins have long since vanished into the dust of history, unknown to humankind.

That familiar voice came again, this time incredibly clear.

"The flames of revenge are burning fiercely..."

"Embrace the Abyss..."

"Bring it on..."

The avatar of Keosius floated over following the sound.

He traveled between one floating island after another until he finally found the source of the sound.

On the floating island, which was nearly 10,000 meters in diameter, a humanoid creature three meters tall was bound. Its outstretched wings, ferocious horns, and exposed red skin all revealed its identity—a Balor from the Abyss.

This demon had three pairs of wings on its back, each asymmetrical. Its twisted body was bound by heavy chains, its hands and feet were nailed to stones, and it was surrounded by intricate and mysterious magical runes.

The entire floating island seemed to be a giant prison, created solely to imprison this demon. Broken rock fragments and massive cracks thousands of meters long floated around it, suggesting a fierce battle had taken place.

The demon before them was not as enormous as a typical fire demon; in fact, it was somewhat emaciated, yet it constantly exuded an aura of extreme danger. If the seal were to loosen even slightly, the nearly solidified mist of the chaotic Abyss would leak out.

The demon was suspended in mid-air, its head bowed.

Suddenly, as if sensing the arrival of Keosius, the Balor raised its head, its deep eyes burning with the fire of vengeance, and a strange smile appeared on its lips.

"The trajectory of fate may change, but the destination of that journey is already set and cannot be easily altered."

"This is both the destiny of the world's rules and the ultimate choice of the Abyss Will."

"Keosius, my most perfect, destined contractor, you have come here after all."

"Nice to meet you. I am Jezal Slack, the Revenge Lord, the Balor from ancient times, a former Abyss Lord, and your future collaborator."