Opening the Void Gate

Carl was a pure scholar. He hoped his academic research would usher in a new era.

At the same time, though, he wasn't as unrealistically domineering as the Angel Civilization—

They were always trying to use their own meager influence to impose a cosmic order that controlled how every civilization operated. It was childish and a waste of time.

To Carl, the universe was vast. More often than not, he couldn't even keep up with his own research.

If some species, civilization, star system, or even galaxy suddenly vanished from the Known Universe, it really didn't matter.

It wouldn't threaten him or interfere with his research.

No matter how dangerous the strange new things appearing in the Known Universe might be, at most they could threaten the Styx Galaxy.

But what did it matter to Death God Karl if the Styx Galaxy was threatened?

He had merely established his Death Song Academy in the Styx Galaxy, and while he was at it, sheltered a group of beast-type civilizations to use in his experiments.

That was all.

In other words, the entire Styx Galaxy was nothing more than Carl's private laboratory.

If he could no longer use it, he could simply leave and find another one.

He wasn't one of those rigid, inflexible people from Lieyang Planet, much less an extremist like the Angels and Demons.

The safety of the universe as a whole meant little to Carl. He had no grand ambition to become its savior.

Before the Human Federation came knocking, Carl had been relieved.

That way, he wouldn't have to waste time fleeing to another galaxy to continue his research.

The Styx Galaxy hadn't suffered a sudden, external destruction like the Hou Shen Galaxy and other galaxies, which was another reason for Carl to be relieved.

He couldn't die before his experiments produced concrete results.

The force that might have stopped him from conducting his Void experiments had never appeared. That could only mean one thing: his approach to researching the "Ultimate Void" was correct!

What pleased Carl even more was that the Angel Nebula was gone, along with the entire Order of Justice.

Those Angels, who were always showing up to threaten him with force in the name of protecting the Order of Justice or upholding God River morality, were gone.

When Carl learned that the Human Federation had wiped out the entire Angel Nebula with intergalactic strike weapons...

To him, it was something worth celebrating.

At last, no one would show up out of nowhere, waving some banner of justice, to stop his Void research.

The reason Carl had sent the Taotie to invade Earth and urged Morgana to rebuild the Demon Legion there was so he could put some effort into organizing a large-scale God-Slaying Operation and kill Keisha, the King of Gods.

The reason was simple.

Carl's Void experiments had reached a critical stage. If he continued, they were bound to cause a major disturbance.

To prevent that disturbance from drawing the Angels' attention and getting his experiment interrupted and ruined, the fall of Holy Keisha and the Order of Justice had been unavoidable.

They were always sticking their noses into things, after all.

The Human Federation had solved such a major problem for the Death Song Academy that Carl almost wanted to thank them.

There was no real conflict between him and the Human Federation.

As for the Taotie Fleet...

If he'd known the Human Federation would destroy the Angel Nebula, Carl wouldn't even have sent the Taotie Fleet all the way to Earth.

But to avoid attracting the Human Federation's attention and provoking an unnecessary conflict, Carl chose to keep a low profile and gave up on the idea of thanking them.

Recently, he had been working hard to refine his research.

Carl's goal had always been the same. He wouldn't let anything distract him.

He had sacrificed too much for his research into the Void.

He had abandoned friendship, love, and his teacher. He had even abandoned his past.

He had even cast off his original God River Body and changed the very nature of his life, upgrading himself into a Phantom Body.

What had he done it all for?

Just to get an answer.

An answer about the Ultimate Void!

So what exactly were Carl's Void experiments?

It was simple. He had found a way to open a "gate," which he had named the Void Gate.

Beyond that gate lay the Void World!

By passing through it, he would be able to see—and even travel to—another real world.

Whether that world held the answer he sought, even he didn't know.

But Carl was certain that once he opened the gate and successfully entered the Void World,

he would be able to break free of the limits on his thoughts and intelligence, escape the state of "Ultimate Fear," and embark on an entirely new stage of life.

Even if he failed to reach what he defined as the "Ultimate Void," he would still break through the many constraints imposed by the existing universe and attain an ultimate state beyond anything they could currently imagine!

Break through the known and reach the unknown!

Then he would uncover the true secrets of the Known Universe!

What he could accomplish would go far beyond ushering in a new era!

Carl's resolve was unshakable, and his mind calm, though touched by an academic fervor.

But his subordinate couldn't share his composure.

At that moment, Sno looked at the Great Clock's data, which showed a Known Universe that had become almost completely devastated. An inexplicable sense of unease stirred in him.

He couldn't help wondering:

If this experiment failed, what would happen?

If it succeeded, that would be fine. They would usher in a new era.

The God-Making Civilizations that had risen on the foundation of the God River Technology System—the God River, the Angels, the Demons, the Deno, Lieyang, and all the other well-known powers in the Known Universe—had now fallen almost without exception.

Only they remained in the Styx Galaxy.

If Carl's experiment failed too—or if he opened the Void Gate and vanished into the Void World, leaving behind only his followers...

What would they do?

Sno didn't dare tell Carl about his unease, but the beast-type civilizations under Carl had all grown restless.

The Taotie Civilization, the Sirius Civilization, and the other powers under the Death Song Academy had, for some unknown reason, become exceptionally agitated lately.

The kings of these civilizations had all requested an audience with Carl, the Death God.

But Carl was currently consumed by his research and paid no attention to other affairs.

With the experiment about to reach its critical stage, Carl had no desire to spend any more time dealing with or disciplining these unruly beast-type civilizations under his command.

They might call themselves his followers.

But in truth, they had only served as test subjects in his Void experiment.

Now that he no longer needed these burdens, he would cast them aside without hesitation.

"Sno."

"My god!"

"The Great Clock has calculated a suitable location, and the Void Energy is ready... The time has come."

"Is there anything you need me to do?" Sno asked nervously.

"You don't need to do anything. Just watch in silence. This will be... a rare feast!"

"You're fortunate enough to enter the Void World with me!"

With a faint smile, Carl brought the Great Clock to its highest power setting. The thousands of stars it had linked to in the Styx Galaxy burned fiercely.

The Stellar Energy they drew upon flowed into Carl's body and immediately transformed into surging Void Energy!

The entire Death Song Academy was instantly enveloped by a powerful force of overlapping space and time.

The Void Gate opened!