Face the Void

The Dark Void. It was not a pleasant-sounding name, yet its owner had birthed countless worlds and lives throughout this universe. And as the creator of all this, it had not grown proud or complacent, instead silently continuing to keep the universe running.

Compared to the Dark Void, Vanidak preferred to call it the Astral Realm. Though this Astral Realm was far too quiet for his liking, with only the occasional breathtaking cosmic wonder crafted by the Creator offering anything worth seeing. But at this moment, this tranquil Astral Realm finally had visitors.

A flash of silver suddenly gleamed in the silent Void, followed by the appearance of a colossal silver sphere. The instant it entered the Astral Realm, the beautiful and mysterious orb vanished, replaced by two giants facing one another.

Yes, they were Vanidak and the dark giant he had secretly forced through a little trickery. Or perhaps it was time to use another name here—a name that might be familiar or unfamiliar to them: the avatar of a Void Lord, or the Void Lords.

"I have to admit, your innate authority is truly astonishing." The avatar looked around and spoke to Vanidak, who had successfully caught him off guard. "Now I am even more curious about you. Why not join us? Your addition would make our power even greater."

"Join you and carry out your so-called 'purification'?" Vanidak responded with disdain.

"Your plan is beneath contempt. A bunch of pitiful creatures who only follow their own nature, who cannot even understand the essence of their own power, and you want to recruit me? I don't come cheap."

"So, you refuse." The avatar replied, "Then as punishment, I will defeat you. But do not worry, World Soul. I will preserve your soul for my slow study."

"Heh, what big talk, especially for someone without a mouth."

As soon as he spoke, two pillars of light collided once more.

Clang! The hidden blade struck the pitch-black fist, sending ripples spreading outward. The meteors surrounding the battlefield were instantly ground to dust by the shockwave.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

As the crossed twin blades slashed out, they sent two intersecting silver waves of light flying toward the avatar. In response, the avatar gathered energy between both hands. A black shockwave burst forth, colliding with the silver cross-shaped waves and unleashing an even greater impact.

When everything gradually settled, the two intersecting spatial rifts slowly closed. Vanidak had vanished from where he had been standing, and a voice suddenly came from behind the avatar.

"Watch your back!"

The next second, two black twin blades stabbed into his body. Vanidak, having completed his grand backstab, remained expressionless. With a flicker of space, he vanished again, and black flames erupted violently from the stabbed avatar before detonating in a massive explosion.

Vanidak reappeared and looked toward a spot in the Void, calling loudly, "Stop hiding. Under these eyes of mine, that little trick of yours can't conceal you."

As he spoke, the darkness in one part of the Void dispersed, and that familiar completely black figure appeared again, silently watching Vanidak.

"You're really ruthless with yourself. You used nearly a quarter of your energy to make a living bomb. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I really would've fallen for it!" Vanidak said as his hidden blades sprang out again.

"Your weapons interest me. The power upon them feels familiar," the avatar said. "I think they would make fine additions to my collection."

"Pah, you shameless braggart. You spent that much energy trying to ambush me, and you still think victory is guaranteed?"

"I'm at full energy!"

"Ignorant World Soul, your limited perspective restricts your thoughts," the Void Avatar said without joy or sorrow. "I am the Void."

"The Void is everywhere."

"Who knows? You're a crafty bastard." Vanidak shrugged indifferently and charged again, flickering forward as he spoke. "Who the hell knows which words from you sneaky bastards are true."

"Oh, maybe not even ghosts know."

"But for people like you—"

"Dead is the safest you can be!"

Aman'Thul and the others, long forgotten by Vanidak, were in exceptionally high spirits at this moment because they had finally reached their original destination.

They had found two stars that were not particularly far apart by Titan standards. One planet's surface was filled with storms and thunder, seemingly covered entirely in seawater. Viewed from the Astral Realm, it resembled a great sphere radiating blue light.

The other planet consisted of endless mountain ranges, with lava flowing between them. The heat they gave off seemed capable of carrying away all life, and from afar, it looked like a burning furnace.

Aman'Thul and the others had actually encountered quite a few such celestial bodies during their endless travels. Their uniqueness, however, lay in the World Soul fluctuations radiating from within them. Especially now that they had drawn closer, those fluctuations became increasingly intense, as though some indescribable force were calling to them.

"My brother, this is unbelievable. There are... two of them!" Eonar, already astonished beyond measure, exclaimed to Aman'Thul. "This has never happened before."

There was a trace of delight in Aman'Thul's voice as well as he smiled and answered Eonar, "Yes, my sister. Our ranks have grown stronger. Vanidak would surely be happy to see this too."

"Unfortunately, he isn't here right now." Eonar said with some concern. "He hasn't run into some trouble, has he?"

"Don't worry, Eonar." Norgannon, who was drawing an awakening array nearby, said to her, "That brother of mine is unlike anyone else. I don't think there is anything beneath these stars that he would call a problem."

"He himself is a huge problem."

Hearing Norgannon's teasing, Aman'Thul laughed as well. "Yes, Norgannon. This brother of ours is the greatest 'problem' in the universe, and the most troublesome kind at that. Now, let us focus on the task before us and welcome two new members into our ranks."

This is a pretty big problem. Vanidak, covered in wounds, thought to himself. This guy is a little tricky.

The Void Avatar opposite him was not in much better shape. The pale armor originally covering its body had been shattered and torn, riddled with penetrating wounds. Its once jet-black body had also grown somewhat dim.

At this rate, it'll be hard to say which of us will win. After another clash, Vanidak leapt out of the battle and considered his options. I need to find a way to finish this in one blow. I don't have time to play games with him.

Blade light and fist shadows crossed in rapid succession. Vanidak successfully stabbed his opponent, but received a fist to the chest in return. Clutching the struck area, he sucked in a breath and said,

"That punch was no joke."

Looking at the enormous planet behind his opponent, the Nathrezim planet—Nathrezar—he saw a black region had appeared on its surface. That region was still continuously expanding.

"What a mistake. I forgot that bastard has servants on the planet. I really can't drag this out any longer." Vanidak grew slightly anxious at the sight. The avatar seemed to notice his expression and said mockingly,

"What, our savior only noticed now? You cannot stop me, World Soul. Once my servants fully corrupt this world, the gates of the Void will be thrown completely open, and this world will be purified by irresistible power!"

"Stop boasting. Your plan isn't all that great." Vanidak replied while sweeping his silver-glimmering eyes around the area. "Before your vile scheme succeeds, I'll defeat you!"

"Oh, how frightening. But in your current state, can you truly kill me? Though this is merely an avatar, all of my soul has descended here. At most, we are... evenly matched."

Vanidak stopped scanning his surroundings and suddenly laughed upon hearing that. He looked toward a point in the Void and said to the Void Avatar, "Evenly matched? Hahahaha! That's the funniest thing I've heard in the past several hundred thousand years."

He turned and fixed his gaze on the avatar. "You... really think you can stop me?"

Sensing the change in Vanidak's tone and expression, the avatar did not seem particularly doubtful. It continued in its cold, emotionless voice, "This is meaningless struggling, World Soul. You cannot stop my servants' actions. Once the Void descends, you will be the first World Soul to fall beneath our hands. Your precious soul will become the most important specimen in our conquest of the Astral Realm."

"Ha, stubborn to the end." Vanidak seemed to have returned to his usual nasty self. Tilting his head, he said lightly, "You know, I've got a huge advantage this round, and then—"

"I'm about to hit F2A!"

Unable to understand the strange terms in Vanidak's words, the Void Avatar was about to counterattack when Vanidak raised his right hand. A beam of light shot directly into the Void above and vanished. Then he said to the puzzled avatar, "Come on, let me show you something good!"

While the avatar was still confused, an unprecedentedly violent fluctuation suddenly appeared. The warning bells in its mind blared, and the next second, a spatial rift stretching across the universe slowly emerged behind Vanidak. The rift seemed to contain Void fluctuations similar to those emanating from the avatar.

Just as the avatar began to sense that something was wrong, Vanidak, having completed his series of actions, looked at the gradually forming spatial rift and said coldly, "If I'm not mistaken, this is where you came from, right?"

The avatar's heart tightened as it realized what Vanidak intended to do. It watched as Vanidak continued, "What a coincidence. I came from here too."

"Of course, I merely caught a ride through the spatial rift. You were different."

"You used the summoning of creatures from that world to make a contract and cross the boundary, then shamelessly tore it up. You know what that kind of behavior is called... illegal entry."

"But don't worry. When dealing with illegal entrants, I believe the most effective measure is..."

"Mandatory repatriation!"

Having confirmed its fears, the avatar immediately gathered energy and prepared to retreat. But the next instant, accompanied by Vanidak's furious shout—

"Space, heed my command!"

"Get the hell back, insect!"

A silver flash gleamed, and the fully formed spatial rift immediately generated a powerful suction force. Vanidak stood motionless, coldly watching the avatar being dragged backward by an invisible force.

He muttered,

"The winner has been decided, trash."

"Now get back to your homeland!"