Alioth

The thick, tar-like darkness wrapped around the three of them. The glow from Mobius's weapon flickered in the all-devouring blackness like the final breath of a dying man, ready to go out at any moment.

Twisted shadows churned strangely around them, sometimes taking the phantom shape of vicious claws, sometimes gathering into distorted human faces. Tiny purple fluorescent motes floated through the air like the ghostly phosphorescence of countless specters.

The sickeningly sweet stench of blood grew stronger. Every breath felt like swallowing shards of glass soaked in blood down her throat. The green magic in Amora's palm trembled violently out of control as she scanned her surroundings warily, her eyes full of unease and her pupils contracted to pinpoints from fear and tension. "This place feels more and more wrong, like something... enormous is watching us. And these shadows—they seem to be moving in a pattern, like they're clearing the way for something." Her teeth chattered as she spoke, yet she still forced herself to remain composed.

Li Stark's fingernails dug deeply into the metal casing of the time reset device. Cold sweat dripped down his arm and evaporated the instant it hit the ground, leaving tiny scorch marks behind. He stared fixedly at the paths the shadows traced across the ground, his brows nearly twisted into a knot as he rapidly compared them to ancient star charts from the TVA database he had seen in films in his previous life. Those memories were like ancient scrolls covered in dust, now being turned page by page amid his tension and focus. "Amora, did you notice? The way these shadows move is somewhat similar to the ancient star charts I saw in the TVA database. Maybe the Void isn't a chaotic space formed at random. Every anomaly here could be a carefully designed trap."

Amora gave a scornful laugh. Purple magic instantly condensed into sharp spikes, cutting dangerous streaks of light through the darkness. "Stop trying to scare me with your so-called 'knowledge.' Even if there really is a pattern, what good does it do us in this hellhole? My magic is far more reliable." Yet her voice trembled involuntarily. After speaking so stubbornly, her steps still slowed without her noticing, and her ears perked slightly as she waited for Li Stark to explain further, revealing that she was curious and expectant about the discovery as well.

Just as Li Stark was about to speak, the darkness in the distance suddenly rippled like a lake struck by a massive stone. A strange stream of light swam out from within. It was a chilling deep blue, and everywhere it passed, space twisted and warped like paper crumpled by an invisible giant hand. The boundary between reality and illusion blurred there. "Look over there!" He grabbed Amora's shoulder, his voice rising sharply with tension. "That's definitely not an ordinary shadow! And look—the spatial folds created by its movement have a frequency very similar to the energy fluctuations when a TVA teleportation device activates. There has to be a bigger secret behind this!"

Amora narrowed her eyes, focused and wary. The magical spikes in her palm slowly faded, replaced by a grave, thoughtful expression. She carefully observed the blue light, trying to find clues in the bizarre phenomenon. "It is strange... Could that thing be connected to the TVA? But if it is, why would the TVA set up a monster like this here?"

Before she could finish, the ground suddenly let out a teeth-grating crack, as though billions of sheets of glass had shattered at once. A massive fissure spread beneath the three of them at an astonishing speed. Mobius reacted instantly, almost on instinct. He grabbed Li Stark's arm and, with the agility drilled into him by TVA training, yanked him sharply aside. Amora leaped into the air, purple magic transforming behind her into enormous wings with mysterious violet flames burning along their feathered edges, carrying her narrowly over the crack. Black mist poured from the fissure. As though alive, it condensed into twisted faces whose features shifted constantly—sometimes becoming hideous TVA agents, sometimes taking the forms each of them feared most. They let out piercing screams that stabbed into their eardrums, as if they could shatter their very souls.

As the tremors intensified, the entire Void began to twist and distort. Deafening roars came from the distance, like countless volcanoes erupting at once. A gigantic figure slowly emerged from the depths of the darkness. It was a serpent-like creature whose body stretched nearly beyond sight, wrapped in blue energy like a flowing galaxy yet radiating a suffocating aura of death. Its head had no distinct features, only a colossal mouth filled with sharp teeth, every tooth as huge as a skyscraper. Black slime capable of corroding space flowed between them, tearing massive rifts through space wherever it passed. Even stranger, countless glittering crystals were embedded across its body. These crystals opened and closed like eyes, and every movement sent tremors through space. The resulting shockwaves shattered the surrounding shadows, while countless lesser shadows clustered around it like attendants, forming a terrifying barrier of darkness—Alioth, the dreadful presence of the Void.

"It's Alioth!" Li Stark's face instantly went pale as paper. Memories from his previous life surged over him like a tide, and the terrifying legends surrounding the colossal beast echoed endlessly in his mind. He knew full well how horrifying this Void monster was. It could not only devour time and space, but reduce all existence to nothingness. Legend said it was a devourer born from chaos at the dawn of time, tamed by the TVA through ancient magic and used to intimidate time criminals. Its blue energy was pure temporal and spatial power, capable of twisting and cutting through space at will. Those crystals were the organs through which it absorbed energy, and also the medium through which the TVA controlled it. His legs trembled despite himself, but he forced himself to stay calm, his mind racing for a solution.

Amora's pupils suddenly contracted. Purple magic surged instantly, engulfing her entire body in dazzling light. Yet even so, her glow looked small and fragile before Alioth's immense form. "This thing... is more terrifying than any monster I've ever seen! But no matter how powerful it is, it has to have a weakness. Li Stark, since you know its name, you must have some idea, right?" Her voice carried the urgency of desperation, and her eyes locked onto Li Stark as though he were her only lifeline.

Li Stark gritted his teeth, his nails digging bloody marks into his palms as he forced himself to calm down. "Its core is in the middle of its body, hidden within the densest cluster of crystals. But to get close, we first have to break through the temporal-spatial barrier around it. And those crystals don't just absorb energy—they counterattack based on the type of attack used against them. We have to be careful. One wrong move, and we'll be doomed beyond recovery."

Amora attacked first. She chanted under her breath, her hands drawing intricate magic circles through the air. A gigantic purple blade of light formed, shooting toward Alioth with world-destroying force. Yet the instant it touched Alioth, it vanished without a trace as though swallowed by a black hole. The beast did not even react. Instead, one of the crystals on its surface flashed red, and an identical purple blade of light rebounded toward Amora. Her expression changed drastically. She hurriedly cast a magical shield, and the purple barrier shook violently beneath the attack, emitting an overloaded hum as it nearly shattered.

Mobius raised his weapon, gathering all his strength to unleash a series of energy waves in an attempt to disrupt Alioth's movements. But Alioth merely swayed its body slightly, and the blue energy surrounding it twisted and reflected those waves back like high-speed shells hurtling toward the three of them. Mobius reacted quickly, dragging Li Stark and Amora into a roll across the ground. The energy waves grazed their clothes and blasted deep pits in the ground, each one belching black smoke. "It's too powerful! Ordinary attacks are useless!" Mobius shouted, unprecedented fear in his voice as sweat soaked through his clothes.

Alioth let out a world-shaking roar. Wherever the sound waves reached, space began to fracture, forming spiderweb-like cracks. Li Stark felt his body being pulled apart by the force, as though every inch of skin was about to tear and his insides were churning. He endured the agony and shouted, "We can't fight it head-on! We need to split its attention and find an opening to attack the core! Amora, use large-scale magic to hold it back. Mobius, use your weapon to disrupt the crystals' energy flow. I'll find the weak point in the barrier!"

As she gathered magic, Amora shouted, "Don't think barking out a few orders means I'll obey you completely! But this time... I'll try it your way first!" Her hands danced wildly as she recited an ancient, mysterious incantation. Countless purple chains burst from the ground and coiled around Alioth. The chains gleamed with mysterious runes, but the instant they touched Alioth's body, its blue energy corroded them into dust. Mobius seized the opportunity and channeled his weapon's energy into the ground, attempting to use resonance to affect the crystals. Veins bulged on his forehead as he maintained the output with all his strength. The ground shook repeatedly beneath the impact, forming rings of energy ripples. Li Stark gripped the time reset device tightly, using its resonance with time and space to probe for the barrier's weak point. His consciousness seemed to enter a wondrous temporal-spatial realm, where he saw Alioth's barrier as a complex web, every node gleaming with mysterious light. But just as he was about to find the weak point, Alioth seemed to sense their intentions. Its massive body suddenly accelerated, and a pillar of destructive energy blasted toward the three of them. Wherever it passed, space instantly evaporated, leaving behind a long stretch of vacuum. A battle for life and death had become unavoidable.