After the discussion with the Known Gods, and after receiving the list of beings classified under the Null Pantheon, Taufik already understood what they truly sought.
Just like the gods seated within the Sanctum Aeterna, those beings were drawn to the same thing.
The New Earth Core.
The purest concentration of energy in the universe.
There was no doubt in his mind that, during his absence, more than a few of them had attempted to locate it, perhaps even seize control of it. But such a thing was never going to be easy.
Taufik had known from the moment he created the New Earth Core that its existence would not only transform Earth and every being upon it, but also draw the attention of entities far beyond this world. And so, long before any of them could act, he had already taken measures.
The Core was not destroyed.
Nor was it truly sealed.
To call it "sealed" was… incomplete.
