Nero had been in this dimension once before. It had been forever ago, and it marked the beginning of his conquest. Entering this dimension had once been impossible, but over time, a small and steady rift had formed in the outer shell that separated it from the real world.
After all, this dimension wasn't real. It was an artificially created place. It wasn't perfect, and that imperfection had allowed Nero to break in.
Krell, beside him, had passed out. There was a rift, yes, but it was barely large enough for two beings. Krell was a space mage, capable of distorting planes and jumping between dimensions. But even for him, doing it alone wasn't easy, and he was the strongest space mage in the Polykenas army. Of course, he couldn't open portals between entire worlds. That was far beyond the limits of his power.
Bringing Nero through the tear into the Polykenas' dimension had pushed him to his absolute limit. That's why his body had to be overloaded with Chaos energy first, before he could even attempt to bring Nero.
Speaking of, the massive beam of it surged past them, aimed directly at the gigantic tree. It looked like a glittering river, and Nero knew it would keep flowing for a few more hours until the remaining Chaos energy ran dry. This was the last world they had destroyed before sending Fril on his mission.
Nero's thoughts were abruptly interrupted when an unknown Polykenas descended from the sky. He had black skin, meaning he was one of the warrior polykenas, only capable of transforming their bodies. Three yellow eyes watched Nero and Krell with eerie focus. His figure was small, with unnaturally long arms and short legs. Two large teeth jutted upward from his mouth. Huge, leathery wings flapped behind him in a rhythmic pattern as he descended. He landed before Nero, his wings folding along his back as he bowed deeply.
"Greetings, my Duce. My name is Gargoyle. I'm here to escort you back to our Nest."
Nero paused. Then a smile spread across his face. He knew why the Polykenas came. If Nero were to walk to the Tree, it would take a whole day.
"Thank you, Gargoyle, but that won't be necessary."
He felt a strong déjà vu. Thirty years ago, it had been Xersies who had appeared before him at this exact spot and guided him to the tree. But much had changed since then. Nero was now more powerful than almost any other Polykenas, excluding his five generals, of course. And even among them, he could fight toe to toe with all of them, except for Xersies.
"Take care of Krell," Nero said as a final command to Gargoyle and pointed at the Polykenas on the floor, then waved his hand.
Magic surged violently through him, pumping through his veins. In the next second, darkness swallowed him whole and carried him forward. He shot toward the colossal tree with incredible speed. After a while, the darkness faded and Nero emerged once again.
He looked at his hands and saw small cracks at his fingertips, lightly bleeding. Before he had absorbed the last Chaos Shard, this kind of sprint would have cost him much more effort. The cracks would have reached up to his shoulders. Nero laughed, pleased with the development.
He looked up and saw that he was now only a few dozen meters away from the tree. Up close, its true size became apparent. It stretched thousands of meters high, its branches wider than dozens of regular trees combined. All around it, Polykenas were flying. Some were fighting, others conversing with their horrible voices. It truly resembled an insect nest.
Despite being a race based entirely on chaos and war, the Polykenas had a surprisingly complex society — with ranks, games, events, and more. All of that was thanks to Xersies and the Queen. Xersies knew that the Polykenas could not continue to slaughter each other indefinitely without purpose or direction. So he set about bringing order to the chaos. This was inconceivable for his species, but that was why Xersies was the supreme general. He was guided not only by instinct, but also by reasoning and logic.
High above, the river of Chaos energy poured into the tree. Curious and greedy Polykenas hovered around it, but they were forbidden from bathing in its power. If they all did, there would be nothing left to create new members of their race, so it had been strictly forbidden. Only a few chosen ones, like the generals or Krell, had been granted permission.
Nero kept walking. A massive hole formed the entrance to the tree, and thousands of Polykenas swarmed around it. Only a very small number of them were capable of flight, so most had gathered here, waiting for Nero to summon them. As he passed, they all bowed.
Obedience to Nero was written into their genes and whole being. It was even stronger than the urge to spread chaos. None of them even thought of betrayal. And even if they hadn't been genetically inclined to obey, they would still follow him. He was their best chance to spread chaos.
Nero ignored them and stepped through the enormous opening.
The inside of the tree was hollow, divided into dozens of long tunnels. But the main chamber where Nero now stood was massive. His fortress could have fit in here hundreds of times, and there still would have been room.
At the very top of the space, suspended by long, dark vines, hung a gigantic cocoon. The Chaos beam ended inside it, and Nero watched as the vines glowed, absorbing and distributing the energy. Then, from holes along the walls of the tree, newborn Polykenas burst out. They fell, but already others were there to catch them and carry them through other tunnels in the tree.
Nero knew the Queen of the Polykenas was inside that strange cocoon. The only female Polykenas he knew to exist. She was older than all the others; she was the first Polykenas. She was the one who could convert Chaos energy into life and create new Polykenas. But no one knew where she came from, not even herself. Or that was what Xersies told Nero.
A blinding light flashed from the cocoon, and a beam of it struck the
ground before Nero. He had to squint slightly, but just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished. In its place stood a new Polykenas, the strangest of them all. Even among their bizarre kind, this one stood out. Not because of some weird mutations, but because she looked eerily like a normal human woman.
She was small, at least compared to Ester and Shire, but still slightly taller than Nero. Her skin was pale like paper, and her long white hair flowed over her shoulders. She wore an elegant golden dress, and her fingers were adorned with golden rings. If it weren't for the two small horns on her head and her glowing yellow eyes, she wouldn't resemble her species at all.
She looked like a goddess, but she was the Queen of Demons.
And for the first time, it was Nero who bowed.
"Greetings, Lady Kreta," he said respectfully.
Kreta bowed in return.
"So we meet again, my Duce. You've grown powerful since the last time we met."
Her voice was smooth like silk, shockingly pleasant for a Polykenas.
Strictly speaking, Nero was her leader too — but while he could fight Xersies as an equal, at least for a bit, he knew he didn't stand a chance against Kreta. In the hearts of the Polykenas, her status was just as high as Nero's.
He also knew that this wasn't her true body. It was only a fragment of her soul, materialized to speak with him. She was busy converting Chaos energy and couldn't leave the cocoon herself.
"What brings you to my charming little nest?" she asked, her voice
dripping with sarcasm on the word "charming." She hated this place. She was still a Polykenas at heart, but she couldn't leave this dimension. She craved destruction and chaos, but it was denied to her — and that was slowly tearing her apart from within.
Nero smiled gently at her, but ignored her Question.
"How goes the work with the Chaos energy?"
Kreta sighed. "It's truly an incredible gift. Thanks to the Chaos energy you've sent us, the birthrate of new Polykenas has increased by several thousand percent. If it continues like this, the Nest will soon be overflowing."
Nero nodded with interest but didn't comment further. So Kreta continued the conversation, "And how fares your conquest?"
"We're on the verge of taking the next world. Fril is currently on a mission there, but the time is running out. Two weeks remain. But I didn't come all this way to exchange pleasantries. I came with a request."
Now Kreta's attention sharpened.
"And what would that be, my Duce?"
"I need to ask you to stop creating new Polykenas."
Kreta's beautiful face frowned slightly, "And why would that be?"
Nero looked her in the eyes, a spark of something wild in his gaze.
"What would you say if I told you I had a way to free you, and this tree — the entire tree— from this dimension?"