In an unknown region of the Voidsea, two colossal figures tore through the darkness. Terror was etched deep into their feral eyes.
Their massive limbs tore through the seething currents of chaotic energy, wings hammering the void in a frenzied rhythm born of fear.
Every few moments, they glanced back, then pushed themselves to run faster, driven by a dread clinging to their souls.
They resembled wolves, yet they were not quite wolves: nine sharp horns crowned each of their heads, and their wings shimmered with purple energy.
One of them bore a deep scar on his back, with a black energy corroding inside his body. Despite his struggle against it using his purple energy, he was fighting a losing battle.
The two were flying in the endless Voidsea with all the speed they could muster, but no matter how fast they moved, they could not teleport within the Voidsea.
In this place, the laws were different from their universe. And they weren't strong enough to bend them.
Three figures gave relentless chase. Though they were humanoid, their legs writhed like the tentacles of an abyssal beast—fluid, unnatural, and disturbingly swift.
"Damn it! Why won't they stop?" snarled the lead pursuer, the eldest of the trio. "We've been chasing them for ages. How the hell are newborn Initiates outrunning us? They just crawled out of their universe yesterday!"
"Brother," the youngest said in a low, suspicious voice, "I think they're hiding something. A secret, maybe. We should catch them and take whatever it is, along with their Dao gems."
The middle brother snarled before the first could answer, his eyes flashing. "Their Dao gems are mine! You took the last one we ripped from those fledgling Dao Initiates three void epochs ago! Do you know how rare it is to see another fresh initiate? These are mine, and I won't share!"
The two wolf-like figures could hear the distant voices of the three chasing them. But they couldn't understand the language—the Voidsea was still too new to them.
But they didn't need to understand as they could guess from the tone, the laughter and the hunger in their voices.
They were being treated like treasure. Divided up before they were even dead.
It was something they never anticipated when they transcended their home universe.
In their home universe, they had been revered. Feared. Their names alone could veer around the fate of entire civilizations. A single command from them could wipe out cosmic empires or raise them to glory.
But here, in the Voidsea?
They felt like mortals. No… this was worse than mortality. They felt powerless, like dust awaiting the mercy of wind.
The overwhelming power, the unknown rules, the sheer danger—it stripped them of everything they once were. And now, they were prey.
If they had known… if they had truly understood what awaited them beyond their universe… they might have never chosen this path.
They would have never risked becoming Chaotic Beings.
This was the harsh truth of the Voidsea.
Without backing, without protection, stepping into the Voidsea as a new Dao Initiate was no different from walking naked into a storm of predators.
If no one shielded you at the beginning, your end was almost certain.
They had gambled and now, they were paying the price.
After fleeing for what felt like an eternity, the two wolf-like beings could run no further because their energy was nearly depleted, exhausted by the endless chase.
With no way out, they made their choice. If they were going to die, they would die fighting.
One of the wolf-like figures let out a low growl. His body shimmered with unstable energy as he turned mid-flight and lunged straight toward their pursuers catching on of the brothers off-guard.
He pushed past the pain, past the corrosion spreading from his wound. Just as he closed the distance, he let out a final roar—and detonated his Dao gem.
BOOM!!!
A blinding explosion tore through the Voidsea.
The shockwave rippled outward, shaking space itself. One of the three octopus-legged who was caught off-guard was caught directly in the blast, his body twisted midair and torn with deep, glowing wounds.
The others were thrown back, barely stabilizing themselves but also feeling pain from the explosion.
The surviving chaotic wolf froze in place, his heart heavy with the death of his brother, his closest kin.
But he had no time to grieve. He turned and flew again, forcing his broken and exhausted body forward. He knew his death would mean nothing if they both died here.
But as he moved —
"Where do you think you're going?" one of the octopus-legged pursuers barked, he was the second brother.
With a wet, sickening sound, a tentacle shot forward, stretching across the void like a whip. It wrapped around the fleeing chaotic wolf instantly, crushing his limbs and binding him in midair.
He struggled, howling with rage, but it was no use.
The second brother dismembered the wolf instantly with ruthless precision, tearing the chaotic wolf into several gruesome pieces.
Black blood floated through the Voidsea like ink in water. His tentacles moved with unnatural hunger, wrapping around the remains and silently devouring the essence from half of the dismembered chunks.
After absorbing the essence greedily while also making sure the other two don't notice.
Although it was futile in their situation. Once he finished, he turned and floated back to his octopus bothers.
To the injured one, who was sitting cross-legged in the void, recovering from the explosion, he tossed him a circular yellow gem that pulsed faintly with unstable light.
"Here," he said flatly. It was the wolf's Dao gem.
Then he turned to the other and casually tossed him a fragment of the wolf's body—flesh, bone, and fading energy all wrapped together.
"Here," he repeated.
The second brother caught it, scowled, then frowned deeper. "Why only this much? It's too little."
The second brother snorted. "Hmph. Do you have any idea how hard it was to stop him from detonating his Dao gem? Half of his body was already obliterated before I got to him."
"Alright, alright, stop complaining," the third brother said, backing off with a grunt.
"This round of hunting… we gained too little," muttered the first brother, still clutching his side.
The other two nodded in agreement, their faces grim.
While one continued treating his wounds, the other two sat cross-legged, drawing energy from the Voidsea to replenish what they had used.
Suddenly, a faint glow pulsed from within their pocket dimension.
A small pentagon-shaped token lit up with eerie brilliance, its glow cutting through the dark.
They all froze.
A hush fell over the void. Even the howling chaos around them seemed to pause.
Their eyes met—wide, uncertain, uneasy.
"The leader is contacting us," the first brother said, his voice edged with fear.
The youngest narrowed his eyes. "What do you think she wants?"
Silence stretched. Then the first brother exhaled slowly, as if the truth were heavy in his lungs.
"If I had to guess… she wants us to break her out of that prison."
The mood around them seemed to grow heavier. They exchanged glances again and they could see fear in each others face.
"No… it can't be that," the third brother mumbled. "She knows we're too weak. We can't even get near the forbidden zone where the Void prison is let alone trespass inside it and rescue her."
For a moment, none of them moved as the token continued to glow.
Three minutes passed.
Then, the third brother who was unable to bear the pressure any longer gave in. He knew that if they waited too long, the price would be steep.
He reached into the pocket dimension, retrieved the glowing pentagon token, and gently suspended it in the void.
A second later, a cold, commanding feminine voice echoed out from it—sharp as a blade.
"Kneel and accept this mission from the Leader."
They obeyed instantly, dropping to their knees in the void. Their heads bowed low their expressions full of fear.
The Leader was not someone they could afford to displease.
She was cruel. Ruthless and a notorious figure in the Voidsea who had obliterated countless universes, from small universes to larger universes. Her wrath was indiscriminate, and her authority absolute.
If she felt a slight trace of disrespect or even hesitation she would erase them through the Crest of the Vanquishers, the brand worn by all members of the organization that Xeri Controlled.
Whoosh!!
A streak of golden-blue energy burst from the token and struck each of them directly on their scaly, fish-like heads. None dared to resist.
In the next instant, a flood of information surged into their minds.
Among it, one detail stood out more than the rest:
Someone had killed the Leader's only brother.
The third brother's thoughts trembled.
"Who could be so bold… so foolish… to kill him?"
They exchanged a single look and didn't say a single words. Then, without hesitation, they turned and shot off into the darkness—toward an unknown region of the Voidsea.
As they sped through the endless darkness of the Voidsea, heading toward the region where the culprit was rumored to be, the third brother finally broke the unnerving silence.
"How are we even supposed to find which universe the killer is in, brother?" he asked, his voice tinged with frustration.
"And why would the Leader's brother even be inside a universe? There's nothing of value in those places—aside from Origin Energy, and we both know that stuff's nearly impossible to extract. Those emotionless universal "wills" would rather collapse the entire universe than let it be taken."
The second brother snapped back, clearly annoyed. "Stop yapping. We're just as clueless as you are."
But the first brother, calm and thoughtful, kept his gaze forward. "No… he's not wrong to ask," he said, his voice steady.
He glanced back at the third, who was flying just behind him. "Ask slowly. We'll deduce together."
A quiet moment passed as the three rushed forward.
Then the first brother added, "But yes… something about this is strange."
"Why would her brother—someone of his level—fall inside a universe? And how did he even get in?" he continued. "You know as well as I do: someone of his power can't enter a universe casually. The universal will would resist. It would rather destroy itself than allow such a powerful being in."
The third brother nodded, eyes narrowed.
"Exactly. If it was a small-tier universe, it should've crumbled the moment he forced entry. And if it was a larger-tier one… there shouldn't be anyone inside strong enough to even touch him. Not even a clone of him."
The first brother's eyes darkened. "Which means one of two things," he said slowly. "Either this wasn't a normal universe… or the one who killed him wasn't from the universe."
The more they thought about it, the stranger it became. Their mission was clear: investigate the cause of death and uncover the culprit behind it. Simple—on the surface.
But the one who had died wasn't just anyone, It was Crolis, Xeri's brother.
A name spoken with both awe and caution in the organization. The last time they saw him was countless void epochs ago, he was already at the peak of the Dao Initiate Realm, on the verge of breaking into Dao Master.
Given the time that had passed—and with someone like Xeri backing him—it was likely he had already reached the mid-stage of the Dao Master Realm, or possibly higher.
After all, Crolis had both the resources and the monstrous talent to walk into the Dao Grandmaster Realm without pause.
That thought alone made all three brothers go silent.
The Dao Grandmaster Realm—a realm so far above them it felt like legend.
Each of them cast subtle glances at each others. Jealousy, longing, and quiet ambition flickered in their eyes.
They knew the truth: with their ordinary chaotic bodies, they could only dream of reaching the Grandmaster level. Even stepping into mid-stage Dao Master would take them thousands of void epochs, and maybe then, only with luck.
This mission, despite its suspicious nature, carried the promise of opportunity. If they executed it well and impressed Xeri, they might achieve their goals sooner than anticipated, conserving the resources needed to fully launch their ongoing plan.
••••
Meanwhile, across different corners of the Voidsea, dark ripples spread.
Numerous powerful figures and factions—some acting in secrecy, others bearing the crest of Xeri's organization known as The Vanquishers of Xeri—were already on the move, all heading toward a single region.
The region where Lex was situated.
Their missions varied. Some had orders to observe, others were told to actively partake in the mission like the three octopus brothers, and a few… had been instructed to erase every universe surrounding the target if they don't find the target.
Many traveled aboard colossal ships capable of moving through the Voidsea—a feat only a few powerful individuals could afford. The journey would take nearly one void epoch, even with such vessels. But to them it was a short time.
Back to the three brothers, another troubling thought surfaced.
What kind of universe did Xeri's brother die in?
If it was a larger tier universe, then something was deeply wrong. No entity in such a universe should have had the power to even scratch a being of Crolis's calibre.
Sure, a larger universe's will might be able to wound a mid-stage Dao Initiate… but to kill someone nearing the Dao Master Realm?
That is Impossible.
Still, if, by some absurd chance he had died in a larger universe, then they faced a different problem entirely.
The lifespan of a larger universe was ten void epochs. And just to put that into perspective—one void epoch was the equivalent of the full life cycle of a small universe, from its birth to its collapse.
And that was exactly the issue.
They needed to act fast.
Because if the universe Crolis's brother died in really was a large-tier universe, then the odds were high that it was already eight void epochs old—well into its peak maturity.
Only a universe that ancient could possibly produce beings capable of slightly threatening even a Dao Initiate, let alone someone who had once stood on the edge of the Dao Master Realm.
It might take at least one void epoch to reach the rumored region if they flew without stopping.
Something—or someone—in that universe had killed the monstrous genius of the Vanquishers of Xeri, which meant it was extremely dangerous for the brothers. But opportunities and dangers coexist.
None of them, either be it the brothers or the others who are racing toward Lex believed for even a second that he died in a small universe.
No not believe but entertained, they didn't even entertain an idea like that.
Not because it was unlikely.
But because it was absolutely impossible.
Even if the will of a small universe tried to resist with all of its might, it couldn't nick someone like Crolis.
And the lifeforms in those universes are far too weak. There isn't a single being that can even touch someone at his level.
If someone really did kill him… then whatever universe it happened in had to be something far beyond ordinary.
And that universe? It was about to drown.