It wasn’t just the size of the eye—it was the overwhelming aura that poured from it.
The mont it opened, space itself seed to still.
A raw, primal force swept across the void like a tidal wave of intent, ancient and suffocating. The group felt it in their bones, as if the very will of the universe was staring into their souls.
Soltz’s voice cracked as he stumbled back. "W-What the hell is that...?"
Before anyone could respond, a deep, guttural growl echoed across the realm—no, it vibrated through it. Not a sound of lungs or throat, but a growl born from the twisting fabric of the void itself. The pressure behind it was unbearable.
It shattered every layer of ntal defense.
For a terrifying instant, Ery couldn’t breathe. His vision blurred. His thoughts frayed.
"We need to get out of here!" Galael cried, all arrogance gone from his voice. The Ember Sage, ever brash, was now pale and frantic.
Ery snapped back to focus and rushed to Veyarel’s side. The Grand Magus was slumped and trembling, eyes unfocused. Ery pressed his palm to the man’s chest, channeling a healing spell. Light poured into Veyarel’s body like warm spring sunlight.
"Co on, senior," Ery urged. "Wake up."
Kaelyin knelt beside him, her slender hands glowing with healing light, reinforcing Ery’s efforts. The grand magus’ spasms began to slow. His breathing cald.
But then—another growl.
Deeper. Louder.
This one tore through space like a splitting rift. The entire void began to ripple, as though reality itself were stretched taut around a rising leviathan.
And then, from the blackness beyond, a second eye opened.
A second world stared at them.
From the rippling void, the shape of a creature began to erge—slowly, agonizingly. It was colossal beyond reason. This beast took the shape of a cosmic whale, yet its size dwarfed anything they had ever seen. It spanned hundreds of miles, its glowing body half-subrged in shadow, half-draped in flickering starlight.
The void bent around its body as though obeying its will.
It turned.
And it looked at them.
No one moved.
"We can’t just stand here..." Galael snapped them from the trance.
Rosin Karat was still cloaked in his Supre Magus form, but he didn’t react with alarm. Instead, he spoke calmly.
"I’ve been on countless otherworldly expeditions... only ever heard rumors about this. ...Void Leviathan... a world-defying beast. A creature born from the very essence of the void stream. No one move... we don’t want to agitate it."
Soltz quickly fell silent, tension written all over his face. But Galael couldn’t hold back.
"Senior... But the horde of serpents is closing in. We need to move"
Rosin Karat turned his gaze to Ery, seeking an answer. Ery gave a slow shake of his head—he wasn’t sure how much longer it would take to fully restore Veyarel’s consciousness.
Each second felt like an eternity as the colossal creature watched them—no, observed them. No one dared to breathe too loudly. Muscles were clenched. Spells were silently readied, but no one acted. The creature, ancient and unknowable, stirred slowly—as if awakening from a slumber that had lasted eons.
Then it moved.
Just the ripple of its shifting mass distorted the surrounding void. Entire fragnts of broken realms drifted off course. Ery felt his stomach twist as the very laws of gravity faltered.
Another minute passed.
From behind, the horde of serpent-beasts was now within sight. They moved faster than before, as if drawn to the energy radiating from the World Beast.
But this sudden surge also caused the World Beast’s attention to shift toward the incoming horde. If they wanted to escape, now was the ti.
Without hesitation, Rosin took command of the platform, channeling imnse cosmic force into it. The sleek tallic construct lurched forward, propelled at blinding speed.
They soared past the World Beast’s flank, trying to escape its gaze, trying to avoid the serpents chasing from behind. The group’s tense silence turned to cautious relief as the distance grew.
But the beast noticed.
A rumble shook the stars as the World Beast roared—a voiceless scream that tore at reality.
And then they saw it—the tail.
At the far end of the void, arching high like a mountain ridge and wider than their entire platform, the beast’s tail ca like a titan’s scythe; it glead with void light and bore the sa terrifying pressure as the creature’s gaze.
"Brace yourselves!" shouted Rosin Karat.
BAMMMM!!!
The impact didn’t just hit them; it folded space around them. The fortified platform was slamd with unrelenting force, flung like a discarded pebble. It shattered sideways, flung like driftwood in a storm. Cracks burst along the walls. The whole formation tilted, spun, and then barely stabilized.
Then they saw it.
The beast’s massive head had shifted again. They were no longer behind it. They were back in front of it.
And the serpents... they hadn’t stopped.
Dozens of them were now swarming toward the wrecked platform. So were already beginning to circle, like vultures sensing the wounded. Others aid straight for the center of the group.
"We’re going to die!" Soltz shouted in panic.
Ery steadied himself, his heart pounding.
At that desperate mont, the dark Ery erged from the soul domain, materializing beside his counterpart.
"Let do it."
He raised his hands, calling upon the power of Khaos. A spell circle blood to attempt a spatial jump.
"Damn it!" Dark Ery growled. "It’s too strong!"
The gravitational pressure from the colossus in front of them—the World Beast—was suffocating. Even his spatial magic bent and cracked against it.
Before them, the monstrous being slowly opened its enormous jaws. What lay within was not flesh or teeth, but a terrifying, swirling singularity—stomach-like currents that could tear any being apart surged within. From that abyss, more serpent-creatures erged, each one birthed from the void.
"That thing... it’s their mother!?" Soltz scread.
He flung up a defensive wall of stone, jagged and thick. Kaelyin and the fairies followed suit, casting shimring rainbow barriers that layered over the platform in a desperate attempt to hold the line.
The first wave of serpent-beasts hit like a teor shower. Their scaled bodies collided with the barriers, screeching and howling with rage. When the massive three-horned serpent struck, the shield cracked with a sound like breaking glass.
Then, the barrier shattered.
Kaelyin and the two fairies scread as they were thrown back by the backlash of magic. Blood splashed from their lips as they dropped to their knees, drained and dazed.
Luckily, the Supre Magus had not been idle. Rosin Karat raised both hands as dozens of glowing tallic spheres flew into the air. With precise gestures, he assembled them mid-air—each piece snapping into place like clockwork.
From the platform erged two dozen titanic golems—cosmic-grade constructs made of enchanted alloys. Their glowing eyes lit up as they took positions around the platform, bracing for impact.
A brutal battle erupted.
Serpents charged in waves, their numbers growing faster than the defenders could manage. tal clashed with scale, and the air was filled with roars and the shriek of tearing space.
"Can you do it or not?!" Ery shouted over the din, speaking to his dark self.
"Give a little more ti! But where are we heading?!"
"Anywhere that’s not here!"
By this ti, half of the cosmic golems had already been reduced to shattered tal and scorched fragnts. The remaining constructs struggled to hold formation, their arms battered and glowing dimly from the relentless assault. Supre Magus Rosin Karat was fully engaged in a brutal clash against the largest of the threats—a monstrous three-horned serpent whose strength shook the entire platform with every strike.
Amid the chaos, a sudden cry pierced the storm.
One of the two-horned serpents had broken through a gap in the defenses. It twisted through the air like a black arrow, its gaping maw glowing with spectral venom as it shot straight toward Kaelyin.
"My lady, watch out!" a voice bellowed from the flank.
The bear-like half-blood warrior hurled himself in front of her, cosmic energy roaring in his limbs. He caught the serpent with both arms, gritting his teeth as the beast’s montum drove him back.
But then, a second serpent struck. It lunged from the side, its jaws clamping around the warrior’s torso. With a vicious twist, it dragged him from the platform.
"NO!!" Kaelyin scread, reaching out with a trembling hand, but it was too late.
Everyone watched, helpless, as the brave warrior thrashed and roared—but even his imnse strength wasn’t enough. Within seconds, he was torn apart, his body shredded and cast into the void.
There was no ti to grieve.
"I’m ready!" Dark Ery declared, his body ablaze with unstable energy.
He activated the spell, and for a mont, the entire platform was wrapped in shadows. The spatial magic surged to life, fighting against the gravitational storm.
But even now, the pressure held them back. The teleportation could only take them a few dozen miles—barely enough to escape the imdiate swarm. The void around them was still swarming with serpents.
Then, a whisper brushed across Ery’s mind—foreign, deep, and not from any of his companions.
He couldn’t understand the words, but the aning was clear.
His eyes widened, and instinct took over. He turned to face the massive World Beast, whose mouth still hung open like a vortex to oblivion.
"No..." Ery quickly understood the intention. "You’re not seriously thinking—"
Without hesitation, the dark Ery shouted, "Hold on!" and activated the spell.
The platform shimred. In an instant, it vanished—drawn not away from the beast, but directly into its open maw.
The group, the constructs, and the shattered remains of the vessel disappeared into the belly of the World Beast.
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