After a short journey back to the Scarlet Crown, Cain reviewed the state of his realm. The ArchDeities had advanced quickly, their
mastery over the new cultivation thod already evident in the subtle rhythm of their auras. He watched them for a while, asuring not only their power but their confidence and harmony.
"Excellent," he murmured. "Everything is in order. They should be able to handle any problem that arises in my absence."
Satisfied, the Scarlet King turned his gaze toward the void. His kingdom was stable. His people were strong. Now it was ti for him to take the next step.
A single flash of crimson light split the air, and Cain vanished.
Far beyond the physical planes, the Primordial of the Void stood at the edge of the realm. The dark expanse around him shimred like an endless sea of liquid night. Before him lood the vast Empyrean Wall that encased the Everstrife Empyrean World, pulsing faintly with divine energy.
Anark's eyes were sharp, his soul extended in all directions, rging with the very fabric of existence. When he sensed Cain's arrival, he turned slightly and gave a subtle nod.
Cain returned the gesture, his gaze drifting to the horizon. His senses expanded outward, reaching beyond light and matter. Even from here, he could feel them, the eight massive worlds that served as anchors for the entire Nine Empyrean Suns Universe.
When he had first arrived in the Everstrife Empyrean World, the thought of crossing into another Empyrean World had been unthinkable. Such travel required unimaginable power. And yet, less than three hundred years later, he stood ready to do just that.
"Or at least," Cain said with a faint smile, "I have a friend who can do it for ."
Anark chuckled softly, his voice echoing like wind through the abyss. "Are you ready?"
Cain nodded. "As always."
"I've been monitoring the flow of the Empyrean Worlds," Anark said, his tone steady. "Soon, one will drift close enough for us to pierce the veil between them." He paused, his eyes narrowing. "No one else will accompany you?"
Cain shook his head imdiately. "This first journey will be extrely dangerous. I hope everything goes well-but if sothing goes wrong, whoever enters could end up trapped, surrounded by unknown enemies. I'll go alone."
Anark's lips curved slightly. "Is being a scout truly a task for a king? I am sure you have others more than able to fulfill this task."
Cain's eyes glead with conviction. "Soon they will march into a war that could last for centuries, perhaps millennia. If I lack the resolve to face the unknown first, how could I ask my people to follow ?"
Anark's expression softened into quiet respect. "Then grant a piece of your soul," he said. "If anything happens, I'll be able to locate you and open a portal to bring you back."
Cain didn't hesitate. For beings of their level, losing a fragnt of soul was not inherently dangerous-but it carried risk. The one who held it could, in theory, perform any number of devastating curses or bindings. Yet Cain's trust was absolute.
Their friendship had been forged in blood and fire-since the days when Cain was hunted by the Soul King, through the wars against the Legion and Azazel of the Imperium of Ti. Theirs was a bond
beyond blood, tempered by battle and eternity.
Without a word, Cain pressed a finger to his chest. A drop of luminous scarlet essence rose from his heart, pulsing with divine energy. He extended it toward Anark, who accepted it with solemn
care.
"Two days," Anark said, closing his eyes. "Prepare yourself!"
Cain nodded and sat cross-legged upon the void, letting his consciousness expand. His strength was imnse-enough to face peak ArchDeities and even slay them.
If he unleashed his Resurrección, he could contend with Alpha-Oga Overgods themselves, though the strain would still be severe. This, however, was not a war-only a reconnaissance mission. If he encountered trouble, he would withdraw.
Two days passed like the blink of an eye.
When Cain opened his eyes again, the void trembled.
Anark's expression had hardened into focus. The Primordial extended his eight arms, his power gathering until the surrounding darkness began to ripple. The Primordial Force of the Void ignited, and he thrust forward-his will cutting through the fabric of reality itself. The Empyrean Wall shuddered in protest. It was a structure of impossible scale, a wall of living energy that no ArchDeity could ever hope to breach. But Anark was a Primordial. His essence resonated with the origin of all things, allowing him to bend even the laws of
existence.
Lightning crackled through the abyss, carrying cosmic energy that tried to repel his intrusion. The void groaned as Anark pressed harder, his eyes burning with determination.
Then ca the sound-the stretching of reality, the tearing of space
itself.
A crack appeared in the barrier. Then another.
"Raaaghhh!" The Primordial roared, his voice shaking the stars. With one final surge of power, the rift widened into a massive wormhole, raw and unstable, swirling with broken fragnts of space-ti.
The passage between worlds was open.
Cain gazed through it and saw a new realm beyond-a vast Empyrean
World bathed in unfamiliar light. The currents of energy that flowed through it were different from anything he had ever felt, vibrant and chaotic, like an untouched sea.
He turned to Anark and offered a nod of gratitude. "I'll be back soon."
Without hesitation, he stepped forward. The turbulent energies lashed against him imdiately, violent enough to shred weak ArchDeities into dust. But Cain's divine body held firm; the storms of chaos could not harm him.
Everything appeared to be going according to plan. He was halfway through the wormhole when it happened.
"RUMBLE!!!"
A tremor unlike anything he had ever felt rippled through the void. It was vast, ancient, and wrong-like a scream from the bones of reality. Compared to this, the backlash of Anark's power was a whisper. "Damn it!" Cain hissed, spinning in alarm. Waves of distortion swept through the wormhole, collapsing the fragile balance that held it
together.
"What is this?" Anark's voice thundered across the void. He did not understand the origin, but could feel it. Sothing, sothing very, very wrong was happening.
"I don't know!" Cain shouted back. "But whatever it is-it's making the
universe scream!"
Another pulse slamd into them, shaking the structure of the edge of the wormhole. Space fractured like glass. The very laws of ti and
distance began to twist.
Cain turned back toward the Everstrife Empyrean World's side, intending to retreat. Sothing horrible was going to happen, and he needed to protect his ho. However, the gateway was already destabilizing, and he did not seem like he would make it. Anark made his energy explode once more and flashed forward,
grasping onto the edge of the exit of the wormhole, using all his power to hold it open. "Go! Now!"
Cain lunged at full speed, but the void erupted once more. A shockwave of pure entropy blasted outward, hurling Anark backward like a teor.
The Primordial's silhouette vanished into darkness as the gate folded
in on itself.
The last thing Cain saw was the exit collapse, trapping him in the space between worlds.
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