Chapter 118: The Astral Server
Chapter 118: Chapter 118: The Astral Server
Chapter 118: The Astral Server
SNAP!
The sound of Draven’s fingers snapping echoed through the office.
In a fraction of a millisecond, the walls of the central spire completely melted away. The warm light of the afternoon sun vanished. The wooden desk, the leather chairs, and the stone floors dissolved into absolute nothingness.
Lord Commander Helion Goldmane gasped, his eyes widening in pure shock.
He was no longer in Bastion Seven. He was floating in an endless, breathtaking expanse of a starry void. Galaxies spun slowly in the distance, and the floor beneath his boots looked like polished dark glass reflecting a sea of nebulas.
Before Helion could even process his surroundings, a terrifying, unfathomable pressure crashed down on him.
BOOM!
It was not physical gravity. It was the sheer, crushing weight of a higher dimension.
Helion, the absolute strongest human on the planet, the warlord who had slaughtered thousands of monsters without breaking a sweat, instantly collapsed. He hit the dark, glassy floor on his hands and knees. The breath was violently forced from his lungs.
He could not look up. He could barely breathe.
In that suffocating, terrifying moment, Helion truly felt like a tiny, insignificant ant staring up at the cosmos.
Slowly, agonizingly, Helion forced his eyes upward.
A colossal, formless entity made of pure, shifting void and starlight loomed over him. It possessed no face, but its presence was absolute. Standing calmly beside this gargantuan entity was a pristine clone of Draven Mordis, his hands casually tucked into his pockets.
Helion’s mind raced with terrifying realizations.
’This is the truth,’ Helion thought, his heart pounding against his ribs.
’This explains everything. This explains Draven’s unnatural growth. This explains his alter ego, Zero. The secret organization he leads... The Embracing Hands. This cosmic entity is the great power behind them all.’
The oppressive, world-crushing pressure suddenly vanished.
Helion gasped for air, his lungs burning. He slowly pushed himself off the glassy floor and stood up. He brushed the dust off his coat and immediately bowed deeply, his pride completely erased by the sheer scale of the power he had just witnessed.
"I greet the great entity," Helion said respectfully, his horizons permanently expanded.
"There is no need for formalities here, Commander Helion," a voice echoed.
The voice did not come from the entity’s non-existent mouth. It reverberated directly inside Helion’s mind. It was Draven speaking as the avatar of the Void God, his voice layered with ancient, cosmic echoes.
Helion kept his head bowed.
’You just made me kneel without a single thought,’ Helion thought bitterly.
’How dare I even think about disrespecting you?’
"Consider the kneeling a greeting among us," the Void God replied instantly.
Helion physically flinched. His golden eyes went wide with absolute horror.
Mind reading. The entity had casually plucked his most guarded, private thought right out of his brain as if it were reading an open book. Helion had never felt so utterly vulnerable in his entire life.
"I apologize for the disrespect!" Helion said quickly, his voice tight.
"I do not mind," the Void God answered, its tone completely indifferent.
"It does not affect me. Emotions are just not for me, I believe. Anyways, you must be wondering where you are and how you are here. Why have I summoned you? What is my goal? And the most important one. Am I your enemy? You must have a lot of questions."
Helion slowly raised his head and nodded.
"You are in my domain," the Void God stated.
"And you were brought here on my orders by my loyal proxy working in your world. You must have met him. Zero. Or his true name, Draven."
Helion looked at the silent clone of Draven standing beside the massive entity.
"Yes," Helion replied carefully.
"I have met him. But if I may ask, what is your purpose? Looking at the actions of your organization, you do not seem to have any motives against humanity. But your actions are also accelerating the conflict between humans. The Civil War may have been avoided if Draven did not set such a ridiculous record. Not that I mind it actually, but it was a spark."
"A valid reason as well," the Void God acknowledged calmly.
"But humanity needs to be united if we need to face the upcoming threat."
Helion frowned, his tactical mind instantly kicking in.
"What threat?" Helion asked.
"Is that threat so important that you needed to spark a Civil War amongst the humans? This war will cost lives!"
"Yes, it is," the Void God echoed heavily through the stars.
"And those lives need to be taken unless you want the whole of Humanity to disappear from this planet. Also, Draven showing the power of the entire class to the world also shows the potential of humanity. The Capital has been draining you dry on these frontlines. You know how deep this rot has reached as well. But the main reason is the Elders in the Capital are involved with the Church of the Eternal Eclipse. If we leave them alone, it will just bite us in the back."
Helion’s blood ran cold. The High Council was working with the Cult. The treason went deeper than he had ever imagined.
"Yes," Helion pressed, stepping forward slightly.
"But why now?"
The entire astral void suddenly darkened. The starlight dimmed, and the temperature plummeted to absolute zero.
"Let me finish," the Void God commanded, its voice dripping with terrifying authority.
"Do not interrupt me."
Helion completely froze, his instincts screaming at him to remain perfectly still.
"The threat I was talking about is the monsters that have conquered more than half of your lands," the Void God revealed, projecting massive, holographic images of gargantuan, world-ending beasts across the starry sky.
The Void God looked down at the trembling warlord.
"Soon enough, the apocalypse will hit your planet."
Helion stood paralyzed in the dark expanse. The greatest human commander alive could only stare at the apocalyptic projections in sheer, unadulterated terror.