It wasn’t his soulscape that Leo arrived in.

  There was no Stormveil, no ruination around him. Instead, he found himself surrounded by a vast expanse of bright stars stretching in every direction. And he just floated there, unable to move but allowed to watch. With no other choice, that was exactly what he did, even if he couldn’t understand most of what was happening before him.

  The stars shifted and coalesced into a being larger than a mountain, larger than even a planet. Describing it was a lost cause, as wherever Leo looked, the creature’s form twisted, becoming something else entirely. It was like his eyes and mind couldn’t comprehend its true shape and just hurt themselves in confusion.

  The only detail that registered in his head without any issue were the colors that made up the being.

  Gold. Red. Green. Blue. Brown. And finally, black specks that had already spread all over the other colors.

  What are you? He asked, but there was nobody here to answer him. What is this?

  As if it heard him, the massive creature shifted again. A good chunk of its body transformed into something akin to a hand. For a brief moment, Leo wondered how he could suddenly see what was happening, but just then, the being plunged its makeshift limb into its own core.

  The colors across its body began to writhe, yet only the blackened parts moved. Within seconds, all of them vanished, leaving behind a clear surface that shined brighter than any star.

  But Leo barely noticed any of that. No, instead, his gaze stayed glued to the makeshift hand that slid out of the being’s core. Only it didn’t come out alone.

  An orb of darkness, crackling with crimson energy, followed right behind, its size easily a third of the entire creature. Even as it was forced out and dragged by an invisible force, dark tendrils tried to reach for the colorful being, only to be slapped away by tiny explosions that erupted wherever they made contact.

  To Leo, it looked like a parasite being extracted. And yet, something deep in his mind whispered that this was not the case. So he continued watching, his eyes widening as the orb was cast away, thrown somewhere into the infinite empty space.

  The being then vanished, taking all the light with it. Not even a single star remained in sight. It was as though whatever the creature had done had turned this place into a void.

  Leo froze. Wait…

  However, he didn’t get a chance to ponder this realization, as a moment later, a distant explosion reached his ears. His gaze snapped to the source just in time to see a wave of black-red energy heading toward him.

  The last thing he saw were four violet eyes staring right back at him.

  Leo gasped, his eyes snapping open to the same dark clearing where his third trial had begun. It was as if nothing had ever happened. Yet even now, he could still feel that wave of power on his skin, burning him from the inside out, transforming him into something else.

  “What the hell?” he muttered. “What did I just witness?”

  “The truth,” a familiar voice answered him as the red Phantom materialized before him. “The true story. The real beginning of the end. And you already know it. You just refuse to accept it.”

  Leo closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. Yes, he understood well what had happened there, what he had just witnessed. It was clear even before the explosion. But what he couldn’t comprehend was how any of it was possible.

  Wasn’t the Void supposed to predate everything? If yes, then how did he just witness its creation?

  “It’s simple, really,” the Phantom replied to his thoughts. “We are the Void, child, and thanks to the Veil, its past will always be open to us.”

  Leo looked up at the red creature, frowning. “I still don’t see the point of all this. The creation of the Void means nothing without context. Also, how does it even relate to your questions from before? I am no closer to understanding what the Veil is.”

  “And that’s where you’re wrong, child. Witnessing the birth of the Void also showed you the beginning of us, the Primes. Now you just have to fill in the blanks.”

  “How?”

  The Phantom smiled. “The same way you opened yourself to the truth. Reach for it.”

  Leo narrowed his eyes. “Another vision?”

  “Not exactly.”

  Yeah, like I trust that look on your face. He scoffed, averting his gaze. Still, not like I have any other choice… Very well, let’s see what else you have for me.

  And so, with bloodlust at his back, Leo once again dove into himself, searching for the same connection that showed him the birth of the Void. It took longer than last time, but the moment he touched it, he didn’t black out.

  Instead, flashes of faces he didn’t recognize assaulted his mind. They were followed by darkness filled with silver specters that floated from one to another. Their whispers became the only thing he could hear, and not even the next flood of memories could drown them out.

  He saw cities burn, beings of all kinds running from explosions and fires, while in the distance, monsters fought. Those scenes, however, never remained the same for long. The landscapes shifted. The fires changed colors. And the fighting beasts became something else entirely.

  Yet, each of those short memories ended up in the same way.

  One of the raging beasts would fall, with a new specter joining the darkness. And then the whispers would grow louder before restarting the cycle again and again.

  Leo grimaced as he fell to his knees, placing his hands on the ground for support.

  “The Veil,” he gritted out, even as the visions continued to play. “I-It’s a graveyard. A graveyard that grows stronger with every dead Prime.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  The Phantom nodded. “Correct, but that’s not everything. Look deeper, child. See what else hides there.”

  Leo growled but obeyed, pushing himself further, reaching deeper into the connection he hadn’t even known existed before all this.

  And just like that, the visions changed.

  Gone were the endless battlefields, and instead, he found himself looking at two seas clashing against each other. One as radiant and colorful as the being from his first black-out, the other as dark as the night, speckled with streaks of crimson. They fought and fought, but somehow, the latter always won.

  Or at least it did until a gray, half-transparent wall settled between the two.

  The moment it appeared, the bloodlust within Leo’s mind spiked, its hunger and hatred at least doubling in intensity. He clenched his jaw, trying to keep the connection with the visions active.

  “What you’ve just witnessed was two multiverses clashing,” the Phantom’s voice filled his ears. Meanwhile, in his vision, the gray wall grew thicker. “The one you come from… and the one that became what we now call the Void.”

  Even through the pounding headache, Leo forced himself to look up. “Multiverses?”

  The dead Prime nodded. “From what we understand, the Source—the being you first saw—did not want the dark power within it to exist in its own plane. And so it chose another prison. That was a mistake. The explosion you witnessed consumed that multiverse… and reshaped it into something new.”

  “The Void,” Leo muttered.

  “Indeed… Just think of it. An almost infinite number of universes filled with unknown beings, powers, gods, and energies. All gone in an instant to fuel the Void’s development. Voidlings, hybrids, and so much more. All of that was born from the combined power of two multiverses. That’s why Void Essence is so much different, stronger.”

  Leo swallowed hard even as his mind tried to make sense of all this information. At least the visions were finally fading. “But where does the Veil come into play?” he asked. “That’s the wall, right? The force that stopped the Void from returning to the Source.”

  “Correct again.” The Phantom offered him a weak smile. “The Veil… it’s not a creation of Essence. Its source is an unknown power from the other multiverse. Somehow, it resisted the Void and used the pain and hatred of every dying being to create a barrier, a shield meant to trap the Void forever. It also gave birth to us, Akirians, hoping we would be its protectors.”

  Leo winced. “I think that one didn’t work too well.”

  “No. Something interfered, twisting us into creatures of the Void first, the Veil second. Worse, it bound our birth to the hellish plains of Ediovr…”

  Wait… This is… His eyes widened. “The Monarch.”

  The Phantom nodded. “Those of us who had resisted his rule call him the Tyrant, but yes, he is the one who had interfered. Although, in the end, he only half-successed. After death, each Akirian’s remaining power is still always claimed by the Veil and then used to strengthen it.”

  Always something, Leo hummed. “And Primes. What about us?”

  “We are a partially failed attempt by the Veil to reclaim the Akirians,” the Phantom explained, its voice tinged with sadness. “Our connection to both it and the Void is more balanced, allowing us to come here. The Veil hoped that by showing us the past, we would turn against the Tyrant… But all it truly accomplished was giving his best soldiers access to a second source of power.”

  “Bloodlust.”

  The dead Prime smiled. “The manifestation of the Veil’s hatred and hunger for freedom turned into a unique energy. All Akirians can access it, but only we can truly wield it.”

  Leo sat down on the ground, putting his hands over his eyes. When he came here, he didn’t expect to learn so much about the past. And now that he did, he wasn’t even sure if any of it mattered.

  “Oh, it does,” the Phantom replied, again addressing his thoughts. “We study the past to learn from the mistakes of those who came before and to decide for ourselves what is wrong and right. It’s just a pity that so few truly understand what they see here before they die.”

  “And that is?”

  The Phantom chuckled. “I can’t tell you. In the end, I’m just a guide. A biased guide, but a guide nonetheless. There is a limit to what I can say and do.”

  Just then, their little clearing shook, cracking the ground.

  “And it seems I’ve said too much already… It’s time for you to go, child.”

  “But I still have questions!” Leo protested, scrambling to his feet.

  “And you will get your answers. You know the way now. Unlike me, you’re still alive. There are no shackles on you. So learn, grow stronger, and once you’re ready, return here. We will talk again then.”

  “Wait! Does this mean—“

  The Phantom nodded. “Yes. Unless you find the answer to the problem even the Veil failed to understand, we won’t allow you back here. Only in death shall we reunite. Bloodlust, however, is now fully on your side. Use it, and as the System likes to say. Adapt. Adapt or die.”

  Leo opened his mouth to answer, but he never got the chance to speak. The ground beneath his feet crumbled and sent him falling into darkness. Soon, though, familiar silver specters manifested around him, their whispers filling his ears.

  “The heir…”

  “The Fallen One’s hope…”

  “The Tyrant’s dog…”

  “…you shall perish in flames of hatred…”

  “Run and never stop… they’re coming for you…”

  “The System, the Veil, the Void… all wrong.”

  “Survive… Find the Broken One… he knows…”

  “Enough!”

  Silence…

  Leo awoke in his room deep inside the former Supercluster, his ears still ringing.

  What those specters said… it didn’t make much sense, but the urgency in their words, the anger, the pleading. All of that was real. And then the final shout. Something stopped them from telling him more, and it wasn’t the red Phantom.

  Just what the hell is going on? He massaged his brow. I went in hoping to learn more about my new evolution, and instead… instead I got all that. Wait… the trial…

  His eyes widened as he reached for the connection that started all the Trials of Primes. Only there was nothing there, not even a trace. Just like the Phantom had said, he got cut off.

  “Only until I find the answer,” he muttered, looking down at his hands. “Could it mean that… that the trial is still active? Just outside the Veil this time?”

  It was certainly a possibility. The red Phantom never stated outright that the trial was over, only gave him another task.

  “So that’s how it is…”

  “Leo?” Nyx’s voice forced him to look up. “Why are you talking to yourself? I told you not to wake me up.”

  He smiled wryly. “Look into my last memory. Please.”

  The feline furrowed her brow but did as was told. For a good minute, he felt her drifting from memory to memory, her emotions in the link getting more unstable with each second.

  “That’s…” she mumbled. “I don’t know what to say.”

  Leo sighed. “Yeah, me neither.”

  “Nikra…” Nyx gulped. “Nikra was never aware of any of this. They always believed the Void was just another dimension, part of their multiverse. But if that’s not true, then… then how did she become an Old One of the Void? How were any of them created?”

  “The Source,” he stated. “There has to be a connection.”

  The feline groaned. “And here I thought your conversation with the System was messed up. How come it didn’t tell you of any of this?”

  Leo frowned as the words of one of the specters filled his mind.

  “The System, the Veil, the Void… all wrong.”

  He had no idea just why they were wrong, but he planned to find out one way or another. And if the System was trying to play him? Well, then he would figure out something else. After all, he still had some paths left unexplored.

  And now, with his journey into the Void approaching, it was high time to take matters into his own two hands.

  Netherum, hmm? Maybe there is a place I want to visit after all…