As Lily disappeared, most of the people scattered, resuming their hunt for resources.
Natalia arrived beside Almond and elbowed, “Sup. How do you feel now that she’s gone?”
Almond turned to her with a wry smile. “Worried.”
“Humph, you deserve it. When you suddenly disappeared without anyone knowing, and how people just said you died somewhere, do you know how Lily felt? Yet, she maintained her belief. And she was training maniacally because she knew getting stronger was the only way. If she became all-powerful, she would be able to find you.”
“Mhm…” Almond nodded. He now truly realizes how Lily must have felt when he suddenly vanished into some unknown place with no way of knowing his status.
And now that Lily went to the third layer, he could feel anxiety and worry, which Lily must have felt way more, but she still fought off.
Seeing Almond’s expression, Kira couldn’t help but bite her lips.
Noah glanced at her briefly, his eyes gentle. ‘I’ll keep waiting.’
“Come on, man. We gotta hurry and catch up so you can meet her again,” Marcus said as he slapped Almond’s back and grinned. “You’re gonna lead us there, right?”
“You bet,” Almond grinned, his eyes blazing. “Alright, you all get back. I’m gonna go die a bit to finish a task.”
With that, Almond snapped his finger before turning into sparkling ash that dispersed with the wind.
“What the…” Emma’s eyes widened.
At the moment, all Regalons felt a clear and certain death of their progenitor.
Almond died.
However, they all strangely got an intent from Almond, saying he was alright.
At that, everyone resumed their hunt.
Meanwhile, Almond’s soul was experiencing extreme nullification of some absurdly powerful things.
And in a blink, he found himself against that same scenery. That utterly awe-inspiring golden Ω gate in the void that seemed to accept everything while rejecting them.
This paradox was irresistible to Almond as he looked at the phenomenon, feeling the call yet infusing him with the fear of turning into utter void.
Almond could just feel that whatever lay at the end of this was the worst thing to ever exist, but it was also the most powerful.
Worst because it was cruel.
Almond felt that if he died here, he would not just die, but get utterly erased…and replaced.
He would die, but an exact same one like him that wasn’t him would take his place. He would be entirely based on him because he was devoured by this void and turned into one.
“And so, you would use me to win?” Almond asked as he appeared before the Ω gate, his hand stretching as he touched it naturally.
His eyes brilliantly glimmered.
He saw through this thing.
He understood this void.
And he had no fear of it, so he accepted it.
In the next instant, Almond appeared fifty meters away automatically, his eyes showing surprise.
The golden Ω gate wiggled, bent, and inflated before bursting into sparks and turning into eight eyes and a maw of a spider.
“Sup, nice to meet you officially.”
Almond blinked. “You are a spider?”
“Oi, I am not just any spider, okay? If I wasn’t sealed, I could chew this fucking tree and turn it into my poop.”
“That…is powerful,” Almond couldn’t help but swallow and then feel thrilled.
He could feel this spider was telling the truth!
“Alright, I want to learn your power since you are so powerful,” Almond grinned. “I’ll become powerful and destroy this tree to save you.”
“Technically, I am buried under this tree by this tree’s master.”
“I see..” Almond digested the information.
He really didn’t expect this powerhouse to be a creature like this.
“Of course, my true form can be an eldritch humanoid as well. My Master has rather peculiar powers, you see.” The dreamy spider-head spoke as if he read what Almond was thinking.
And Almond was dumbfounded. “You have a Master?”
“Of course. I am technically a Pet Monster of my Master. His name is John Wicked. We’ve arrived in the Grimverse for some adventure and to get something, but some trouble found us, and I was stuck here. My Master will return, but until then, I thought I should try to escape from this tree.”
Almond was feeling waves of shock.
This so-called Pet Monster had the power that could destroy this whole Grimworld Tree—something that was capable of connecting to this world of 9999 cosmoses and transforming it.
“Not really. This tree alone is not capable of everything you see. The tree’s master had a main part in creating this Grimworld and arranging all the important stuff to nurture it further.”
“I see…”
“Anyway, you are a cool guy who can work hard enough for this task, so here you go. Your soul and mind are not exactly capable of perceiving this rune yet, but you will be able to once you reach the third layer and elevate your complete lifeform.”
Almond saw the Omega Ω, but it twisted and turned, revealing its true form.
The two ends of the Ω extended into curved fang-like lines, and the symbol turned upside down with the circle breaking into two, with nothing connecting them.
“This is the truth of what you were feeling. This is my Eldritch Attribute—Voiderran. This will help you comprehend the Void element present in this Grimworld, and later, when you accept the Rune, you can do more, but understand that you will become an existence like Hollowstar after that.”
Almond raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean by that? Like being an enemy of Grimworld?”
“Yes. Once you wield this power that is clearly not from the Grimworld, the tree will sense it, and things will become difficult. But Voiderran will help you escape and do much more, as long as you are able to use it properly with your own developed powers. Ultimately, it’s up to you. The last several people I selected all failed, so I am not keeping my hopes high, but it’d be good if you can succeed.”
“I will,” Almond said as he touched the strange symbol of Voiderran, which disappeared inside him, deep within, hiding within his soul.
“You can now feel and experience Voiderran, but do it carefully within your own mindscape. Make sure you don’t leak even a bit of it by mistake before you are ready to wield it, or the tree will make quick work of you and your house of regalon.”
“Now go, we’ll meet again if you manage to die again.”
Almond appeared back in the place where he died. Natalia and others were just flying away, indicating that barely two seconds had passed.
Indeed. Even Grimworld was not aware that Almond’s consciousness was talking with that mysterious being.
To Grimworld, it just looked like Almond died, and its revival reward was activated to make him revive in two seconds.
So only two seconds had passed since he died. What he experienced was his consciousness bending the spacetime of Grimworld thanks to Voiderran, creating a null zone outside of Grimworld Tree’s perception where he and that being talked without worrying about the spacetime of Grimworld Tree.
Almond’s presence was established in every Regalon, informing them that he was revived.
‘Well then, I should break through now since I am ready.’ Almond took a deep breath as his aura was stable and his parameters, saturated.
It was time to become a bonafied Supreme Emperor.
[A/N: by the way, John Wicked mentioned in this is the MC of my other book in alt account 🙂 His journey is awesome, so check it out and see if you like it xD link below ]