Chapter 2204: Just the same...

'Void Beast...'

The greatest interaction that Leonel had ever had with void beasts was with the vile of blood that had changed much of Little Blackstar's future. However, the more he learned, the more ridiculous he felt that matter was.

Back then, Kira had told him that her family found the corpse of a Void Beast that had already died long ago, and thanks to that, they were able to gather up its blood. But even though she had admitted that they hadn't killed it, Leonel had still found that master odd. In fact, he felt that the idea that a Void Beast could exist in the Dimensional Verse at all was far too ridiculous. This kind of world couldn't accommodate such a powerful creature. So...

Where could its corpse have come from?

Looking at the carcass of the beast formed into a ship above him, he realized that he might be looking at the answer right before. What if it was precisely this ship that Kira's family had found in the past? But then, that left another question... Just where had it come from?

This led him down the very same rabbit hole that had left him silent for so long in the first place. Just who were these race of people and where had they come from? And why did they make him feel like the Spirituals that he had placed on such a high pedestal... were worthless beings?

Leonel slowly stood from his throne, stepping out and into the air. With a flicker, he had appeared on the back of the corpse ship, his hands clasped behind his back and his movements slow and deliberate.

Those that were watching didn't think much of it, but if they had known that this was the first time Leonel had ever seen such a thing, their reactions wouldn't have been so casual.

It was said that the first time anyone saw a Void Beast, they would be immobilized with fear, faced with an existential dread that could consume their lives. In truth, many never recovered. The lucky among those spent the rest of their lives in depression. Those that landed in the middle might push on for several more years before finally succumbing and committing suicide. As for those that were the unluckiest, they would never awaken, frozen in a state of fear for the rest of their lives. Unable to eat, breathe or circulate their own Force, they would die standing, vanishing into the wind in a swirling stream of ash.

This was the Void Beast, the most powerful creature in all of existence, the wielder of Archaic Force...

The Void Beast didn't immediately look as though it had any form. It was a mass of swirling shadows that sometimes solidified, but seemed to prefer to be free-flowing and unrestrained. Just its presence alone darkened the skies for more reasons than just blocking out the sun.

However, the more you looked at it, the more the defined patterns of movement cleared in your sights, and the more the true form of this beast imprinted itself into your mind.

It had many eyes, what seemed like countless, all concentrated onto a single pointed surface that barely resembled the majestic head of a dragon. Its body was both scaled and furred, but seemed to be formed of twisting masses of thick, condensed lines of darkness that looked somewhat like a being skinned to reveal the muscle mass beneath. It looked as though these muscle fibers could pull themselves apart or retwist together into an entirely new form so long as the Void Beast willed it, and it was also this flexibility that allowed the countless rows of dark windows that made up the ship to call its sides home.

Once this image imprinted itself into your mind, the fear would then take root. The image would fade and etch itself into your soul as though it was a Force Art designed for the sole purpose of crushing your dreams.

It was hard to tell if this form that the Void Beast seemed to have was real or not, or if it was all a ploy from the very beginning to force you to experience the greatest fear there was in all of existence. And yet...

Leonel simply landed on its back, his expression unmoved and his movements unhurried. This was precisely what one might expect from El'Rion, Prince of the Pluto Race. However, who it was not expected of was Leonel Morales... human.

Leonel walked forward with slow steps, as though waiting for something. By the time he had made it across the deck, the doors had finally opened.

Out from within, a being with skin as dark as night appeared. It looked as though the cosmos was hidden within its flesh, its eyes as bright as the sun's rays. It was no less tall than Leonel, standing at almost four meters, but it seemed even lighter on its feet. On second glance, it actually seemed to be a woman, carrying a peculiar sort of beauty that felt more like how one would feel watching an eagle soar through the skies, like a husky rushing through thick snow-she truly seemed to have a beauty carved out from mother nature herself. But what was odd about this comparison was the fact that in all likelihood, in her eyes... she was the lofty being while all others were the animals by the roadside.

This woman, seemingly naked and yet not at the same time, was Shan'Rae, Princess of the Void Race.

Leonel could tell at a glance that she was neither Aina nor his mother. At the same time, looking into her eyes despite the brightness, he could tell that she wasn't an ally, nor was she an enemy. So, the next words flowed out from his mouth smoothly.

"Why are you here?" he asked coldly.

"Just the same as usual," Shan'Rae spoke with a layered voice that sounded like three beautiful women harmonizing at once. "Cold, detached, above it all. It's no wonder your Pluto Race has sunk to the point of having to repay a favor to a mere human."