Moments earlier.
Zol and Mason made their stance as the hunters came from the planets and lined up behind them. The hunters numbered in the thousands, ranging from Class C to Class A.
And while not all of them were willing, they had to obey as anything else would brand them traitors and strip them of everything they owned.
The hunters had their helms show the chaos happening in the distance since the light from the stars would take some time to reach them, including the cosmic mana wave. But it didn't make it any less dangerous.
Their current issue was the void creatures. However, they were shocked to see the stronger ones abruptly disappear from their readings.
"That's him, isn't it?" A hunter asked a comrade close to him. His tone was laced with a bit of anxiety. But seeing the readings, he couldn't help but feel empowered.
"I think so. But I didn't think he was that fast." There was surprise evident in their tone. "I mean we all saw him when he returned, but none of us actually saw him fight."
"Doesn't matter." Another chimed in. "There are still void creatures inbound and would be on us soon."
"Get ready," Zol instructed sometime later. "The creatures are upon us."
Their readings showed the neutron star had disappeared as well as the cosmic mana wave.
'He really handled the collapsing neutron star.' Zol felt a small smile tug at his lips. 'The Veilwalker, huh? Has a nice ring to it.'
He and Mason floated back as the army of hunters flew forward. With the big boys dealt with, they were no need for them to move unless absolutely necessary.
The hunters flew forward getting their weapons and abilities ready. But then things changed.
A soul-chilling sound erupted like thunder within their very being and the surrounding space trembled.
CRACKLE!
Suddenly, Zol and Mason were blown away at high speeds, unable to recompose themselves even after trying several times. The hunters who were close to them were flung away just the same.
Unfortunately, they were weaker beings as the force disintegrated them from existence. The star along with its planets was blown away as the shock tore them apart.
Zol and Mason were the only survivors of the disaster and even then, the two were heavily injured.
"W-what happened?" Zol puked blood as he struggled to recompose himself.
His armour was broken in several places and his skin felt like someone tried to forcefully rip it from his flesh.
The entire area spanning many light years was plunged into absolute darkness with space cracks everywhere.
"I don't know…" Mason replied wiping the blood from the corner of his lips. He checked his system, only to be met with silence. "My system has gone dark. You?"
"Same," Zol replied looking around. "I think we're lost."
It felt as though they were plunged into an abyss with no light in sight. There were too many chaotic cracks for them to move around freely.
With no lights to guide them, they could only move blindly and pray they found the light from a star.
"Let's heal a bit before moving," Zol suggested as he took a seat in the void. Mason followed suit, however, his mind raced as he had a hunch but didn't want to entertain that thought.
'It was like the universe collapsed…' He gulped as a shudder ran down his spine. 'I hope things are alright.'
...….
A report reached the leaders of humanity as they got to learn about the new veil tear close to the Aurion star system. The updates were consistent as they got to know what was happening.
However, communications suddenly went dark as they lost contact in that region. Initially, their attendants believed it to be interference coming from the radiation raging in the region.
"My lords, we have a situation." One of the attendants said. "We've lost contact with multiple surrounding star systems and we can't seem to reach them."
The leaders furrowed their brows in confusion. 'This cannot be just interference.' Jaseph reasoned. 'Something's off.'
"Have you tried Earth and Mars as well?" Zara wondered what Zol and Alex were doing about the situation.
"Yes, my lady. Just like the others, we can't reach them."
The leaders exchanged glances. They were not sure what was happening as situations like these only occurred when the chaos was too much.
But they hadn't had those in a while and since the introduction of the veil disruptors, things had calmed down significantly.
"Continue to monitor the situation," Basso instructed and the attendant acknowledged before quickly exiting.
"Do you think this is something different?" Zara asked once they were alone. "Once that star collapses, it will all be over for that star system."
"Maybe." Basso nodded with a stern expression. "However, this is also a great opportunity to see how the kid handles the situation."
They may not know Alex's capabilities, but they knew cosmic mana waves posed no trouble for him.
They were interested in seeing what the boy was capable of and this was a good opportunity.
You don't rule over an uncountable number of living beings in a wretched universe without having some screws loose.
But not more than an hour later, the same attendant ran inside their meeting hall, fear-stricken and panting heavily. The leaders looked with furrowed brows as the man trembled where he stood.
"Speak already!" Basso yelled. "What is happening?"
They waited several seconds for the attendant to open his lips, but he appeared to be in a state of shock.
"T-Th—t—tho…" The attendant could only stammer, greatly annoying the leaders. But he managed to find his voice and screamed out his report.
"Thousands of star systems have been destroyed!"
"What?!" The leaders uttered almost at the same time as they all got to their feet. "Are you sure of what you're saying?!" Zara demanded answers with a deadly glint in her eyes.
"It's the truth!" The attendant was shaking from dread, not from the pressure the leaders instinctively released when they heard the news, but from what he discovered himself.
"Communications were dark because there was nothing to send to and receive! They're all gone!"