"Hmph!" Cassandra snorted. "Just say you won't tell me. There's no point saying cryptic words."
"But I am telling you…" Alex chuckled. "The reason you find it cryptic is because you'll have to stumble on the truth yourself."
"Whatever…" The Catwoman sighed. Naturally, she knew Alex was right, but it didn't make it any less annoying.
"Alright. I have to deal with something real quick. Return with him once he awakens."
"Is it something serious?" Cassandra looked towards the Sol system, curiosity evident in her tone.
"Nah… not really. Something is happening outside the protection sphere and I have to go check it out." Alex said. "It won't take long. See you later."
With that, his presence disappeared, leaving the catwoman and Zol alone in the void.
Cassandra turned back to Zol, her thoughts lingering on her power boost. 'Having power without understanding them is like having money without financial literacy. Maybe that was the reason I lost my universe.'
She still felt guilty about that. Questions about what she could have done differently continued to plague her mind.
Would things have been different if she had focused on understanding her abilities instead of just absorbing energy? Unfortunately, they were all useless now.
'How am I supposed to live knowing I am the last of my kind?' A single tear fell from her left eye. 'Ah… what a cruel reality…'
...…..
Near the borders of the empire, the protection sphere.
Alex appeared in the void, wearing casual clothes--black trousers and a jacket with a white T-shirt underneath.
The moment he appeared, the vassals waiting there all turned to him and gave polite bows.
"At ease." Alex said, gesturing for them to stand upright. "What am I looking at?" He stepped forward, gazing beyond the invisible sphere.
"We're not sure," Elina replied, walking to his side. "This has been happening for a while now. Initially, we believed it to be any other storm in the universe. However, this one is particularly isn't behaving like the typical ones we know."
Naturally, Alex saw through the storm the moment he arrived. But if he did everything by himself, then what would the others be doing?
He didn't have to do everything himself and the others didn't want him to either.
"I see…" Alex nodded, quickly deducing the cause of what was happening. "Has anyone ventured inside?"
"No." Elina shook her head. "We may be powerful, but that doesn't mean we can just shrug off everything. We're not you." The oracle looked at him with a knowing smile.
"Right." Alex chuckled. "I'm glad you guys think that way."
Alx turned to look at the hunters, and among their numbers were Lord Lucas, Julia's father, and then James, her former guard.
"How was your hunting trip?" He asked the two as he walked closer to them.
"I'd say a disappointment?" James smiled, closing the distance as well. "Your own words, not mine."
"That's what happens when you're overpowered." Alex replied as the two clasped their hands in a firm shake.
"Father-in-law." Alex turned to him and did the same. "I hope the experience was the same?"
"Hmph!" The man snorted. "Like you weren't watching us the whole time."
"Guilty as charged." Alex shrugged. "Also, Julia would have killed me if I didn't watch. So there's that."
"Uh-huh." Lucas did not believe him, not even a little. "We can argue about that once we deal with whatever that is." He gestured with his head.
"Mm." Alex nodded, walking to the very edge of the sphere before turning to face the hunters. He looked at their calm expressions and the feelings they had towards him.
Every single one of them had absolute faith in his powers as there was not a trace of worry on their faces.
"Everyone," Alex began, his voice taking a serious tone. "What you see before you isn't a natural storm. It's man-made or should I say we have visitors."
Alex looked over his shoulders while the hunters exchanged glances, quickly sharing the little that they knew.
Some knew what he was talking about as they had been with him when he woke Cassandra, so they knew what Alex was talking about.
The apparent storm of chaotic energies was ginormous and stretched as far as they could see, and that was several million light-years in diameter--almost like several galaxies put together and heading their way.
The storm raged with cosmic radiations, flares from solar stars, and dust clouds in a combination of wondrous colours. And within the storm was a sea of celestial objects.
From planets, satellites, solar stars on the verge of going supernova, black holes, asteroids the size of moons and a whole lot more.
The raging storm was on a direct collision course with the empire and had been since the hunters first saw it.
"As you know, we are not alone." Alex continued. "There are other universes out there, and for whatever reason, we've caught the eye of a particularly powerful being. What you see is a little gift these beings have prepared to see how powerful we are-- or I am."
"How would you respond to this?" Elina asked a moment later. "From what I can tell, if you were to be weak, this would have caused catastrophic damages to us. So why do it and not confront you directly?"
"Honestly, I don't know their thought process." Alex replied. "But they have made it clear they don't care what happens to us or what we think about their little experiment, and that's fine. It makes things easier, at least for me."
He would subdue first and ask questions later.
Alex looked over his shoulders a second time, and this time, his gaze passed the storm, going further back before stopping on a group of three individuals merged with space.
Moreover, they blended their energies with the surroundings, making it seem they were never present. It erased their presence completely.
A perfect hiding technique. But before his eyes, they might as well be standing right in front of him.
'Are they really servants of a Veilwalker?' Alex honestly wondered. 'Or do they really look down on me and this universe.'
Turning back to his hunters, he continued.
"I will take care of this." Alex said. "In the meantime, halt all hunting trips outside the borders. Detain those who return until I personally check on them."
"Yes." The hunters accepted his instructions and quickly disappeared, heading for the border patrols. Elina was the only one left behind.
"Don't worry, Elina." Alex could see through her thoughts. "I will be fine. And don't worry. That storm had no chance of disturbing the sphere in the first place."
"Okay…" Elina nodded while Alex turned around, walking through the sphere like it never existed.
"I'll be back soon."