Somewhere in the true void.
A being materialised right in the spot a universe was supposed to be — Trohan's universe. The universe was erased the moment the hulmite completed his ascension.
The veilwalker — the being who pitched the idea to him — stood in silence as he tried to gather anything that might have been left around.
'There's nothing,' The being thought. 'Whoever that Alexander fellow is must have succeeded in killing the hulmite.'
The being had a lean frame and had a height of 4 meters — at the very least. The being was humanoid but was not human.
He was a veyzari.
With his body covered in a cloak that masked his energy signature, he was nearly invisible to anything and anyone who may be lingering around.
'I miscalculated. I should have known his ascension would cut me off.' The veyzari sighed. 'Reaching godhood is supposed to be the ultimate stage for us living beings,'
Through the corrupted protection this being placed on the humite, he could more or less read Trohan's thoughts and see what the hulmite could see.
But all that disappeared as soon as the hulmite completed his ascension. That meant he was blind to what happened after.
'This one was only able to refine only four universe cores…' Another sigh escaped his lips. 'Another failed trial…'
The experiment itself was a failed attempt to create a much more powerful god than what a simple universe core could do.
However, he was smart enough not to do the same, choosing to see results before making any changes to his own godhood.
His thoughts then shifted to the person who interfered before the results could reach any higher. Naturally, the being also knew the hulmite was too hasty in his efforts to send his troubles to other universes.
'He was human, and a very powerful one too…' He recalled some of the things Alexander said and his confident demeanour. 'There was something different about him… If only I could get my hands on him.'
The veyzari licked his lips in a predatory fashion, their tongue reaching all the way to their forehead.
Following this gesture, a dangerous glint flashed in his emerald eyes, radiating outwardly like polished rubies.
'His universe should be close by…' The being thought. 'It will take a bit of work, but it should be doable. He may be powerful looking, but I bet he's never seen a being like me.'
For many years, he had reigned supreme in his universe and the surrounding ones, putting cocky walkers in their place — gods included — and convincing the rest to take up the experiment.
The other trials were not ready yet, but at this point, he considered the whole thing a failed attempt.
The veyzari gave one last look around, spreading out his senses for good measure. Still, he found nor noticed anything of interest.
'!'
Just as he turned around to leave, his eyes fell on a being who floated just a meter behind him, so close that they could stretch their hand and touch him. Without hesitation, the veyzari flew back, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.
'Since when?!' He looked around and spread his senses out for a second time. 'No way….'
To say he was shocked was grossly understating how he felt. The being was right in front of him, yet his senses told him there was no one there! How was that possible?!
'Shit! Shit! Shit'
The veyzari cursed, wondering if there were others lurking around like this being. With no way to sense them, he didn't want to rush his escape attempt.
He knew more than enough to know there were higher universes out there but was hoping he wouldn't have to run into any veilwalker from those universes.
If the stalker was one of such veilwalkers, then he was most likely doomed.
Focusing on the being who snuck up on him, he carefully took in their feature. The stalker was no more than 2 meters in height and also wore a cloak that hid most of their features, leaving only their lower face exposed.
"Who are you and why did you appear so close behind me?" His instincts warned of danger — the unknown always does. "It's not nice to sneak up on people like that."
The veyzari stated like he had never done the same thing several times.
"..."
No response came, and for several seconds, there were no movements. Suddenly, the stalker raised their head and appeared right before the veyzari, shocking the soul out of his body.
In one fluid motion, the being made a move and grabbed the veyzari by the throat. The move was so fast that time barely passed for the veyzari. To him, it all happened at the same time!
The veyzari attempted to use his powers but found himself paralyzed — literally. For some reason the veyzari couldn't explain, he couldn't draw power from his core.
'Fuck my luck!'
This was what he was afraid of -- beings from higher universes having the ability to suppress those from lower universes.
'Is the power gap this huge?' The veyzari was envious. 'I had to encounter such a being at this point. This is unfair!' Unwillingness burned in his emerald eyes.
The hand tightened around his neck, showing no signs of stopping. The veyzari continued to struggle, pleading to be released.
"Are you responsible for what happened here?" The mysterious stranger asked in a deep and heavy tone, revealing their identity as male.
But that was of little consequence. The issue was how the stranger knew what happened here. The realization made the veyzari's heart skip a beat.
'How long has he been here?' The veyzari wondered. 'Better yet, how did he even know something was here?'
If he hadn't known there was a universe here, he would't even consider looking in this direction. The only way the stranger could know was if he was here to see the destruction of the universe take place.
But that was unlikely, as the stranger would have encountered Alexander then.
"Hm…" The stranger hummed suspiciously. "For a walker your level to have this kind of soul protection is unexpected."
'That's because it's my race's speciality!'
The veyzari knew this was not his playing field and decided to reveal what he knew. However, before he could even let out a word through the tight grip, three more mysterious beings appeared behind the stranger.
'Yeah, I'm done for…'