"..."
Alex wasn't worried about getting sneaked up on, and neither did he fear the presence coming from the enforcers. After a bit of thinking, he guessed who the presence belonged to.
"You must be the chief they spoke about." Alex stated confidently. "Did you project your senses here because I injured one of your precious enforcers?"
The presence remained silent for several seconds before replying.
"First off, I apologize for that lass' behaviour," The presence expressed almost sincerely. "And yes, I am the chief. My name is Drakmor, one of the hands of the Supreme One."
It wasn't an issue going through the memories of his enforcers to deduce what occurred, and while what Alex did was a bit uncalled for, he also understood the mindset of powerful beings.
"I understand you've already agreed to the Supreme One's summon," Drakmor added a second later. "These foolish subordinates of mine will guide you to me and I will take it from there.
"Also, if you will, heal that lass for me."
Drakmor had looked at the damage and realised something; he couldn't use his powers to close the wound! There was that familiar energy lingering in there, and with no way to manipulate that energy, he was powerless.
He had even tried cutting out the infected essence, but the energy seemed to have a will of its own, swiftly moving from one spot to another.
Alex looked over to the groaning Auraleth clutching her stomach in an attempt to stop her essence from dissipating. He knew what this Drakmor being had tried to do, further verifying his theory on his Nexis Radiant
The enforcer lady was in a level of pain she didn't think was possible given her status as a fully realised god. It made her realise that there were still things out there they had no clue about.
Her pain suddenly disappeared, snapping her out of her regret. Looking over, she noticed Alex staring at her with an expressionless face.
'Get back to the others.' The voice of the chief echoed in her head. 'And don't do anything stupid.'
'Yes!'
Auraleth quickly agreed and promptly flew to join her companions, her wounds slowly closing. Falling in line with the others, the seven enforcers all focused on the figure of the mysterious veilwalker who shattered their delusions.
"While I have no problem going with your enforcers, I have to ask…" Alex focused on the presence. "Do I have to worry?"
He wasn't talking about his universe, and they all knew that.
"That would depend on your actions, Mr. Gray." Drakmor replied. "I can't make any promises as I dare not presume what the Supreme One thinks, but I can say with certainty that this is about satisfying a curiosity."
"Fair enough." Alex closed his eyes for a second. "I will be seeing you soon."
"Wonderful…" The presence of Drakmor slowly faded a second later.
The enforcers knew this was no longer in their hands; they were not qualified to handle this matter. The only they could do was wait for Alex to come with them.
Turning around, Alex looked at his universe, exposing his back to the enforcers.
A subtle glow flashed out of his body, swiftly disappearing into his universe, merging with the fabric of spacetime. He was effectively cutting any form of interaction from the outside.
"..."
For a moment, Alex thought back to everything that led to this very moment. The worries that plagued him on how to protect his universe from void creatures, and now from the interference of outsiders.
'I didn't have to follow a defined path…' Alex mused, slightly clenching his fist. 'I don't know where this will lead, but I can say with absolute certainty that I have saved my universe.'
A fire burned within his being, seeing what he had achieved. This was the first time he was saying this to himself.
With his Nexis Radiant borne of his will, Alex had become something entirely different from what the multiverse intended, he was his own master of his own universe.
'A veilwalker walking his own path.'
Alex concluded, turning around to face his escort. He looked around the dark void, not for anything in particular, but to see and accept that this was his reality.
'Soon, I will find a way to extend this power to the others.' He thought about the catwoman who was still shut in on Jupiter, desperately trying to grasp the secrets of ascending on her own. 'I should give her a push in the right direction.' A subtle smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"I'm ready." Alex stated a moment later, feeling like he was saying goodbye to his home. "Lead the way."
"Yes, Lord Gray."
Mike replied in a polite tone, he and the others turning around and flying ahead. With a last glance at his universe, Alex's figure flickered and disappeared, swiftly arriving behind the enforcers in a flash.
....
The journey through the true void wasn't anything new. However, with Alex not having any connection with any other universes, every direction felt the same and motionless, like they weren't moving at all.
The enforcers could immediately connect with their universes and arrive in an instant. They could have taken Alex with them using this method, but Drakmor mentioned they flew at their own pace.
Furthermore, Alex had no reason to trust the enforcers and they didn't expect him to, so they did not bother to offer.
Along the way, Alex finally spotted other lower universes after two days of flying at absurdly fast speeds.
'The true void is no small place.' Alex realised, looking in a certain direction. 'And mysterious too. Even from this distance, I can still sense home.'
A sudden shift in the chaotic energy around Alex made him furrow his brows.
"Why has the energy shifted?" He questioned the enforcers. "It's grown denser than usual."
"Apologies, Lord Gray." Mike replied promptly. "We're in the void for mid-level universes. The higher you rise, the denser the chaotic energies get."
"I see…"
This was news to him, but it wasn't much of an issue. His Nexis Radiant protected him from whatever effects the dense energy had on beings from a lower section of the multiverse.
'And it's taking up more energy than before.' Alex frowned slightly. 'This could be a problem.'
His reserves were extremely vast, more than enough to power his universe for a very long time. But the fact that the dense energies were taking more out of him meant he might be in trouble when he reached Universe Prime.
'I may be all-powerful in my domain, but if I ran out of energy, then I'll be truly dead.' Alex swallowed imperceptibly. 'I'm not there yet…' A sudden light of realization hit him out of nowhere.
'I-I think I have an answer to the path I must take!'