"Do you recall the vision you had when you were chosen as a veilwalker?" The Supreme One glanced at Alex, and seeing him nod, he turned his focus ahead.
"From the heart of the Multiverse to the domain of its void creatures and to the universes below is a barrier that separates us. It is this weakening that brought the plague of the void creatures on us all.
"Taking that piece of reality's heart made it possible for the void creatures to bring chaos and destruction to all lifeforms. However…"
"The barrier continues to weaken." Alex completed the statement.
"Yes… It has and continues to do so." The Supreme One nodded. "This is what my vassals and I have been doing for thousands of years… Long before you were even born."
Alex couldn't help but swallow the lump in his throat.
In between the barriers that stretched for an unknown degree of distance were the energy signatures of hundreds of millions of veilwalkers, vassals and gods standing against an endless wave of void creatures.
The veilwalkers, many among their ranks being as powerful as Drakmor, fought the most powerful of the void creatures, their clashes containing more than enough force to erase high-level universes with ease.
Alex couldn't believe his senses as he spotted void creatures more powerful than the god-level ones he had fought before.
'Those five were not even close…' He thought with a heavy gulp. 'How are veilwalkers supposed to fight something like that?' From this line of thought, Alex recalled what the Supreme One called veilwalkers.
'Soldiers of reality… Merely an extension of the multiverse's will.' He didn't know how to feel about this realisation. 'The Supreme One may be on to something… His questions make a lot of sense now. Veilwalkers may not be as special as I thought…'
Another memory surfaced, one from the time he met with the Oracle. Thinking back to that encounter, Alex was now inclined to believe it was the multiverse's will planting a sense of grand purpose in its soldiers.
'Yet ascension tells us we're nothing…'
There had to be an explanation as to why only he and the Supreme One felt that drive. Other veilwalkers could fuse with as many cores as they wanted, but from what he inferred from the Supreme One, it wouldn't change anything about them.
Focusing his senses on the other fighters, Alex noticed some familiar faces. 'The gods… The very ones he said he would punish. I can see why this is a punishment.' He thought with a smile.
A special section was carved out for them as they fought continuously without rest. Wave after wave of powerful creatures swarmed them, forcing the arrogant gods to fight with everything they had.
Some carried bitter expressions, regret marred on their faces. Some were on the verge of tears, pleading for rest. Alex wasn't sure how long they'd been at it, and he didn't care.
The vassals, beings at the Demi-god level, fought against the creatures of their level, battling it out in the rear, far away from the heavy hitters.
The weaker creatures were ignored as the vassals focused on the truly powerful ones. On occasions, some would manage to break the line, swiftly disappearing into the barrier of reality.
He quickly deduced the nature of that barrier, sensing the spatial principles infused into it. These spatial principles, however, were different from the ones Alex knew.
'It can't be manipulated that easily, and it's connected to the entire multiverse, randomly sending these creatures everywhere. Only veilwalkers are capable of passing through to the other side unaffected.'
It answered the question of how void creatures reached the lower regions of the multiverse without passing by Univere Prime or High-Level universes. Moreover, the barrier wasn't supposed to allow god-level void creatures through that easily.
'The spatial principles are a bit skewed towards high-level ones, directing them to regions capable of handling them. But… It's grown very weak.' The more Alex deduced, the more he understood what the Supreme One was doing.
Layered ahead of reality's barrier was the second one that held off an uncountable number of monstrosities, periodically allowing the void creatures through.
"That barrier is you, isn't it?" Alex asked as he floated forward, his jaws clenched tightly. The look in his eyes was now different, replaced with a look that showed respect. "You have been using your powers to hold off the creatures. This is what you meant by time running out — reality's barrier is failing."
Once the main barrier was gone, it would be game over for everyone. Alex closed his eyes, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. Then he turned around and bowed.
"Thank you." He said from the core of his existence. "You have been fighting a truly tiring battle with no rest. For ever doubting your intentions, I apologise. Whatever it is that you need me to do, I am willing to comply."
He remained with his head lowered, waiting for the Supreme One to respond. But then, he abruptly snapped his eyes open as his Nexis Radiant trembled, the drain increasing exponentially.
Without hesitation, he urged his core to siphon as much void energy as it could, directly converting it to his own essence, just to 'see' the Supreme One.
'This doesn't make any sense!' Alex exclaimed inwardly, his eyes trembling from the shock. 'He can't interact with my essence, but the weight of his existence within my domain still drains heavily!'
The Supreme One had taken a different form, one that increased the rate at which his Nexis Radiant got utilised. It was truly fortunate that he was in the true void.
"Raise your head, Alexander."
The reply finally came. This time, however, it was deep, profound and filled with endless majesty, instilling a sense of awe and admiration Alex had never felt before.
He obeyed and raised his head, looking up to meet the glowing golden eyes of the Supreme One. Gone was the carefree man in simple robes, replaced by a majestic being at a godly height of 15 meters, completely overshadowing Alex's normal height.
His golden essence flared around his body like a raging inferno that ate through Alexander's domain. Donned in celestial robes of black with gold detailing was an extremely handsome man with short golden hair, with curtain bangs waving from the flare of his own essence.
The Supreme One had an expression that was hard to decipher. Alex wasn't sure if he had a smile on his face; he couldn't tell. But the new appearance was in line with what he would have imagined.
'A Supreme One Indeed…'