"My help?"
Alexander echoed with mild surprise flashing in his eyes. He expected a lot of things from these Chief Enforcers, but 'help' was not one of them. Almost immediately, he deduced that something must be wrong. It was the only logical explanation for powerhouses of their calibre to come to him.
"What's this about?"
Alexander shifted his gaze from Drakmor to the others behind him, taking in their features. None of the other five chiefs was a human, but that was irrelevant. Their expressions, on the other hand, were something else entirely.
It appeared as though it was out of their hands to stand before him as they did. The scowls and frowns on their faces told Alexander all he needed to know.
'They must be desperate.' Alex silently thought. 'But for them to come here when they have the Supreme One?'
The catwoman behind him was of similar thoughts. Alexander had acknowledged that the Supreme One was the most powerful being to have ever existed. It wasn't just truth; it was law.
So to have his vassals come to Alexander meant they needed something only Alexander could give. In all honesty, Cassandra believed no one could hold a candle to Alexander. He was something else entirely; he was more than just a Veilwalker.
"Would it be possible to invite us in?" Drakmor asked instead, seemingly not in a rush to go into details.
Alexander did not immediately reply, looking over his shoulder and meeting Cassandra's gaze. The catwoman looked back and subtly shrugged.
Of course, Alexander had nothing to worry about. The Chief Enforcers would be stepping into his domain. Their strength wouldn't matter; not even a little bit, especially with his universe saturated with his Nexis Radiant.
"Why not?" Alexander stepped aside, a Veil Tear opening directly into his universe and in one of the conference halls in the Universal Accord Commission base. "However, you're going to have to hold in your presence at all times. Your existence is too much for my little universe to bear, not to mention six of you."
"Of course."
Drakmor was the first to move, soon followed by his companions, as they entered the Veil into Alexander's universe. While passing through the Veil, the other five Enforcers kept their gaze focused on the cat and Alexander, as if cautious of why the two agreed to their
Arriving inside the conference hall, the six Enforcers looked around with neutral expressions. While Drakmor was familiar with Alexander, the other five were not. As such, without so much as a second thought, they expanded their senses in an attempt to read everything about this universe.
'...'
To their shock, their senses were confined in the conference hall, unable to pass the walls. Something was blocking their universal senses. This hindrance took them by surprise. However, they didn't immediately give up and became more aggressive in their attempts.
"!"
An almost imperceptible groan escaped the Enforcers. The backlash they felt was instantaneous, drumming against their soulguards like battering rams that shook their consciousness.
It forced a shudder through the bodies of the five Enforcers; a lesson they quickly learned. But their actions had drawn Drakmor's attention, making him furrow his brows disapprovingly.
'What do you think you're doing?!' Drakmor's voice thundered in their heads, berating them for their foolish attempt at gathering information on Alexander. 'I told you to be careful when you act around him!'
"Please, have a seat."
Before they could go back and forth about who was wrong and who was right, Alexander and Cassandra arrived, moving towards the opposite side of the long rectangular table. No one would be sitting at either head of the table, and Alex was not interested in playing subtle games.
The five Enforcers who had had their consciousness shaken to the extreme, left injured for a fraction of a second, followed Alexander's steps with cautious eyes. Surprisingly, Alex looked back at them with a smirk at the corner of his lips, proof he knew of their little attempt but thought nothing of it.
The Enforcers could not help but furrow their brows in annoyance. The Supreme One might have accepted Alexander, but it did not mean they were friends. Alexander was still a little boy from a bottom-of-the-pile universe — they weren't the same.
"Thank you."
Drakmor, on the other hand, had no such thoughts about Alexander. After interacting with him during his visit to Universe Prime, he had nothing but respect for Alexander, even if his colleagues thought he was being too welcoming to the boy.
Alexander and Cassandra sat on one side of the long table, the catwoman sitting with the elegance of a ruler. In contrast, Alexander sat forward, his hands clasped together on the table. The six chiefs sat on the other end, five of them seemingly on edge about something.
They had experienced firsthand what it meant to go against Alexander's strange energy, making them feel exposed and vulnerable. It was only right that they appeared cautious of the boy sitting across from them.
"Before you dive into the details, why don't you introduce your colleagues?" Alex gestured to Drakmor, his eyes roaming the faces of the frowning Veilwalkers. He made no attempts to wipe the cocky smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
Alexander had nothing against them and certainly had no interest in harming them unless they went overboard. However, there was something enjoyable about seeing people on edge when they had no reason to be.
'Can't say I blame them…' Alexander thought silently. 'Even I was cautious when I visited Universe Prime. That's just how it is. Hah… Taking a leap of faith is hard when you don't know what the other person is thinking.'
"Right…" The dragon nodded, turning to look at the three seated to his left. "This is Vornarax, Ignarok, and Velmyra."
Alexander nodded, following Drakmor's introduction in his own way. 'Dragon, dragon, and phoenix.' His gaze lingered a bit more on the phoenix. 'Of course, the phoenix would be female.'
"This is Calyndra, and she is Nyssa." Drakmor then turned to his right and introduced.
'A tigress and another phoenix.' Alexander concluded, sending a nod their way. Each one of them had more beast-like features than humans, but it did little to diminish their extraordinary looks and presence.
Noticing the gaze of his guest shifting to the catwoman beside him, Alexander looked over to Cassandra and introduced her. "This is my friend, Cassandra." He had no reason to say no more than that.
"A pleasure."
Cassandra acknowledged the guests before their attention shifted back to Alexander. They knew she was a Veilwalker still at the demigod level, and that was where their interest ended. They had no interest in her origins or why she was here in Alexander's universe.
"Alright, let's get back to why you're here." Alexander moved straight to business, still curious to know what drove them to seek his help. He saw no reason to offer anything for his guests, especially with how touchy they were.
Drakmor, being the one to speak on behalf of his companions, went straight to the heart of their visit. "We need your help with a new development."
"Yeah, you mentioned that already." Alexander sat forward once more, not interested in playing word games. "What I want to know is why you need my help when you have the Supreme One."
The other Enforcers did not like Alexander's tone. They were here in good faith, and Alexander seemed to be eager to send them packing. However, they could not do or say anything when they were the ones here for his help — not that it was even their proposal.
But things happen, and here they were.
"Well, that's where our problem originates, Lord Alexander." A tired sigh escaped the dragon as he looked at his companions before refocusing his gaze on Alexander. "The Supreme One is gone…"
"What?" For a moment, Alexander and Cassandra thought they had heard wrong. The two exchanged confused looks before looking back at the Enforcers. "What do you mean, gone?"
Alexander squinted his eyes sceptically. The statement was beyond absurd. What could possibly take down a being like the Supreme One? He doubted the Supreme One would venture towards that monstrosity until he was ready. Unless, of course, there was something he didn't know.
"It's exactly as you heard." Vornarax, the dragon sitting to Drakmor's immediate left, replied in a heavy, male tone. "The Supreme One did not leave any instructions behind. We can't reach him even though our connection to him is still present."
"The Supreme One simply disappeared without warning…" Calyndra, the tigress to Drakmor's immediate right, took over. "One moment he was overseeing his forces at the boundary, then the next… he was gone."
"It's been more than three thousand years since then." Drakmor added the final straw, shocking Alexander and Cassandra out of their wits.
"Three thousand!"
Alexander abruptly rose to his feet, the shock of that number shaking his world more than he thought possible, disbelief in his eyes. The catwoman by his side was no better. At the very least, she managed to keep herself glued to her chair.
Alexander's reaction to their statement slightly took aback Drakmor and his colleagues. However, a bit of thought on Drakmor's part made him realise where the shock came from.
'Temporal flow is different across reality, and he hasn't grasped that concept yet.' The dragon quickly deduced. 'Despite his unique energy and strength, he is still missing a large chunk of knowledge about our reality.'
"You might want to sit down for the rest, Lord Alexander." Drakmor said, drawing Alexander out of his shocked state. With condescending gazes on the part of the other Enforcers, they watched as Alexander sat back down.
"It has been over three thousand years since you visited Universe Prime, Lord Alexander." Drakmor continued, looking directly into Alexander's eyes. "The Supreme One should have hinted at the difference in temporal flow to you, correct?"
Alexander gave a half nod, recalling the conversation he had with the Supreme One, where the Supreme One informed him that they had about half a century before the barrier of reality dissolved.
'So the knowledge I missed out on when I refused to fuse with my universe's core or any other ones for that matter…' Alexander quickly deduced the root of his ignorance. 'Just how much more am I missing?'