A moment of silence passed for everyone to regain their composure, especially for Alexander, who appeared to be the most affected by the revelation.
"Why are you coming to me now?" Alexander snapped out of his raging thoughts and asked. "If you knew the Supreme One disappeared in such a manner, why the long wait? What kept you back?"
In his opinion, the Supreme One's disappearance could only be due to two reasons. The first one was that the Supreme One had something to deal with and wanted to be alone. As for the second one… Alexander was a bit sceptical.
He was still lacking a lot of information to make an accurate judgment of the situation. But if what he was thinking was the case, then the Supreme One was more of a puppet than he initially thought.
"The Supreme One's disappearance isn't why we are here." Drakmor shook his head, once again leaving Alexander confused. "The Supreme One isn't a child to be worried about. Moreover, if he doesn't want to be found, there's no way we would be able to find him."
This was something Alexander had to agree with. But then, if this was their line of thinking, they were probably unaware of why the Supreme One was gathering universe cores.
"A couple of hundred years after his disappearance, one of the many universes we use for research purposes had an issue." The dragon continued, though his words made Alex furrow his brows in doubt.
An entire universe for research purposes? Alexander was smart enough to understand that the dragon was referring to the universe's core. Regardless, it was not his business what the Supreme One commissioned.
"A colleague Enforcer of ours went rogue…" Drakmor did not seem to want to come completely clean.
"What are you insinuating, Lord Drakmor? Please get to the heart of the matter." Alexander pressed impatiently. "Whatever it is, it'd be best to not keep the finer details to yourself. You six came here seeking my help. You shouldn't leave me guessing."
The Enforcers exchanged knowing looks before looking back at Alexander. Lord Drakmor took a moment to gather his thoughts, closing his eyes for a second before continuing.
"Do you remember the Hulmite you dealt with some time back, right before our subordinates sought you out?" The dragon looked directly at Alexander, his golden irises firm and determined.
"Mhm." Alexander nodded, already seeing where this was going. "He was a Veilwalker by the name Trohan. He had an extreme thirst for…"
Alexander took a moment to think of the right word to describe the Hulmite. Finally finding the right words to use, he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "Abhorrent power."
To his left, Cassandra glanced at him with a subtle smile, liking how carefree Alexander acted around the Enforcers. She hadn't missed the fact that a thin film of ward protected her against the silent pressure the six Enforcers exuded, despite holding in their presence.
But there was something more to why she felt restrained in their presence. She subtly glanced at the tigress, feeling most of that suppression from her. While from a beast lineage, the catwoman and those of her former universe were incapable of taking on beast forms.
So, while she was listening to the conversation, her mind was mostly occupied with thoughts about the tigress and the suppression she felt from her. 'It feels like I'm in the presence of an ancestor or something…'
"Be that as it may…" Nyssa, the other phoenix, took over. "Power is power, regardless of its source."
"Then why are you here?" Alexander shifted his gaze over, the intensity of his stare doing nothing to turn her gaze away.
"There were some unforeseen developments with the method we adopted," Drakmor replied. "What that Hulmite did was feed his universe's core to a black core from a demigod void creature.
"What we attempted was fusing a high-level universe core with a black core from a high ranking god tier void creature."
"Wait, before you continue, was the Supreme One aware of this?" Alexander found it hard to believe, especially with the Supreme One's circumstances.
The dragon shook his head, confirming Alexander's suspicions. "So you decided to undertake this project of your own accord."
His jawline grew taut, the sight making it clear to the Enforcers what Alexander thought of their actions. Regardless, they cared little for what he thought. They stood by what they said earlier: power was power.
Drakmor, on the other hand, understood Alexander's feelings about what they had done. He was initially of similar thoughts, but that had changed when his colleagues convinced him otherwise.
"The resulting anomaly from the fusion developed something we had failed to predict." Drakmor continued. "It developed a consciousness that latched on to one of our colleagues, corrupting him beyond recognition."
"I see…" Alexander's gaze grew distant as he mulled over those words. He could see how that could have played out.
The fusion itself was something that strongly attracted powerful void creatures. For the Enforcers to use a core from such a void creature with the core of a high-level universe, Alexander did not dare imagine the level of destruction and vileness such a creation could bring.
'They're here to ask for Alexander's help in cleaning up the mess they created.' Cassandra reasoned coldly, internally scoffing at their arrogant demeanour. 'So much for powerful beings.'
Almost as if her thoughts were picked up, the tigress sharply directed her gaze at Cassandra, making her recoil slightly. However, before the tigress could do anything else, an abrupt shudder down her spine redirected her gaze back to Alexander, who looked at her with deadly calm eyes.
Calyndra was inwardly shaken to her core, literally. She didn't know how, but when she met Alexander's gaze, an existential crisis overwhelmed her like never before. This was a feeling only the Supreme One had been able to instil in her.
"You made a mess and expect me to clean up, isn't that right?" With deliberate slowness, his gaze roamed all six Enforcers, daring them to refute his words.
"..."
As predicted, none of them could utter a word. They had messed up, and all of existence was paying the price. With the Supreme One gone, their options were limited.
"What do the primordials have to say about this?" Alexander asked after several seconds of grim silence. "I doubt they would sit by and watch their universe fall."
"They haven't shown any desire to partake in anything about us Veilwalkers." Drakmor answered. "Also, our rogue colleague hasn't acted anywhere near Universe Prime."
"You don't say…" Alexander let out an expectant sigh. If he had one word to describe the primordials, it would be apathetic. 'Those beings don't feel any threat at all.'
"So this colleague of yours has been wreaking havoc for what… three thousand years?" Alex raised a brow.
"That is correct." The dragon nodded. "The situation was manageable at the start. However, as the corruption worsened, so did his strange abilities. They are difficult to overcome since, at its core, the energy is still void energy."
"Except it's like a chaotic and ruthless parasite that refuses to give way to your more organised energies and abilities." Alex deduced the root of their problems, prompting a nod from the dragon.
Having firsthand experience with that corrupted form of void energy was a real struggle Alexander would have failed to overcome if he hadn't had his Nexis Radiant. And knowing this was what brought these Chief Enforcers to his doorsteps when they failed to stop their vile creation.
"Are you going to help them?"
Cassandra looked at Alexander and asked, the Enforcers watching calmly. They had a hard time coming to terms with seeking Alexander's help. But they couldn't afford to be embarrassed and prideful when their creation was literally tearing down reality.
Their corrupted colleague had taken over the job of the void creatures, doing more damage than the void creatures themselves. But who could blame them? Alexander was right about one thing: they were desperate.
They knew their strength would not be enough for what was to come. Perhaps, using the very power of the void could make them greater than what the multiverse core intended for them. Unfortunately, they had bitten more than they could swallow.
Alexander briefly glanced at the catwoman but did not reply, taking a moment to mull over the revelations. His head was slightly lowered, arms still folded and gaze distant.
'For that anomaly to run around for thousands of years, I dare not imagine the number of universes destroyed. But I haven't felt any malignant energy around these parts. That could mean the corrupted Enforcer hasn't made it here yet.
'Moreover, I can't afford not to help.' Alexander raised his head, staring at the Enforcers. 'If left alone, who knows how much more powerful that Enforcer would become.'
With hundreds of cores each Chief Enforcer had within their existence, that corrupted Enforcer would definitely be a pain to deal with.
Seeing the look in Alexander's eyes, Cassandra knew what choice he would make. Better yet, there was only one choice in this matter, and everyone knew it. Waiting around would only make matters worse. It would be best if they took the initiative.
'But with how weak I am, I'd only get in the way.' The catwoman felt a wave of regret, inferiority and doubt hit her like a truck. She silently clenched her fists under the table as Alexander came to his decision.
"Very well." Alexander replied in a firm tone, staring at his guests. "But if I'm going to do this, it will be on my terms."