Drakmor and his companions had noticed the shift in Alexander's demeanour, and it left them restless and spooked.
During the duration of their battle with the void creatures and their corrupted colleagues, the chiefs had been able to feel, see and sense Alexander's essence.
They could accurately pinpoint the boundaries of his domain, the overwhelming pressure he exuded, and the purity it contained.
However, after their corrupted colleagues pointed out the similarities in the use of their essence, things changed.
Alexander's overwhelming presence had abruptly disappeared, reduced to the fickle presence regular, unawakened beings exuded.
They were no longer able to see, feel or sense his essence. It was gone, completely erased, like it never existed. But that was what made it frightening and unsettling.
'How are we supposed to defend against something we can't see, feel or sense?'
It was the question on every Enforcer's mind. And knowing they had no way of defending against it, they unanimously agreed to stay out of his way.
Whatever ill feelings they had towards the Deviant Veilwalker were pushed down and buried. They had no death enmity with him, and it was best to keep it that way.
"We're here." Drakmor came to a stop before a grand and elegant-looking double door, stepping aside for Alexander to approach.
"Thank you."
Alex muttered, taking in the symbolic carvings etched onto the doors. He was back in his casual wear of a brown leather jacket with a white T-shirt underneath.
"Reach out to any of us whenever you're ready." The dragon gave a curt nod and excused himself.
Alexander looked over his shoulder as the dragon slowly disappeared from sight. He then turned back to the door and took a step forward.
Right on cue, the double doors opened, welcoming him to a grand and spacious sitting area with high ceilings and windows, silvery-white walls with metallic lustre.
The room resembled what Alex had prepared for the Enforcers when they visited his universe.
There were four separate doors located at the end of the room, each leading to private spaces he and his friends could use.
Already familiar with the layout before even stepping into the hall, Alexander did not bother checking the rooms. With a wave of his hand, his friends appeared.
Ross and Julia were still locked in contemplative states and were each placed on a sofa.
Gentle white light swirled around their bodies, each exuding different auras of heat and cold but similar temporal energies.
Cassandra, on the other hand, appeared beside Alexander, calmly looking at Ross and Julia before glancing at Alexander. Her arms were folded across her chest as her mind spun rapidly.
"You don't have to look at me like that, you know?" Alex softly smiled, moving to sit beside Julia, his right hand rubbing her head affectionately.
He crossed one leg over the other as he shifted his eyes to meet the catwoman's. "You can ask whatever you want, Cassandra. We're not strangers."
The catwoman knew Alexander was right. He was still the same gentle and calm boy she had met when she woke up. That hadn't changed.
"Are you really a Veilwalker like the rest of us?"
Cassandra asked with narrowed eyes, her tail gently swaying. "Because the things you do with that essence of yours make no sense. How are you able to defeat beings who should theoretically be far stronger and powerful than you are?"
Alexander did not immediately reply, knowing this was the question on everyone's mind. He lowered his gaze for a moment, seemingly thinking of how to give a satisfying response.
"You remember I said I am my own system, right?" He raised his head and asked, the catwoman nodding and silently urging him to continue. "What that truly means is that I can be whatever, do whatever I want, set whatever rules I desire."
"Yeah, you've mentioned that. But I'm still struggling to grasp what that means." Cassandra sighed. It wasn't that she didn't understand what a system was, but that the way Alexander operated made things complicated.
"Take a seat first, Cassandra." Alexander gestured to the sofa on his left.
The catwoman didn't dally and moved to sit down, leaning forward to give her undivided attention.
She silently hoped that the more she learned from Alexander, the higher her chances of doing the same.
"Let's use how Veilwalkers operate to explain how my domain and essence work…" Alexander leaned forward, his eyes growing distant for a moment before refocusing.
"Veilwalkers interact with the energy around them by tapping into the instructions that arrange energy, manipulating it as they see fit.
"Even in the chaos of the true void, where there are barely any instructions to tap into, what we do is use the surrounding void energy and use our understanding of those instructions to mould them into what we want."
Cassandra nodded, having a firm grasp of this.
"Good. When I use my essence to claim a surrounding space, those instructions fall under my absolute command. But this is where things change.
"The instructions are only mine to shape, mould and execute. You can't interact with that space without speaking the same language."
"Your essence…" Cassandra muttered thoughtfully.
"Exactly. To use anything in my space, we must speak the same language. But only I and those I allow can use my language.
"You can brute force your way in, but that will not get you far. I make the rules that affect everything within that space."
"I see…"
The more Cassandra heard, the clearer the picture became. Although the corrupted essence could affect Alexander's Nexis Radiant, that was only if he allowed it to.
"Wait, does that mean you allowed and orchestrated everything?" Cassandra's eyes widened in absolute shock and disbelief, unable to accept the realisation.
The slight smile at the corner of his lips confirmed her suspicions, making her core throb anxiously!
She thought back to the universe that had been destroyed, realising Alexander could have stopped that from happening!
Gulp.
'He's not just scary… He's insane…!'
Cassandra inwardly panicked, her eyes so wide that they could fall out. Everything she knew and understood about Alexander came crashing down like a castle built from fragile bricks!
"You're thinking too far, Cassandra." Alexander chuckled, looking at her horrified expression.
"My domain isn't that large to encompass an entire high-level universe. Also, the situation was a learning moment for me."
"W-What do you mean?" Cassandra asked before she even realised what she did.
"I can give whatever attribute I want to my essence, and that's where the purifying nature comes from.
"But doing so incited the corruptive nature of the abhorrent essence to fight back, at least for those actively using it.
"When I met the corrupted Enforcers, my essence was on the lookout, prompting the corrupted essence to react."
"That's how they were able to fight back." Cassandra connected the dots thoughtfully.
"Indeed…" Alexander nodded. "When the fight broke out, I had to play around for a bit to understand how it worked. After all, there aren't many instances where I interacted with the corrupted essence."
"Then how did you defeat those eight?" This was the most important aspect driving her curiosity.
"I changed the rules, removed some concepts and stopped fighting back the essence," Alexander replied. "Basically, instead of fighting the essence, I rejected its existence in my domain."
"How is that different from fighting back the corrupted essence?" Cassandra tilted her head, puzzled.
"It simply means I don't want them in my space, Cassandra." Alexander looked into Cassandra's eyes. "That is what it means to be your own system. It didn't matter how powerful they were; they did not belong to my world."
Gulp.
Cassandra was finally understanding what Alexander was saying. The corrupted Enforcers were in a space that rejected their existence entirely.
Regardless of what they were, they did not belong.
They could not interact with that space, nor could they express their will in there. As long as Alexander had essence to spare, nothing could force their will inside his.
It was a broken realisation Alexander came to during his bout with the corrupted Enforcers. Even he was stunned when he learned this about his essence.
However, as powerful as it was, it had its limitations. And one such limitation was the range and the domain others laid.
Moreover, he knew his laws did not apply when he was interacting with the Supreme One or the abyssal patches of absolute nothingness.
The abyss of absolute nothingness was self-explanatory, as he did not understand what it truly was.
The Supreme One, on the other hand, was the direct child of the Omnisoul, another system altogether.
It was a system more powerful than he was, a system he was still a part of.
'Instead of giving a purifying property to his essence, he simply rejected the corrupted existence, bypassing its counter.' Cassandra thought grimly. 'W-What kind of monstrous essence is this?!'
The catwoman lowered her gaze, her eyes trembling within their sockets. She looked at her trembling hands, clenched her teeth, and thoughtfully considered the implications of this reality.
"I-Is it okay to tell me this…?" Cassandra raised her head to meet Alexander's calm and collected eyes. "This is your secret of power…"
"That's just it, Cassandra." Alexander smiled softly. "Knowing about it won't make a difference. You'll have to speak the same language as I do, and only I have the keys to granting such privilege."
Despite his nonchalant demeanour about revealing his newfound understanding of his essence, there was one thing he did not say.
The cost.
Cut that off, and he was doomed, as anything he rejected took a massive toll on his reserves. Fortunately for him, void energy was everywhere.