Being chosen as Veilwalkers by the Omnisoul was the greatest gift possible. It granted them the power to move universes like they were nothing.
The gift gave them access to an energy source that no sentient life should have come into contact with.
It gave them the ability to access the true void, a space that was not supposed to be touched!
Any kind or form of power imaginable was at their fingertips. Nothing could hide from their gaze, and no other being came close.
But in a reality where there were an uncountable number of universes, their unique gifts became common. All Veilwalkers could do the exact same thing as the other.
They used the same energy source and had the same understanding of how reality worked. Whatever they conjured or built, another Veilwalker could do the same.
Concealment arts and spells were no longer possible in the eyes of other Veilwalkers.
A gift that had given them their universe had also made them almost equal to others with the same gifts!
Spells and weapons became obsolete when two or more Veilwalkers clashed. A spell or an ability thrown a Veilwalker's way could be easily diffused and rendered useless.
Racial abilities with their unique properties and effects could be replicated with ease, blurring the line between the races.
Riches, wealth, and territories no longer held any sway over them. Whatever they desired, they could make with a snap of their fingers.
Veilwalkers were absolute gods in their universes, but among others like themselves, they were nothing special.
As such, a Veilwalker's ability to overpower another lay in their power to overwhelm the other through physical and magical might.
Who had the strongest fists and the densest energy…? Who had the most universe cores fused into their existence…? That was what defined one Veilwalker from the other.
However, when a new essence was introduced into the mix, things changed.
The very first came from the Deviant Veilwalker, Alexander Gray. His essence enabled him to take what was common to all and transform it into something uniquely his own.
Only he possessed the power to wield his essence and could decide who could use it as well. Any limitations or laws he wished became reality; no one could alter them.
And no matter how hard they tried, no other Veilwalker could interact with said essence. It broke the norm, instilling fear and agitation in the hearts of many.
But his essence was the gentle one…
The very monsters Veilwalkers were created to fight also had their uniquely designed essence. It began with the black cores that higher-grade void creatures possessed.
These cores made it possible for void creatures to keep up with the growing strength of their enemies. The black cores made it possible for them to hurt and kill Veilwalkers.
Even so, it was not enough. Not until the very beings chosen to fight against them stumbled onto something that made that dark essence more trouble than it should have.
Their greed for greater power and desire to stand uniquely from the others led to the creation of an essence that should not have existed; an essence so abhorrent that it stripped them of their identities as chosens.
The essence was unorthodox, felt wrong, and came with a consequence no one saw coming, a result that made them wish they could undo what they had done.
Unfortunately for them, time did not work that way, not when they were outside their universes. They were masters of their universes, not of all reality.
They could not reverse something they had no control over. And the Omnisoul was not in a condition to stop the mess its creations had made.
"How was the warm-up?"
Hearing Zauren's hateful words gnawed at the pride of the Enforcers. They had thrown everything they had at the demon, but his corrupted essence was just too obstinate.
'Things will be getting even messier than they already are.' Azrael noted grimly, not liking how things had turned out. 'Tsk, I'm not dying here.'
'I don't think Zauren intends to kill us, Azrael.' Ignarok shot back, annoyed. 'At worst, he will add us to his companions.'
'Same difference!' The seraphim was not having any of it. 'Nothing seems to be working against him. And we risk getting corrupted when we get too close!'
Drakmor knew his colleagues were right. Taking down the corrupt demon would mean making sacrifices.
'To take him down, someone would have to allow themselves to be corrupted.' Drakmor thought to himself. 'But that will bring us back to square one. Hah, what a mess this is.'
"Not bad…" Feng Xiaotian, the phoenix, decided to engage Zauren. "But I must say… You look nothing like you once did. Such a waste of good looks."
"Hehe, is that right?" Zauren laughed off the tease, knowing precisely what the phoenix was doing. Of course, he did not mind. The outcome would not change regardless.
"Honestly speaking, I've never felt so free…" the demon continued, making the Enforcers heave silent sighs of relief. "It beats being a Veilwalker any day of the week."
"I find that hard to believe." Drakmor finally spoke, coldly staring at the demon. "Is being part of a shared consciousness really what you call free?"
"Oo, is that what you're worried about?" Zauren shook his head, amused. "What you call shared consciousness is actually a gateway that connects us to the cosmic entity, Cthulhu."
"C-Cthulhu?"
The Enforcers muttered the strange name, their eyes widening slightly. Just hearing the name caused shivers to run through their existence.
But it was no ordinary shiver, more like a recoil originating from the depths of their being, their core.
The feeling was horrifying, to say the least, more so than the abhorrent essence Zauren was bathed in.
"Indeed…" Zauren 's smirk turned into a wide grin as he spread his arms out dramatically. "Cthulhu, the Cosmic Entity, Master of Horrors and the Bringer of Freedom!"
'He's too far gone…'
The Enforcers realised. The foreboding words of their former colleague evoked feelings of deep rejection within them.
A shudder ran through all four Enforcers as they looked on with disgusted expressions, unable to reconcile the former image of Zauren to what they currently saw.
'...'
Drakmor did not like what he saw, what he heard, or what he felt. The sensation left him deeply horrified.
'If simply hearing the name of that monstrosity invokes such feelings, how would facing the real thing be?' The dragon shuddered at the thought. 'Supreme One… wherever you are, I hope you return soon.'
"You've gone mad, Zauren," Ignarok stated the obvious, the repulsion hitting him hard. "Letting you live will be an affront to us all!"
The moment the last syllabus left his lips, he blasted towards the demon. Drakmor and the others did not hesitate and followed his lead.
"Hahaha…!"
The corrupted demon held his own against his former colleagues, taking and exchanging blows in tandem.
Drakmor and the others struck hard, tearing through the demon's body with unrelenting force, their every strike shaking the void.
However, the demon would recover just as fast, his corrupted essence forcing the Enforcers to take precautions.
It was the same dance all over again.
But then, Zauren threw caution to the void and met an attack from the phoenix head-on. A surge of corrupted essence blew the others back.
A fraction of a nanosecond. But it was more than enough to create the opening the demon needed.
Feng Xiaotian and Zauren explosively clashed and exchanged multiple blows in that narrow time span, ultimately resulting in an opening that Zauren took.
A moment of hesitation, a desire to evade a blast of corrupted essence, was all it took for Zauren to capitalise on the created chance.
"Shit!"
Drakmor, Ignarok and Azrael were almost on him, but that did not matter. They wouldn't make it in time.
And as a last attempt to avoid the incoming attack, the phoenix attempted to void-shift, his figure turning blurry and ethereal.
But it was too late.
The demon grinned and lunged forward, driving his right claw into Feng Xiaotian's chest, bypassing his defence to his inner realm.
"KREE…!"
A gut-wrenching and soul-stirring cry of a phoenix rippled through the void. Feng Xiaotian's void-shift was instantly undone, the corruption consuming his entire being.
BOOM…!
When the others arrived and struck the demon, the deed had already been done. However, their attacks resulted in an explosion of corrupted essence that sent them flying.
"No…"
When the Enforcers broke the momentum of the explosion and came to a halt, their expressions darkened, marred with disbelief, fear and an overwhelming sense of failure.
"Haha… hahaha…!"
Right before their disbelieving eyes, Zauren re-materialised as the corrupted essence coagulated, the hateful demon returning as though nothing had happened.
"Feng…" Azrael muttered in a low tone, his gaze flickering with uncertainty and fear.
Beside the reassembled demon was a blackened phoenix once known as Feng Xiaotian, a Chief Enforcer of unparalleled strength, now corrupted.
Unlike Zauren, who no longer resembled his former self, the phoenix still had his appearance. The only difference was his blackened, essence-infused body.
"Hahaha…!"
Zauren's laughter turned hysterical, his actions drawing the attention of the remaining three.
"T-There… It's no use."
Drakmor and Ignarok looked in Azrael's direction. They could already tell what the seraphim was thinking, and honestly, they could not blame him.
Azrael vanished the next second, unashamedly abandoning the fight. The thought of becoming something so vile did not sit well with him.
'Ah, shit.' Ignarok inwardly cursed. 'The bastard didn't even hesitate.'
'Forget him.' Drakmor was quick to recover, focusing on the two corrupted Enforcers. 'We can call for another chief.'
'And achieve what exactly?' Ignarok shot back. 'Zauren is even more difficult to deal with than before. Our only chance is the boy, and he's probably dead!
'I hate to say this, Drakmor, but it seems this cosmic entity… This Cthulhu monstrosity is winning. Our only chance now is the Supreme One.'
Drakmor turned silent. He knew Ignarok was right. Their situation was a hopeless one.
'Is Alexander truly gone?' He looked in the direction of Alexander's universe, pondering.