Abyssal Lord of the Magi World

The Guardian's eyes narrowed as he could not understand the reason behind Zatiel's smile. However, everything became clear the next second when he noticed a strange power had invaded his body.

Before the Guardian could react, runes began to spread from inside his body, covering his energy pool and inner organs and soon emerging through his skin. They were black and had the power to push everything to a state of stillness.

If the Guardian had been at his peak, he could have fought off the power of the runes, but he was far from that state. The battle with the Samsara Thearch left him severely wounded, with no trace of energy left inside his body, making the power of the runes something he could not withstand.

Zatiel's Thanatos Eye glowed with a dark light as he controlled the energy inside the Guardian, ensuring that the black runes paralyzed body, energy, and soul flawlessly.

"How?"

There was no rage or fear in the eyes of the Guardian as he stared at the Samsara Thearch. He only made that question to satiate his curiosity.

Zatiel stared at the Guardian for a moment before speaking.

"All my eyes worked during the clash between your Stellar Strike and my Eternal Samsara Lotus. The Eros Eye, Samsara Pupil, and Eternal Flame Pupil used all their power to generate the defensive spell, but there was still the Thanatos Eye.

The energy left after Heaven End did not vanish. I sent it to the energy nucleus to invade your body if you channeled its power."

A rueful smile appeared on the Guardian's face when he heard that. He did not want to use the gate's energy since that could affect its proper functioning, but he did it in the end, believing it would be his trump card. How could he have known that would have made him fall into his enemy's scheme?

"Are you going to kill me?"

No fear appeared in the Guardian's voice, nor was there the sightless desire in his heart to beg for his life. He only asked that question to know what would happen next.

The Samsara Thearch could not help but stare at the Guardian and felt amazement at the man's resolve. In his position, most of the mighty and prideful Fourth Realm life forms would try to negotiate at any cost for their life, but he remained stoic.

"I fought with killing intent since that was the only way I could approach this battle, but now that my runes had paralyzed your body, energy, and soul, there is no need to do something so definitive."

Zatiel had no intention to kill the Guardian. The man fought with honor, not to mention that killing this one would incite the rage of whoever created the Oblivion Gate.

After the Eros Eye had restored enough of his energy, Zatiel flew to the energy nucleus. Luckily for him, the nucleus and gate were not a single structure, making it easier for him to take it out.

When the energy nucleus was finally in his hand, Zatiel felt the amount of energy in it and was preposterous. It had nearly as much energy as the one held inside his Inner Universe and was self-renewable.

Interestingly, even after taking the energy nucleus, the Oblivion Gate kept releasing a massive amount of energy. Zatiel analyzed it and felt that the gate had been charged for a very long time, and it could work even without the nucleus.

The only way to stop the person on the other inside from using the Oblivion Gate to come here would be destroying it, but that would require the power of a Late Stage life form.

"What is on the other side?"

Zatiel was ready to leave but could not stop himself from asking that question. He was genuinely interested in what lay on the other side of the Oblivion Gate, and if it were not for the threat of the Beyonder and its Knights, he would have attempted to use the gate.

Even if the Oblivion Gate was a portal to this location, with enough time and effort, Zatiel was sure he could have transformed it into a two-way bridge.

Although the Guardian had already stated that he knew nothing about who would come or why they would do it, that did not mean he had no knowledge of the place on the other side.

The Guardian remained silent for a moment before finally opening his mouth.

"I was built in that place, but I don't have memories of it. I can only tell you what I see in my dreams."

Zatiel stared at the Guardian before waving his hand, making the black runes vanish. He had already taken the energy nucleus and recovered a lot of his power, so there was no need to keep the man paralyzed.

"Please, continue."

After the runes were gone, the Guardian relaxed his body and stared at Zatiel before nodding and sharing what he knew.

"I only have seen two things in my dreams. A tower more large and majestic than any universe you could ever imagine, and on top of that, a world with the form of a red sun."

When the Guardian mentioned the last part, the expression on his face was one of pure and absolute awe, as if that sun-shaped world was the most unique and beautiful thing he had seen in his entire life.

Zatiel was surprised to see that the stoic Guardian could make such an expression, and it was clear that the world and the tower were truly wonderful things. A great part of him wanted to visit them, and he would do it if he managed to prevail over the Beyonder.

"I will return the energy nucleus if I manage to survive the clash that comes my way."

"Then I wish you good luck, and might our paths cross again in the future."

After that short exchange, the Guardian sat on the golden platform again, making a table with a set of tea appear before him, calmly drinking it as if nothing had happened.

Zatiel felt a little envy of the peaceful life of the Guardian. However, he did not waste time and carried on, venturing into the chaotic waves of energy that flooded the Emptiness. He stared at the energy nucleus for a moment before sending it into his heart.

Immediately after that, the Samsara Thearch felt a burst of vitality in his body, and his eyes widened as he understood that the nucleus could adapt to whatever it was fused with.

When it was in the Oblivion Gate, it acted as a source of energy, but now that it was inside a living body, it fueled it with near-limitless vitality.

'It is amazing. Not only can I make a treasure that will ensure Dante's survival, but I can use it during this journey to help heal faster from injuries."

Zatiel showed a large smile as he moved faster to his next target. The treasure that he was going after was not an object but a living being.

"ARRRRRRRROOOOOOOO!"

After nearly two months of travel, Zatiel found what he was looking for. The sound of a cosmic whale told him he had found his target.

There was nothing in front of Zatiel other than waves of chaotic energy, but he understood that was because his target had flawlessly blended with the world around it.

The creature that Zatiel was after could harmonize with its surroundings to such an impressive degree that its atomic structure blended with the world, making it part of it. Life forms beneath the Middle Stage could only feel the entity's presence, but only those who have achieved Omnipotence could see it.

Zatiel closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, he saw a majestic creature the size of a Daybreak Universe's Sacred Mountain.

It resembled a large whale but with tentacles on the lower part of its body and dozens of white wings spread across its back. The creature had a sense of absolute peace as it moved across the Emptiness, devoid of any rage and ambition, happy only wondering.

Not much effort would take for the Samsara Thearch to obtain the body of the Fourth Realm Winged Whale since it lacked any form of battle skills. The only reason it had survived this long in a place so dangerous like the Emptiness was its ability to hide.

Zatiel saw the Winged Whale moving across the Emptiness, and it felt like watching a beautiful dance. He released a small sight as he adopted a meditative position.

Killing the Winged Whale would have been faster and provided better materials for the future weapon, but the Samsara Thearch was not so ruthless as to kill such a unique life form if there was another way.

A powerful soul force emerged from Zatiel's Samsara Pupil as he prepared to trap the Winged Whale's consciousness into an illusion. It needed to be perfect to trick the creature, making sure it did not even realize it fell into an illusion.