Hegemon's eyes lock onto The Administrator, who stands before him with a look of pure disdain. The silence between them is brief before The Administrator scoffs.

  “Seriously? You went through all this trouble, and you can’t even get out of here yourself?”

  Hegemon opens his mouth to respond, but when he speaks, his voice is not his alone—it intertwines with another, an eerie fusion of his and Loading’s, echoing through the void around them.

  “You already know why I need to get up there. He sits idly, indifferent to the suffering of those who were once a part of him.”

  The Administrator crosses his arms. “And how do you know he doesn’t care? That he’s just letting them suffer?”

  The void stills. The static hum that filled the space vanishes, leaving an almost suffocating silence.

  “Because I was there when it happened,” Hegemon finally says. “A part of him rebelled, tearing everything away, and yet only one fragment remained. His body—just as luminous as the world around him—a mere shell designed to keep his soul intact. He is nothing more than a false king.”

  From the background, King Chaos blinks a couple times, and the Administrator listens before speaking up. “If you want to get up there and deal with him, we want our friend’s body in return. That’s the least you can do after dragging us into your mess.”

  A sudden shift. An intact floating island drifts closer, stopping beside the ruined one they stand upon. Hegemon exhales sharply.

  “Fine,” he concedes. “Even if you’re not obligated to help me, I know you will—for his sake.”

  The moment the words leave his lips, the crystal at the center begins to destabilize, fracturing in an instant before shattering completely.

  “You’ll need a stronger crystal,” Hegemon remarks as he strides past The Administrator.

  Then, without warning, all three vanish—swallowed by darkness, leaving only a distant white light flickering at the end of an endless void.

  “I’m sure this is familiar—not just to you, but to Hegemon as well.”

  As they step forward, an unseen force materializes. A firewall—silent, unyielding—blocks Hegemon’s path. The others continue forward without hesitation, oblivious to the barrier that stops him in his tracks.

  Then, suddenly, his skin and eyes burn crimson. Without thinking, he swings his arm into the obstruction. A violent shockwave reverberates through his body, sending searing pain through every nerve. He staggers back, gritting his teeth.

  “Yeah, saw that one coming,” he mutters, his form flickering as damage visibly tears through him.

  King Chaos watches, unimpressed. “So this is where it stops for you?”

  Hegemon exhales sharply. “He used me—to stop myself from getting past.”

  “And this is because you made him upset?”

  Before Hegemon can answer, The Administrator pivots back toward them, her interfaces flaring to life. Within milliseconds, her hands move at impossible speeds, generating code by the hundreds of thousands—then millions. The numbers climb, the sheer velocity escalating.

  “You’ll need to be fast. Really fast.”

  Hegemon’s body pulses with a deep purple glow as he glares at the firewall, waiting for an opening.

  “This might be the right time to tell you something before we get out there,” he says.

  King Chaos sighs. “Oh, just spit it out already.”

  “My system abilities—they won’t work out there. Beyond this point is outside the system. I’m the only one who’s ever stepped beyond it. Once we cross, I’ll have nothing to rely on except Hegemon’s body. So I’m asking you now—seriously consider helping me in this endeavor.”

  King Chaos smirks. “And what’s stopping us from just killing you and taking Hegemon’s body for ourselves?”

  Hegemon turns his head slightly, his expression unreadable. “Because you can’t stop me from erasing everything you care about from out here, now can you?”

  A sudden voice cuts through the tension.

  “Shut up! Both of you!” The Administrator’s command echoes, sharp and final.

  For a moment, the firewall wavers—a single, imperceptible crack forming. Hegemon doesn’t hesitate. He launches forward at blinding speed, his body igniting in a brilliant white glow, forcing his way through as the firewall tears into him. The light around him flares violently, fighting against the force ripping him apart.

  Then—he’s through.

  The moment his form breaches the barrier, it snaps shut behind him, sealing itself instantly as The Administrator halts her code.

  Hegemon’s body glows green as it rapidly repairs itself. The Administrator strides past him, scoffing.

  “I’m not doing this for you. Not here, not now, not ever.”

  They continue forward, the path ahead bathed in an overwhelming, blinding radiance—like staring into a supernova at point-blank. The sheer intensity of the light is maddening, a force capable of unraveling the mind in mere minutes.

  In the distance, barely distinguishable through the endless white void, stands a cathedral. Its size is impossible to comprehend, its structure both reflecting and refracting the surrounding brilliance in ways that defy understanding.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “Time and space here are meaningless,” Hegemon mutters.

  King Chaos scoffs. “What do you mean meaningless? I can see the cathedral right there. Sure, it looks far, but it shouldn’t take long to reach. I’ll just open a wormhole and—”

  He raises a hand, beginning to tear open a portal, but Hegemon cuts him off with a sharp glare.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” And King Chaos hesitates.

  Hegemon continues, his tone measured. “Like I said, time, space—none of it matters here. The only thing that once set the rules were the conduits that existed before, but they’re gone. That cathedral? It could span billions—no, trillions—of lightyears. Or it could be as small as a single step. Distance fluctuates. One second of movement could stretch across a lightyear, and the next, an inch. The size of that structure isn’t fixed; it’s all perception. Light bends, refracts—it warps everything.”

  They begin walking, the journey stretching endlessly from minutes to hours—or perhaps something in between. Then, without warning, the cathedral’s massive gates stand before them, as if they had always been there.

  King Chaos pushes open one of the colossal doors, revealing a vast great hall. The outside light dims, no longer an all-consuming force.

  Inside, towering pillars stretch into infinity, each one tens of thousands of times taller than their own beings. The scale is incomprehensible.

  As they step inside, Hegemon’s voice cuts through the silence, speaking to no one in particular.

  “You really ought to shorten that distance, you know. Making that trek every time is a waste of time.”

  Silence.

  Then, a shift—an undeniable presence. A weight in the air. The sensation of infinite eyes, unseen yet unmistakably watching.

  A voice echoes from the depths, distant at first, then suddenly as close as a whisper in their ears.

  “You brought guests for the first time. I wish I had known sooner… I would have been more prepared, Loading.”

  At the end of the great hall, a being of pure light stood motionless. Then, with a single step, its form refracted, shifting unpredictably, appearing in multiple places at once. Step by step, it distorted through space until, in an instant, it stood directly in front of Hegemon.

  The figure, though composed entirely of light, took the unmistakable shape of a skeleton—standing at a staggering 5’4”. Just an inch shorter than The Administrator.

  Hegemon looked down, while beside him, King Chaos instinctively tensed, his very bones cracking under an unseen pressure.

  “Always towering above me, huh…” The Skeleton muttered.

  The Skeleton raised a hand and tapped Hegemon’s chest with a single glowing finger.

  In a flash, Hegemon was sent hurtling backward like a ragdoll, crashing into the massive cathedral doors with an echoing boom.

  “At least this form is more solid than your usual one,” the Skeleton mused. “Now tell me—why did you come back? I told you to stay where you had everything, where you could keep living. Or did you return, risking the lives of your own creations, just to take another shot at me?”

  Before Hegemon could respond, The Administrator’s sword materialized in her hand, glowing with sharp intent. At the same time, King Chaos summoned his Dimensional Blades, the air around them warping with raw energy.

  The Skeleton exhaled—not a breath, but a ripple of pure light.

  “I assume Loading didn’t tell either of you who—or what—I am.” His voice was calm, almost disappointed. “So let me make this clear before you get any further.”

  He lifted his left arm, light bending unnaturally around his skeletal fingers.

  “I am the one who created him.”

  With a single outward swing of his arm, a shockwave tore through the hall, sending King Chaos flying as though he weighed nothing.

  “I am Eternity. The Conduit of Light.”

  The Administrator locked onto him instantly, her red interfaces flickering to life. She teleported in front of him, blade slicing through the air with surgical precision.

  But Eternity’s body refracted like a prism—bending and twisting at impossible angles. Every strike that should have connected missed by a mere fraction, his movements effortlessly shifting to avoid each lethal blow.

  Without hesitation, The Administrator activated her interface, pressing a rapid sequence of commands. Four glowing orbs—Two white, one red, one purple—materialized above her, crackling with uncontainable energy.

  Then, they fired.

  Blinding beams of light shot toward Eternity, tearing through the air.

  But he barely reacted.

  With a casual motion, he swatted the beams aside as though they were nothing more than dust, the sheer force shaking the walls of the cathedral.

  Finally, he turned his gaze toward The Administrator.

  “You,” he said, voice humming with intrigue. “You seem to be the more dangerous one here.”

  Behind them, Hegemon’s body pulsed with a green glow, rapidly repairing itself. The moment the regeneration completed, he launched off the ground with explosive force, his form shifting to a deep crimson. Midair, he wound up a powerful swing, aiming straight for Eternity.

  But as the punch was about to connect, Eternity simply lifted a hand—catching Hegemon’s fist with effortless precision.

  Then, with brutal efficiency, he slammed Hegemon into the ground.

  Without shifting his focus from The Administrator, he raised his other hand just as she swung her sword. He caught the blade mid-strike, gripping it tightly before slamming it into the floor, trapping it in place.

  In a split-second response, The Administrator vaulted over the sword, using it as leverage to propel herself into a powerful kick.

  Her foot passed straight through him.

  Eternity’s body refracted, shifting just enough to let her momentum carry her harmlessly past. As he turned, he finally released both Hegemon and the sword—only for a wormhole to snap open behind him.

  A red-glowing chain shot from its depths, slamming into Eternity’s side and sending him hurtling toward a towering pillar.

  Yet, just before impact, his form refracted again. Skidding to a halt, he barely avoided colliding with the structure.

  Multiple wormholes burst open around him, light-blue glowing chains streaking toward him like striking serpents.

  Again, he refracted—dodging each one with seamless fluidity.

  Hegemon pushed himself up, his body flashing from orange to deep purple as he dashed forward, closing the distance between them. His glowing eyes locked onto Eternity, attempting to intimidate him.

  Eternity didn’t so much as blink.

  “Well, isn’t that cute.”

  Hegemon swung furiously, matching Eternity’s speed. But despite the rapid strikes, there was no real weight behind them.

  Then—one clean hit.

  Eternity’s refracted form connected with Hegemon’s head, sending him crashing down again.

  Before Eternity could follow up, two shimmering universal blades sliced toward his head. He refracted backward, barely dodging, just as another wormhole opened.

  King Chaos emerged from the portal, using a rapidly extending yellow chain to launch himself forward at breakneck speed.

  Eternity, now momentarily distanced from Hegemon, reached down.

  Scooping up what seemed to be pure light itself, he extended his hands—and from the radiance, a long, staff-like bone began to form.

  He gripped the glowing weapon and swung it in a fluid arc, clashing against the incoming universal blades.