The immediate priority was dealing with the problem before him.
The Void could not have appeared in this part of the spirit realm for no reason. There had to be a source somewhere.
They needed to find it and prevent the Void from spreading any further.
Standing within this space, Luke could clearly sense the Void's insatiable hunger.
By now, its territory had likely engulfed all of Mistfall. The speed of its expansion was terrifying.
The material realm and the spirit realm were closely connected, with the latter acting almost like a reflection of the former.
The place where Luke currently stood was effectively Mistfall's counterpart within the spirit realm. Much of the terrain looked vaguely familiar, except almost all of it had been corrupted by the Void.
Meanwhile, the spirits that normally inhabited the spirit realm had almost entirely vanished.
The only things wandering through this space were Voidborn of every imaginable shape and size.
Time passed minute by minute.
Luke lost count of how many Voidborn he killed along the way. The creatures he encountered most frequently were grayish-black Void fish covered in carapaces. They filled the sky in enormous schools.
Some of the larger ones could even fire purple beams of energy.
The ground was occupied by swarms of crab-like Void creatures that raced about on six limbs. They could generate purple energy barriers around themselves.
Those two species appeared to be among the most common creatures in the Void. Beyond them were countless other Voidborn of varying strength and appearance.
After observing the environment, Luke realized that the Void resembled a vast purple ocean.
Standing within it filled him with a sense of emptiness, primitiveness, and insignificance. It was like sinking to the bottom of an endless sea. Looking at the strange ecosystem around him, he felt nothing but boundless loneliness and cold, so oppressive that even breathing seemed difficult.
Luke thought that if he had to live in an environment like this for years, he would probably go insane before long.
No wonder the minds of the Ascended had been affected after their war against the Void.
Luke was beginning to understand. The Void's corruption did not merely consume the environment.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
At that moment, Luke suddenly heard something resembling breathing. It sounded like a massive bull panting heavily, with each breath echoing through the air above him.
He immediately identified the direction and accelerated toward it without hesitation.
As he drew closer, the heavy breathing became clearer. At the same time, Luke began hearing a rhythmic thumping, like the beating of a heart directly beside his ear.
When he reached the source, he discovered that the breathing sound was actually the echo produced by powerful winds passing through a deep, fissure-like ravine.
The heartbeat, however, came from somewhere within the dark depths below.
Faint purple light flickered inside, filled with endless mystery and unknown danger.
"Could this be the source?"
Luke stopped at the entrance and looked into the ravine. He activated Stealth Arts, preventing the nearby Voidborn from detecting him.
The ravine was unlike anything he had seen before. It had most likely formed under the Void's influence. Its depths stretched beyond sight, with no visible end.
There was no way to know what lay inside without investigating.
After considering it briefly, Luke stepped into the ravine.
The interior was exceptionally dark, but a kind of purple coral emitted a faint glow that illuminated the immediate surroundings.
Luke raised his hand, formed a fireball about the size of his palm, and hurled it forward.
The fireball streaked through the darkness, illuminating the path as it traveled.
The passage through the ravine was extremely wide, as though something had smashed open an enormous crack in the earth. Jagged rock walls rose unevenly on both sides.
Judging by the wind flowing through it, Luke estimated that the ravine extended for at least a thousand yards and opened into a much larger area farther inside.
At the same time, his eyes narrowed, and his hand moved to his sword hilt.
The passing fireball revealed dozens upon dozens of gecko-like Voidborn clinging to the walls.
There were at least a hundred of them, each as large as an adult crocodile. Their faces were vicious and distorted, with round purple eyes on either side of their heads. The moment the firelight appeared, every one of those eyes opened, glowing with an eerie light.
"Roar!"
A chorus of furious cries erupted the next second, sounding like the creatures had been rudely awakened. The Void geckos launched themselves at Luke, the intruder who had disturbed them.
Knowing the battle was unavoidable, Luke exhaled, drew his sword, and charged.
These Void geckos were far stronger than the Void fish and crabs outside. Their shells were incredibly tough, their speed was impressive, and their bites were powerful enough to crush solid rock into powder.
They were formidable creatures.
Several minutes later, Luke emerged from among several hundred Void gecko corpses and continued deeper into the ravine.
"There were that many guarding the entrance alone. What exactly is hidden inside?"
He raised his vigilance even further. This was, after all, his first direct encounter with the Void.
Although he possessed some knowledge of it, countless unknown dangers still remained. No matter what happened, caution was necessary.
As the strange heartbeat grew clearer, Luke began to feel as though some enormous and powerful creature was sleeping ahead.
After walking another few hundred yards without encountering any more Voidborn, Luke finally reached the interior of the ravine, a broad, open chamber.
The light here was brighter than outside, allowing him to make out the general shape of the surroundings.
Black Void vines resembling tentacles spread across the entire area. Purple light occasionally flowed through them, making them seem alive.
There were no visible creatures anywhere.
The only unusual sight was a raised mound of black and purple material at the center of the chamber. A weapon was embedded within it.
Only the hilt was exposed, while the rest of the weapon was buried inside the grave-like mound. The heartbeat came from within it. Purple Void energy flowed constantly through the mound, occasionally erupting from it like vapor.
"This is..."
Luke's eyes flashed.
A weapon that existed within the spirit realm?
Interesting.
Had the Void's occupation of Mistfall's spirit realm somehow allowed Mistfall to influence the Void in return?
Or had there already been a weapon within the spirit realm that was later altered by the Void?
Whatever the answer, Luke's interest was piqued. He wanted to see what kind of weapon it was.
He stepped forward and activated Stealth Arts, suppressing his presence as much as possible. His footsteps made no sound as he approached the weapon one step at a time.
He had only taken a few steps when the entire space seemed to sense him. The vines touching the ground rapidly contracted.
After two seconds of silence, a violent commotion erupted.
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
Two different roars came from opposite sides of the chamber.
A moment later, thunderous footsteps shook the entire ground as two enormous creatures charged toward Luke's location.
Luke knew he had definitely been detected. Stealth Arts could conceal him, but it could not make him completely invisible.
He now understood the purpose of the Void vines. By clinging to the ground, they enhanced the surrounding area's sensitivity to movement.
The moment Luke stepped onto the ground, his presence had been revealed.
One of the two massive Voidborn resembled a sea serpent. It possessed multiple tentacles and was covered in a black shell. Its only visible feature was a gaping mouth filled with fangs, which opened wide as it released a horrifying roar.
The other creature resembled a gigantic bull. Its head hung low, with two enormous horns extending from either side. The black carapace covering its body was even darker than the serpent's, while faint purple light pulsed beneath the center of its shell like a heartbeat.
Luke was certain that neither of them was an ordinary Voidborn.
Without hesitation, he unleashed his demonic power. A layer of dark armor-like energy covered his body as his presence surged dramatically.
The next instant, he became a blur and charged forward, swinging his sword at one of the Void sea serpent's tentacles.
Clang!
It felt as though his sword had struck a solid block of steel.
Empowered by his Sword Intent, however, the attack still left a long wound across the tentacle.
"Extremely hard. Its shell is nothing like those of the Voidborn outside."
Luke analyzed the creature while swiftly dodging the crushing strikes of several tentacles.
Certain Voidborn grew shells across their bodies that functioned like armor. The hardness of these two creatures' carapaces alone showed that they were exceptionally powerful.
The bull-like Voidborn charged toward him next, causing the entire chamber to shake with every step.
Luke had no intention of taking the impact directly. He leaped more than thirty feet into the air and slashed at the Void bull's body, releasing a razor-sharp wave of sword energy.
Clang!
A crisp metallic sound rang out as sparks scattered through the air.
Luke's attack had only carved a shallow opening into the creature's shell.
"Well, this one's even harder."
Luke's gaze sharpened. He unleashed several more full-powered slashes, causing Sword Intent to surge violently through the chamber.
One cut after another appeared across the Void bull's hardened carapace. Where the wounds were deep enough, purple blood began flowing out.
"Roar!!!"
Perhaps experiencing pain for the first time, the Void bull released an enraged bellow.
A powerful wave of sound struck Luke.
Within the roar, Luke suddenly felt his body become several times heavier. He immediately understood that this was one of the creature's abilities, and his expression grew serious.
Behind him, the Void sea serpent seized the opportunity and swung its tentacles down at him.
Luke dodged with all his strength, but his speed had been reduced by half. One of the tentacles struck him and sent him flying across the chamber before he crashed to the ground.
The vines touching the floor instantly came alive and reached toward him, driven by overwhelming hunger.
Luke's expression remained cold as he swung his sword. Flashes of steel tore through the vines, which fell lifelessly to the ground.
"They're more troublesome than they look."
Luke knew that the Void bull was the most difficult opponent. Its previous attack had covered such a wide area that there had been no room to evade it.
Fortunately, Luke's defenses were also considerable, and he had not been injured.
As the two Voidborn charged toward him again, a card appeared between his fingers.
With a thought, his body vanished from where he stood.
The next instant, he appeared directly in front of the mysterious weapon.
The two Voidborn immediately noticed. Their gazes locked onto him, and their auras became even more violent, as though he had violated some sacred taboo.
They charged at him in a frenzy.
"I know you're in a hurry, but calm down."
Luke grabbed the hilt.
The moment his hand closed around it, a surge of energy accompanied by a foreign consciousness flooded into him.
That consciousness was enormously aggressive. It attempted to devour Luke's mind, carrying limitless hunger and desire.
"Hm?"
Luke immediately counterattacked.
His vast and powerful consciousness crushed down upon the intruder. It failed to withstand the pressure for even a second.
Just as Luke was about to annihilate it completely, it began pleading for mercy.
Luke's consciousness was not something just anyone could challenge. His own will was already exceptionally powerful.
More importantly, his mind contained three kinds of demonic power and two World Rune fragments.
All of them could reinforce his spiritual strength.
Luke did not destroy the intruding consciousness. At the final moment, he stopped and forced it to submit instead.
Some instinct told him that killing it would provide no benefit.
Only a single second had passed in the outside world.
Luke pulled with all his strength and tore the weapon free.
Purple blood sprayed into the air, as though a living creature were being born from a womb.
A long, slender weapon appeared in his hand, shaped somewhere between a sword and a saber.
Countless cracks spread across the length of its blade. Eerie purple light flowed through those fissures as though the weapon itself were alive.
The moment he pulled it free, Luke sensed a connection forming between himself and the long blade.
He immediately understood.
The consciousness that had invaded his mind belonged to the weapon.
More accurately, it was not truly a conscious mind, but the blade's instinctive reaction.
It possessed no independent thoughts. All it had were the primal instincts it had developed while gestating within the Void.
Because Luke had already subdued it and obtained its submission, he easily understood its nature.
The long blade was like a newborn Void creature, fragile and starving. It had originally been a shattered weapon within the portion of the spirit realm corresponding to Mistfall.
After the Void arrived, it was gradually assimilated, or perhaps evolved.
By constantly absorbing Void energy, it had transformed into an entirely new type of weapon.
It was now a living Void blade capable of endlessly devouring and evolving.
Had Luke destroyed the consciousness earlier, it would have been equivalent to killing the newly born weapon.
It would have permanently become an ordinary blade, losing every unique characteristic it possessed.
Fortunately, Luke had restrained himself and preserved that trait.
"I'll call you the Void Riftblade."
Luke swung it a couple of times and found that it felt unexpectedly comfortable in his hand.
Because the Void Riftblade had already accepted him as its master, the weapon felt like an extension of his own body. There was no unfamiliarity between them whatsoever.
At the same time, the Void bull's earlier roar had drawn countless flying Voidborn into the sky above.
They descended through the ravine in enormous swarms, all summoned by the sound.
Luke looked up at the creatures filling the air, and the corner of his mouth rose slightly.
"Come on. It's time for a feast."
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