It had been a few hours since they entered the mist, and Kai didn't find it too difficult to brave it now. At first, it was startling, the mist was invading his body, turning him translucent, but when he focused on his True Name, the mist receded from his body and gave reprieve.
He was also constantly using 'Will' by tying it to his words and amplifying it. Which in turn made it easier to focus on his job.
Which led him to spot Nightmare Creatures with ease.
"In front of us. Around 150 meters. It seems to be an ant-like creature. I think it's a Great Demon." Kai said.
Both Sunny and Anvil tensed. Over the last few hours, they had been taking turns culling the creatures. As if they entered a silent competition.
That was because killing a Great Nightmare creature allowed Anvil to possess Supreme weapons, but for Sunny, it directly increased his domain's size.
Sunny had been culling the majority of the creatures in secret to begin with. Only once in a while would Kai call it out like now.
The Shadow Cohort was also in the mist. Sunny had called them back and allowed them to join in this journey since there would be plenty of abominations to kill.
Sunny had long made a memory that allowed mental communication. He would only allow Anvil to kill a creature every hour or so. The King of Swords most likely started to notice the lack of Nightmare Creatures by now.
Kai sent Sunny a mental message of more Nightmare Creatures he had just spotted.
[To the east, there's a pack of Great Monsters battling another Great Demon.] Kai said, sending a mental message to Sunny.
[Alright, I'll send the Shadow Cohort and an Incarnation.] Sunny replied.
That's how it usually went for the last fifteen hours. So far, Sunny had killed hundreds of Great creatures. Among them, three were Great Devils, and one was a Great Tyrant. There was a Great Terror however, it proved to be too elusive and sensed Sunny's power, so it ran away fairly quickly.
Kai made an incredibly quick observation while he was in the mist with both the Sovereigns. First off, they were nearly blind when it came to the mist. While Sunny could use shadow sense, the range was limited as the fog felt like it was suppressing not only his source element but also other source elements as well.
It would be like if Mordret complained about the lack of reflections or if he couldn't sense reflections as well in the Shadow Realm. It wouldn't necessarily make sense since it isn't his source element.
However, Sunny's range was steadily increasing. His 'Will' seemed to grow more powerful, and his vast presence helped. He said it was because he was constantly pushing his 'Will' out and strengthening it.
'Taking an opportunity like this to train....' Kai thought.
It made him think of his strength and how he could increase it. Not willing to feel left behind, Kai trained using his 'Will' whenever he could
The second observation Kai made was a bit more shocking.
It was that the creatures in the Hollow Mountains possessed great mental defenses, had sharp senses, or could see through the mist. Although their range, when compared to Kai, seemed incredibly pathetic.
Thinking about it, that was because of the nature of the Hollow Mountains, either you needed to see through the mist somehow or possess lightning-fast reflexes that allowed you to respond to all situations.
Luckily, Kai's group possessed it all.
Unfortunately, for the mental defenses part, it really hurt Kai's battle prowess here in the Hollow Mountains. Since his voice could be considered a mental attack. It proved to be extremely useless, but Sunny told him otherwise.
'It's only useless if you believe it's useless. 'Will' is the greatest tool to change anything you want.' Kai thought.
Those were the words Sunny had shared with him.
They finally entered the Great Demon's range, and it noticed their presence, and it charged. It appeared to be an oversized mutated Ant, but, unlike most Ants it possessed one large eye. Typically, they were the type of creature to have hundreds yet. This one's mutation seemed to be unique.
Its mandibles on its mouth twitched, each was as large as three people. With three legs on each side, bringing the total to a total of six legs.
Anvil's swords lashed out, speeding head-on towards the ant, and in a display of extreme agility, the creature immediately cut all its momentum and moved directly to the left. It defied all odds in how quickly it changed directions.
The shadows quickly wrapped around its feet, and Anvil's swords changed direction towards the Ant just as quickly, but before it could run through the Ant, its mandibles vibrated, moving at an incredible speed, making a deafening clicking sound.
ERWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
The whirring immediately made Kai get a nosebleed, and his body froze.
'I can't move.' Kai thought.
In that very moment, the Great Demon split into three Great Beasts.
The shadows wrapping around it were immediately destroyed as they split apart and avoided Anvil's blows. To the group's dismay, something unnatural happened. Nothing that all three had ever seen before
The Great Beasts synced up, and their mandibles vibrated throughout the air. Creating a mental attack.
Sunny and Anvil shrugged off the attack like it was a light summer breeze. However, again, Kai found himself unable to move, breathe, or blink. It felt like he was put on pause.
The creatures skittled backwards and retreated. No longer wanting to participate in the fight. Sunny shadow-stepped behind one of the creatures and immediately skewered it through with his blade.
Anvil took a simpler approach. The sword's speed was unparalleled. Before the Great Beast could even turn around to look, the first blade sliced into one of its back legs, but it didn't stop there. After the first one, the second one came, then a third, and then it poured like the start of a rainstorm.
It was quickly buried under the steel as if it never existed. The last Great Beast did one last mental attack. However, without its kin, its power was severely limited.
At the same time, Kai watched all this unfold. To his horror, something coalascesed from the mist, appearing near him.
It was so quiet and smooth that Kai nearly ignored it to begin with. The creature was made of pure white. Slightly different from the Nothingness surrounding them, but if it wasn't fully condensed like it was now. It would be nearly impossible to see unless one looked for it.
Kai's fear was realized when the creature approached him at a startling speed. He still found himself unable to move due to the Great Demon's attack. Sunny and Anvil were also attacking the Beasts at the moment.
The creature had no shadow, scent, and was nearly invisible. Sunny wouldn't be able to notice unless he looked for it.
Unable to blink, speak, or move a single muscle, Kai's mind raced as he thought of only one thing.
Move, Move, Move, Move, Move, Move, Move!
Yet, he couldn't. The insidious Ant's authority was too much to bear. A Great Demon's powers were wicked, and Kai had taken the brunt of two mental attacks. His thoughts also felt sluggish and unresponsive.
So, in that moment, he abandoned all other thoughts. Kai took this chance to try something new, something he had been thinking of doing. Ever since he started this journey, he had been thinking of ways to increase his strength. By bringing 'Will' into the equation. Since the Death Game as well.
Then he tried something he had never done before.
'MOVE!' Kai's order came from his mind, and with 'Will' amplifying it, his body finally moved, taking a step forward.
He had figured out that while it would be impossible to command others without actually speaking with them, he should at least be able to command himself, since he is always heard his inner voice.
So by using 'Will' Kai had made his mental voice be able to affect himself. His essence burned far quicker by using this method, but it was indeed amazing.
This seemed like a logical evolution as well.
By the time Kai took a step forward. Hundreds of swords were impaling the odd creature.
Bewildered, Kai looked at the Anvil. Sunny was also shocked to see what was occuring behind them as he finished the last Ant.
Anvil spoke up as if nothing had happened.
"Pesky creatures I should've mentioned. Although rare, they exist. I believe they're native to these lands and are nearly the apex predators. Watch out, this one was relatively weak, most likely a newborn."
Continuing, he mentioned something else.
"The entrance is near. Be wary. When true darkness and nothing collide, it creates a strange phenomenon." Anvil said.
"What do you mean?" Kai asked.
Anvil stopped walking, and Sunny also stopped in his tracks as if sensing something odd in Anvil's words.
"True darkness is an elemental force, and it isn't to be looked down upon. Nothingness is also an incredible elemental force. When the two forces meet, usually one dominates the other however, after centuries of the two forces battling back and forth, they reached an odd harmony." Anvil said.
Sunny stirred, stepping on his back on foot as he felt an influx of shadow fragments entering his soul.
[I'm pulling back the Shadow Cohort. I don't want to risk them getting destroyed. Be sure to look in all directions for now] Sunny said mentally to Kai.
Kai simply nodded and continued to ask Anvil.
"Harmony? What happens when it reaches a harmony?" He asked.
"True darkness is the rival of light, possessing mystical properties that have not yet been entirely explored, but it is capable of soul damage and a strange form of separation. As for Nothingness, it can destroy any soul if used correctly. So the combination of the two creates total annihilation. In ancient times, Nether called this place the Annihilating Border." Anvil said.
Sunny spoke up this time.
"Annihilating Border? It can't be too bad if a cohort of Saints can make it through, so I'm sure we'll manage." Sunny said.
Anvil nodded.
"Well, you see, the Annihilating Border is dangerous because of the creatures. They only exist there because if they leave, they cease to exist. They're called the Wardens." Anvil said.
Without stopping, he continued.
"The Wardens imprison whoever they touch in the Annihilating Border making it impossible for you to leave. It doesn't matter if you're even Sacred, Cursed, Supreme, or a Great being. From what we've gathered and experimented with before we entered. If you stay within the Annhiliating Border for three seconds, you'll be completely erased from existence." Anvil finished.
"That doesn't sound too good. How did you guys get past it the first time?" Sunny asked.
"Broken Sword. His aspect was unique. He could sever nearly anything. So in that moment I don't know whether he cut the harmony through true darkness and nothingness to separate them or if he cut the very space and made a gap in the Annihilation Border, but we went through unscathed." Anvil replied.
Sunny stopped for a moment to think as Anvil continued to explain that the Annihilation Border was large. Broken Sword had to cut hundreds of times to get through completely, and even then, the regeneration of the border was quick.
He mentioned that the space in the Annihilation Border was filled with floating black and white dots. That also destroys everything and anything.
The Annihilation Border's immense size took an entire day for the Anvil's cohort of Saints sprinting at full speed to cross it. No doubt that Sunny, Anvil, and Kai would undoubtedly cross it quicker, the question was how?
As Kai and the group approached, they distinctly noticed the border. They gazed at the Annihilation Border. The mist was extremely thin in the border, it had a tinge of darkness to it. As if it were no longer white but something in between the two colors.
At times, the mist looked light, and in other instances it looked black. The floating dots looked ethereal. Mixing and mingling with each other.
Kai's keen eyes immediately saw a creature within the border.
"There to the right," Kai said, pointing.
Following his instructions, both Sovereigns looked at the Warden in the distance. It was hard to make out, but it was a large creature that appeared to be an oversized ape. Its teeth were so large it jutted out of its mouth and curved around its face.
More than half it's body, around eighty percent, was formed out of the white nothingness, while the remaining twenty percent was true darkness.
"Listen closely," Anvil said, dragging their attention back to himself.
Both Kai and Sunny tore their gaze away from the creature and looked at Anvil.
"The strength of these creatures varies greatly, but one thing is for certain. The closer they are to a perfect split of white and black, the stronger they are. Before we entered, we threw a few Nightmare Creatures in that we had subdued to test their strength." Anvil said.
It explaintion was clear as he went through telling Sunny and Kai his findings. The one they were looking at was just as strong as a Great Beast. He mentioned that if they have more white mist, they are generally weaker, but if they have more True Darkness, the more power they typically have. The ones with more true darkness are as strong as Great Tyrants or more.
The only exception being the perfect split.
"Broken Sword was serving the border fine until that creature showed up. That specific Warden defied all odds and reason. It was nearly a perfect mix. It nearly killed us in less than a moment." Anvil said.