Chapter 249: The Great Cataclysm
Incomparably silent, this was the Endless Material World’s polar opposite, the Endless Void World.
Grimm, with only half his torso and his head left, was lending the strength of his large physique and his Life Code Dissimilation Sorcery to maintain his tenacious life form—refusing to die.
But…
The void energy and void creatures were the complete opposite of what was found in the Material World as both were polar opposites of one another, with conflicting concepts.
From the Material World’s perspective, the Void World would be its shadow.
Like the Void Worm that appeared in the Material World way back during recruit training at Black Isotta, Grimm that had now arrived in the Void World from the Material World was similarly being slowly eroded away due to the conflicting Void Energy.
Instinctively, Grimm released all magical energy that was left in his body to resist the erosion caused by the Void Energy.
Material Energy and Void Energy being mutually destructive, was what Grimm had studied in Ancient Sorcery research about Destructive Forces. Attempting to combine these conflicting energy sources to create Destructive Forces required the highest research knowledge.
The sheer uncontrollable Destructive Force generated by combining the conflicting Material Energy and Void Energy would create a basic energy level that was astronomically higher than the combination of Water and Fire elements.
Many ancient sorcerers had tried to obtain such a high degree of basic Destructive Force however none had the ability to completely control its form and force. Any sorcerer with the ability to control the Destructive Force would undoubtedly be valued greatly among other high-level sorcerers.
But it goes without saying that on this road to research the Destructive Force, ancient sorcerers failed one after the other.
The attempts by the Material World to control Void Energy was also no easier than the attempt to completely control the Destructive Force. According to the “Lottery model” of the collision knowledge system of the past, such attempts were deemed an impossible task.
It was not until the modern Sorcerer World, that some high-level sorcerers started using sorcery’s foundation knowledge system, which resulted in significant progress made in research on the real-world application of Void Energy. Theoretical data on its application was finally obtained and it was used to make weaponry for elite Demon-Hunter Sorcerers. It was used to locate the Material World from within the Void World on their expeditions to plot coordinates.
However, the wide-spread usage of Void Energy as part of the Sorcerer World’s armament remains a distant dream. What more to say of combining Void Energy with Material Energy to generate high tier Destructive Forces.
Grimm, had neither the ability to sense the force of nature, nor could he borrow power from any other avenues. He was essentially paralyzed in the Void World, with only the Mask of Truth on his face like a sheet of water.
As an official sorcerer, Grimm had only a fraction of magic energy left in him. At least he wouldn’t be eroded away from his head to start with, buying him a few hundred hourglasses of time.
Even for a mere worm which belonged to the lowest level of creatures from the Void World, it was able to survive in the Material World for more than ten hourglasses of time before being annihilated. If Grimm was not attacked by Void Creatures, he should be fine for the time being.
Hypothetically if Grimm was at his peak condition, he could wander the Void World for more than a few weeks without much problems.
The Stigmata Sorcerer or the Great Necromancer roamed the Void World for centuries, some even up to a few millennia in search of the unknown Material World. A few weeks time to these high-level beings was probably only the time it took to take a step forward.
‘Calm down, calm down..’
Grimm’s number one priority as of now was to return to the Material World.
While one could directly enter the Void World from the Material World using the relative boundary, to cross back over into the Material World, he had to find the hidden coordinates within the Void World. From there one had to pass through the chaotic layer of the higher planes of the Material World before descending down to earth.
Consequently, Grimm had to find a way to move his own body, from the Void World into the chaotic layer of the Shadow World before moving back into the Material World.
Otherwise, getting lost in the Void World was no laughing matter.
An invisible layer of weak magic energy wrapped his body as a substitute for his Sorcerer’s Barrier. At this moment, the magic energy was a form of soft energy that could move attribute elements but it had zero fighting capabilities. Due to it belonging to an energy system of the Material World, Grimm had decided to use it only as a last resort to resist against the Void Energy’s erosion.
The force of nature did not exist within the realms of the Void World. As a result, Grimm could not transfer the force of nature from his surroundings to move forward, resorting to use magic energy from within his body like what a sorcerer’s apprentice would do.
A series of calculation formulas flashed through Grimm’s mind.
If he opted to not use his magical energy to move forwards, and instead, stay in place and slowly use up the remaining energy within his body to resist erosion by the Void Energy, it would buy him about a hundred and twenty to a hundred and fifty hourglasses of time.
If he were to expand all his energy to move forward at full speed, he could only persist for three hourglasses of time, which is a very short journey.
Alternatively, he could reduce the rate of magic exhaustion while moving forward. The magic within his body was enough for about seventy hourglasses of travelling time, allowing him to cover the longest distance.
However, if his wounds were not treated within twelve hourglasses of time by a high-level sorcerer at a Void Fortress Command medical facility, his life would be hanging onto a thread.
Upon deliberate consideration, Grimm had formulated the best option. To fly toward one direction of the Void World, relying on his blurry senses.
He did not know the specific distance of the journey ahead, nor did he wholly know how to calculate coordinates. In fact, he could not seem to grasp the traveling system within the Void World. With vision from both eyes lost, Grimm was flying blind into uncharted territories, not knowing what dangers lurked around each corner. Fueled by his firm belief in the will, he flew in the direction which he was able to sense something.
In that direction, he felt a few imprints of Crystal Ball souls.
Rationally speaking, Grimm had just arrived to the Void World from the Shadow World through the relative boundary. This means the place where he came from should not be too far away.
This notion was completely wrong.
Even so, fate was on Grimm’s side. There aren’t many worlds beyond the relative boundary that have coordinates that are nearby to the chaotic layer, but those who are indeed nearby included the Perishing Volcanoes.
Ten hourglasses later.
Exhausted and near death, Grimm thanked the violent energy that was generated from the congregation of Void Energy and Force of Nature from the surrounding world. As a thought popped into his mind, Myna appeared.
“Caw? What’s wrong? You…”
Myna was shocked by the sight of Grimm, who was now a bloody mess. His armor was falling apart, pieces of it dug deep into his body’s flesh. His clothes were damaged to the point where it barely covered his body, leaving only the Mask of Truth barely intact.
Unable to answer Myna’s question, Grimm had fallen into a coma, preserving the last vitality of his body’s cells.
“Hey! Hey hey hey… don’t do this, don’t you go fainting on me! I’ve never dealt with this kind of situation before!” Myra yelled, as he flapped his wings. What remains of Grimm had completely fainted, losing all signs of consciousness.
Owing to his strong physique, Grimm that was now in a free fall was still protected against erosion by the Chaotic Energy. A whistling gust of wild wind blew by his ears.
Looking down from far away, was a huge metallic flying object in the shape of a half-sphere, floating stationary in the sky. It emitted an unshakeable pressure field as it glowed a faint blood-red color in all directions. Three dazzling energy balls revolved around the crimson flying craft, surrounded by tens of thousands of smaller light orbs.
On the ground surface, multiple cracks spanning the horizon appeared, as the lava from chasms beneath emit a glowing red light. Countless Lava Giants, accompanied by other fire domain creatures stood atop the lava lake, with flames gathering around its vicinity.
Under the repeated heavy bombardment of golden lava raindrops, the ground now had a semi-solid consistency, half of it melted away under the sheer heat of the flames.
The golden lava column of the Infinite Crimson Sun Seal on top of the Sacred Lava Mountain had come to a stop. The fire domain creatures of this world seemed to have ushered in a new life, with an ever-increasing life force.
The Enigmatic Hurricane Seal surrounding the Perishing Volcano seems to have vanished completely.
In Myna’s field of vision, gone were the layers of shadow clouds, and instead there was an infinite Crimson Sun shining down unto the earth. Far away in the horizon, every visible volcano was now spurting out pillars of pure lava into the sky.
Although the area of the shadow clouds was now rapidly expanding, the interior of this world was being filled with Flame Energy at the same time. It was as if the land of the shadow clouds were being reversed to the land of the Crimson Sun.
The Great Cataclysm, had now completely descended upon this world.