Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

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"I never thought I'd be back in this hellhole again, but here I am."

In the depths of the bleak and colorless void, a sarcastic and slightly annoyed voice flowed through the comms.

It came from a person who's wearing an advanced void suit, flying near soundlessly despite the strange vacuum of the void. Behind this person were a few more people who were wearing similar suits and flying at the same speed.

"You know you could've stayed behind, right?" Somebody replied, "This operation was voluntary. You signed up yourself. Why the hell are you complaining now?"

"If I didn't, you all would've stayed here for longer than necessary. You need me here; that's a fact," the complaining person retorted. "Anyways, I don't sense anything here. It's so quiet that it's freaking me out."

Nobody refuted his reports. After all, his detection range was far wider and more detailed than theirs and any equipment they have combined. None of them sensed even a single void creature so far in this operation, not even a strange movement or anything...

As if the void hasn't been eerie in itself, the absence of its denizens just made the strange atmosphere worse.

"So, what do we do?" Someone asked. "This pretty much confirmed the reports we received earlier. Do we still need to continue deeper?"

The question was left unanswered for now. Instead, they all just followed the de facto leader of this operation, the one that's flying ahead silently since they arrived here.

This leader was someone from the Wise Dragon Clan. Even though his features were hidden under the protection of the Void Suit, there are plenty of clues that one could see to reach this conclusion.

First was the scales on his void suit, which was starkly different from the rest. Within the bleakness of the void, the shiny gleam of his scaled suit was particularly eye-catching. His visor also has horns, and he has a conical, spiked tail, plus wings.

Also, his presence alone commanded respect and authority even though he's not doing anything. Those who know him personally speak about his charisma, allowing him to practically whip up anybody to aid his cause with just a few simple words. Such a trait is rare even for the Wise Dragon Clan as a whole. That's how he became the de facto leader of this operation.

He knew that the inquiry, despite being asked of everybody, was in truth for him due to his status. He had no plans on saying anything at first, but just now, he sensed something that changed his mind.

"Be alert, all of you. I don't like the vibe of this place anymore," he said, barely holding back a growl.

"Listen to him." The one who was complaining earlier agreed and supported his words. "Something shifted just now; I have no idea what, but it feels extremely dangerous!"

Due to this, the group moved closer to each other. They warily watched their surroundings, prepared to respond to anything that might happen soon.

OoooUuuuuUuuu!!

All heads shifted to the direction where the howl came from. The direction came deeper into the void. It was far, but due to the silence of this place, the sound travelled all the way to their location.

"What the hell is that!?" Someone exclaimed.

Whoever this was, they for sure weren't referring to the void beast that howled. Instead, they pointed at the strange phenomenon occurring a few hundred miles away from them.

See, being in the void feels like going inside the pages of an unfinished and uncolored comic. Colors are not present here, only outlines and strange shapes. The movement of the Void Creatures themselves feels animated and nonsensical most of the time.

But what they're seeing now is a stark difference from everything they've known from the void so far.

They saw a formation of black, purple, violet, and maroon gathering up in a single spot. Colors suddenly appeared in the bleakness of the void. If that's not alarming, then the fluctuations of the withering aspect of the void certainly were.

Crack!

The sound of glass cracking nearby nearly caused everybody to jump in fright. They all looked at the source of it and saw someone holding on to a broken piece of equipment. He looked at them and said:

"I just tried measuring the density of the void air. The tool overloaded after I pointed it there."

He needed not to say anything else after that. Everybody understood what he was trying to say.

This means that the density of the void air in that place went way above what their scanner could go, and the sheer density of it caused the tool to break.
Stay tuned for updates on empire

If the folks back at the camp knew of this, they'd probably be terrified, simply because this should be impossible. A Void Density Calibrator breaking? That never happened before!

But it did happen now, and there's no denying it. This meant that whatever it is that's happening over there is bad enough to cause the calibrator to break.

"That place... it's the border between the True Abyssal Zone and the Heart of the Void," somebody pointed out.

There was a trace of awe in his voice. How could there not be? If this were any other normal day in the void, none of them would have ventured this deep into the void, and usually, the mere sight of the border to the Heart of the Void was enough to make anybody crazy.

But surprisingly, they're not having any symptoms of being affected or going crazy from the mere sight of it.

However, this doesn't mean that the sight before them doesn't have an impact. In fact, for some reason, they feel an existential dread far deeper than they've ever felt in their whole lives. It's a feeling that they all should've gotten used to; after all, they're veterans of this gig. This was not their first time dealing with Void Creatures, nor would it be the last.

Yet for some reason, here they were, being in that same startling line again...

"The speculations were correct. All of the Void Creatures migrated there." That one member who was complaining earlier reported. "I see hundreds of tracks heading deeper into that place. It's no wonder the outskirts were so quiet."

"Also, I don't recommend us going anywhere near that place. What it is that's happening in there is something that even we are powerless to stop. I suggest returning and making sufficient preparations for the coming clash instead."

"I agree. Let's go back. There's nothing for us here to see."

It was here that their de facto leader finally spoke. Without any further ado, he turned around and began flying away from this place as if he's escaping. His speed wasn't any different from before, but anybody could feel his urgency. Sadly, this slight speed is already the maximum speed they could go in this suit. Without it, forget about fleeing; just the sheer exposure from the void air in this density was enough to make them, cosmic-level experts, sick or crippled.

"Remember all of you, whatever you hear or feel behind you, do not look at it. Keep flying away and never look back. Doing so will spell certain death for you. Do you all understand me!?"

The urgency and slight panic in the Wise Dragon's voice shocked the team. However, none of them pointed it out. Instead, they kept it to themselves and acknowledged his orders.

OoooUuuuUuuuUuuU!!

Everybody felt chills running down their spine. That sounded way too close for comfort. It came directly behind them, but the strange part is that none of them felt anything closing that distance that quick. And it's not like they've stopped scanning their surroundings.

"Don't look back! Keep flying forwards and away from this place! Keep your curiosity to yourself if you don't want to die! Drop all the surveillance attempts! Don't pay attention to anything happening behind you, no matter how close it sounds!"

"Even when it feels like something's breathing down your neck! Do fucking not turn around! Do not fucking look at it! Maintain your flight speed, and let's leave this place alive!"

The wise dragon's chain of command roared in their ears, constantly reminding them not to turn back. The urgency and trepidation behind his voice caused their hearts to race.

None of them had ever seen him acting this way. In their perspective, he used to be the wise one, someone who carried himself with dignity, poise, and strength.

They could've never expected that there was something out there that could render him in this state. And that speaks volumes about this mysterious threat they're facing. One that they've yet to see.

Despite his strange orders, nobody complained or challenged his authority. All of them could feel the severity behind his words, so they wouldn't dare to neglect it.

With their speed, they soon arrived near the gates. The wise dragon already ordered someone ahead of time to send a signal to the other side to open the gates so that there would be no delay once they're here.

All that's left for them to do is to enter the gates and close it behind them. That way, whatever it is that's chasing after them would be left outside.

However, to everybody's surprise... just before they entered the gates, the leader told them this...

"Listen to me, and listen well."

"I'll stay behind. It must be me. There's not much time to explain; I'm sorry."

"I will seal the entrance after you pass. You won't be able to use it for at least a month, and that's for the best."

"I know you're confused, but we really don't have much time."

"Once you're out there, contact the Dragon Chancellor. Tell him that once the seal was gone, he should search for me and my Reversed Heart Scale. He's the only one who could do it. Everything will make sense after he gets that."

"And last but not least... it's been fun, you guys."

BOOM!!!

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!"

The heart-wrenching wail of the cosmic-level experts echoed through the entire Northwestern Camp.