"Don’t you ever... Urgh... Don’t you ever! Do that again!" Elias grumbled, holding back the urge to throw up as he held onto a tree trunk.

Every time he spoke, he could feel his breakfast trying to crawl back out. With how fast Alice was going through the Void, he was surprised that he didn’t throw up mid-flight.

Alice, on the other hand, didn’t respond.

Usually, she would be enjoying the situation. Yet with her mind on what’s been happening in the Void, it was hard to enjoy Elias’s suffering.

Lab, on the other hand, was barely affected. She was still freaked out by how fast they were travelling, but her body was far more durable than Elias’s.

"How far do we still need to go?" Alice asked, as she had taken a break only because Elias looked like he was reaching his limits.

"I believe three more jumps or so, covering the same distance, should bring us directly to the outside of the Capital. Though I must warn you, the closer we are, the more likely it is for you to run into defences placed by the royal family." Lab reminded as Alice nodded her head.

It was to be expected.

After all, as the capital of Extalia, she doubted the Royal family wanted someone to just drop a giant bomb in the middle of the city via the Void.

Once she had given Elias enough time to recover, Alice launched them through the Void for the second time.

The closer they got to the heart of Extalia, the worse the Void looked. In fact, there were certain parts that made Alice question whether or not this was still the same realm.

It was simply too... disgusting to be considered the Void.

’Can this place even be ’fixed’?’ Alice asked with a frown.

Even though the Void wasn’t habitable, seeing it mutate in such a manner was painful to watch. Especially knowing that this realm was practically Feris’s home.

[Depends on how long Feris wants to spend fixing it. If she even wants that, if I’m being honest.] Cayla exhaled with a frown on her face.

[I mean, just look at the Abyss. You saw how different it was when Velouria was in charge. The rules set in place, the layout of the realm, and so on. But after her passing, everything went to sh*t.]

Alice reluctantly nodded her head.

Indeed, when Velouria was still around, the Miasma was controlled to some extent. While not completely absent, there were more zones where people could relax properly without suffocating from Abyssal Miasma.

But now... it was safe to say that even if she rebuilt Ayr, unless she had a way to purge the miasma, getting people to live there was impossible.

Just as Alice was about to create an exit portal from the Void, she noticed something in her peripherals. A strange reflection...

An empty location with a single ’cage’ located in the centre.

But what truly caught her attention, what made her freeze in shock... was the aura left behind.

Without hesitation, Alice broke the bubble and created a platform for her to launch herself from.

Soaring through the Void without care, her heart slammed against her chest as anxiety dominated her mind.

Yet before she could reach that cage...

*BANG!!!

Slamming into an invisible wall, Alice was thrown back as blood dripped from her nose.

Veins bulged on her temple as her impatience was beginning to show.

Gathering energy into her palm, Alice prepared to punch through the realm if needed.

[ALICE!] Cayla shouted as Alice finally glanced back.

[Take a better look. Even if you break it, it won’t open a path to the location. If anything, we’ll just lose our only clue.] Cayla forced Alice to calm down as she took a step back.

Closing her eyes, she calmed down her mind.

Once she was calm, she glanced at the reflection once more.

An ’empty’ location with a single cage. Blood stained the inside of the cage while raven feathers littered the ground.

Based on the energy left behind... Alice was confident that the one held within this cage was Kaden at one point.

There was no doubt about it. But that wasn’t the only thing.

Hidden inside that energy was... an aura belonging to the Eclipse.

Kaden was wounded. And it was by Famine, of all people.

The moment she realised that, she couldn’t stop herself anymore.

’Kaden won’t die so easily. The fact that he’s not here means that he’s probably found a way out. The key is for us to figure out where he might’ve gone.’ Alyss reminded.

[Alyss is right. Breaking this is not the right choice at this moment. If anything, it’s best if you memorise what’s happened here and make preparations to look for Kaden once we’ve regrouped with Allura.]

Alice glanced back at the cage and narrowed her eyes.

The aura leaving the cage was exceedingly weak, a far cry from what Kaden’s aura was usually like.

Biting her lip, Alice turned around.

To find Allura or to track down Kaden.

On one hand, she knew where Allura was going. On the other... Kaden was definitely not in a good state after having left the prison.

’We’re speeding up. Once we find Allura, I’m turning the Void inside out to look for Feris and Kaden. Feris can complain about what I’m doing to her home after she wakes the f*ck up.’ Alice clenched her fist as she made her way back to Elias and Lab.

###

"Ha..." A slow exhale escaped Nyer’s lips as he glanced back at the woman behind him.

"I thought I told you to keep an eye on Kaden. To make sure he’s restrained. And now you’re telling me he’s escaped?" Nyer creased his brows in displeasure.

He thought that surely the Apostle of Famine would be able to look after one prisoner. It wasn’t a difficult task after all.

Yet...

Kaden had escaped.

Deva couldn’t say anything back. She simply clicked her tongue in response.

Shaking his head, Nyer turned to her.

"Can you track where he’s gone?"

Deva shook her head.

"No, the aura is too weak for me to track. It was only strong at the moment of escape."

Tapping his finger, Nyer made up his mind.

"I have a new job for you. Take care of it and forget about Kaden. If you find him... I believe it should be within your best interest to run."

Deva frowned, shooting Nyer a glare. But seeing his expression, she held back her complaints.

He wasn’t asking for her cooperation right now. This was a demand.

"Tsk... fine. Just tell me what you want me to do." Deva sighed.

"I want you to go to the capital. There, you should find a direct lineage of the Royal Bloodline and bring them to me."

"You want me to be a kidnapper?" Her expression twisted in disbelief. An insult to her power. An apostle relegated to kidnapping duty?!

Nyer didn’t say anything.

Deva could feel the silent warning. If she rejected his demand, if she proved that she was of no use to him...

"Fine." Turning around, Deva left while Nyer shook his head.

"A troublesome woman, wouldn’t you agree? You would think that someone with her power would do a better job. But then again... her opponent was Kaden. So I suppose, in the end, it’s to be expected." Nyer turned back to the intruder of the realm.

*Cough...

Blood rolled down the corner of Renna’s lips as she struggled to take a breath. Cuts could be seen across her body as her outfit was stained with crimson.

She leaned against a piece of mutated debris, a spear stabbed through her stomach and pinning her against the ground.

She wanted to remove it but lacked the power to do so.

"Have you had a change of mind yet? I believe my offer was not an unfair one. Accept, and you wouldn’t have to suffer this kind of torment." Nyer asked again as Renna forced a smile.

Even if she lied, he could easily see through it. She’d already made her stance clear after all.

"Lord of the Sacred Grove, surely you see the benefit of our collaboration." Nyer asked again.

He was planning on taking care of her at the start of the fight. But after finding out her authority, he realised it would be too much of a waste. A woman of her talents should be put to use rather than killed.

But she was making it very difficult right now.

"I know you can speak, so why must you be so difficult? I can see it in your eyes. You’re not someone who wants to die."

Three times.

Three times had Nyer tried to convince the woman in front of him after their fight.

But her answer was still the same.

"Go f*ck yourself." Renna laughed as blood caused her to choke.

She could feel the strength leaving her body with each passing second.

Right when she had finally tracked down Feris’s aura, she ran into this monster.

Still... she was glad it was her and not someone else.

At least Nyer would stop with her.

But if she had sent the others... how many would’ve died before they realised what was happening? In fact, it might’ve even caused Nyer to travel to the grove in order to kill those who would know of Feris’s location.

Therefore, Renna was glad she made the first move. At least with this, she reduced the casualties to some extent.

At least she hoped she did.

Taking hold of the spear in her stomach, her eyes turned bloodshot as she ripped it free.

Abyssal energy erupted from her body as Nyer took a few steps back.

Stabbing the spear into the ground, a verdant domain expanded in an instant as Renna reached into her pocket.

She knew what was going to happen. There was no delusion running through her mind. Just the understanding that all things must come to an end.

But at least she could choose the way she ended it.

"I told you that bottle would be wasted on me. But little did I know I would be taking the last sip so soon." Renna laughed bitterly as she pulled out the bottle Alice had gifted her.

The final sip of the drink.

Swinging her head back, she savoured the last drop.

Then, with a maniacal laugh, she plunged her hand into her own chest and crushed her heart.

In her last moments, she’d offer up her blood, flesh, and soul!

As she lunged towards Nyer, a final smile appeared on her lips.

’I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise...’

’Drinking buddy.’