Chapter 1196 – Trouble In the Void

Teleporting using the void was just so much easier than going in a straight line. Concepts, just as distance, didn’t really exist within the void, meaning that if one entered it on one side of a universe, they could exit right away and appear on the opposite side.

Despite both existing in the same universe, there was an absolutely massive distance between the Pantheon of Life and the Order of the Malefic Viper, making a brief void-assisted teleportation the most efficient way to get back fast.

Usually, briefly passing through the void was even considered safer than trying to teleport directly. Not just because it was far faster, but due to the ripples in space these two respective methods caused. All in all, there was very little reason not to make use of the void when construction long-distance teleportations and having the assistance of a god capable of entering the void.

Of course, nothing could ever be said to be truly safe, and entering the void did carry some inherent risks. One was far more exposed within the void if one did end up being tracked when entering, and due to the nature of the void, it would be incredibly difficult for other gods to, first of all, discover another god in the void, or secondly, to actually get there and help.

When Villy had appeared and spoken to Oras, he had only known exactly where Jake was and what was going on because he had effectively been the one doing all the teleporting. He had directed everything and had thus known all the details… something that wasn’t the case this time around.

Upon entering the void, even the Malefic Viper briefly lost track of Jake. Due to their bond, the Primordial should be able to discover Jake relatively fast again, if trying was even worth it, seeing as he and the others should only pop into the void for a few seconds before appearing within the territory of the Order.

Except they didn’t appear within a few seconds. Instead, Vilastromoz felt the connection cut when they entered – something he had entirely expected to happen – but when he tried to reconnect… he found himself blocked.

The avatar of Vilastromoz opened his eyes in an instant as he realized something had gone extremely wrong, and he immediately began trying to track Jake down as he teleported away.

Yep, Jake still didn’t super like the void as it made him feel weird and messed with his senses in more ways than he could meaningfully describe. Around the room inside their teleportation vessel, the others also looked uncomfortable, with only the King and Artemis showing no signs of discomfort, though to be fair, the King wasn’t showing anything on account of his face being a mask.

As Jake was looking at everyone else, he suddenly saw Artemis’ eyes open wide, and at the same time, he got a deep sense of wrongness. Abruptly, the entire vessel shook, the magical formation on the inside flickering for a moment. Immediately after, Jake felt something else, and he instinctively turned his head to the side as he instinctively felt something else had joined them in the void… no… not just one thing.

Artemis quickly shot to her feet, a nervous yet determined look on her face as she instantly explained what was going on. “Our teleportation was intercepted or misdirected, and we’ve been trapped in a formation. I cannot contact the Pantheon of Life, and I cannot detect our exact position to relay it to others.”

Everyone looked at the Godqueen with confusion for a moment before they all realized that things definitely weren’t going as planned. Additionally, they remained affected by being in the void and were in less-than-stellar condition, even if they were stabilizing.

Jake, who was still looking at the wall of the vessel, focused and released a Pulse of Perception, focusing on finding out what was going on outside. His Pulse was messy and gave him odd information, but one thing was for sure…

“Five humanoid-shaped entities are outside,” Jake said.

Artemis nodded, having also spotted them. “The vessel should protect you even when I’m not inside. I’ll investigate and try to buy time, but assume the worst and try to do what you can to reach out for assistance.”

The severity of the situation was clear, as Jake and Artemis shared one final look before the Godqueen disappeared, appearing outside the vessel a moment later.

As she left, she had purposefully made all the walls of their teleportation vessel transparent, allowing them to see the scene outside. Within the emptiness of the void, there indeed stood five people, all of them wearing blank black masks that covered their entire faces.

He also realized that there was a discrepancy between what he saw with his eyes and his Pulse, meaning those three were hiding their true visages, likely caused by the masks. It all pointed to them not being here for friendly reasons.

Right then, on the outside, Artemis appeared and spoke in an authoritative voice. “This is an official delegation from the Pantheon of-“

“Kill her.”

The words echoed throughout the void and into the vessel as Jake’s eyes opened wide. In the very next moment, the void was filled with lights and energy as all five of the masked individuals disappeared alongside Artemis.

The mortals within the vessel naturally couldn’t tell what happened in a battle between gods, but all had enough sense to try to do what they could. Jake focused on trying to reach out to Villy as he saw the Sword Saint take out a watch, Sylphie summon a small spiritual tornado, and even Dina with a strained look on her face as she also tried to reach out.

Nothing worked. Jake even attempted to commune with the drop of blood within his Soulspace to try to allow the Viper to pinpoint his location, fully believing that Villy had noticed that something was wrong and was currently working on finding him.

However, the formation seemed to block anything and everything from getting out.

“Nothing,” the Sword Saint shook his head, looking genuinely worried by now.

The others remained quiet as the situation worsened, with the vessel shaking several times from the impact of wayward waves from the battle. Jake was extremely worried, but he had no way of truly telling what was going on outside.

Right then, things worsened once more as movement appeared in the void. Seemingly right in front of them all, a masked individual popped into existence, startling them before realizing she was still right outside the vessel. To the naked eye, she looked exactly like the other five masked individuals, but Jake could tell through his Sphere of Perception that she wasn’t.

She had barely appeared before a flash of green light flew for her, but she had already raised a hand as a barrier was summoned. A massive shockwave rocked the vessel, yet it did not move, as it seemed to be suspended within the void.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

When the energy cleared, Jake saw the same masked woman standing, looking at the vessel, with a transparent barrier with three arrows stuck in it to her side. This masked woman looked at the vessel, evidently not able to see inside as she spoke.

“I know you can hear me in there, so let me get straight to the point,” the god spoke as she laid a hand on the vessel. “All we want is the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, not the rest of you. Have him exit, and we shall leave without this resulting in any unwanted deaths.”

Things got tenser as Jake heard her speak, and he felt like he needed to say or do something, but before he could, the Sword Saint had already stood up as he spoke. “He’s lying.”

“There’s no scenario where they would willingly leave several witnesses alive who may form karmic threads back to them,” the Forest King agreed as he stood up within the vessel.

Jake was also standing at this point, looking at the god on the other side of the vessel’s wall. The god looked straight past them all before speaking again, as there evidently wasn’t going to be a response.

“Very well,” the god nodded as her hand began to emanate destructive light. “The hard way it is. Things would be a lot easier if you just surrendered, though. Perhaps it could even convince that escort of yours to leave.”

They all watched with bated breath as the destructive light continued to intensify. While progress was slow, she was definitely slowly burning her way through the defenses of the special teleportation pod.