Chapter 343: Void Manifest
The figure’s head tilted, its black eyes fixed on the sphere of darkness where Alice was suspended. Its voice came out in a low, broken whisper, like glass grinding against stone.
"Bloom... bloom... bloom..."
The word repeated, faster, more frantic, until it became a chant—a mad, raving litany that echoed through the void.
"BLOOM! BLOOM! BLOOM! BLOOM!"
Adam’s grip tightened on Ouroboros’s Fang. His voice was cold, flat.
"You’re insane."
He lunged.
Ouroboros’s Fang blazed with golden light as he swung it in a devastating arc aimed at the figure’s neck. The blade should have connected but the figure simply wasn’t there.
Adam’s momentum carried him forward, his blade slicing through empty air. Before he could recover, a foot slammed into his chest with brutal, precise force.
Adam flew backward, his body tearing through the void like a ragdoll. He crashed hard, skidding across the invisible ground, his scales scraping against the nothingness. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he came to a halt, gasping.
"What the hell..." Adam pushed himself up, his voice strained, his eyes wide with shock. "He kicked me... with that much force?!"
A cold chime echoed through his mind as the system notification materialized before him.
[Void Manifest – Lv. ???]
[One of the Original Void who merged with the Abyssal Bloom’s guardian prison. Its purpose is to ensure the Bloom absorbs the darkness from this prison, weakening the seal that binds the Void race. It is a fragment of the Void’s will, given form to protect the Bloom until the seal breaks. Its power grows as the seal weakens. Approach with extreme caution.]
Adam’s eyes narrowed as he read the notification, his mind racing.
"An Original Void?" His gaze snapped to the figure. "So you’re the one who caused that Void outbreak in the dungeon. You’re the reason Alice was attacked."
The Void Manifest’s head tilted slowly, its black eyes still fixed on the sphere behind Adam. Its voice was hollow, echoing.
"The seal must break... the Void must be free... the Bloom... BLOOM!"
It took a step toward Alice.
Adam’s eyes blazed.
"Don’t you DARE touch her!"
His aura surged. Dark energy erupted from his body in waves. His muscles swelled, his veins glowing like molten rivers, and the Crown of the Hollow Glutton blazed on his brow. Glutton’s Mark flared in his crimson eyes, and the Aspect of the Void-Eater hummed through his veins, amplifying his power.
"AAAAAAGGGHHH—!"
Adam’s roar tore through the void, raw and defiant. He lunged forward, Ouroboros’s Fang blazing with golden light, and swung the blade with all his might.
The Void Manifest raised its hand.
Adam’s blade, blazing with golden light and prismatic radiance, descended with all the force he could muster. The impact should have cleaved through the figure’s arm but the Void Manifest simply caught it.
Its pale fingers closed around the edge of Ouroboros’s Fang. The golden light flickered, dimmed, and a shockwave erupted from the point of contact, rippling through the void like a stone dropped into still water.
Adam’s eyes widened. "What—"
The shockwave was immense, pushing against him, pressing him back. But it wasn’t enough to throw him off. He held his ground, his grip tightening on the sword.
The Void Manifest stared at him with empty black eyes, its head tilting slowly.
"...You resist."
Its voice was hollow, carrying no emotion, only cold observation.
Adam gritted his teeth, pouring more power into the blade. "I’m not done yet."
The Void Manifest’s fingers tightened around the edge of Ouroboros’s Fang. With a casual flick of its wrist, it hurled Adam upward.
Adam shot through the void, the air rushing past him as he tumbled end over end. He caught himself, wings snapping open, and hovered in the darkness, his eyes blazing.
"You’re going to have to do better than that!" Adam snarled.
The Void Manifest’s hand shot forward, and a wave of concentrated void energy exploded from its palm. The beam tore through the void, aimed directly at Adam’s chest.
Adam’s Apex Instinct screamed. He threw himself sideways, the beam grazing his shoulder, carving a shallow trench through his scales. The void energy burned, but his regeneration was already working.
He didn’t stop moving. He used the momentum of his dodge to spin, wings folding, and dove toward the Void Manifest like a falling star. Ouroboros’s Fang blazed with prismatic light, the golden veins along its surface flaring as he channeled every ounce of power into the blade.
"[Prismatic Edge]!"
The sword blazed with rainbow radiance as Adam drove it downward. The Void Manifest raised its hand to block—
CRACK.
The blade severed the creature’s hand cleanly, the limb dissolving into shadow as it separated from its wrist. The Void Manifest’s black eyes widened, and a low, guttural sound escaped its throat.
For the first time, it seemed surprised.
Adam landed in a crouch, his chest heaving, his eyes blazing. He raised Ouroboros’s Fang, the golden light still pulsing along its edge.
"I won’t let Alice die a second time you bastard."
The Void Manifest’s severed hand dissolved into shadow, the stump of its wrist already beginning to reform, dark tendrils knitting together. But instead of attacking Adam, it simply stood there, its black eyes fixed on the space where Alice’s cocoon hovered.
"Bloom... bloom... bloom..."
The whisper started low, then grew, a maddening chant that echoed through the void.
"BLOOM! BLOOM! BLOOM! BLOOM!"
Adam’s grip tightened on Ouroboros’s Fang, but he didn’t move. His eyes narrowed, watching the figure’s erratic behavior with cold calculation.
’It’s trying to bait me. I’m not falling for it again.’
The Void Manifest’s chant continued, its head swaying slowly from side to side as if in a trance. Its form flickered, the shadows around it writhing.
Then it stopped.
Its head snapped up, black eyes fixed on Adam with sudden, sharp focus. A low, guttural sound escaped its throat.
"...Chain them."
The shadows around the Void Manifest surged, twisting and coiling into massive, dark chains that shot outward into the void. They wrapped around the jagged rocks, the scattered ruins, the edges of the chamber, and began to pull.
Adam’s eyes widened as the ground beneath him trembled. From the darkness, massive forms began to emerge, dragged from the depths of the void by the Void Manifest’s chains.
Five figures.
They rose slowly, their forms towering and imposing, each one radiating a different kind of power. Adam’s Apex Instinct flared, cataloging their presences.
The first was massive, broader than the rest, its body covered in thick, obsidian armor. It carried a shield as tall as Adam and a mace that crackled with void energy.
The second was tall and lean, its form flickering like a shadow caught in firelight. Twin daggers hung at its hips, and its movements were unnaturally fluid.
The third was hunched, its body wrapped in tattered robes. A staff of twisted bone was clutched in its skeletal fingers, and a faint, purple glow emanated from its hood.
The fourth was bestial, hunched on all fours, its claws digging into the void. A long, barbed tail lashed behind it, and its jaws dripped with dark ichor.
And the fifth stood at the center, its form more humanoid than the others. It wore no armor, carried no weapon. It simply stood there, its eyes burning with cold, ancient intelligence.
Adam’s jaw tightened as the Void Manifest gestured toward him, its hollow voice echoing through the void.
"Kill."
The five Titans surged forward.
Adam’s eyes blazed. "This is insane...."
