'It looks similar to the smoke above the Tainted Wasteland back in Wolford. Do you think that's the case here?' Nyx asked as they continued watching the violet-crimson fog in the distance.

With all the buildings around them and some overgrown trees hiding the path towards London, they must have missed it. However, now that they had claimed the roof of one of the larger ruins in the area, the smoke finally revealed itself.

Leo shook his head. "The color and intensity are completely wrong. The fog from the Tainted Wasteland was thick as hell, and you can barely see this one... No, something else is at play here. Well, that or this is some new Wasteland type."

'So that's our new target for today?'

"Yeah," he nodded, returning his gaze to the river. "Nothing really changes. We were going there anyway. And who knows, maybe this is the reason why the Thames is dry. Let's go; we will stick close to the shore. At least there are no Voidlings down the..."

Just as he almost finished speaking, words died in his mouth when he spotted movement down in the river channel. He squinted, eyes widening a bit as a familiar round mouth full of sharp teeth dug out of the ground.

"A Rock Eater? Here?" Leo mumbled, still in part disbelief.

To his knowledge, apart from the subway system, London didn't have any underground. So why was a Rock Eater here?

This is not even London yet, and I already have more questions than answers. He sighed, jumping on the nearest tree and sliding to the ground. I fear for my Ether if this goes on. We need more information.

'Are you gonna call the merchant now?' Nyx asked, finally joining his side.

Not yet. I will leave that for the night. First, let's get to London and find out what's going on. Maybe the System will be nice enough to explain some stuff once we get there. Though I doubt it for some reason.

'Got it.'

----------------------------------------

Thanks to a small 'green' area between London and Dartford, the beginning of their trip was quite calm. Apart from a few stragglers, nothing even came close to them. The real challenge appeared only when the capital's outskirts came into sight.

Wherever Leo looked, Voidlings were there, and this time, he could barely spot any that hadn't evolved yet. Hell, in this short distance, even their average level raised slightly.

Nonetheless, along with Nyx, he claimed the nearest roof in the area and used the vast Vetilim jungle to sneak above the army of monsters. Not that it always helped, as unlike in Wolford, here, flying-type Voidlings were almost everywhere. Stealth could only do so much, and so oftentimes, he had to fight back or travel through the ruins to lose his tail.

This is getting really annoying. Leo growled, sending another volley of shadow arrows at a group of Harpies. This time, the monsters didn't get a chance to dodge and fell to the ground with a squawk.

'Look at this from the positive side,' Nyx sniggered as she took care of another group. 'With all that practice, we're getting good at this. My aim has never been better.'

Mine, too, but still. Where is their self-preservation? He almost screamed, leaning away from a Harpy that dived at him.

He quickly snatched the beast by its neck and pounded it into the roof. The monsters screeched but didn't get time to do much more as a foot descended upon its head, crushing it like a melon.

Fucking birds. Leo glanced at the sky and scowled at approaching Spitfires in the distance. Yeah, no. Come on, Nyx. No stopping this time, just run. We will never get there if we try to kill them all.

Yet, despite saying that, he knew they were getting closer and closer. The pressure weighing down his shoulders already got a bit stronger, and the fog in the distance was much easier to see now. However, now that the visibility had improved, he also noticed another troubling fact.

Somehow, the crimson-violet smoke stretched farther than his eyes could see. And considering his Vision attribute, his sense of sight was nothing to scoff at.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

At least now, I'm pretty sure it's coming from the Thames, or at least near it.

With that thought in mind, Leo pushed his body to run even faster. They were getting close now, and hopefully, soon, the System could shine some light on what was happening around these parts.

For an hour, maybe more, the Prime and Apex ran close to the Thames' shore, always using the rooftops to avoid most of the hordes below. Yet even with the ability to consume Voidlings, their bodies slowly tired, their movement slowly growing sluggish. Even with the recent growth they went through, they still had a limit.

However, all of that didn't matter in the face of what they discovered once they got close to the old Thames Barrier. Or rather what was left of it and the river.

Warning! You are nearing the London Supercluster. Threat asserted and ranked at D. Good Luck. No information is available about this particular instance.

The notification kept flashing in his vision, but Leo paid it no attention. Just as with his initial discovery about the Thames, this time too, he couldn't pull his eyes away from the scenery in the distance.

You know what, Nyx? I will never complain again about having it tough in Wolford. And if I do, please give me a good slap...

The feline remained silent, and he even couldn't blame her. After all, who could have anticipated that instead of the Thames River, they would encounter a trench stretching for kilometers?

Not me...

The anomaly was wider than the river and so deep that Leo couldn't see its bottom from this angle. To make matters worse, every surface of the trench was composed of a mixture of Vetilim, Corcera, and some glowing rock that released smoke into the air.

All of that cast an eerie darkness over the area, which, combined with the constant pressure, could scare anyone away. The Voidlings constantly climbing out of the trench or flying above it also didn't make the situation any better.

Time to retreat. Leo nudged his companion. I know this is a lot, but we need to get going. The Sun is getting close to the horizon.

'But your... What if...'

He let out a heavy sigh, momentarily closing his eyes. Trust me, I want to go to, but we can't. If Lily has survived this long, she can wait one more day.

The feline bowed her head. 'I'm sorry, Leo.'

He winced, averting his eyes. Don't be. Maybe I shouldn't, but I still believe... Come, let's find a place to rest for the night.

----------------------------------------

In the underground subways of London, Leo dropped on the floor of a freshly barricaded bathroom. Next to him, Nyx already laid on her side, eyes closed and ready for rest.

'Will you call him now?' She asked.

He nodded, summoning the transmitter into his hand. With a click of a button, the menu ignited, and he quickly selected the only contact on his list. Just like a normal phone, it rang once, then twice before someone picked up on the other side.

"Young Akirian?" Naz'Tor's voice came from the device. "I didn't expect a call so fast, but I'm happy nonetheless. How can I help you?"

"You said you have an idea what's going on in London," Leo reminded. "Well, the System calls it a Supercluster. It's a deep trench that goes on farther than I can see."

"Ah," the merchant sighed. "I was right then. Tell me first, what's the rank of this instance?"

"D."

"Could have been worse then," Naz'Tor murmured. "Alright. For the price of two thousand Ether, I can explain what a Supercluster is and how to deal with it. You can pay me after I finish."

Leo frowned. "You trust me to not screw you over?"

"Yes."

Interesting. He noted. Not that he ever planned to scam the merchant, but still. "I will take the deal then."

"Excellent... Now, Superclusters. As the name suggests, those instances are clusters of the worst the Void can offer. Multiple nests, Tainted Wastelands, rifts, nightmare factories, Void Gates. You name it, and it can be there. They can appear anywhere, be it inside a mountain, forest, city, or even in the middle of nowhere as long as the area is rich with Essence."

After a short pause, Naz'Tor continued. "Voidlings from within are usually about twenty to thirty percent stronger than those from the surroundings. Not much, I know, but if you consider that all of this applies to Nightmares and Nest Guardians, it can become quite the problem."

"What about this one? Have you ever heard or seen a similar one?" Leo cut in.

"Many times," the merchant admitted. "D-ranked Superclusters, while dangerous, are not the end of the world. At most, they have a few nests, a single Nightmare factory, maybe a Tainted Wasteland, and a bunch of Void Gates. Not a big issue if dealt with correctly."

"Not a big issue?" Leo scoffed. "It certainly sounds like one to me."

Naz'Tor chuckled. "Oh, trust me. In comparison to some of the stuff you will encounter in the Void, this is nothing. Take Divarkh for example, it's a planet that became a Supercluster. To this day, denizens of the Void have to constantly defend against its never-ending waves of enhanced Voidlings. Many tried to end it, yet none succeeded."

The whole planet? Eyes wide, he found no way how to reply to that.

"But enough about that," the merchant exclaimed, his tone changing within a second. "I'm sure you're more interested about ways to deal with those things. Which, I will admit, isn't easy at all..."