Four minutes...

With the Cerevod in hand, Leo stepped on the dark platform and approached the large gate. For a moment, his gaze strayed to the unending culmination of light within the construct, growing stronger with each second closer to the activation. Like always, the pull was there, begging him to speed up the process.

Yeah, I think not. You won't taste freedom for long.

He placed the metal box against one of the pillars and, without thinking about it any longer, pressed the blue button. The Cerevod thrummed as the entire thing lit up with a violet glow and released hundreds of inky white lines on the surface of the Void Gate. They spread all across the massive construct, crossing each other and forming more and more weird symbols.

So that's the Enchanted Matrix. Leo mused as the white lines slowed down and settled down. Then, with a flash, they disappeared from view, probably sinking into the gate. Now we wait.

As seconds ticked by, someone else stepped on the gate's platform, stopping right beside him. "It looks kind of nice," the woman admitted, motioning to the swirling mass of lights. "I could easily see people paying to witness something like this."

Leo snorted. "It's sad I can't even disagree. I guess every world is fucked up to some extent."

Lily grimaced. "At least we didn't have to fight monsters every day back then."

"Didn't we?" he muttered. "I can think of multiple monsters humanity had to fight before the Outbreak. Some of them walked the streets just like us, while others lived in our heads."

His sister gave him a blank look. "When did you turn into a bloody philosopher? Something I should know?"

Leo chuckled. "Ignore me. I'm just thinking out loud."

"Whatever..." Lily sighed, returning her gaze to the gate. "So, what do you think is on the other side?"

"Really? You too?" He quirked an eyebrow. "Did you already place your bet with Frank?"

The woman punched him in the side in response. "You can't blame me. I'm just curious. Have you asked that merchant of yours about this?"

"About this gate specifically?" He shrugged. "Not really. Though, he gave me some interesting info about the planets in our universe."

Lily looked up at him again, frowning. "Oh?"

"It's kind of concerning, but..." With that, he proceeded to explain everything about the Dark Zones and other stuff that Naz'Tor told him. His sister listened without interrupting, her frown deepening with every word that left his mouth.

"So what you're telling me is that the survivors on the other side of this gate might be weaker than everyone in Eden?" Lily asked as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard.

Leo nodded. "Pretty much. Don't forget that it might also be a planet full of Nightmares without daytime."

She flinched. "Let's hope not. It would be a waste of Ether if we had to block this bloody gate all the time."

"Eh..." He waved her off. "Unless the Ever-Darkness world is in the Dark Zone too, it wouldn't be a problem. I bet Nightmares on normal planets are barely above level twenty."

Lily remained silent for a moment. "I see your point, but still... Having a source of Nightmares next to our headquarters can't be a good idea."

"Fair," he said, pretty much ending the conversation. They both settled for watching the gate as the light within slowly settled and expanded for the last time.

Here it goes.

Current Status:

This Gateway is still charging and won't activate for another: 16 seconds.

"Are you sure you want to go alone? Why not take Nyx with you?" Lily asked as the timer fell below ten seconds.

Leo took another step forward, placing himself within the reach of the forming portal. "It's better this way," he called out without turning around. "I work better on my own, and Nyx is needed here in case I need to contact you from the other side. It will be fine, Lily. Believe me."

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"I do," the woman muttered softly. "Good luck."

The moment she said that, the portal finally stopped its wild movements, its colors changing to a familiar crimson and violet. For the last time, Leo used Identify on the gate.

Current Status:

This Gateway has finished charging and is ready to transport beings to the other side. From now on, it will slowly grow in power, allowing stronger creatures to pass through.

That's my cue. He took a deep breath and moved forward, right into the portal.

The lights swallowed him with a single touch, throwing him into an endless space of black and red. Despite not having any ground beneath him, he remained standing as lights continued to flash around him. For a moment, he thought that maybe something went wrong, but then the notification came.

Planetary transit in progress. Due to the user's strength, teleportation might take a bit longer. Please remain calm and refrain from using any Essence techniques. Planet of arrival: Terlasfor. Estimated Void corruption: 70%.

His eyes widened. Wait, what? Seventy? What the hell does that mean? Is it talking about the planet overall or just the population? If it's the former, then I'm probably going to another place inside the Dark Zone, but if it's the latter...

He couldn't believe it; he refused to believe it. While he understood that not every planet had to adhere to the same ratio of only ten percent of the population surviving the Outbreak, this was just too much. A world with so many awakened beings shouldn't exist.

Or should it? Leo closed his eyes, sighing. There are most likely planets without any survivors, so technically, the opposite could be true, too. Shit... I might have to do a bit of scouting before activating the Cerevod.

He shook his head and looked into the endless void again. Got to arrive on the other side first. I can decide after placing the second Enchanted Matrix.

Just as he thought that, another notification appeared.

Planetary transit completed. Arrival in 10 seconds. Prepare yourself, Leo Hale. Due to your strength, your landing won't be too comfortable.

He didn't even dare to question the System and just braced himself. It was good that he did that, as once the timer stopped at zero, he was hurled into the void. For a moment, darkness claimed his vision, and he closed his eyes again, expecting what was coming.

Oh shit! He growled as his body hit something hard. Instantly, he threw his hands out, stabbing his claws into the soft ground and stopping his tumbling. I definitely didn't miss this.

With a scowl, Leo stood up and opened his eyes, taking in the scenery around him. Huh... Those are some big fucking trees.

He arrived in a forest, a massive one at that. Every single tree around him was easily as tall as some of the skyscrapers on Earth, or maybe even taller. Add to that, instead of the usual brown bark, green leaves, or the crimson of the Void, almost everything around him was painted in dark blue, yellow, and some green.

There were barely any signs of the Void's curse here. Hell, even though he couldn't see this planet's sun through the deep foliage, it didn't seem to have the same red color as the one in his galaxy.

I guess that answers my question. Thirty percent survival rate, well shit.

Leo turned around and faced the Void Gate that spat him out just a moment ago. It wasn't any different from the one on the other side, and he quickly approached it, finishing out the Cerevod out of his soul.

Nyx, can you hear me? He called out through their link as the Enchanted Matrix spread over the gate.

'Loud and clear,' the feline answered. 'Everything's fine on the other side?'

Yeah, the matrix will be ready in a few. However, hear this...

Nyx hummed once he finished explaining the situation on this new planet. 'Should Lily or I come through? There is no need to close this thing yet if survivors there might be weaker than Voidlings in Wolford.'

Not yet. He shook his head. I will go alone for now. You guys keep your eyes open. Something might have gone through before I arrived here. It takes a bit to arrive on the other side depending on how strong you are.

'Got it. I will pass everything you said to the rest. Happy hunting, Leo.'

I doubt there will be any hunting, but we will see, he answered and closed the link. A moment later, the Enchanted Matrix settled down and disappeared from view.

And done. Now, let's see what this place is hiding. He put the Cerevod back in his soul and turned away from the gate. Instantly, his eyes widened, as now dozens or maybe even hundreds of creatures stood between the trees, their weapons trained right at him.

Where in the flying fuck did you all come from?! Leo shouted in his head as he scanned the centaurs blocking his path.

Unlike the creatures of legends, the centaurs before him were almost as tall as him. To make them even more unique, their entire bodies were made up of branches, leaves, tree bark, and other parts of nature. Some even looked like they were crafted from stone.

Leo quickly scanned the largest one in the front.

Ascended Terrontaur | LVL: 18

Only eighteen? Looks like Naz'Tor was right... I can work with that. He cleared his throat and prayed that the Universal Linguist worked. "How about we all calm down and lower our weapons? We don't need to fight."

At the sound of his voice, every single Terrontaur tensed, and Leo prepared himself for the worst.

Come on... Haven't I killed enough survivors lately? Give me a break.