Cold.

That was the first word that came to his mind when Leo stepped onto the third layer. While the last one had him sweating like a pig, here, the chill bit into his scales, spreading light frost all over them. Thankfully, while quite uncomfortable, this didn't affect him that much. Some of the winters in Wolford were worse.

Which is a bit sad. He mused, scanning the land in the distance—or at least trying to.

Once more, he and Nyx landed on a small plateau connected to something much bigger—this time with a broken rope bridge. Yet, no matter how much he strained to see what awaited them ahead, it just didn't work. A thick fog blocked his curious gaze, obscuring everything beyond a few feet from his position.

Another thing that caught his attention upon arrival was that he couldn't even tell if it was nighttime here. His night vision remained dormant, but there were still no colors around him. Everything was painted in the shades of gray, even the vast infinity of the Void above him.

I don't like it. He said to the feline next to him.

'Me neither,' she admitted. 'What's the System saying?'

Give me a moment.

Well done! You have arrived at the third and final layer of this Void Rift. Somewhere out there, a Void Gate is waiting for you. Find it to leave this place forever. Good luck.

Nothing we didn't already know. Leo sighed, dismissing the notification. This is the last layer, and we have to find a Void Gate to escape. No warnings about what this place has in store for us.

'So the usual.'

Pretty much. He nodded and approached the half-destroyed rope bridge. I don't know about you, but I don't trust this thing to get us safely to the other side. We will have to jump.

Nyx frowned and poked the poles supporting the bridge with her tail. The entire construction groaned, and then one of the thick ropes snapped. A moment later, another followed suit, sending the remnants of the bridge plummeting into the fog below. They waited for any sound of impact, but none came.

'You're right. We have to jump.'

Leo snorted. You don't say.

The feline shrugged. 'Hey, don't blame me. I barely put any power into that push. Stepping on that was a one-way trip into the void below.'

Can't argue with that. He said, stepping away from the edge. He then reached into his soul and pulled out the most important item for this floor.

Bingo!

The moment the Core Shard landed in his palm, Leo spotted the glow emanating from within it. It was faint, barely noticeable, but still present, unlike on the last two layers. The key to the Supercluster's destruction was within reach.

He tried turning around, pointing the shard in different directions, but the glow never grew stronger. The layer might be correct, but they still had a long road ahead of them.

Doesn't matter. We are still closer than ever before. Leo smiled and hid the Core Shard. Come on, Nyx. Let's find out what's waiting for us out there.

'You go first.' She nudged him. 'I will catch you in case you fail to reach the other side.'

He rolled his eyes and backed off to have enough space for his take-off. I love how you have so much faith in me… Really, it isn't even that far. We can see the other side even through the fog.

'I'm just saying…'

Yeah, yeah. Don't take too long.

With that, Leo dashed forward and jumped just before his feet could reach the edge. He thought of activating his tiny wings, but just as he told Nyx, the other side was quite close. He landed in a crouch and quickly inspected his surroundings.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The fog still surrounded him from each side, but unlike on the plateau, the ground beneath his feet was no longer just rock. His talons sunk into frozen dirt mingled with patches of withered, frost-covered weed.

Leo frowned and reached for a single blade of grass. The moment his claw came into contact with it, the grass crumbled into dust.

Interesting…

'It feels like this entire place is dead. Quite creepy,' Nyx said in their link after she landed next to him.

He hummed. Not gonna lie; this setting looks like something taken straight out of a horror movie. Be on your guard. There's no way we are alone here.

The feline nodded, and they both started walking deeper into the unknown land. They passed more dead plants, including some trees covered in frost from top to bottom. Yet, still no sight of any monsters. Hell, aside from the crunch of frozen grass underneath their feet, the silence was absolute.

At least we are getting closer. Leo noted, glancing at the Core Shard in his palm. The difference wasn't too noticeable, but the glow definitely became a bit brighter with each minute of walking.

'Leo, eyes up,' Nyx said suddenly.

He quickly snapped to attention, his eyes widening as a large wooden gate slid out of the fog. It was full of holes, and frost had already claimed most of its remaining surface. Yet, it still stood strong.

Civilization? Well… at least remnants of it.

Slowly, they made their way past the gate, watching as more structures came into sight. There were remnants of houses, fences, and even some towers. All of this was made out of wood and reminded Leo of architecture straight out of the medieval age—just not a human one. His old species didn't need doors large enough that they could fit two humans stacked on top of each other.

It was some sort of a village, Leo commented as they stopped in the middle of a clearing surrounded by more destroyed buildings. No signs of life, though, not even skeletons… What the hell happened here?

He frowned and summoned Essence into his free hand. He shaped it into a proper form and fueled it with a general intent. Then he released a basic Hunter's Pulse.

Still nothing. His frown deepened.

Yet, just as he thought that, his bloodlust screamed a warning at him. He spun around and extended his blade just in time to block a massive spectral arrow coming at him.

Only, despite that, he still somehow failed.

The projectile slid through his guard like a ghost and hit his chest before going out on the other side. Leo gasped as a searing pain pierced his entire being—not only his body. It felt like someone had attacked his soul directly.

Is this karma? He growled, dodging another projectile. Next to him, Nyx also danced away from the growing number of arrows coming at them from the mist. Attacks targeting the soul? Really?

He roared and activated Manifestation. If there was one ability that could provide him with protection against stuff like that, then this was it—and rightly so.

When the next salvo came at him, Leo still leaned to the side but struck at the arrows with his shadow-covered blades. This time, the spectral projectile couldn't ignore him and shattered into small pieces that faded after a moment.

Nyx, to me! Hide in my armor and take command over the shadows. I will take care of the rest.

The feline instantly turned into smoke form and dived into his body. A second later, tendrils erupted from his back, all under her control. Their combined Resonance also spread over the floor, ready to assist if necessary.

There! Leo shouted internally when a glint of light within the fog caught his attention. He dashed forward, but before he could get too far, a couple monsters emerged out of the mist, all of them carrying a spectral weapon.

Their appearance resembled that of ogres found in common fiction, only those ones came with a twist. Half of their bodies were transparent, ghost-like, while the other part was decayed and covered in bits of frost. It was a sight straight from nightmares, which, considering the situation, was quite fitting.

Caged Frostwraith Brute (Voidling) | LVL: N/A | Rank: D- | Type: Soul, Ghost, Normal

Weak, and you're not even Nightmares. Leo scoffed and allowed Spectral Fury to cover his blades. He Blinked into the group's personal space and cut off the head of the nearest Brute.

The others instantly reacted and attacked him together. More arrows also came at him, but Nyx swatted them all away, giving him the freedom to do whatever he wanted.

Eruption.

Shadows exploded out of the ground, burying two of the remaining monsters alive while ensnaring the others. Leo swiftly closed the distance between them and sliced their bodies in two. Even the ghostly halves shattered like glass, disintegrating upon impact.

Now for the archers.

He grabbed about a third of his Essence reserves and transformed them into shadows that bubbled underneath his skin. He held them for a bit, feeding them with the hate and hunger of his bloodlust. When they could take no more, he released the technique and Devour along with it.

Hundreds, or maybe even thousands of thin shadow tendrils erupted from his body. They surged in every possible direction within the fog, going farther than he ever allowed such technique to go. Most didn't hit anything, but those that did allowed Devour to connect to their victim.

"And that's how we do it," Leo muttered as the tendrils snapped back into his body.

This time, no arrow came at him.