"People on Earth? Maybe. But it doesn't look too useful for us," Nyx commented. "Can you even shoot it?"

Leo frowned as he gripped the handgun by the handle and tried to place his clawed finger on the trigger.

It didn't go too well…

The Inferior Etherpulse was just too small for his hands, and he couldn't even grip it properly. Maybe if he had normal fingers instead of claws, he could make it work. But as he was now, he would only damage the gun if he tried to use it.

Still, at least give me one shot. I want to see how it works.

With the handgun still in his grasp, he slowly moved his other hand to press the trigger. The power lines brightened, and then a blast of golden energy shot out of the barrel, flying far faster than he could move. It dove right into the mist, where it disappeared after a blink, leaving only a faint trail of energy behind.

"Looks like a gun, works like a gun," Leo muttered and placed the weapon back in its box. "But you're right, Nyx. If I want to ever use a firearm, I will need something much, much bigger than this thing."

The feline hummed. "If this is the weakest the System can offer, then you will probably get your chance sooner or later."

"Probably." He nodded and returned the large crate back to his soul. The TEK transmitter landed in his hand instead, but he hasn't activated it for now. He had one more thing to check.

System, partial status.

Name: Leonardo Brown

Title: Void's Heir

Evolution Stage: III - Prime Indomitus Venax

Class: Nightblade(P) | LVL. 78

Job: Hunter

Rank: D

Might: Tier III (384) | LB: 181

Grace: Tier III (640) | LB: 180

Vision: Tier III (218) | LB: 178

Mind: Tier III (268) | LB: 7

Soul: Tier III (435) | LB: 179

Ether: 155485

That's a lot of Ether, he mused, reminding himself of all the mutations waiting for him. He could definitely afford one now, but he still needed more Greater Crystallized Essences. Each Beta tier mutation required at least twenty of those, and he barely had ten now.

If only the Daemons dropped more…

Leo shook his head and dismissed the System. Mutations were the least of his worries now, anyway. He could always buy the remaining requirements from Naz'Tor if he ran out of patience.

Got to ask him about the prices first and maybe see what else he has to offer regarding mutations. For now, I've been mostly using him for information… Hmm, I got a lot of Ether now. I could even visit his shop again.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the sound of that idea. During his first visit to Naz'Tor shop, he didn't really care about checking the displayed goods. However, now that he had become stronger and got to know the merchant a bit, he wouldn't mind meeting the alien face-to-face again. It had been a while, after all.

Yeah. Added to the list of things to do once we get out of here.

"Leo?" Nyx poked him with her tail. "Are you going to finally call Lily, or will you just keep standing here like a statue?"

He flinched and let out a fake cough to gather his composure. "Right…"

He quickly activated the transmitter and selected his sister from the list. Like last time, he didn't have to wait long for the call to connect.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Leo!" Lily shouted so loud her voice cracked. "You finally called! You won't believe what happened here."

"Hello to you too," he said, his voice as dry as a desert. "I won't? Let me guess—there is now a pillar in the middle of London that spawned a new safe zone."

"I… Yes… Shit, right. The System probably told you about that," she rambled. "But I bet you have no idea what kind of safe zone you created."

She got me there. Aside from the weird name, I know nothing. Leo cleared his throat. "All right, enlighten me then."

"Gladly! That pillar, Leo? It's fucking huge. It comes straight from the bottom of the Supercluster and is at least twice as large as London's Eye. I ain't kidding."

Okay, that's honestly impressive. He nodded. "And what about the safe zone?"

Lily snickered. "That's where it gets even better. Bloody thing consumed the entire Supercluster and the surrounding areas. Our old place is nothing next to this. A good chuck of London is now completely safe. I'm here, and I can barely believe what I’m seeing!"

And it keeps getting better and better. Leo smiled. "Voidlings? Void Gates?"

"Gone. Vanished. Dead. Kaput," she laughed, sounding happier than she had in a while. "As for the Void Gates? No idea; we didn't have enough time to get down there yet, and I couldn't see them from the top. That's why we're going there now."

"We? Who's there with you?"

"That would be me and a few of my people," a very familiar male voice came through the transmitter. "Blood hell, mate. I gotta say, you outdid yourself. If we play our cards right, this place could become a beacon of hope for all the remaining survivors on Earth."

"Frank," Leo greeted. "Glad to hear my work has paid off."

"Paid off?" The other man snorted loudly. "Fucking hell, it's much more than that. This place is powerful, lad, way beyond the safe zones we've had until now… Listen, when I stepped through the barrier, I bloody shivered from the sheer power that went though my body. It felt like someone was judging me and could kill me at any moment."

"Same here," Lily added. "It was only for a second, but I never felt this kind of power—not even from Payne."

"The System called it the Origin Safe Zone," Leo said, hoping to explain at least some stuff. "And the pillar, the Beacon of Peace."

"Fancy names," Frank grunted. "Know what they mean exactly?"

"No. All I know is that I'm the owner and that I have to get to the Beacon to access more options for it."

"Hold up! You're the owner?" Lily asked. "Without a proper job? How?"

"No idea." He shrugged. "It's probably some kind of loophole. It isn’t a normal safe zone after all."

"Aye, sounds about right," Frank agreed. "Just a shame we got to wait for you to do anything with it… Or you know what, scratch that, maybe that's for the best."

Leo didn't share his opinion and quickly told them about the possibility of appointing a sub-leader. There was no point in waiting for his return. Now that he wasn't working against a timer, he could take his time on this layer. It would be a waste to do otherwise.

"Nay, count me out, mate," the other man said. "I can lead people into battle, but managing a safe zone? No, thank you. I will leave that to the rest of you."

"Lily?"

"Malcolm or Holden would be much better for this, but…" She trailed off and remained silent for a few seconds. "Can you like make me a sub-leader for a moment and then take it away and give the position to someone else? I would like to at least check what we can learn at the pillar."

Leo didn't even think of that. "Give me a moment."

Not waiting for their answer, he called for the System. I would like to appoint the sub-leader for the Origin Safe Zone. I have a question, though—can I transfer this position to someone else later?

It was a long shot. The System answered his direct question only once before. However, this was a unique situation, so the outcome might be different.

Acknowledged. You may appoint and change sub-leaders as many times as you want with a 24-hour cooldown. In the future, it will be possible to grant this position to more than one person. If you really wish to appoint a sub-leader, please state their name and evolutionary designation in the following order: Name - Stage - Evolution name.

"I can do it," Leo spoke into the transmitter. "You will have to keep the title for a day, but after that, I can change it to someone else."

"Fine then," Lily said. "Appoint me. Once you come back, you can switch it."

There it goes, then. System, appoint Lily Hale, stage three, Aether Nephilim.

Processing… Sub-leader position successfully assigned.

"Oh!" his sister exclaimed. "I got it! Huh, it even says I can resign after a day. Nice! Now you have to pay me, or I will quit."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Get to the Beacon first. Well, after you check on the Void Gates."

"Yeah… about that, mate," Frank said, his voice filled with apprehension. "We might have a problem, a big one."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Leo, there is nothing here," Lily muttered. "We're right where you entered the rift, but the Void Gates are missing, all three of them. They vanished just like the Voidlings. There is no trace of them…"

Leo and Nyx looked at each other with only one thought going through both of their minds.

Ah shit…