"Hello? Leo? Nyx?" Lily called out once the silence began to stretch for too long. "Did the call disconnect? No… Everyth—"

"I'm still here," Leo cut her off. "Just had to process what you said… Are you sure you're in the right place? Maybe you went to the wrong side of the Supercluster."

"Who do you take me for, an idiot?" she said with a hint of worry entering her voice. "My memory isn't that bad. We're definitely in the right place, and there is nothing here. Not a sign of the Void Gates."

"Well, that's just great," he grumbled. "I knew something had to go to shit sooner or later. This trip was way too easy for a C- rank rift."

No reply came from the transmitter right away this time. Leo sighed and started walking in circles, trying to organize the mess in his head. The disappearance of the Void Gates was a problem but not the end of the world. He dealt with worse—or so he thought.

"Listen, mate," Frank said, breaking the silence. "What are the odds that the gate on your end will spit you out in a random place on Earth? Maybe the designation just changed a bit."

"I have no idea," he answered without hesitation. "For all I know, I could exit on some random place in the Void—or something like Terlasfor. Either way, I'm fucked if that's the case. I don't know how to navigate the universe, much less the Void."

"What about that merchant?" Lily blurted. "He has to know something, right? Right?! You have to ask him. Maybe he has a way to get you back to Earth safely."

"Maybe," Leo agreed reluctantly. As much as he liked Naz'Tor, he didn't want to run to the alien with his every problem. However, it looked like the choice was taken out of his hands this time. His survival mattered more than his ego.

"Then go! Call him," his sister hissed. "This is important."

"Calm down. There is no reason to panic yet. I'm nowhere near the end of this Rift, anyway. I have time," he explained. "Get to the Beacon, I will text him in the meantime."

"Good thinking!" Frank rejoined the conversation before an argument could start. "Come on, little Hale. Start walking."

Thank you, Leo said in the safety of his mind. He didn't like this situation either, but panicking like Lily probably wanted to wouldn't help anyone. All right then, Naz'Tor, I hope you have some good news for me.

While keeping the call active, he selected the merchant in the transmitter and quickly typed a message that explained the basics of his problem. Like always, he didn't have to wait long for an answer.

Yeah, I expected as much. He grimaced and wrote another text, trying to gather more information. Naz'Tor, ever the helpful alien, answered all of his questions in detail that most probably had to pay for.

Still, Leo almost wished he didn't—especially after the final message the merchant sent him. There was no denying it now. He was truly and utterly screwed.

My luck must have run out again. He slumped and leaned against one of the many dead trees around him. Now, to rip off the band-aid.

"I talked to the merchant," he said into the transmitter. "And it's pretty bad. Best case scenario, I somehow arrive back on Earth or on some planet within our universe."

It took a few seconds to get a response. "What about… what about worst case?" Lily asked quietly.

He grimaced again. "It's a lottery, but I could very well land on a planet within the Void that is ranked much higher than me. The odds for that are small, though," he quickly added. "Most likely, I will end up somewhere with a power rank similar to this rift."

"Shite," Frank muttered. "What about an item that could teleport you back to Earth? He is a merchant, for fuck's sake; doesn't he have anything like that?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"I fear not. I already asked."

And wasn't that a disappointment.

After remembering the black rod the Lone Traveler gave him during their only meeting, he asked Naz'Tor about a similar item. Unfortunately, the alien had no idea what he was even talking about. If such a thing existed, only Tarak had access to it.

"There must be something you can do to return," Lily cried out. "I refuse to believe that your only option is to get stuck on some godforsaken planet in the Void."

Leo smiled wryly. "But it is, and that's fine. I can handle it."

"How can you say that?!" she growled. "You're strong, I get that, but what if you really land on some high-ranked planet? You aren't invincible."

"Then I will survive. I will adapt and return as soon as I can. Don't worry, Naz'Tor promised to help, and I have Nyx with me. I will be fine."

"He's right, lass," Frank cut in. "If there is one person I believe can survive all the bullshit in the Void, then it's your brother. Fucker faced a literal god and lived to tell the tale. This will be a walk in the park for him."

Well… I wouldn't put it like that, but hey, nice speech. Leo chuckled. "What he said. Give me a few days, and I will be back. Who knows, maybe this trip will even pay off. There is much to learn from this."

"Fine," Lily uttered. "It's not like I can change anything. Just… just promise to call or at least text me every day. I need to know you are alive."

"I promise." His smile widened. "Now, let's change the subject. I have the last layer to beat first, anyway… Are you at the beacon yet, or are you still walking? I swear, it's been a while now…"

"We're there," Frank confirmed. "All that's left is to use it."

"Give me a second," Lily grumbled. "Hold this for now."

Some squeaky, high-pitched noise reached his ears as the transmitter on the other side most likely just swapped hands. Both he and Nyx winced, cursing their high Vision attribute.

"All right, I got it!" Lily exclaimed, her voice a bit muffled. "A menu with a few options. Do you want me to check them all?"

"What else?"

"Right… First one, then… It shows me everyone who is inside the safe zone. There is everything here. Levels, evolution, and even their position."

Frank whistled. "Now that's good security. Tony will love it."

"Next…" Lily muttered. "Those are just upgrades for the safe zone. No idea what the standard is, so I can't tell if there's anything special here. We can ask Malcolm later."

He nodded. "Let me know too."

"I will… Now, the next one is… Holy shit! A global system message."

"What?" Frank said, and Leo could even hear his sudden movement.

"A global system message," Lily repeated. "We can send up to three notifications per week to every survivor on Earth! That's—"

"Massive," the Fallen finished for her. "The potential… Bloody hell, I can't wait for Tony to hear about this. The two of us had already talked about something similar, but I never expected it to actually be possible."

Leo snorted. "Christmas came early this year."

"Should we…" his sister trailed off.

"Nay, lass," Frank beat him to answer. "Way too early for that, and all of us should be here for this. We gotta regroup and get ourselves sorted first after this mess. Then, we can think about sending anything out to other survivors around the world. If this is supposed to be some pillar of hope for humanity, then we can't go in half-arsed."

I couldn't have said it better myself, Leo commented internally.

“I guess so… Next menu then… And shit, it just keeps getting better and better. Listen to this. There is an option called Preservation, which gives all survivors on Earth a chance to save our planet from getting consumed completely by the Void at the end of the Outbreak."

"How?" he and Frank said at the same time.

"Ah, that's where it gets complicated." Even without being next to her, Leo could see the grimace on his sister's face. "There are a couple requirements, each harder than the last one."

"Specifics, sis, specifics."

"Don't get your knickers in a twist. Give me a second," she said. "All right. First, we have to exterminate at least seventy percent of Voidlings on Earth; the same applies to normal nests. Then there are Nightmares and their factories—at least sixty percent there. Another thing is the beacon. We got to upgrade it, like a lot…"

"The first two sound doable; no idea about the beacon, though," Leo admitted. "Anything else?"

"Yep! There is also a minimal population requirement. It's grayed out for now, though… Oh, and there's another about a minimal amount of safe zones—also grayed out. That's all."

"Aye, for now," Frank snorted. "I wouldn't be even slightly surprised if there were more hidden conditions. Got any other menus there, lass?"

"Nothing we haven't heard of before. Maybe Leo will have access to more, but that's all I can see as a sub-owner."

"That's my cue then." He sighed and stood up. "Time to get back on the move. Take care, you two. I will try to call within the next twenty-four hours."

"We will be waiting. Good luck, mate."

"Thanks… Hopefully, I won't need it."