The Void Gate swallowed him whole, pulling him into the endless nothingness. Red and black were now joined by soft blue and violet, the colors battling for dominance around him. Where one struck, another followed, keeping the scenery in constant flux.

Makes you wonder if there is a meaning to it, Leo mused. In the end, though, the System didn’t give him much time to think about it.

Dimensional transit in progress. Please remain calm and refrain from using any Essence techniques. Planet of arrival: Sazim. Estimated Void corruption: 96%. Warning! You will be arriving on a planet deep inside the Void with a ranking higher than yours. Take care, User.

For a moment, Leo almost let out a sigh of relief. He thought that showing him the planet of arrival meant he was returning to his universe. But of course, the System had to prove him wrong with the final part of the notification.

Ninety-six percent corruption rate. He grimaced. That didn’t sound good. Though honestly, I expected every planet inside the Void to be at a hundred, so maybe it’s not so bad. Four percent is always something.

Not that the thought of finding survivors filled him with much hope. Like Naz’Tor had warned, those creatures, whatever they were, could be as friendly toward him as the Voidlings he would soon face. In other words, he was in some deep shit.

It will be fine, he repeated those words in his mind. Complaining had never done him any good, so at the very least, he could delude himself with positive thinking. It will be fine.

Dimensional transit completed. Arrival in 10 seconds. Prepare yourself, Leo Hale. Due to the Void Rift’s collapse, your exit will be rough.

Good to know some things never change. He chuckled just as the timer hit zero. The world around him flashed blue, and the System hurled him out of void and right into the unknown.

Out of nowhere, a wind colder than even the one produced by the Apex Frostwraith Reaper slammed into his face. Leo flinched, curling into himself with his eyes closed and bracing for the inevitable impact.

Ouch? He blinked when barely any pain accompanied his landing. Or at least that would have been the case if something didn’t crash right into his back a second later, pushing him deeper into a pile of snow—or at least what he thought was snow.

Shit!

‘Sorry!’ A voice he hadn’t heard in a few minutes suddenly echoed in his mind.

Nyx. Glad to have you back. He smiled despite the dull ache on his back. But please, can you get off me? I swear, you need to stop landing on me.

‘I said sorry,’ the feline grumbled as she slid off his body. ‘It’s not my fault those gates have shi—Wow…’

Nyx? Leo asked, still digging himself out of the snow. What’s going on? What did you—Oh…

The moment he pulled himself to the surface, his brain froze—and not because of the wind. Rather, that honor fell to the alien scenery surrounding him from each side.

Shades of blue, from pale to deep indigo, dominated the entire world, accented by specks of familiar red and violet. Somehow, the softer but far colder blue color replaced the darkness in the Vetilim he had grown used to during his time on Earth.

Then there were the towering crystalline trees that stretched toward the sky, their jagged trunks gleaming in the dim light of the distant, frozen star hanging high above in the sky. Some were smaller, but others dwarfed even the giants of Terlasfor.

Yet, despite the overwhelming cold, and the transformed Vetilim making up most of the new world, some life still clung to the planet.

Bioluminescent flora dotted the area around him—a tangled network of glowing violet-blue vines peeking from beneath the snow. Their soft light flickered in the chilling wind, and at first glance, they seemed fragile and weak. But Leo knew better—a quick Identify told him as much.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

There was more around him. More strange plants. More massive glowing ice clusters that only added to the freezing climate. And more Vetilim that sometimes grew out of the snow to form more strange alien constructs.

This is… Leo trailed off, still marveling at the alien landscape.

‘Yeah,’ Nyx murmured, equally stunned as she kept her gaze on the towering crystalline trees. ‘I guess that’s our welcome to the Void.’

It’s much colder than I expected. He shivered, transforming his jacket into a long cloak. It didn’t help much, but at least it shielded him from the biting wind. We have to get somewhere safe.

‘Agreed,’ the feline nodded and slid under his cloak in her smoke form. ‘Even I’m feeling cold, and that’s saying something. We might have to get a fire going.’

We will see. Leo quickly wrapped himself in another layer of shadows and activated Stealth Shroud, enhanced by Phantom’s Whisper. Gotta call Naz’Tor, too. Not here, though. Who knows what sensed our arrival?

With that, he dashed into the frozen forest, keeping his steps light so as to not leave any tracks in his wake. On the way, he identified more plants and Vetilim constructs, searching for any threats or stuff of value.

He found nothing interesting, but at the very least, he still had to encounter a single Voidling. Although, that remained true only until the moment a chilling shriek came from above him. Leo tensed and quickly ducked behind one of the many trees in the area.

What the hell? He furrowed his brow, trying to find the source through the deep-frozen foliage. There!

A massive bird—if one could even call it that—soared overhead, casting a wide shadow upon the ground. It resembled a vulture covered in sharp, jagged ice from top to bottom. Even its wings were frozen, making Leo question how the creature even moved.

Frozen Void Shrike (Voidling) | Rank: C | LVL: 142 | Type: Ice, Aerial

Yeah, fuck that. Leo snorted silently and waited for the bird to pass.

He might have gone against some powerful Voidlings back in the rift, but facing this thing was a straight-up death wish. It might not be a Nightmare nor an Akirian, but its level was almost double his own. Not even his overpowered attributes should be able to match that.

‘That doesn’t mean you don’t want to try, right?’ Nyx teased.

Leo shook his head. Even if I do, this isn’t the time to entertain my suicidal tendencies. We still have to find a place to hide.

‘At least, it isn’t that strong. We could have landed on a much worse planet.’

True that. Now we just gotta hope that this bird is one of the stronger Voidlings here, he thought, not really believing his own words.

Nonetheless, Nyx didn’t say anything to that, letting him travel in silence. As time passed, a few more Void Shrikes flew over his head. Most were around the same level as the first one, but one of them—a much bigger one—blocked his Identify.

Leo tried not to think too much about that and just continued running.

Of course, it wasn’t long before he encountered another Voidling species—an entire horde at that. Frostspire Lurker, the System called them, a large insectoid creature that looked quite similar to a scorpion with two additional stingers. Like any other Voidling on this planet, its body was made out of pure ice.

Frostspire Lurker (Voidling) | Rank: C | LVL: 139 | Type: Ice, Surface, Underworld, Armor

Damn… an Armor type. If only I could… Leo trailed off, stopping that train of thought before it could take off. As nice as it would be to get another requirement for his mutation, attacking a horde of over twenty Voidlings was a death wish.

One day, though.

More and more time passed until, finally, he came upon a tiny cave. It didn’t go deep and just barely fit him, but with its entrance hidden among a large ice cluster, nothing should find him here anytime soon. Only an emergency exit was missing but he could do without one. There was always Moonless Night in case they had to run.

“Finally,” Leo muttered, holding his hands near the small fire he had set up with some help from the Ether shop. He had no idea how it produced that much heat without any smoke, and frankly, he didn’t care to find out.

“If only we had something to eat,” Nyx grumbled from her spot on the other side of the fireplace.

“Glutton.” He chuckled and pulled out his transmitter. “But I get you. It will probably be a while before we can devour anything… Damn, we might need to sleep.”

“I won’t say no to a nap.”

“Of course you won’t… Quiet now, I’m calling.”

Nyx nodded, and they both waited for the call to connect. After a few seconds, a familiar voice answered.

“Finally!” Naz’Tor exclaimed. “For a moment there, I feared that the rift spat you somewhere without signal.”

Leo frowned. “That’s possible?”

“Of course it is, but that’s not important now. Tell me where you landed, kid.”

“A planet inside the Void called Sazim,” he said, recalling the System’s message. “It’s bloody cold here.”

“Oh…” Naz’Tor muttered. “In that case, I have good and bad news for you. Which do you want first?”