“Let’s go with the good ones first,” Leo said after a sigh. “I have a feeling the bad news will take longer.”

“Your feeling is unfortunately right, kid,” Naz’Tor confirmed, sounding apologetic. “But trust me, it could have been much, much worse. Sazim is nothing next to some of the places you could have landed on.”

“That’s what I thought… So, the good news?”

“Right, right… Sazim, despite its rough climate, is a relatively weak planet, only sitting at rank C+. It’s tried to advance to B- a few times, but the survivors there do quite a good job of exterminating any Voidlings that try to push the current limit. Have you encountered anything alive yet?”

Leo nodded. “Some. All of them were around mid-one-hundred.”

“Sounds about right,” Naz’Tor said. “That’s the level of most Voidlings there. Well, at least on the surface. Go into a nest or a Nightmare factory, and you will run into monsters that are close to advancing.”

“Got it… I guess that’s all for my good news, or is there more?”

The merchant chuckled. “Lucky you, kid, I’m not done yet. You see, like most low-ranked planets inside the Void, Sazim is quite close to the Edge. This makes your extraction much simpler… and cheaper.”

Leo frowned. “The Edge? Remember, I don’t know shit about the inside of the Void.”

“Ah! My bad. Forgive me!” Naz’Tor quickly apologized. “To put it simply, the Edge is the beginning of the Void. Or in other words, a border between the multiverse and the vast infinite abyss we call home. Planets and dimensions placed near the Edge are part of the Safety Layer, which is pretty much a tiny section of the Void where the odds of getting killed by Voidlings are smaller if you are careful enough. It’s also the place with the most preserved planets.”

Preserved, preservation… So that’s where Earth would go if we meet all the requirements. Good to know. Leo mused before returning to the conversation. “The layers. Are there more of them?”

“Two. The Crimson and the Endless,” the merchant explained. “I don’t think I need to say much about the latter. The name should tell you all you need. It’s the most dangerous layer with no known end. You don’t go there if you don’t have a death wish, are particulary powerful, or need some unique resources.”

Yeah, I figured out that much. He grimaced. “And the Crimson?”

“That’s where I feared you would land, kid. It’s a layer between the other two, filled with fully corrupted A-ranked planets and dimensions. At your current strength, you would be dead before you could even call me.”

“Ouch,” Leo muttered. “Lucky me, I guess.”

“That you are, kid. That you are,” Naz’Tor agreed somberly. “Only the strongest survivors venture into the Crimson. For most, the Safety Layer is more than enough. But I digress. You still haven’t heard the bad news.”

His grimace deepened. “Right…”

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s not that bad,” the alien laughed again. “The problem lies in Sazim’s survivors or rather the faction they belong to.”

“Don’t tell me it is Ger.”

“Thankfully, no,” Naz’Tor said, making Leo breathe a sigh of relief. “It’s called Zatiro, a sub-faction of Tariem—that’s one of the big three for your information. They are accepting of creatures who evolved into Voidlings and even tolerate part Akirians, but full-blooded Primes like you?” The alien clicked his tongue loudly. “That’s a big no-no. They hate your kind—for a good reason too.”

As much as Leo wanted to be surprised, he wasn’t. His evolution had to bite him in the ass sooner or later. It was only a matter of time. Just a shame it had to happen before he could get strong enough to defend himself. For now, he was a sitting duck waiting to be shot.

He massaged his brow. “I guess it wouldn’t be wrong to assume that’s how most survivors feel?”

“No, it wouldn’t. But!”—the merchant quickly added—“Vast majority fears your kind and wouldn’t dare to step on your toes. Of course, your situation is a bit more complicated, but it’s nothing we can’t handle. It will just take some work and resources.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I’m listening.”

A clap of hands came from the transmitter. “Wonderful! First things first! You absolutely have to stay hidden for the time being. No hunting, no exploring, nothing. Find a hole to hide in, and don’t come out until I say so.”

Leo nodded. “Got that covered already. Nyx and I found a small cave that’s hidden well enough.”

“Good, good. Next on the list we have the sealed form. You need to learn it if you even want to have a chance at returning to your home.”

“No idea what it is, but okay.”

“Patience! I will explain in a moment,” the merchant chided. “What else? Ah, yes! A tracker so that my people can find you and an item to hide your status. You could probably use a map too.”

I could, Leo agreed internally but stayed silent outside. Naz’Tor was obviously planning something, and he didn’t want to interrupt him. His life pretty much depended on whatever the alien would cook up.

“All right!” the merchant exclaimed suddenly. “That should be everything. Accept the offer.”

Displaying contracted trade offer.

Offered: Ownership of booklet about “Sealed Form,” TEK Tracker V3, Necklace of System’s Blessing. (System Verified)

Price: 15000 Ether

Do you accept this trade?

Not one to act rashly—in his humble opinion at least—Leo read through the offer a few times. Sure, the fifteen thousand Ether would hurt his pockets a bit, but that was a small price to pay for his life.

Ownership transfer completed. Item protections disabled. Goods have been transferred into your Soulscape.

Once he felt the shift inside his soul, he opened his mouth to speak. However, the merchant was faster.

“Excellent… Now for the items. I don’t think I need to explain what the booklet does. Same for the tracker. Just leave it inside your Soulscape. I will do the rest remotely. Finally, the necklace,” here Naz’Tor paused for a moment. “Just to be clear, I’m not giving it to you, just borrowing. Once my people bring you to me, I’m taking it back. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” Leo answered instantly, unused to the alien sounding so serious.

“Take it out then and always wear it. It’s literally your ticket to freedom.”

Let’s see it then, he thought and summoned the new addition to his soul outside.

A flash lit up the cavern for a moment, delivering a silver chain necklace into his palm. The item looked completely ordinary, yet a quick Identify proved otherwise.

Necklace of System’s Blessing (Unique):

An item rewarded by the System to the destroyer of a B+ rank Supercluster. While worn, this necklace will stop any hostile Identify. Rank difference between users doesn’t matter.

“I can see why you want it back,” Leo muttered and put the necklace on. There was no flash, no special effects—just the silver chain resting on his neck, looking completely out of place.

“Items that can protect you from Identify are as rare, if not rarer than your kind, kid,” Naz’Tor explained. “I only have one other for personal use. The one I gave you is going to auction soon to net me quite the profit.”

“I will keep it safe until th—“ Leo didn’t get a chance to finish as a System notification appeared before his eyes out of nowhere.

Sazim Global Message: Warning to all survivors. We’ve detected another unauthorized Narzak squadron entering Sazim’s orbit. Please return to your nearest Safe Zone and stay there until further notice. Actions are already underway to deal with this new threat.

“Kid! You there?” Naz’Tor’s voice barely broke through his daze. “Come on. Say something.”

“Sorry.” Leo blinked and quickly read the notification again. “It’s just… I got a global message. Like, from whoever controls this planet.”

“Oh Void… What does it say? Tell me, word for word.”

And so he did, reading the message again, this time out loud. The merchant was silent for a moment before responding, his tone serious again.

“Leo, listen. You shouldn’t worry too much about this message as long as you stay hidden. But you need to be extra careful. Another faction war is brewing on the horizon, and this is one of its many signs. Again, don’t worry and focus on surviving.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed. “Wait—war? Another one?”

“Yes, war. You can’t escape those.” Naz’Tor chuckled bitterly. “As long as there is life, there will be fighting. Not even the Void is capable of uniting everyone. Sad, I know, but that’s life for you, kid.”

So humanity isn’t the only fucked up species. Good to know. Leo shook his head. “What are they even fighting for?”

“What do you mean, what for? Control and power, of course!” The merchant announced. “Idiots, all of them, but with Ger as weakened as it is, I am not even surprised. Something had to give sooner or later, and now everyone’s scrambling for a piece of the pie.”

He froze. “Wait, Ger?”

“I will tell you another day. You have more important issues to worry about. Practice the sealed form. I will call you soon. Bye! Have fun!”

And just like that, the call disconnected.

Really?