Spatial essence is a type of origin energy that belongs inherently to the Nothingness. It is the very core building block in the creation of universes and serves as the foundation of all other origin energies. Void energy and law energies are all just flashy and mutated forms of spatial essence. Not only is it the core in the creation of universes, it also serves as their protector. Surrounding them in their entirety, the spatial essence keeps threats out and friends in. The difficulty of traversing the Nothingness is nothing compared to getting past this barrier unharmed. It’s more lenient to things originating from itself, but it would be a pipe dream for Samuel to enter merely due to his new physique. Yet time was ticking fast. If he does not find a way to enter really quickly, then everything will be lost.
One would assume that spatial essence would be related to space, but they would be horribly wrong. There is not a single connection between spatial comprehension or control and spatial essence. Again, it makes you wonder who named it. Regardless, Samuel, who thought that was the path to success, became terribly upset at the realization. Not only did he not know what he was dealing with, but his newfound trump card also flopped. But Samuel was not resigned! He was overpowered after all.
“By Creation!” Samuel was ready to change the very fabric of creation if that’s what he had to do to enter. The grand slab of purple spatial essence began to ripple and lose its color as the endless reserves of Samuel’s qi drained quickly. Sweat began to trickle down his exhausted face despite his enhanced and mutated new body. Not only that, but he was also unable to replenish his qi. There were a lot of different forms of energy in the Nothingness, but void energy was not one of them. It existed solely within the spatial fabric of universes and the inevitable voids present in them. That is to say, Samuel won’t last much longer.
The fading color showed signs of resurging as Samuel’s control and concentration began to slip, while the now giant waves threatened to equalize. If he fails here, then every hope he previously had will dissipate instantly as sweet death embraces him. The thought of death did not really upset him that much in light of how long he had lived, but someone else reaping the fruits of his labor and suffering—that was too much. In a move pulled straight from the depths of despair, he cast Animus Imperium on the spatial essence. If one control technique was not enough, then he’d simply use another. Especially since this one was purely mental in nature, it was completely separate from qi and relied solely on his mind for sustenance. Akin to a whirlpool of dreams, the slab formed a giant hole of deepening purple. It was now or never, something Samuel knew. He thus threw himself headfirst into the tunnel.
“I’m a brave boy; you can’t scare me! But please don’t collapse; please don’t collapse!” In order to maximize his pitiful pleas, he uttered them out loud in an attempt to appeal to the humanity in everything. Maybe he was not pitiful enough, as the vortex began to close up rapidly behind him. Which did not make physical sense, but neither does a lot of things Samuel has encountered. After a certain length of the tunnel was closed, Samuel could no longer resist the backlash from overpowering his techniques. With a cough of blood, the tunnel fully closed in on him. Luckily for him, he was mere meters from the end when it happened, so the damage and distance he needed to force his way through were minimal. Unluckily, he was fatally wounded to the edge of death and void of all qi. He was nothing but an empty husk being hurdled aimlessly into the universe of Nullspace IX.
“This was not how I expected to lose,” he muttered under his breath. There was not a single spec of skin left on his body, and he was losing blood rapidly. Now that he was surrounded by space, his qi was being replenished, but it was less than sufficient. “How can I, the great Samuel, die like this?"
Very easily. Everything he does is a thoughtless, spur-of-the-moment action that always results in unforeseen circumstances. To him. To everyone else, it’s obvious what will happen. Of course, the tunnel would collapse! Realistically, he should have found a safer area in the Nothingness the very moment he realized entry would be nigh impossible. Then, even if his physique and powers were transferred to Paul, he would be capable of gaining them back. Now he’ll lose them and die at the same time.
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“Gowla."
Samuel, in his final attempt to survive, managed to meek out a feeble incantation before losing consciousness and drifting towards an inevitable death. The last remains of qi in Samuel’s body were devoured in an attempt to finish the incantation but failed to elicit a response. It was truly over. For normalcy. The bloodied and dead body began to glow a sickening purple-black and exude a revolting smell that transcends all logic. It began to devour the remaining matter of Samuel as well as all possible traces of energy in the vicinity. The energy must be utilized in order to facilitate its growth, as its size increased without end the more it devoured. For many minutes this continued. Until it managed to devour the last traces of flesh on Samuel’s body. Left were only the organs, bones, and veins. But not for long. The darkness began to condense towards the incomplete carcass, all the while continuing its siphon of Nullspace IX’s energy. Only when it perfectly covered the feeble remains of a great hero did the condensation stop. In its place was now a conversion. Similar to the law of conservation, the darkness received energy from matter and produced matter from energy. New flesh, blood, and skin proceeded to form. On the surface, Samuel looked the same, but there were a few nuanced changes. Three new distinct and countless indistinct marks now covered his skin. One on the right hand, one on the right temple, and one on his forehead. They read, respectively, death, inventory, and time, albeit in a language beyond comprehension. The familiar time-rune’s color began to shift down his right cheek from the nose and temple. Similarly, the death rune did the same but upwards of Samuel’s right arm. The vastly different colors of the two runes connected near the shoulder and began to synergize. A vast reaction was the result. The very fabric of space and energy in the vicinity all began to crumble into its most fundamental form: spatial essence. This, however, was not the end. The spatial essence continued its alteration and slowly settled on minute traces of dark-gray dust particles. An area of millions of parsecs was reduced to mere traces of dust. The synergizing runes were clearly also upset as the now distant edge of Nullspace IX began to revert in the same way to satiate the energy cost for what was about to happen. Nearly a third of the barrier was instantly removed and reduced to dust that was quickly devoured by the runes. For a moment, the two runes both turned dark gray before reverting to their normal colors. Yet that moment was enough. If the passage of time causes death, does the reversal of time cause life? Yes.
“Boom”
The sound of creation echoed again as the first creature of its kind was born. A creature so powerful that his own death was needed to successfully be created. That’s a little extreme. He’s not especially powerful at the moment, but his potential is mind-boggling nonetheless. Samuel, with his signature move by this point, was unconscious. Yet time was ticking. A few minutes remained before the trade with Paul would backfire. Not only that, but nearly destroying the fabric and protection of a universe is obviously bound to attract attention. Countless scared, angry, and war-ready powerhouses were rushing towards his location. No matter what, if he were to stay in this place, then he’d die for one reason or another. Continuing to act on instinct, Samuel’s body flung itself through a black holeish opening in space. It led directly to the front of a common space rock floating quietly in orbit around a planet. It was so inconspicuous that if anyone were to hide treasure on it, they themselves would be incapable of recognizing it. Yet this place held one of the most talented creatures of all the Nullspace universes, Paul Ballitz, captive. Without any difficulty or hesitation, Samuel began to reverse time around the rock. One year, two, ten, hundred, and a thousand. When it reached one thousand years old, something about the rock changed. It became less inconspicuous and more real. The formation covering it had been reverted to a time before it was cast. Time was of the essence here, so every action was taken with haste. The soul projection hidden inside the rock was retrieved before the time distortion disappeared, and Samuel left.
He’s simply too cool! Even while unconscious, he manages to be a hero and do the unimaginable at the same time. Wait… It’s only during unconsciousness that he manages to do things like this. Hmm. Is he too stupid? No matter.