Scott’s pupils widened involuntarily. “Slim, where are you guys? What about the others?” he asked hurriedly, only to realize his mistake. There was no way Slim would know where they were; the monotonous, unchanging landscape of unclaimed territories replicated itself endlessly.
“Slim? Are you there?” Scott called out again, but only silence answered him.
That wasn’t an illusion… I definitely heard his voice, right? Scott frowned, his gaze sweeping the desolate surroundings.
Without hesitation, he activated the Imprint of Madness. The chaotic environment twisted and warped, reforming into an expansive, pristine space devoid of the horrors that plagued his territory. Orion stood nearby, while Fi-Fi had taken a humanoid form eerily resembling Scott’s appearance from his days in Enchanted Heights. Her form shifted through a kaleidoscope of colors, the hues blending seamlessly as a soft, sloshing sound like a flowing stream emanated from her body.
“Orion, Fi-Fi, you heard it too, right?” Scott asked, his voice sharp as his eyes scanned the space. That only two of them were present deepened his unease.
“I was about to message you about that,” Orion replied, his tone laced with curiosity. “I heard it too.”
“Fi-Fi heard the voice of Bone Man as well,” the elemental slime declared, her words echoing with innocent certainty.
Scott’s brows furrowed, his unease solidifying. Could they have been expelled from the Endless Bridge the moment they arrived? He knew it was a possibility, especially if Slim and the others had been unlucky enough to enter another lord’s territory and were forced out through one of the numerous exits.
“I can see what you’re thinking, judging by that grim look on your face,” Orion remarked, a chuckle escaping him. “Relax. They made it here once; they’ll make it again. Worrying won’t change anything. All we can do is be ready to welcome them when they arrive.”
Scott glanced at Orion, unable to argue. Fi-Fi, meanwhile, had shuffled closer and now clung to him like an innocent child seeking comfort.
“It was my fault,” Scott muttered. “I should have acted the moment I heard Slim’s voice. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“You’re being too hard on yourself,” Orion replied, his tone light as he looked around the space. “Did you conjure this place from memory, or is this somewhere you’ve been before?”
Scott didn’t answer, and Orion didn’t press the issue. Instead, the mage wandered further into the illusory environment, studying its details with the analytical curiosity Scott had come to expect from him.
Meanwhile, Scott turned his attention to Fi-Fi, who clung to him without applying any real weight or force. “How did it feel?” he asked, referring to her evolution.
Fi-Fi tilted her head, her shifting colors momentarily stabilizing. “Fi-Fi doesn’t know how to explain it,” she began. “It felt like an endless dream… Fi-Fi was always eating and being eaten. But in the end, Fi-Fi ate all those who tried to eat Fi-Fi.”
Scott’s brow arched in surprise. So the blood she absorbed was trying to devour her too. What would have happened if it had succeeded? He pushed the unsettling thought aside, posing another question. “Why this form? You can mimic others, can’t you?”
Fi-Fi nodded silently.
“Then why choose this one?”
“Because it’s yours,” she said simply. “Fi-Fi is more comfortable like this.”
Scott held her gaze, searching for any hint of deception or malice, but found none. Her childlike sincerity was disarming. It amused him, though, to see a version of his younger self clinging to him so earnestly.
“As long as you’re comfortable, that’s all that matters,” he finally said.
Fi-Fi didn’t respond, tightening her hold slightly as if seeking reassurance.
Scott turned his focus back to Orion, who had ventured deeper into the space. Even in an illusion, he’s still gathering data. I’d hate to know what’s going on in his head—it’s probably worse than mine.
Stretching out his hand toward Orion, Scott summoned a system notification:
You have requested to share your authority with a champion not ranked on the territorial rankings! Are you certain you wish to share your authority? Yes! No!
Without hesitation, Scott selected [Yes]. Another notification appeared instantly:
Congratulations! Your authority has been shared with another champion!
The sigil manifested before him like a living specter, streaking toward Orion and merging with his form. The mage showed no reaction, seemingly unaware of the phenomenon. Moments later, Orion halted as a system notification appeared in front of him.
A slow grin spread across his face, quickly giving way to loud, booming laughter as he turned back toward Scott and Fi-Fi.
At the same moment, another notification appeared before Scott:
A champion has been bound to your sigil!
Scott’s gaze lingered on the message. Does this mean anyone I share my authority with will be bound to me through the sigil? He wasn’t sure, but the implications gnawed at him. And what about Orion? Was he pretending not to notice the sigil earlier, or was it truly imperceptible?
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The answers eluded him, leaving only more questions in their wake.
As Orion made his way back, Scott turned his attention to Fi-Fi. Another system notification appeared, asking for confirmation on whether he wanted to share his authority. Without hesitation, Scott selected [Yes]. This time, he focused solely on Orion, who was closing the distance with haste. The sigil materialized once again, shooting toward Fi-Fi before vanishing upon contact. Just like Orion earlier, she didn’t seem to notice the disturbance.
Is it possible they didn’t see it? Scott wondered, still uncertain. But before he could dwell on it, Fi-Fi released her grip, her gelatinous form shifting in surprise as a strange notification appeared before her. She read it carefully, then raised her gaze to meet Scott’s.
“Does this mean I can organize endless parties like the Slime Queen?” she asked, her voice bubbling with excitement.
Scott blinked, caught completely off guard. Of all the questions he’d expected, this was certainly not one of them. What in the world did she go through to become so obsessed with parties? A quiet chuckle escaped him.
“Is Fi-Fi funny?” she asked, tilting her gelatinous head, awaiting a proper answer.
“Sure. You can host as many parties as you want,” Scott replied, his tone distracted as his gaze shifted to Orion, who had just arrived.
“Can we head back now?” Orion asked, his dazzling smile not quite hiding the impatience in his eyes. “I’m eager to test the limits of this authority.”
The illusionary space trembled, ripples distorting its fabric. In an instant, Scott was back in the unfathomable darkness, the chaotic echoes of ongoing slaughter surrounding him. Barely seconds after their arrival, a crushing pressure descended, and multiple distortions opened across the vast expanse.
With his omnipotence as a Territorial Lord, Scott could see all six of them forming in different corners of his domain. These must be the timeline links the system mentioned. He watched as desperate champions rushed toward the nearest link, only to slam into an invisible barrier, unable to leave.
Meanwhile, Scott noticed Orion deploying new batches of clones near the links. Each clone cackled maniacally as it sprinted toward the distortions, only to meet the same barrier.
“It seems only the Territorial Lord can permit access to these links,” Orion observed, his voice coming through the party channel.
“Indeed,” Scott replied flatly. His curiosity was piqued, though—he wanted to see how far Orion and Fi-Fi could push their newfound authority. “I’ll allow them through,” he decided. Instantly, the links pulled in Orion’s clones, leaving the stunned champions behind. Undeterred, the champions tried again to breach the barrier, but it held firm.
“Later, you’ll give me a detailed report on what you can and can’t do with the authority I’ve shared,” Scott began. “But for now—are you still connected to your clones?”
“Yes!” Orion’s excitement was evident in his quick reply. “Although… two of them have already been killed.”
Scott’s brows furrowed. “How? It’s been barely a minute.”
“I know. One landed in a region perpetually bathed in sulfuric gas, with a pressure strong enough to crush diamonds in an instant. The other… well, he wasn’t so lucky,” Orion said, his laughter barely contained. “He arrived in a place ravaged by spontaneous, continuous explosions. Poor thing was blown to smithereens the moment he arrived. Hilarious!”
Scott sighed. “And the others?”
“They’ve reached hospitable timelines—vastly different from ours,” Orion reported, his tone now tinged with intrigue. “Although it’s early, I doubt civilization has developed much in some of them.”
“What about the time differences?” Scott asked, a flicker of anticipation in his voice.
“Compared to here, the smallest difference is seventy days. But one of the timelines… a decade has already passed,” Orion revealed. “That clone landed in the most fascinating place—floating islands, cascading waterfalls, dragons, phoenixes, and all kinds of mythical creatures. It’s breathtaking.”
Scott’s eyebrows shot up. A decade in just a minute? His thoughts wandered to his companions. If they ended up in a timeline with such an absurd time gap… decades, even centuries, could pass for them while barely a day goes by here. His chest tightened at the thought, his hope tempered by grim reality.
“So,” Orion’s voice cut through Scott’s contemplation, “what do you plan to do with the remaining champions?”
Scott frowned, the cacophony of noise pulling him back to the present. If I send these bastards away, they might regroup and return, seeking revenge. I don’t have time to entertain their grudges. Better to settle it here and now. He prepared to speak, but Orion’s voice interjected again.
"I wanted to kick one of them out as an experiment, but I was told I didn’t have the right to," he explained.
"You’re with Fi-Fi, right?" Scott asked abruptly.
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Good. I’ll pull you two into the nihilistic zone," Scott declared, his tone final.
"Wait—where did that come from? What are you planning—"
"I’m going to use my authority," Scott interrupted, his voice resonating like a low rumble through the channel. His omnipotent sight allowed him to catch the mage’s stunned expression.
Orion fell silent before replying, "I understand. As much as I’d love to witness it firsthand, I get your concerns. Give me a minute to explain things to Fi-Fi, then you can pull us down." Without waiting for a response, he ended the connection.
Scott turned his attention away from the flurry of system notifications listing the champions his summons had defeated. His hand reached for the nearest chain among the vast, writhing network surrounding him. With a deafening roar, the chains trembled and surged, yanking themselves free of the portals they had submerged into. One by one, the portals collapsed, vanishing as if they had never existed.
The eldritch monstrosities that had been wreaking havoc paused mid-rampage, their grotesque forms turning toward the ominous darkness that veiled Scott. The chains binding their bodies began to coil tighter, encasing them like serpents constricting their prey. The creatures let loose unearthly bellows, their cries reverberating across the battlefield and shaking the ground beneath the feet of the surviving champions. Despite the resistance, the chains prevailed, immobilizing the abominations entirely.
Before the eyes of the shocked onlookers, the creatures and the chains began to calcify, turning into stone. Murmurs of confusion rippled through the surviving champions, quickly giving way to unease. They knew the creatures hadn’t stopped of their own volition—something, or someone, had forced their submission.
"Look! What’s that in the sky?" a trembling female orc cried out; her wide eyes fixed upward.
Only then did the champions notice it: a sky had formed above them. In the chaos of battle, none had realized its presence, but now it loomed unmistakably. This was no ordinary sky. Cracks began to spread across its azure expanse, like fractures in a delicate pane of glass. The void itself seemed to encroach upon reality.
The champions froze, their instincts screaming at them to look away, to run, but their bodies refused to obey. Their gazes remained locked on the cracks, which slowly unveiled a terrifying image—a colossal, all-seeing eye. Its yellow-black pupil, shaped like a three-petaled sigil, darted back and forth, scrutinizing the essence of every petrified champion below.
As the cracks widened, a lone figure emerged from the crumbling heavens. A commanding voice, heavy with authority, echoed across the battlefield.
"Let everything return to the beginning!" Scott’s voice thundered, reverberating through the territory.
The immense eye began to bleed, crimson streams seeping from its form. The three-petaled pupil spun, flinging droplets of blood across the motionless champions. One by one, they were soaked in the eerie red ichor, their faces frozen in horror.
"Sleep, and never be awoken again!" Scott intoned, his voice a harbinger of finality.
The eye shimmered with a brilliant citrine glow, and the light in the champions’ eyes began to fade. Their expressions slackened, as if they had been pulled into an endless, unescapable illusion.
Meanwhile, back in the nihilistic zone, a new notification flickered before Scott:
Your territory will now adapt to your nature! Transformation will now commence!