Vilastromoz made sure Jake had safely passed through the void and back to his planet before he regarded the being before him. Today had been a stark reminder that even with all of his preparations, there existed beings in the multiverse that could circumvent them.

The Viper had used several methods to hide Jake traveling through the void. The biggest one was, of course, Shroud of the Primordial, but the teleportation itself should also help hide him. These preparations should have been unnecessary anyway, as locating anything traveling through the void in such a brief period was beyond even the Viper himself. Finally, why would some ancient and powerful being even bother with interfering with someone teleporting through? Trillions went through the void every moment, so what was one in so many?

Yet none of that mattered before the being in front of him. It was the same being that had originally spotted Jake when he traveled to the Order. The fact he had been spotted the first time around was no surprise, as the being saw most everything that ever passed the void, with the only surprise being Jake noticing the gaze. Well, not a surprise to Vilastromoz, but probably the creature.

“Snake Who Holds Forgotten Knowledge, you seek compensation?” the voice of the being echoed as the ever-shifting reptilian eyes moved before him.

“I first seek answers,” Vilastromoz said, not minding the title the being had assigned him.

“Traveler of the void, passing the veil of the new world. A gift given to be delivered to that which I gaze upon,” the Void Dweller answered as cryptically as ever.

The Viper frowned at the answer. For the Void Dweller before him to gaze upon someone was just a fancy way of saying it had blessed them. Normally that would be whatever, but the situation was different when dealing with beings like this. A god’s Blessing would affect the target, yes, but the Blessing of a Void Dweller, much less one like the one before him? The effects would be significant. Merely seeing a Void Dweller could make mortals lose their minds and have their mental faculties irreversibly corrupted, so it was no surprise a Blessing did even more.

“What did you ask to be delivered?” the Viper asked.

“Gift. Knowledge. Power.”

“And who is it supposed to be delivered to?” Vilastromoz kept pressing.

“He Who Commands The Many Eyes That Dwell Within the Soulless Vessels of Metal and Lightning. Seeker of knowledge like I,” the Void Dweller explained without much care for the overly long title.

Vilastromoz finally turned his gaze towards Earth and quickly did a scan. He had never bothered to scan the ones around Jake much, just a cursory one. He had assumed none could hide from his probing, but upon a deeper inspection, he noticed there was indeed one person with a Blessing he hadn’t noticed before, making him frown even more.

“You could have asked before making my Chosen a mule,” the Viper protested as he stared into the many eyes.

“Yes… decision made in haste. Apologies, Keeper of Lost Knowledge. Compensation will be made,” the Void Dweller answered, as the eyes shifted a bit in apology. Vilastromoz could read this particular Void Dweller as it wasn’t one of the mindless beasts that usually roamed the endless void, but one most gods of any repute had found themselves in contact with several times in the past.

“What do you offer me?” he asked.

“To the Primordial? None shall be given. Compensation for He Who Hunts. An equal, is he not? Nascent seeds will be planted, more futures planned. Outcomes predicted falsely before, corrections required,” the Void Dweller answered.

Vilastromoz just sighed as the eyes kept shifting. He felt movement from afar as he stood in the middle of the void as the attention of more beings began gathering as the Viper had let his aura flare. “Fine. Just don’t have this repeat itself. Even if you want a favor from him, ask through me. Finally, why are you playing with the minds of mortals? I never figured you to be the kind of being to break a weak mortal like that.”

“Interpretations infinite, minds of unlimited variations. Comprehension of He With Eyes of Steel, mortal yet mind untouched. Corruption minimal, patterns recognized; seeks only knowledge. Compatible.”

He understood the answer as most of the communication did not come in words but in shapes and expressions made by its body. The Viper didn’t ask further but just looked at the Void Dweller and the ever-flowing ocean of eyes it consisted of. It was a physique not like any other creatures in the multiverse, and these Void Dwellers could only reside within the void. Well, most of them anyway.

“I shall trust your discretion then,” the Viper nodded. “May your gaze land upon all of existence, Oras the All-Seeing.”

“May your will shape reality, Malefic Viper of the Primordials.”

With that, the eyes all disappeared as Vilastromoz sighed again. Oras was a difficult one to deal with. A creature as ancient as could be, a true god of the void, unlike the majority of its void brethren.

Speaking of Void Dwellers. The Viper chose not to leave right away as he felt the many creatures close in on him, their auras dominating the vast nothingness, every single one of them able to slay gods like were they children before men. The weakest Void Dwellers in the void were a match for a newly ascended god, with the ones closing in on the Viper being far above that level, able to slay Godkings and Godqueens easily.

Predators of a domain that should not be threaded by those belonging to the universes. The mere aura of a god attracted them as they sought to feast and grow from the slaughter of energies not of the void.

Vilastromoz had to admit he felt angry. So far, he had predicted most things, and those he had failed to predict, he had at least had a sense would happen, or they had led to positive outcomes above expectations. However, someone like Oras was not predictable. VIlastromoz did not understand the Void God like he understood his fellow Primordials. Something that annoyed him severely.

Hopefully, the deaths of the approaching Void Dwellers would quell that anger just a little bit, also giving him a chance to get a good stretch in.

Jake woke up with a start as he quickly oriented himself. The entire area around him was filled with his own mana as he found himself in a defensive position. Instinctually he knew that he and everyone else had gotten lucky that nobody had entered his laboratory, where Jake had returned to upon arriving on Earth.

As he observed his sphere, he noticed something out of place. On the floor in front of him lay a small black cube with magical patterns on it and what looked like eyes marking its surface. He instantly recognized the faint energy it gave off as the same as the creature he had encountered in the void.

Just thinking about that thing made his head hurt as he groaned in pain. He tried to find out how long he had been out of commission instead and found out he had been knocked out for well over an hour. He checked his status and saw he had lost health, mana, and stamina from the encounter, indicating soul damage. Soul damage from just looking at the damn thing.

The box on the floor suddenly caught his eye. Where had that come from? It had the same energy as the being he saw in the void and-

A headache assaulted him again. Without thinking, Jake pulled off his cloak and threw it over the cube on the floor, making his headache instantly subside. At the same time, he remembered everything far more clearly. That damn box was able to make him forget it even existed? What the actual fuck was it?

“Villy… what the fuck is going on?” Jake finally asked. A few seconds passed as he got an answer.

“You met a Void God… again. Oras, as it is known. An ancient creature born of the void.” Villy answered, sounding annoyed.

“How did he spot me with Shroud? Also, are you okay? I remember seeing you appear just as I blacked out…”

“I am fine. And Oras spotted you because the Shroud and everything else I do isn’t good enough to hide you when in the void. Not from Oras,” the Viper explained.

“What the hell does that thing want? Something about a gift? Who for?” Jake asked, even more confused.

“Traveling through the void isn’t easy. Going out of the ninety-third universe is especially hard, and going back in? I reckon only a few can even facilitate this return trip. Oras spotted you and decided to have you bring something into the ninety-third universe. The gift you received is not for you, but the one Oras has “blessed.” I use that word very carefully as the usual result from someone getting blessed by a Void God is a cult that makes the Order of the Malefic Viper look like the good guys in comparison. Luckily, Oras cares little for anything besides knowledge and seeing new things… at least as far as I can tell. I don’t fully understand the creature.”

Jake nodded in understanding. “So, who is this god-forsaken box a gift for?”

“Arnold.”

Hearing the name, Jake’s eyes flashed for a moment. For some reason, the answer didn’t surprise him, even if he did find it confusing why some being from the void would bless Arnold, a guy who liked making machines. Confusion the Viper clearly detected.

“I don’t know why Oras blessed that man. That is for you to discover, but in my experience, the logic of a Void Dweller is not worth trying to comprehend. However, it does seem like Arnold is mostly unaffected… I would look into why that is. His mind seems to accept the Void Dweller, which is quite peculiar,” the Viper said.

“So, should I deliver the box?” Jake finally asked.

“Go ahead. Oras said you would get some kind of compensation, and while I do not understand the creature, it somewhat understands mortals. So his compensation should be worth it.”

Jake nodded again, and after a few more words, they ended their conversation. He felt that the Viper seemed somewhat distracted during their talk, but that wasn’t anything new. What was new was the Viper actively using the name of another mortal. This indicated that Villy actually viewed Arnold as someone with some level of importance now, showing that this Oras was a big deal.

Wanting his cloak back, Jake closed his eyes and pulled it off the box. Luckily he could look at the box using his Sphere of Perception without feeling like his head was about to split open. He took out a black piece of cloth from his inventory and wrapped the box in it before putting it inside a wooden barrel he normally used for water. The entire thing was only about the size of a shoebox, and when he tried to lift it, he noticed how it didn’t weigh anything. That wasn’t an exaggeration either; the metal-looking box with eyes on it literally didn’t weigh anything. It was honestly just creepy.

At least he could put it in his spatial storage while still in the barrel. Jake proceeded to walk up to the lodge above and over to the pond, where he quickly washed the blood off his face from bleeding out of his own orifices. He wasn’t in a hurry to deliver the box and decided to get a few things done first.

Firstly he checked in on the troll down in the cavern. Rick, as he had been named, was still just chilling with what was now a sprawling garden down in the biodome. His kids were also there, having grown a little since the last time he saw them.

Next up, he headed for the city center of Haven and met up with Miranda. They had a good talk with Jake getting updated on recent happenings in the city. He even remembered to give her that Verdant Orb Villy had handed him - primarily because she reminded him to.

He wasn’t entirely sure how to feel when he got told that his absence hadn’t really had any impact and that most assumed he was just in the valley doing alchemy or out hunting or something.

The city itself had grown even more since the last time he was there. He was informed that the Fort had expanded yet again as more and more sought the larger settlements. He learned about the outcome of the first system event and how many had begun progressing again, including Phillip. Jake honestly didn’t care overly much, even if he was happy that others were finding their own roads to power.

Their meeting was interrupted about an hour in as suddenly Jake felt a gust of wind enter through an open window, and the next moment, a bird was standing atop his head. Jake had felt her coming but didn't react, allowing the hawk to get her small moment of triumph as she screeched and flapped her wings happily.

Jake raised his hands and lifted her off his head as he gave the bird a hug. “Hey Sylphie, long time no see.”

The hawk looked up as she snuggled up to him, Jake just stroking her small head. He smiled, yet he had a somewhat mixed feeling when he used Identify and saw her level.

[Sylphian Eyas – lvl 163]

For the first time since her birth, she had surpassed him in levels. Jake would lie if he said it wasn’t somewhat expected. Sylphie was still growing rapidly and was still just identified as an Eyas, meaning that even if she just slept and did nothing, she would keep leveling. Combined with her Blessing from Stormild, her connection to Jake, and her own efforts, it was no a surprise she had kept progressing so fast.

As he held her, she made some cute chirping sounds as Jake nodded along, getting the gist of what she was saying. She even summoned a medal of sorts with the same symbol on it as Jake’s Altmar Signet, meaning his little hawk had also gotten the highest evaluation too – or at least been evaluated to be impossible to evaluate.

One thing also quickly became clear. Sylphie was not back in Haven just to say hi to Jake but because Carmen was coming. Jake was totally fine with the two-person journey to track down Carmen’s family turning into a three-person trip.

“I will always be amazed at the growth of Sylphie,” Miranda said as she looked at the hawk. Jake nodded but didn’t really think she was one to talk, seeing how her level had also grown significantly.

[Human – lvl 158]

She was nearly at his own level. Jake knew a large reason for this was her profession leveling damn quickly, but she also clearly farmed some class levels here and there. If Jake had not just gotten a lot of fast levels, he would be way behind. He was also certain Carmen had to have surpassed him in level by now.

Not that Jake was worried. In fact, he found the sentiment exciting. He had never feared not being the strongest, and if everyone else got more powerful, didn’t that just mean he had more people to fight?

Sylphie felt his thoughts and squirmed herself free as she screeched in approval. He felt her intentions, and he was more than happy to oblige when the time was right.

“She is a real talent, isn’t she,” Jake said to Miranda as he smiled, Sylphie once more letting out a ree of agreement. “I am going to head over to Arnold now to check what information he has gained on the locations of any Primas and the route to this port city.”

“Have a nice journey. I will remain here in case Carmen shows up. Not that I doubt we won’t both notice her arrival, she isn’t exactly the stealthy type,” Miranda answered with a chuckle.

With that, Jake got up and headed off to the Fort. He teleported together with Sylphie, who had decided to stay with him, and reached the now buzzing city within a few minutes of leaving Miranda’s office. The teleportation circles had been moved yet another time as Jake looked towards the central citadel and saw that the metal sphere had expanded not just in width but in height as the mad scientist had obviously noticed he was running out of horizontal real estate.

As he looked towards the metal sphere, he faintly felt the odd box that had been forced upon him vibrate within his necklace, dispelling all doubt that Arnold was truly related to it. Jake just had a hard time figuring out how the many-eyed freak of a Void Dweller was related to a mad scientist. Well, besides the entire theme of madness.

Oh well, I guess I can just ask him.