Taking on the form of a cosmic bird, Phantom sought out answers as to why so many of his comrades met their demise. Fond of his form as a phoenix, he kept his wings stretched out, gliding across the lands of a rogue planet abandoned by its star. Once a prestigious intelligent subspecies, it lost its glory and doomed the species spread out all over the cosmos. The very same being responsible for the creation of many more cosmic horrors that befell reality.

"I've found where Dalia and Felix were last sighted. Maybe I can retrieve the fifth and the sixth saint?", he asked his leader through telepathy.

"I don't recommend it. The first probably rigged it... Just focus on finding out what happened!", she snarkily replied.

Leaving it at that, she ignored further attempts to allow communications essentially blocking him out from the network that connects them.

Though within the air and observing the planet from above, he struggled to find any significant structures mean that either vanished with time or this is just an illusion meant to make this planet seem harmless and uneventful. Uneasy and determined, he could sense something radiating off the planet but couldn't quite tell what. The same "thing" was faintly present within the abode he had visited back when he could still fight as Phoenix. Only faintly, was it present at the rift and beneath the island at the very bottom. The closer he got to the surface the stronger it felt, but he could only advance and activate another one of his gadgets in case something goes wrong.

Taking on his human form, he pulled out a small notebook and a pen from the inside of his disk acting as a spacial pocket.

"This miasma... It's been a while since I've encountered it. Only within THE abode have I met it. It seems to cloud my mind and may impact the outcome of this mission. The closer I get to landing on this planet, the stronger it gets. Not visible outside of the atmosphere acting as some sort of veil... There's a layer of clouds. Does this mean that there may be many more planets with such layers?", he wrote, but decided to pull out another floating gadget designed to store and deliver objects. Sending the box away with his notebook stored within, he dove deeper into the heavens of this planet.

For minutes, he fought himself through the clouds. It seemed like an eternity but finally came to a stop as he made it through. Clouds were no more above him and mythical fog enveloped the world. Softly, he landed on what was thought to be dirt. Far away, was something he couldn't quite describe, streams of darkness and light were gathering within the distance become one and convulsing as they vanished within the center as the golden fog flowed away from the lights.

"It's mesmerizing", he thought as he stepped closer.

His sense of direction started to fade away as he stepped closer. Feeling disoriented and lost he started drooling, embracing what lied ahead of him. Warmth, peace, and happiness gently embraced him as he stepped closer. Space kept warping even more and the rift seemed infinitely away. Never too far but never too close, he would embark on an endless journey if it weren't for his gadgets. A prick saved him from the lights up ahead. He regained his senses and slowly turned around looking for others.

"So this is why it fell under our radar for such a long time? But whatever is causing this heavily underestimated science and its tenacity!", he thought not expecting what else could lie within his way.

The skies changed to those of a normal night sky. People were joyful and walking down streets many of which were seethrough and behaved more like holograms people could walk on. A capsule with a family of four flew beneath them trying to reach their destination. Just like the streets, the capsules transporting people also were seethrough. Entire rows of blocky houses all looking the same had lights attached to them. Few were dimmed out to accommodate those not in the mood to celebrate and trying to sleep through the night. All were approaching the same location, the center of this spectacle, a humongous tower. A couple passed by Phantom. Both of them were blonde, had blue eyes and freckles.

"Dahlia? Felix?", he yelled out in shock.

No reaction...

Dahlia, within her velvet dress, her octahedron earrings, and her little black belt bag, adjusted her twin brother's tie as he had never tied one himself. Her hair reached to her hips. Felix, within his black tuxedo, a white collared shirt underneath it, and his red tie were nagging about her constantly trying to help him. his hair was long but tied into a man bun with bangs that are long enough to block his view. They continued walking after adjusting his tie though their voices were inaudible. They kept walking without reacting to Phantom.

"So I'll have to follow them to find out what happened to her, huh?", he lamented. It was then that the earth beneath him shattered like glass. Submerged within the same clouds as he was before, he was met with the same lights but this time, only darkness was flowing out.

An endless void that stared and poured into him.

"What even is... this weird... space? What am I doing here?", he thought as he started getting more disoriented. Another prick and he goes back to the same old Phantom he's always been.

"I don't understand how this... space? How this weird place came to be...", he thought as he kept staring at the void. ", but I know that its only purpose is to deter people from ever entering.

He blinked...

...and found himself back within the luminescent city. This time, however, he was standing in front of the tower. Felix and Dahlia also were around standing in front of a line. The tower, with hundreds of entrances, seemed infinite and stretched into the skies with no known height limit. White lights filled the pathway into the tower. This time, he could hear what they were saying though it only seemed to be a short mission briefing.

"This tower, the barren land on the surface, the void within the planet and the people that live beneath the surface with no core, the massive amounts of magic and wherever this door leads...", Felix summarized.

"Yeah. This planet is hiding from outside interference but what for? Is it the abundance of different species they don't want to lose?", Dahlia asked. They had to continue down the line to find out more about this world and find out what makes it different from the others inhabited by man. Though as soon as they stepped into the light, the scene faded away and the ever-growing void from before tried to swallow him once again.

"This thing is far too persistent. What is it trying to hide?", he thought as he started getting used to the void. The realization and his being aware of something trying to conceal the truth distorted the space he was in. Everything started to fall apart. The void grew larger and swallowed him whole not allowing him to go deeper. Alone, anxious, and scared of what may await him, he kept trying and pushed himself forward with determination alone despite being blinded.

"Two worlds within one... this place sure is strange. What even is capable of powering it without sunshine and life on the shell that is the barren planet. What is sustaining them?", Dahlia's voice echoed.

Blurry but fascinating was the floating abode they found themself in. Green, aquamarine, and violet crystals and several crystal butterflies reflecting light coming from above illuminated this place within various shades of green, blue and purple. One dome, something that the people called a sanctuary, was placed within the middle of this abode. This abode was made of six islands, all of which were floating. Four islands were located south, east, north, and west while the last one was located right beneath the main island. A long, perfectly smooth, white path hovered above a massive lake leading towards the platform the dome, the sanctuary was located on.

"Is this why we couldn't locate Dahlia and Felix? Was it because of this barrier? But who does it belong?", Phantom wondered. Soon, he would find an answer to this strange realm.

Again, a change of scenery. Within the dome, hundreds of thousands were awaiting the start of a ceremony. It was massive and held enough seats for a million people with Dahlia and Felix among them. At the center stood thirteen podiums, with one placed right in the middle of the dome and the rest positioned around it like the numbers on a clock. Each podium had a massive vial the size of an adult's head each containing one crystal sphere and fluids within. All of the crystal spheres are white and submerged within a golden fluid that kept bubbling. A single elder within the center of the podium pointed his rather long staff was approaching the podium in the middle as the moonlight shone down on the gem.

"Are those all Ultima Cores? How did they obtain them?", he wondered as he tried to step closer only to be stopped by an invisible wall.

Something felt off...

Why was he even bothering with watching this ritual?

Why is he here to begin with?

Where is he?

...

...

...

Another prick- Just in time to dodge an incoming attack aimed directly at him. Jumping into the air he looked down on what was once the great dome harboring Ultima Cores. Massive spikes of ice protruded from the earth. With scratches, a few deep wounds, and broken bones, he was or at least would be fatally hurt. Only then did he notice the humanoid figure that launched the attack. Its skin was pitch black. Its eyes were covered by its bangs. White freckles were all over its face. Its body was somewhat morphed with wide hips and broad shoulders, a pair of boobs and defined jawline, and relatively large hands for its slender arms as if both Felix and Dahlia had fused into one, upscaled amalgamation within a frilled white dress with several gems embedded into them. Though their blonde hair has turned white, they still resemble his comrades but missed its lower half instead of being left on a stand attached to a gear.

"So this is what happened to them. Such a shame but I still must put them down!", he thought as his body healed.

A massive spike made out of ice was erected. While he fell, he infused himself with spiritual power through his coating had reached such a level that it was dark purple. Upon impact, instead of holding onto it, he bounced off spinning away. He noticed the fifteen gems embedded into its dress and its strange movements. Swing her right arm in a circular motion and then violently swinging it down, Phantom was struck down by the wind. The once beautiful realm is now a death zone of dead flora that won't decay or grow.

"If the cores stand for its abilities, then I should destroy them first. The issue is whether or not it also has control over the 5th and the 6th Saint", he realized. If he can survive but also determine whether or not it contains the powers of the two saints, he'll gain a lot more from this mission than many others. With these two being the first Saints to ever die, they could also determine whether or not you could extract or duplicate the power of a Saint.

Another spike of ice was erected but not aimed at him. With a quick, aggressive, and swift slash from her right hand through the air, she cut through the spike but also nearly through him. Then she pulled her arm back and pushed it forward while Phantom was falling. Only slowing downtime instead of stopping it, could he determine that the ability of the fifth saint was within it. One of the gems in sight lit up as he stopped time. His ability to stop time was intercepted and the chunk of ice sped up hitting him head-on.

"Shit! At least I know that the 5th Saint or another spatial ability is within it. Pulling out a glowing sniper rifle out of his shield while crushed between the ice and an air wall, he thought about how he should deal with the ice.

"If I break it by shooting at it, likely I'll create shards that will dig into my body. If I fuck up and not mind such details, I'll get myself killed like the idiot I am from time to time."

He opted to pull the ice block into his disk wasting his magic on storing away a chunk of ice. Smacking itself within its chest as you would drum a drum, an explosion occurred in front of him blowing him back. Another one occurred behind him while another one of the gems lit up.

"I should aim at the explosive one first, then there won't be anything obstructing my view. Though that will prove a challenge as long as it is drumming on its chest. Maybe a grenade will suffice?", he thought as he let his rifle back into his disk. Quickly, he summoned a grenade, slowed down time, pulled the safety pin, and threw the grenade. Obstructing its view with an explosion and then pulling out his rifle, he carefully observed the one gem that the amalgamation is using to create explosions. Right as it lit up, he shot at it fragmenting it and watching it fall.

"One down, several more to go!", he thought. Staring it down it started spinning and summoned steel blades. Another gem lit up. Still, midair he had to just start shooting before he could be turned into minced meat. He put his rifle back and pulled out two uzis. As soon as he started firing he was hit with silence. Everything went black and he lost consciousness.