The void. A different form of space which superimposed over the space where most entities lived.

  Contrarily to normal space, the void was fragmented into pieces which grinded against one another chaotically. That constant grinding would then cause the space to fracture, and force rifts to open constantly.

  In order to help people understand how the void worked, the experienced cultivators that were able to comprehend it, would describe it as a universe made of mirror shards.

  Just like the direction in which a mirror shard was pointing towards determined what a person would see reflected on it, each fragment of the void was connected to a point of the more stable space.

  The slightest motion of one fragment would force the ones it was in contact with to grind, causing a chain reaction that would propagate through the entire void for the the rest of eternity.

  In the course of the billions of years, the fragments of what was now the void had mixed and moved around…… And now, it was extremely difficult to move inside it without ending up being thrown into a rift, and being sent light years away from their previous position.

  When Daniel, Aeron, and Xargy entered the rift, they found themselves into a chaotic mess of shifting fragments, and dense spatial energy. If they hadn’t been at their current level of cultivation, they would have likely been torn apart by the chaotic void just like the celestial bodies which used to fill the void a long time ago.

  This was the first encounter which Daniel had ever had with the void, so he was unable to travel inside it like a master of spatial essence could. The best he was capable of, was to use his full comprehension of space to stabilize the space around himself and his companions in order to gain a bit of time before a random rift formed next to them, and forced them back into the normal space.

  Daniel’s first reaction was to activate ’Time is Precious’, and to observe how the chaotic void worked.

  It didn’t take long for him to associate the method to create spatial containers and pocket dimension, which were bubbles of stable spatial essence locked to an item present in the normal space, with the space the void which contained them.

  In a matter of seconds, Daniel had added the general understanding of the void to his comprehension of spatial essence, which allowed him to stabilize the area of space where he and his friends were floating with more ease.

  "So…… this is the void." Muttered Aeron with surprise. Despite his hundreds of years of life, and numerous battle experiences, he, along with Daniel and most other cultivators in the universe, had never seen the void personally.

  "Argh…… mhh…… Yes, it is……" Said Xargy while painfully turning into his human form. "There is a legend handed down by dragons that says that the void used to be another dimension, just like our normal space…… With planets and people living in it, but that a catastrophe caused it to shatter…… However I don’t know if it’s true"

  The three observed their surroundings for a few seconds, but no matter how much they looked around for, the only thing they were able to observe, was pure darkness…… Or so they thought.

  Aeron, still curious about the void, noticed a strange event take place a few meters away from him. A small box of spatial essence was slowly forming. "Is that what I think it is?" He asked to the other two, which turned to look in the direction of the box.

  "Oh, that is a rare sight…… You don’t often get to see the creation for a spatial container from the other side……" Responded Xargy with a faint smile and eyes filled with interest. He had read a lot about the void, and there wasn’t much about its theory that he hadn’t learned about.

  Unaware of the dangers of such an action, Aeron moved towards the small box of spatial essence and attempted to grab it, but before his fingers could touch its surface, Daniel shouted "Don’t touch it!"

  "Why?"

  "It’s already hard enough to keep this bubble of space stable…… What do you think would happen if your body was in a semi-stable void, the chaotic void, and normal space all at the same time?" Asked Daniel with closed eyes, and brows furrowed from irritation. He then added without waiting for Aeron to respond "You will be torn apart, that is what will happen."

  After hearing Daniel’s words, Aeron cleared his throat in embarrassment, and moved his hand back. He was not aware of the strain that keeping the space around them stable was causing to Daniel, and therefore, he had erroneously believed the void to be not as dangerous of a place…… Luckily, Daniel was more than aware of the truth, and had managed to stop him in time.

  "Okay, what do we do? How do we get out of here?"

  Finally, Daniel opened his eyes and turned to look at his two companions. "Grab my shirt, and no matter what happens, do not let go of it." He said with an extremely serious tone.

  After Xargy and Aeron followed Daniel’s instruction and grabbed the back of his shirt, Daniel shrunk the stabilized space in which the three were safely floating in, to a point where it became a simple and thin layer around their bodies.

  "From now on…… Don’t move." He said before letting go over the control of space altogether, and force them to float in the void without any form of control or protection.

  The three remained completely still, until finally, Daniel flicked the tip of his middle finger. This small and almost unnoticeable action caused the fragment of void around the finger to move, and grind against the fragments to which it was in contact with.

  This grinding was completely silent, and yet all three of them were able to feel it…… A trembling of their surrounding which caused their skin to crawl uncontrollably…… A thousand of small needle pricking their flesh…… And goosebumps all over their bodies. A few familiar feelings which, if felt for too long, would cause people to be disgusted by it.

  The unnoticeable motion traveled through the chaotic void in all directions with the three of them at the epicenter, and moments later, a crack from which a bright white light came through, began to form next to Daniel’s finger.

  Bit by bit this crack became large, and in less than a minute, it was the size of a small scaled rift. Its length was about a meter, while its width was less than sixty centimeters.

  Daniel was ready to force this small rift open with another flick of his finger, but just as he was about to move, he felt a presence approach them from the distance.

  Suddenly, a memory emerged from the past. A remembrance of his first encounter with the void, the first time he had been in the company of a dragon, and the time when he had managed to cause the appearance of one of the beings which lived within the void.

  Without waiting any longer, Daniel covered his hands in spatial essence, and used them to grab the two sides of the rift. He then forced it open enough for him and his friends to go through.

  Along with a bright white light, overwhelming heath was making is way into the void…… But whatever was on the other side of the rift was certainly not as dangerous as what was approaching from the distance, so Daniel dashed into the rift, and along with Xargy and Aeron, shifted back into normal space.

  "We need to move! We are too close to that star!" Shouted Aeron as the clothes on his body burned, his mask caught fire, and his skin began to sear.

  Xargy, which wasn’t affected by the extreme heath in the least, grabbed the two and moved away with a mind boggling speed.

  Once the three were far enough from the star, Xargy and Aeron noticed that Daniel had been quiet, and was observing the rift that was dangerously close to the star.

  "What are you looking at? It will close back up in a bit." Said Xargy with a reassuring tone. But once he noticed that Daniel was ignoring him, he turned to look back at the rift, and noticed that there was something odd about it.

  What was odd about the rift, was that instead of becoming smaller, it was getting bigger. "What is goin-" his curiosity was interrupted by the sight of a massive tentacle which came out of the rift, and waved casually through the space.

  Its motion was causing the rift to open further, but fortunately, after the massive tentacle moved too close to the burning hot star, it retreated into the now rift which closed right after.

  "Do I even want to know?" Asked Xargy with a dumbfounded expression. He knew that he was not a match for the being that had tried to come out of the rift, and yet, he hadn’t felt his presence in the least despite how close it was to them.

  "I know less than you do." Responded Daniel calmly before closing his eyes, and trying to feel the presence of something in the distance.

  "What are you doing?"

  "They left……" muttered Daniel before opening his eyes, and turning towards his two companions. "Let’s go." he then added while grabbing their wrists and forcibly teleporting them away.

  When they reappeared, they were standing above a small sized asteroid which was dashing through space. This asteroid was of course Daniel’s planet, and he could feel it and teleport himself on it at any moment, and from any point in space.

  Once back on his planet, Daniel let Virgil out of the small pocket dimension he had stored him in, and entered the small house while saying "Plan B it is then……"——

  Planet Alcazar, two days later.

  "SIR! You won’t believe this……" Said a judge while approaching the Grand Judge in hurry. He was holding a simple sheet of paper which was the cause of his worry.

  The moment the Grand Judge noticed the face of the Judge which he had charged with the job of keeping an eye on the Garden of Death, he immediately sprung up on his feet, and approached him while asking "What is it this time?"

  The judge said nothing and handed the sheet of paper over to him. On it, only a few sentences were written.

  _______________

  Dear Universal Government……

  I have had an interesting encounter with a member of the Garden of Death recently, but do not worry, I am safe and sound…… However, that little event forced me to realize that you didn’t get my message. Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough…… so I will try something different……

  I am traveling towards the territory of the Garden of Death. Once there, I will deliver the recipes of my low, mid, and high tier poison immunity pills to the first elite member of the Garden of Death I see…… for free!

  Yours truly (pissed), Daniel the Outcast.

  _______________

  "Damn it……" muttered the Grand Judge with a grim tone. What he had feared the very moment the elite members of the Garden of Death had come to see him to plea for forgiveness had happened. However, there was another feeling that was making its way inside his chest, and that feeling, was pure anger.

  He had vouched for the Garden of Death, and at the same time, they had tried to use his kindness to earn enough power to rival them…… In his mind, there wasn’t pity for them anymore.

  "Do they know about this already?" Asked the Grand Judge to the Judge.

  The judge shook his head and said "No, it was just this one letter this time. It came up the ranks, and once it reached Judge Holek, she sent it to me, as she knew that I was in charge of controlling the Garden of Death."

  "Good……" responded the Grand Judge before turning to look back down at the letter, and saying "We can’t afford to have someone ready to stab our back now…… Not while we are on the verge of going to war against a civilization as powerful as ours…… Send the army…… By tomorrow, a faction with the name Garden of Death won’t exist anymore."