After five days of intense battle, Void and the 34 female demons were done. Now, all that remained was for them to lay eggs, yes lay eggs. The Abyss used the most effective reproduction method. Unlike other races that give birth directly, all female demons, humanoid or not, laid eggs. These eggs were then placed in the magma river, which would carry them to the First Abyss, where they would be deposited across the massive islands scattered throughout. This method ensured maximum survival: even the weakest female demon could lay 100 eggs.
Void watched as the nine giant purple moons slowly turned back into seven.
"Well… this marks the end of the mating season," he sighed, entering deep into the cave. Finally, he was about to break through to Rank 1.
Void's body began to vibrate. For the first time, he felt exhausted; his eyelids were heavy. Slowly, he collapsed and closed his eyes. Within a day, his body was cocooned inside a giant shell, 20 meters long. Days passed, then weeks, and finally a month.
Cracks began to form across the cocoon, which suddenly exploded.
…Boom…
A 10-meter-tall demon emerged. Void felt his new power instantly. Destroying a low-level planet was now effortless—common in the universe, but a sign of how far his strength had advanced. He was still a dark demon, but now he bore red-like patterns across his body. Two curved horns, each a meter long, protruded from his head. Inverted bat-like wings stretched 10 meters each, coming together to form a wingspan of 20 meters. His tail grew to 7 meters, ending in a sharp spike.
The wings weren't just for flight; they were hard and razor-sharp, usable as shields. (Note: At Rank 1, every creature can fly, with or without wings, but for demons, angels, and some others, wings signify rank.)
Void's claws measured 12 inches each, deadly sharp. Despite the bulging, terrifying musculature, his face now appeared more human-like, though still frightening when his fangs were exposed.
Void relished his new element: fire. Unlike the common trope in other novels—where rare elements like lightning or time/space are stronger than basic fire, wind, or water—in this universe, all elements were equal in potential. The key was control and application. Fire could burn through space; wind could cut through time. A skilled wielder could distort reality itself. Fire could even burn the present and past if used properly.
System Stats:
Host: Void
Race: Demon
Rank: 1, Quasi-Low Level
Strength: Low
Speed: Low
Stamina: Early
Skill: None
Element: Fire
Height: 10 meters
Soul: 910,000 (conversion in progress)
Blessing: Son of the Abyss
Void was thrilled. The blessing would save him the trouble of using souls to reach the quasi-realm, allowing him to focus solely on breaking through the next level. The quasi-realm had two stages: one stat at the next level made a Supreme Realm; two stats made a Quasi-Realm.
But then he noticed the conversion progress of his souls. Joy turned into frustration.
"Be fast, you damn system," he growled.
…Boom…
Void's anger caused the temperature around him to skyrocket, burning demons within 500,000 km. This was no ordinary fire; it seared their souls. Screams echoed as demons were pinned to the ground. The sudden release of aura, uncontrollable after his breakthrough, was catastrophic.
"Is this the so-called immortal anger that changes the world?" he murmured, stroking his chin. Sparks flew; metallic sounds rang out.
"Am I… already an immortal cultivator?" Void asked, smiling foolishly. Just the release of his aura pinned Rank 0 demons to the ground. If he had targeted them deliberately… could he kill them? The gap in power was staggering. He now feared what a middle-level Rank 1 or Rank 2 demon might be capable of.
Void quickly retracted his aura. Fires extinguished, temperature normalized, and the abyssal warning presence faded. Without his blessing, he would have been thrown into the Third Abyss.
Feeling a terrifying pull, Void knew the gate to the Third Abyss was calling. He bent slightly, then jumped. Instantly, he rose 100,000 km above the ground, instinctively spreading his wings. Flying was now instinctual, as if he had been born knowing how. The abyss had already solved that problem for him.
Once his suffocating aura dissipated, the demons scattered. All that remained was a kilometer-deep ditch.
****
Traveling at Light Speed:
Void moved like a meteor, first reaching twice the speed of light, then three times. At early Rank 1, a being could already travel at light speed, but as a quasi-low-level Rank 1, Void now moved three times faster. Traveling at light speed required an extremely strong body; otherwise, one could disintegrate into particles or vanish entirely if even a single particle was lost.
It took Void a day to reach his destination. Looking down, he saw millions of demons—some in the sky, others on the ground—lining the edge of a vast ravine. The chasm had no end in sight; even with Void's 500,000 km vision and perception, he couldn't see the far edge. It was at least 200,000 km wide.
This was already four times the size of Earth. Rank 1 demons stood ten meters tall and, unlike Void, could not hide their auras—their presence was always radiating. Void was the only quasi‑low‑level Rank 1 among them. Over a week, the demon army swelled from millions to ten billion.
Ten billion Rank 1 demons in one place. You can't imagine how suffocating their combined aura was. Even as a quasi‑low‑level Rank 1, Void could only handle hundreds of early Rank 1 beings. He pitied the multiverses—now he understood the question that had always bothered him: why demons were spread thin, trapped in one world or universe and rarely returned. The answer was obvious: invasions happened across countless multiverses at different timelines, and in many worlds demons were mixed‑blood. Some worlds knew exactly how strong demons were; in others, humans could still kill a demon with a bullet.
"Mixed blood," Void mused, smirking. He remembered a demon in some anime who dressed like a famous singer called MJ—probably a mixed blood. Void doubted that demon could even reach middle Rank 0.
The dark ravine had been quiet today, but then it pulsed and emitted a fluorescent light. The whole chasm brightened and a portal opened. The billions of Rank 1 demons took off, traveling at light speed. Void didn't release his aura, nor did he plan to hide; he pushed to his maximum. Moving at three times the speed of light, he left everyone behind and was the first to enter the Third Abyss. It took him eight hours to arrive; it took the rest of the demons a full day.
When he arrived, a flood of information slammed into Void's mind, leaving him stunned and speechless.
*****
The Third Abyss
The Third Abyss differed greatly from the first two. Here, stars stuck out of the ground—half of each sun protruded above the surface. Void's perception couldn't cover a whole star; they were far larger than any sun he knew. Each star spanned millions of kilometers in diameter.
He also saw many Aerons—mostly Rank 1, with a few Rank 2 Aerons he could identify using his skills. The Abyss must have taught high‑level demons how to use blood to create Aerons.
Void waited for the others to converge. When the last demon arrived, a 30‑meter‑tall demon appeared at their front. Facing the pressure of ten billion Rank 1 auras, this demon didn't flinch; he stared them down. His arrival speed had surpassed theirs by far.
"System."
(Ding)
{Host: Abbragon. Race: Demon. Rank: 1 — High Level}
{Strength: High. Speed: High. Stamina: High}
{Skill: ???. Element: ???. Height: 30 meters}
Void could only think one word: bully. There was no doubt this demon could erase them in an instant. Still, Abbragon did not attack; he looked over the masses and paused when his gaze landed on Void. For a moment Abbragon seemed surprised, then his expression returned to neutral.
"A new batch of low‑level demons," Abbragon said with a smile. A vast aura radiated from him and the ten billion demons collapsed like flies—pinned to the ground, unable to move.
"Much better," Abbragon said.
"My name is Abbragon. I was born in the batch before you," he continued. "By now you should be able to think instead of being driven solely by instinct. The Third Abyss is different from the first two. Rank 1 and Rank 2 demons reside here. We don't kill for glory anymore—the gain is too small compared to destroying a planet—and we are at war with ten overpowered universes, two of which are just beyond our reach. The Abyss once connected to a single universe, but it has grown stronger and now links many. That growth spawned Rank 4 and Rank 5 demons. Many of our Rank 5s are stuck with those universes—two were even sealed. We still have backup Rank 5s here in the Abyss, but they need us to infiltrate the rear and summon them back. Rank 4 demons are being kept at bay, too; only Rank 3s can help a little. In a month, Rank 3 demons will open a portal and create an opening in the crystal wall of the universe. That opening will let us enter—use it wisely. Our mission is what we were born to do. But this time, do not destroy the planet. Kill every intelligent being, drain their blood, and inscribe these runes…" Abbragon paused.
Although pressed to the ground, the demons were respectful rather than angry—such commands were common, and they respected strength. Void listened, uneasy; something about Abbragon's plan didn't sit right. Which universe were they going to invade exactly?
"Well, go make your weapons," Abbragon said. "They will grow with you in battle. Infuse them with your element. Right—after I leave, the Abyss will teach you the runes and the portal opening method. You'll understand why the natives must be killed. Good luck. We meet again here in a month." He spread his wings and vanished.
"In a month I'll enter a dangerous multiverse—well, a universe. Damn, I'm just a low‑level demon," Void sighed, standing up. Life as a demon was difficult.
Void spread his wings and flew away. A few minutes later, he found a suitable spot and landed. For demons to make a weapon, they needed white ore and their element. This white ore was plentiful in the Abyss, lying just a meter below the surface.
The first thing Void did was sit down and master his element. It took a week, but now his element was fully under his control. Next, he gathered a large amount of white ore and began crafting his weapon.
"Should I make a hammer like Thor's Mjölnir?"
"No… wait, what about Sun Wukong's golden cudgel, Ruyi Jingu Bang?"
"Hmm… or Pangu's axe?"
"Maybe a thin, long sword like those immortals use?"
"What about two pistols like Alucard's…? Hmmm, that's dumb."
Void racked his brain for a long time before finally settling on a giant long sword. He preferred to follow his own path, not imitate others. Besides, if he ever traveled to their universes and fought them, it would be awkward if they were using the same weapon.
It took Void three weeks to complete the sword. All he had to do was dip the white ore into the core of the stars embedded in the ground, turning it into a molten, water-like state. Then he molded it into the desired shape. The hardest part came next: infusing it with his element. He had to carefully integrate his fire using multiple variations—normal fire, soul-burning fire, Nirvana fire, and more. His imagination and experimentation with the ore made the process lengthy, but in the end, it was worth it.
Void's sword measured 8 meters long and 0.5 meters wide. Jet black with flaming patterns, it had nine small dents arranged in a tree-like structure, each possessing a unique fire ability. The first dent contained amplified normal fire. At the first level, the weapon was engulfed in fire so intense it could, in theory, burn through space—or even a universe—but for now, it was just incredibly hot.
Void wasn't that strong yet, but as he grew stronger, the sword's power would grow with him.
Finally, the giant portal opened, and hundreds of billions of demons poured through. Void spotted Abbragon and the Rank 2 demons. Their aura gave him the impression that space itself was distorting—but luckily, it wasn't directed at them. The portal spanned thousands of light years. Void carried his massive sword, weighing millions of tons, and stepped through the portal with a grin. No matter who awaited him on the other side, Void was ready to smash their head with his sword.
(Alright, a quick note: I've mentioned "worlds" and "universes." In this novel, they are similar but distinct.)
Low-level world = equivalent to a planet in a universe.
Middle-level world = equivalent to a galaxy in a universe.
High-level world = as large as a universe.
Superior-level world = a multiverse.
The distinction becomes important from the middle-level world. Such worlds exist in crystal realms and contain multiple low-level worlds connected by planes—layers of space separated yet linked. If you've read Chinese novels, this is similar to the Immortal Realm (middle-level world) versus the Mortal Realm (low-level world within a middle-level world's crystal wall).
High-level worlds also exist in crystal realms, with many middle-level worlds inside their walls, which in turn contain numerous low-level worlds. Superior-level worlds follow the same structure.
Demons can travel either the universe type (e.g., DC, Marvel, Dragon Ball, One Piece, One Punch Man, Naruto, Bleach) or the world type.
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†Thank you for reading!†
I really appreciate the support, power stones, and motivation to continue this story. Two questions from the author:
1. Which universe do you think Void is going to?
2. Which character dresses like MJ, and what is the name of the anime?
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