Unsealing Emptiness

Chapter 336: Air Cracks?

“Wow! He was a bit of a screamer, wasn’t he?”

Old Gu’s voice had regained its tenacity.

It no longer sounded like the lingering ghost’s whispers.

He only spoke after the man was dead, as if he didn’t care whether or not his prize winners lived until they received their rewards.

Berk kept a blank expression on his face as he stared at Maura’s body.

“I had hoped for at least 15 winners this time, but 14 will do just nicely,” Old Gu went on.

He was about to continue when his face scrunched up due to the loud explosions in the background. Everything had come to a standstill. They were all fatigued and didn’t want to continue this murdering game any longer.

.....

“Will the two of you stop? It’s over already!” He yelled at them from miles away, but his voice echoed throughout the city.

With the exception of Berk, who was still in shock, the others all looked into the distance and noticed that both of them had completely ignored Old Gu.

The Sovereign was the ruler of all Beasts on the continent, and she never listened to anyone!

Ozul, on the other hand, did not pause because he was determined to defeat her right away. He wanted to see if defeating her would elicit any emotions from him. He was aware that the tournament had ended, but he refused to give up.

“I told you to stop!”

With that, a wave of pressure washed over Ozul and the Sovereign, forcing them both to come to a halt!

Even those who were not directly affected by the pressure took a step back instinctively. Old Gu’s voice was no longer an old man’s mocking.

The pressure was enough to bring both the Sovereign and Ozul to their knees!

The Sovereign bared her teeth at Old Gu from afar while Ozul glared at him with a stare that could prick a hole through his brain.

After his display of power, everyone looked at him in horror. They all knew he was more powerful than the top Rank-10 individuals, but this... He brought them both to their knees with just his voice!?

‘I should be able to stand up... why can’t I?’ Ozul pondered in his mind. He thought he could stand up, but the more force he used, the more pressure he felt on his head.

He had already estimated Old Gu’s strength, and he shouldn’t have been so much stronger than him!

Then he felt something brush past his back, and the pressure was suddenly relieved! He was now as light as a feather.

‘Just how much you’re hiding...’ he sighed as he looked to his side.

Jinx sat down next to him and began licking her paws after giving him a long look with her enchanting eyes.

*sigh..*

He sighed again before standing up.

‘Maybe another time,’ he thought in his mind while staring at the defiant eyes of the Sovereign. If he killed her now, he wouldn’t feel anything.

“What? How can you stand up?!” Old Gu exclaimed, his face etched with the word ‘shocked’.

“Don’t lose your cool, old man. This isn’t like you,” Ozul replied.

Old Gu was reminded of his image in front of everyone, so he coughed lightly before steadying his breath.

Ozul wanted to dig a little deeper because this was the first time he’d seen him lose his cool, but he also didn’t want Jinx to attract the attention of people who were stronger than him. Old Gu would most likely make a connection with it because she was suddenly beside him.

“Right, so as I was about to say... the tournament has officially ended,” he spoke while eyeing Ozul from the corner of his eyes. He couldn’t help his curiosity.

Old Gu pretended he hadn’t just asked a question. Others only heard him ask a question before he abruptly changed the subject. Only the Sovereign was close enough to hear Ozul, and she didn’t care whatsoever; all she wanted to do was get up and tear apart both Ozul and the old man who had done this to her.

“It’s time to announce the names of the 14 survivors!”

“...uh... Never mind, I don’t remember most of your names,” he exclaimed after a brief pause.

“Anyway!” he yelled again, and with a raise of his hands, the barrier that surrounded Neutral City abruptly became opaque.

Those on the outside couldn’t see anything that was going on inside.

“Alright, now we can begin the next part of this trial~,” he said with a smile creeping up his face, “Anyone might wanna make some guesses?”

Knowing that Ozul and the Sovereign weren’t the types to amuse anyone, he looked at the humans on the hill with expectations in his eyes.

Being stared at by the monster in human skin, many didn’t dare to speak, while others didn’t want to entertain him.

Seeing that no one was interested, he locked his eyes with a man of short build... On a closer look, he looked as if he was only a 15 years old teen!

“What do you think, genius boy?” Old Gu remembered him. He looked young, but he was still over 50 years old. The reason he called him genius was because of his exceptional intellect and rare talent in cultivation.

“Ah! Me?” the ‘boy’ in question seemed startled and even spoke with a childish voice, “Uhm... Is there going to be another round of this trial?”

The mere prospect of another bloodbath terrified him, but it was the only ‘next part’ he could think of at the moment.

“Hmm? That was the best you could come up with?” Old Gu squinted his eyes at him, making the latter shiver in fear. He didn’t know what could tick off this old man and cause his demise.

“Hah! The next part is, of course, the reward! Didn’t I say that already? Except for that unfortunate guy over there, you all get to have your worldview shattered!”

“What? Shouldn’t you all be cheering right now?” Old Gu said, grunting with disappointment as he looked around and saw no one celebrating.

No one was in the mood to shout their joy because they had yet to accept the fact that they had just survived a brutal bloodbath.

“Even though you guys had it easier than the previous ones... sigh... whatever,” he lazily shrugged his shoulders.

Ozul went to check on Raven, Blaze, and Zier while Old Gu was going on about his insensitive ramblings.

He wrapped the Ball of Purity around Zier’s torso when he saw him in such a sorry state. It immediately alleviated his pain.

“Enough of that now,” Old Gu said at last.

He closed his eyes and his body steadily rose up in the air.

Ozul instantly increased his vigilance. He didn’t want to miss out on anything.

The winds suddenly slowed, and it felt much warmer, as if the season had abruptly changed from winter to summer.

“What is happening?” someone asked, but they received no answer.

No one else knew what was happening either.

Everyone felt strange because they sensed something oppressing in the atmosphere. A strange smell invaded their nostrils. Something foreign was in the air, but they couldn’t put a finger on it.

Even the distant sounds of rustling leaves or the flapping of birds could not be heard. It was as if everything was also holding its breath in excitement and watching whatever Old Gu was doing.

“The candidates from the fragmented world have been chosen.”

In an almost ethereal voice, Old Gu opened his mouth and spoke these words.

He wasn’t speaking to anyone below him, but no one else was on the scene either.

Ozul concentrated on the phrase ‘fragmented world,’ as it further confirmed his suspicion that this world was only a small part of something larger.

Among others, only he knew a fraction of what was happening right now. Old Gu was most likely speaking to someone outside this world.

As he finished speaking, the wind, which had stopped abruptly, began to move again, as did the sound of a small stream moving down the hill and the sound of birds flapping their wings anxiously.

Everyone looked up in the sky as they felt a sucking force from above.

*Crack!*

They stared in horror as a small crack appeared in the clear blue sky!

The sky, which remained unattainable to humans before, appeared more fragile than a common mirror!

Even Ozul was a little surprised as he expected many things but to see a crack appear in the air out of nowhere.

The crack grew larger and larger in front of everyone’s stunned eyes, until it felt as if the ‘glass’ had enough cracks and was about to break.

Some held their breaths, not knowing what to expect on the other side of the cracks.

*Chingkk!*

The ‘glass’ broke!

Something dark took the place of that part of the air. More precisely, a dark round shape with nothing visible on the other side. It was void.

This attracted Ozul’s attention. He stared straight into the void and felt as if his very soul was being sucked into it... if he had any. There was something fascinating about that void.

A stranger might have wondered why he was so interested in it, but Raven and Blaze knew because they had known him for so long. Raven nudged his shoulder to jolt him out of his trance.

This was not the time to be lost in thought, so she had to wake him up from his dreams.

“Something is coming out of it!”