The Empyreal Gem Master

It was a moment of peace.

Something that could not be bought or obtained for many others, they held in the palm of their hands.

Inside an expansive golden bubble surrounded by a fully assimilated authority of a Covenant of Nature, Alexander and Claire spent a precious moment that seemed brighter than many things that had occurred recently.

After she overcame her initial shyness, Claire became much more straightforward as she talked to him like she used to before, her eyes lighting up as they talked about all the things that happened so far.

After a while.

"I missed this."

Claire hugged her feet while looking at the crimson flames roasting the meat before them, her eyes feeling a long-forgotten peace as she sighed.

Behind her, she could feel the wide back of Alexander as they both leaned against each other- she was staring at the fire and he was staring out at the stellar expanse around them.

"But…it doesn't feel like we can just go back to how everything was. I like this new place we're at. You called this a…date. Does that mean…?"

Her eyes stared at the crackling flames as she felt the warmth of his back behind her.

She couldn't see his face, but she knew he would be smiling mischievously at this moment as his voice came out from behind.

"Yeah. I've always wanted to try it, but I felt like your dad would eat me alive if I even said anything back then. Now…hmm."

He didn't finish his words, but Claire could not help but smile brilliantly.

It was something small.

Something innocent amidst what seemed like waves of darkness and chaos.

She reached out behind her as she felt the fingers of his left hand on the golden floor they were on, and she twirled her fingers to grab a hold of his hand.

It felt safe.

It felt peaceful.

It felt-...!n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

HUUM!

The surrounding weavings of Covenants of Nature instantly buzzed as Alexander rose up suddenly while still holding Claire's hands.

He looked out to the distant space in shock and heaviness that caused the light in Claire's eyes to dim, her gaze changing as she didn't even have to ask what it was.

Something else chaotic and crazy is probably approaching!

"We have to go."

Alexander's voice was heavy as their figures became fully wrapped with the golden light, and they began to shoot back into the folds of Ephesus.

This was because just moments ago, his mind buzzed with a thread of information that came from over fifty thousand miles away!

The distance he could obtain information of relevance to him expanded akin to a circle with a diameter of 100,000 Miles.

At this moment, something of tremendous relevance came.

||49,999 miles away, a party of Void Rulers is shooting across the void towards a path directly in line with Ephesus.||

||49,910 miles away, the party of Void Rulers is observed to be radiating the aura of the assimilated Covenant of Space, the assimilated Covenant of Lightning, the assimilated Covenant of Chaos, the assimilated Covenant of Gravity, and the assimilated Covenant of Blood. Particles of other Covenants of Nature that have only been understood and not assimilated also surge around the Void Rulers in abundance.||

…!

His gaze continued to change as his main body delved back into the folds of Ephesus while pulling along Claire, continuing to receive more and more threads of information.

They told how these beings that were coming directly down towards Ephesus held powerful assimilated Covenants of Nature, in addition to them understanding multiple other Covenants of Nature!

This whole event was something brand new that caused many questions to arise in Alexander's mind.

This wasn't an action of Ephesus per se, where the fusion of worlds would bring about their inhabitants here as well.

These entities came from afar as the biggest question was, who were they, and what exactly was their intention for Ephesus?

Ephesus!

The place where Alexander had been mapping for the last half hour.

He utilized the threads of information from the Core Feature of the Investigator to steer away from any Void Ruler powerhouses that he was about to come across.

In his findings, he confirmed the shocking truth of at least six or seven Void Rulers being present within Ephesus itself- and the regions they were in were the only ones that remained unmapped.

Every other part of Ephesus, he knew.

Well, the Outer Ring of Ephesus.

Outer Ring.

This was what he called the earth above plain view with the skies and space above it!

It was because through the Investigator, he knew of the existence of another place he labeled the Hollow Earth!

The place where Ezraela was currently leading him to, and it was located deeply inside Ephesus.

One could only reach it by passing through a few unique channels that drilled straight down, or a Void Ruler could use sheer power to break through into that space.

In there, Alexander felt like the will of Ephesus was much more vibrant. It was another place he had yet to explore- his other Enneagram Clone about to arrive there with Ezraela!

This was Ephesus.

The place that currently had 5 foreign Void Rulers coming towards it.

How was he to face them?

His mind moved at quick speeds as many possible schemes arose, his eyes beginning to shine as he thought of the hidden Void Rulers within Ephesus itself.

A plan gradually formed in his mind as his main body arrived on the Sacred Gold Mountain, and his Enneagram Clone that was running all over Ephesus…quickly went towards the direction the new entrants would arrive from!

Leaving Claire on the Sacred Gold Mountain, Alexander smiled as he let go of her hand and rose up.

"I'm gonna visit a few Sacred Mountains to pick up some things. I can be back here in a matter of seconds if need be, so don't be worried too much."

He assured her as he saw her worried look, and Claire could only nod as he disappeared!

There was much to do.

The mapped Ephesus showed him a great number of Sacred Mountains. He wanted to see how quickly he could strengthen himself through them as his Enneagram Clone…went to greet the new entrants and gauge what they were coming here for!