Chapter Forty-Five: The Void Walker

Only a few minutes had passed before Pepper’s body slowly lay down on the ground.

“Oh my god!”

When Pepper opened her eyes, her body shuddered, and she woke with a start, crying out loudly.

“Pepper, what did you see?” Tony hurried over as soon as he saw her awake.

“I saw one unimaginable colossus after another,” she replied, her face pale and her words tinged with awe. “In front of them, I felt so insignificant—so small that I was less than an ant.”

“Those are the manifestations of the Void’s will,” Tony explained, seeing Pepper drenched in cold sweat. He quickly tried to comfort her. “It means that by joining the Void, we too can one day reach that ultimate form. There’s no need to be afraid.”

“So you mean I’ll turn into one of those gigantic creatures too?” Pepper’s face grew even paler at his words.

“Is that all you saw—those giants?” Tony’s eyes flickered, and he asked carefully.

“Yes. All I saw were terrifying monsters, each larger than a planet,” Pepper nodded, though she found it strange.

“Don’t worry, trust me. That’s probably the most primitive form of ultimate evolution. With the right use of power, one can take on human form.” Tony’s mind raced as he tried to reassure her, his eyes glinting.

“Is there anything to eat?” Pepper, though still shaken, soon felt the pang of hunger in her stomach and turned to Tony.

“I had someone prepare food; it should be here soon. Besides, I need to explain more to you. There’s no need to worry or be afraid. I’m here,” Tony said, seeing that Pepper was starting to feel hungry as well—just as he expected.

“All right,” Pepper responded softly, comforted by his words.

※※※※※※

Elsewhere.

Harvey Amberlac drove home. The system had just notified him that someone wanted to learn about and join the Void. He didn’t need to guess—Tony must have persuaded Pepper, so he agreed immediately. Pepper’s joining only gave him five thousand units of Void energy, a mere twentieth of what Tony Stark had brought. But allowing Pepper to join meant Tony would fully accept the Void, so Harvey didn’t mind how much energy he gained from her.

Besides, Harvey had more important things to do now. He changed into comfortable home clothes, then headed to the underground training room. He opened the hero template; a marker indicated he had one selection available.

Before, he hadn’t known that spreading the Void’s will to more people would grant him additional hero templates to choose from. Back then, he’d thought that if he ever got a second chance, he would definitely pick the behemoth—Cho’Gath, Terror of the Void. The layered evolutionary abilities of Kha’Zix, the Void Reaver, combined with Cho’Gath, would make his survivability soar. Even if he hadn’t fully grown, as long as he didn’t provoke certain cosmic gods, nothing could threaten his life.

But now, knowing that the more people believed in the Void, the more hero templates he could obtain, there was only one optimal choice: the power of Kassadin, the Void Walker. With Kassadin’s Riftwalk, he could venture straight into the cosmos to establish the Church of the Void. There were powerful figures stationed on Blue Star, so he couldn’t act recklessly there. But in the universe—apart from the Nine Realms—there was little to fear on other planets. Even Thanos didn’t worry him. Rather than fearing Thanos himself, he was more concerned about whoever might gather all six Infinity Stones. At this stage, Thanos hadn’t collected them yet, so there was nothing to worry about. In the vast universe, countless races possessed inherently strong powers; in the long run, accumulation could compensate for any lack of fate or destiny.

As long as he could evolve swiftly enough, there was nothing to fear.

So Harvey looked at Kassadin’s hero template, hesitated little, and made his choice.

“Are you sure you want to acquire the hero template: Kassadin, the Void Walker? This choice is irreversible,” the system’s voice echoed in Harvey’s mind. Perhaps because these template selections were so rare and precious, the system had asked the same thing the first time.

“Confirm,” Harvey answered, having long since made up his mind.

The moment he confirmed, a voice both ancient and haughtily proud sounded in his mind: “Few can traverse the boundaries between worlds.” — Kassadin.

With these words, a flood of knowledge Harvey had never known poured into his mind. It was as if enlightenment struck—mysterious, arcane magical knowledge, and the mastery of Void energy. At the same time, a deep purple stone appeared in the Void and merged directly into Harvey’s body.

He stood with eyes closed as time drifted by. Only as night fell did he fully absorb this vast trove of knowledge. When he opened his eyes again, his dark pupils had grown deeper, with faint traces of gold within. The world around him was filled with swirling violet energies he’d never seen before.

The world seemed utterly transformed. As Harvey pondered the magical lore in his mind, he extended his right hand—a blade of violet Void energy instantly appeared, distorting the very space it cut through in a fearsome display. At a thought, Harvey rose into the air; orbs of dark purple magic gathered around him, orbiting his body. Reflected in the violet glow, his aura grew strange and sinister.

He no longer needed to evolve flight. By harnessing the magical energy that permeated the Void, he could fly with ease. Eyes closed, though he stood in the basement, his vision stretched farther and farther, penetrating matter as if gazing from above.

Lifting a foot into the air, a Void portal opened beneath him, and his body turned to purple light and vanished. In the next instant, he appeared in the first-floor hall.

“One path seeks the limits of the body, the other the heights of magic,” Harvey mused, marveling as he passed through walls to the first floor in an instant. “Until the body truly matures, magic truly reigns supreme.”