Chapter 278: Hunger Remains

Chapter 278: Chapter 278: Hunger Remains

The liquid metal pulsed inside Neo. It flowed through his divine veins. He closed his eyes and listened. A new frequency echoed in his mind. It was a faint signal calling from outside their conquered territory.

​Neo opened his eyes. He looked at Noir, Moon, and Zestia.

​"My hunger remains. This Grand Reality was only a single drop in an infinite ocean. I can hear the rest of the ocean now. I can hear thousands of other drops."

​Zestia stepped forward, gripping her spear tightly.

"Then we march. We gather the children. We break the barrier together. We conquer the ocean."

​"No," Neo replied flatly. "You stay here. All of you."

​Noir narrowed her dark eyes. She crossed her arms. "You just told us we are pioneers. Now you want to leave us behind in the safe zone. Explain yourself, Neo."

​"Multiverse Prime is massive," Neo said. "It requires administrators. I am the core engine, but I need you three to manage the internal systems while my attention is focused outward. If I leave, the internal reality might destabilize under the weight of ten thousand universes. You must anchor it."

​Moon nodded slowly. "He speaks the truth. If we all leave, our children will be left in an unanchored reality. The newly synthesized laws are still settling. We must stay and govern."

​"Govern," Zestia scoffed. "I am a war goddess. I do not want to govern peaceful universes. I want to fight."

​"You will fight," Neo promised. "I am going out there to establish a beachhead. I will find a new Grand Reality. I will tear its doors open. Once the path is stable and secure, I will summon you. Until then, you protect our family. You prepare Orion and Silas for the true war."

​Zestia lowered her spear. She gave a sharp nod. "Do not take too long. I will get bored.

​Noir stepped close to him. She placed her pale hands on his chest.

"Do not let the outside ocean drown you. You are our supreme creator. Act like it."

​"Always," Neo smiled.

​He turned away from his wives. He did not walk out of the room. He simply willed his physical form to the absolute edge of existence.

​He appeared at the conceptual boundary of Multiverse Prime. There was no sky here. There was no ground. There was only a massive, solid wall of pure white light. This was the shell he had built to keep the chaotic energies out.

​Neo raised his right hand. The liquid metal in his veins glowed through his skin. He focused the alien frequency into his fingertips. He pressed his hand flat against the white wall.

​The wall did not resist. The alien frequency acted like a master key. The white light parted, forming a perfectly circular doorway.

​Neo stepped through the doorway.

​He left his internal reality behind. He entered the True Void.

​The True Void was entirely empty. It lacked color, sound, and matter. It was a space of absolute distance. There were no stars to guide him. There was no gravity to pull him.

​Neo hovered in the emptiness. He extended his divine senses. The alien metal in his blood acted as a compass. It pointed him toward a massive cluster of foreign frequencies.

​Before he could move, the empty space around him shifted.

​Three figures materialized out of the absolute nothingness. They did not have faces. They wore smooth, faceless masks of gray stone. Their bodies were wrapped in cloaks woven from pure static. They held long, jagged halberds made of the same dark stone Neo had tested on his anvil.

​"Halt," the center figure commanded.

"You have breached a quarantine zone. State your designation and origin."

​"I am Neo," he answered simply. "I am the Supreme Creator of Multiverse Prime. I am looking for new territories to synthesize."

​The three figures raised their halberds in perfect unison.

​"Error," the left figure stated. "Locally generated deities are confined to their designated Grand Realities. Expansion is strictly prohibited by the High Court of the True Void. Return to your quarantine zone immediately. Compliance is mandatory."

​"I do not comply," Neo said. "And I do not recognize your High Court."

​The figures did not issue another warning. They attacked instantly.

​They moved faster than light. They bypassed spatial distance entirely, appearing directly in front of Neo, behind him, and above him simultaneously. The three jagged halberds swung toward his neck, his spine, and his skull.

​Neo did not summon his sword. He did not conjure a shield. He used his new frequency.

​He shifted his molecular structure to match the alien liquid metal. The three halberds struck him perfectly. They did not cut his flesh. They sank into his body and became permanently stuck.

​The three figures froze. They tried to pull their weapons back. They could not.

​"Your weapons are made of the same material I just assimilated. You just handed me raw data."

​Neo clenched his fists. He executed a localized pulse of Universal Synthesis.

​The golden light did not explode outward. It traveled directly up the shafts of the three halberds. The light hit the figures. They vibrated violently. Their static cloaks dissolved. Their gray masks cracked.

​"Warning," the center figure broadcasted frantically. "Unauthorized formatting detected. Requesting immediate backup from the High Court. Sector is compromised."

​"Request denied," Neo said.

​He amplified the synthesis. The three figures shattered completely.

They broke down into pure information.

Neo inhaled sharply, drawing the scattered data directly into his lungs.

​He closed his eyes and processed the new information.

​These entities were Void Heralds. They were lowly border guards employed by the High Court. The High Court was an alliance of supreme entities who ruled the True Void.

They managed thousands of different Grand Realities. They treated them like massive farms, harvesting unique energies from each one.

​Neo opened his eyes. He smiled.

​He had a map now. The data provided exact coordinates to hundreds of neighboring Grand Realities.

​Neo picked the closest target. It was designated as Grand Reality Seven. The data indicated it was a realm entirely based on hyper advanced magical machinery and enslaved artificial gods.

​He surged forward. He flew through the True Void, bypassing infinite distances in mere seconds.

​He arrived at the boundary of Grand Reality Seven.

​It did not look like his wall of white light. It was a massive, rotating sphere of interlocking brass gears and glowing blue circuits. The sphere was larger than ten thousand universes combined. The grinding sound of the gears sent heavy vibrations through the empty void.

​Neo floated before the massive mechanical wall. He placed his hand on a moving brass gear. He tried to inject his synthesis code.

​A red energy shield flared to life, repelling his hand.

​A massive holographic face projected from the surface of the sphere. It was an artificial intelligence. Its eyes were cold blue lenses.

​"Access denied," the machine intelligence boomed. "This sector is the exclusive property of the High Court. Any attempt to breach the perimeter will result in immediate deletion."

​"I am not trying to access your system," Neo said. "I am replacing it."

​Neo drew the Sunbreaker Blade from his inventory. The sword recognized the new alien frequency in his blood. The golden blade shifted colors. It turned into a weapon of pure, vibrating liquid metal.

​He raised the sword high above his head. He focused his entire divine will into the blade. He did not aim for a specific gear or circuit. He aimed for the core concept of the machine.

​"Universal Synthesis," Neo shouted.

​He swung the sword down.

​The liquid metal blade struck the red energy shield. The shield shattered like cheap glass. The sword continued downward, biting deeply into the interlocking brass gears.

​A massive golden crack spread across the surface of Grand Reality Seven.

​The machine intelligence shrieked in digital agony. The blue circuits turned violently red. The gears ground to a violent halt.

​"System failure," the intelligence screamed. "Foreign code detected. Root directory compromised. Initiating self destruct protocol."

​"You do not have permission to self destruct," Neo commanded.

​He pushed his left hand into the massive crack he had just created. He grabbed the raw circuitry of the barrier. He unleashed a full wave of synthesis.

​The golden light flooded into the mechanical sphere. It overwrote the hostile programming. It disabled the self destruct sequence. It forced the massive brass gears to turn backward.

​The barrier ripped wide open.

​Neo stood before a massive breach in the mechanical shell. He looked inside.

​He saw billions of metallic planets. He saw stars encased in massive energy harvesters. He saw trillions of enslaved mechanical gods working in endless factories. It was a realm devoid of nature, built entirely for ruthless efficiency.

​Neo stepped through the breach. He entered Grand Reality Seven.

​The moment his boots touched the metallic atmosphere, sirens began to blare across a billion worlds. Swarms of mechanical angels launched from the factory planets. They flew toward him like a massive swarm of silver locusts.

​They carried weapons designed to erase souls. They moved with absolute, calculated precision.

​Neo rested his liquid metal sword on his shoulder. He looked at the endless mechanical army approaching him. He felt a deep, satisfying rush of adrenaline.

​His hunger was finally being answered.

​"Let us see how much processing power you actually have," Neo said to the approaching swarm.

​