Poison God's Heritage

"What in heaven's name is this thing?"

The question echoed endlessly in my mind, but no answers came. It felt like I had been thrown into a new reality, one where logic no longer existed. This new place, with its gleaming stars and far-flung planets, was overwhelming, a stark contrast to the cold, desolate void of the Beyond.

The stars seemed more vibrant here, like scattered jewels in the sky, and the planets, enormous and glowing, seemed to pulse with life from afar. But nothing could explain the sheer impossibility of what we were seeing now.

Before us stood a titan—no, colossus—so incomprehensibly large, it dwarfed the scale of anything I had ever seen, even the Primordial Serpent God. But this thing, this monstrous humanoid figure, was bigger than the mountains of the world, bigger than the planetary bodies that orbited nearby. It casually held a planet in its hand, like a child's toy. How could something like that exist?

How could it move? Why did it exist?

Its body appeared to be made entirely of nebulous gas, swirling with the energy of stars long dead, yet it somehow also felt alive, organic. The gaseous form shifted, twisted in places, like a storm trapped inside the silhouette of a human. No clear features were visible on its face—if it could be called a face—but two miniature galaxies swirled slowly where eyes should have been.

These twin galaxies rotated lazily, glowing with faint light, giving the terrifying impression that the colossus was observing us. Staring us down with the weight of countless eons.

It didn't move. It didn't need to. Just the act of looking at it made me feel small, so small and insignificant that my very presence felt like a meaningless speck in the grand fabric of the universe. This creature exuded an aura of immense age and incomprehensible power. I could feel the pressure, not just in my mind but deep in my bones.

Every atom in my body screamed that this was something beyond our understanding—something that should not exist, but did.

All around it, scattered through space like discarded remnants of a failed invasion, were the dead Rakshasa. Their bodies floated lifelessly, scattered in every direction. And yet… there was no visible damage to them. No signs of battle. It was as though their lives had simply been snuffed out in an instant. What had killed them?

And what part did this immense creature play in it? Questions without answers piled up in my mind, like storm clouds on the horizon.

I could feel my thoughts spiraling out of control, unable to focus. It was like I was trying to grasp onto sand with my bare hands—the harder I tried to understand, the more everything slipped away. My mind reeled as multiple thoughts clashed, competing for space. I felt my pulse pounding in my ears, my vision narrowing, as a heavy pressure built behind my eyes, threatening to overwhelm me.

Suddenly, a voice pierced through the chaos.

"WAKE UP!"

The echo of the Blue Sun's voice was like a lifeline, cutting through the fog that clouded my mind. I blinked, suddenly aware of my surroundings again, and the creature—whatever it was—was gone. Vanished, as if it had never existed. But the lingering terror it left behind remained, pulsing in my chest like an aftershock.

"What the fuck just happened?" I gasped, breathless, still trying to shake the haze from my mind.

"Formation," Tao Yang answered, gasping for air herself. She gripped the side of the console for support, her eyes wide and wild. "This is the Godly Killing Formation of the Confederation Alliance." She took another deep breath, shaking her head. "They're still as annoying as ever."

"The what now?" I replied, still trying to make sense of what I had just experienced.

"I'll explain later," Tao Yang said quickly, waving off my question. "For now, don't focus on it. We need to get into Solarous before we attract any more attention."

"In case you haven't noticed," I retorted, my voice dripping with sarcasm, "there are two massive First Borns right in front of us!"

The Jade Dragon, still recovering from the overwhelming pressure we had all felt, spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. "They also look… confused," he muttered, his breath still heavy.

"That formation," Tao Yang explained, "is an incredibly powerful illusion. It's designed to trap the Rakshasa in this portion of space. If you look closely, you'll notice that Solarous—and all of the space around it—is locked down. We're in a kind of pocket dimension right now."

I glanced over my shoulder, back toward the rim of this strange, translucent wall. Sure enough, there was a faint glow surrounding the region, almost like the space itself had been sealed off. Beyond it, I could just make out the faint glimmers of Qi signatures moving in the distance, though it was difficult to tell what they were.

"I'll dock us before the First Borns notice us," Tao Yang said, her hands moving swiftly over the ship's controls. Her usually calm demeanor was gone, replaced by urgency.

"Good idea," I muttered, still glancing nervously at the massive figures of the First Borns. They loomed like ancient statues, frozen in time, but their presence was anything but benign.

As I moved toward the ship's helm, a thought struck me. "Wait—what about those Qi signatures out there?" I asked, my eyes narrowing at the faint movements I had spotted earlier.

The Blue Sun followed my gaze, peering into the distance where faint traces of movement flickered in the far reaches of space. "Cultivators?" she asked, her voice rising in surprise. "I thought they were all wiped out."

Tao Yang's expression darkened. "My people were wiped out, yes. But this universe is vast. There are countless other civilizations, full of cultivators who survived. They trapped us here, in Solarous, and did nothing to help. When we faced our calamity, they shut their gates, leaving us to suffer."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

I sighed as I tried to imagine the betrayal they had to face and how lonely they must have felt. In this world, there is no such thing as compassion.