The Veilwalker

"What the hell is that…?"

Alex threw the hulmite to the side, his focus more on the anomaly before him. The thing before him caught his attention more than anything else; more so than the centre of this universe.

Trohan distanced himself once more, his apprehension towards Alexander growing by the second. His gaze looked over to the anomaly a few light years away but otherwise kept quiet.

He knew any mishap in his thoughts would expose his secrets. The hulmite was now considering ways to escape his predicament despite how grim things were.

He knew escaping Alex was next to impossible, but there was always a way. The only problem was that he couldn't bring that to his surface thoughts or he would be dead before he knew what hit him.

Turning around to face the hulmite, Alex asked a second time.

"What the hell is that thing?" He pointed towards whatever that was. "I know more than enough to know that isn't natural. What is happening here…?"

"Why don't you mind your own business then." Trohan retorted. "It has nothing to do with you…"

"Maybe…" Alex agreed. "But who's to say this won't come back to bite me in the ass later on. That thing defies everything I know about the natural workings of the universe." He turned to look at the phenomenon, a repulsive feeling growing in his gut.

Alex couldn't even describe whatever that was. His senses could not pierce through the phenomenon and everything about the anomaly screamed messed up and unnaturally twisted laws and concepts. Things were so messed up that even he felt some sense of danger from it.

'There are things out there, huh.' Alex mused thoughtfully. 'I'm glad I came here… All universes are not equal nor are they as clean as mine.'

The phenomenon looked like a storm spanning thousands of light years. It twisted and turned in a disturbing way, sort of like some disgusting black and grey goo, serving whatever purpose it existed for.

The little he had gathered with his eyes looked like a place filled with suffering and death--not just any death, but the absolute erasure of all things. It went beyond anything he had ever seen. Moreover, the phenomenon was growing and expanding.

With no way of accessing this universe's energy records, Alex was completely blind. And there was no way he would dive into something like that either.

'And just behind this shit storm is a veil tear leading to another universe.' He thought about his options. 'Maybe I should pay a visit to that universe…' He put that thought aside at the moment.

"I won't ask again…" Alex growled, focusing on the hulmite. "... either you tell me what that thing is and what it's for or I'll nudge you in the right direction. One way or another, I'm getting my answers."

"And I'll say this aga--"

Trohan began but was quickly cut short when Alex abruptly appeared before him. The hulmite couldn't even react when his left hand disappeared--permanently.

"AHH….!!!"

Trohan cried out to the heavens, the agony that assaulted his senses more than anything he had ever experienced. There was no spill of blood and no remnants of torn flesh. The only thing left behind was a clean black patch that looked like an abyss.

He tried to create more distance but realized he wasn't going anywhere. Alex had bent the laws of spacetime, making shifting and distance creating an impossible feat.

"Argh…" Trohan was on the verge of tears. "You fucking bastard!!" The hulmite tried to regrow his missing limb but nothing happened.

There was no blueprint, no records of an arm ever existing. Alex may not be able to access the energy records, but he could definitely alter existing ones.

"You won't be able to undo that." Alex replied to the hulmite's attempt. "Your only way out is answering my questions. So what is it going to be…?"

Alex could see the fear in the Veilwalker's eyes.

'Yet his thoughts are still solid.' Alex noticed with a bit of shock. 'Just how powerful is his mind? Is it some special trait only he has?.' Curiosity gnawed at his thoughts.

The hulmite gritted his teeth with so much rage that it made his grey face grow a shade of red. He was livid, wanting nothing more than to rip Alexander apart.

"I admire your tenacity, Trohan." Alex complimented the hulmite's thoughts. "But you should know there is no way out of this for you. If you wanted to keep this quiet, you should have thought things through when you opened those veil tears to other universes."

The veilwalker held his tongue, still choosing to not say a word. His gaze shifted to the phenomenon and then back to Alex.

"What happens if I tell you?" Trohan decided to try a different approach.

The hulmite wasn't stupid. He knew his chances of staying alive should he reveal what that was was extremely high. But one thing was for certain though; this was the main reason he hadn't ascended.

"Then I'll let you go." Alex replied without much thought.

The hulmite, however, found that response strange. He narrowed his eyes at Alex, wanting to see if there was anything wrong with him.

"You can't be serious." Trohan would rather believe Alex was female than buy that answer. "What you're seeing isn't something so easily dismissed. Others would kill for what you're currently seeing."

"Something like that…?" Alex sceptically raised his brows. "Maybe for beings like yourself, but not me… Anything that instils this level of disgust has no place in my existence."

He unhesitantly unfused with his universe core simply because he felt being pushed in a certain direction he didn't like. How much more something as off-putting as that?

"Hmph. You say that but you have no idea…" Trohan sneered. "Tell you what. Let's make a bet…You win and I will tell you everything. But if you lose, you'll have to leave and never interfere in this, no matter what happens."

The hulmite knew he had no way out of this bleak situation and could only hope Alex accepted his bet. After all, Alexander's existence was higher than his own.

As a god, Alex should be more powerful and wiser than he was, right? The hulmite smiled wittingly in Alex's direction, knowing full well that Alex could see what was going through his head.

Alex couldn't help but chuckle at the hulmite's line of thought. Turning to take another look at the strange anomaly, Alex pondered for a moment and made his decision.

'Using force might not do much for me.' Alex thought, turning to look at Trohan. 'And how is he sure I will keep my word?' While he was someone who didn't make empty promises, this was a serious matter, and depending on the situation, he might break his word.

"Fine…" Alex agreed.

"Not so fast." Trohan shook his head. "I have no guarantee you will keep your word, so you'll have to swear it."