Erinas' crimson beast eyes reflected the converging energies within the Xianzhou.
The eyes of an Abyssal Beast could see the strengths and weaknesses of energy. No matter how one tried to conceal it, such things could not be hidden from them.
This was an ability unique to Abyssal creatures—even higher and stronger beings could not escape their sight.
In its beastly gaze, it saw eight Emanators, among which two carried a unique, dense aura of the Cosmic Truth.
But this aura was far too thin, as though they had only obtained fragments of Truth. Moreover, it carried faint traces of the Teyvat Universe's scent.
It seemed highly likely that they were related to some Divine Collectives of Teyvat, perhaps even pawns laid down by the High Gods themselves.
The other six Emanators were merely ordinary. Of these, five were unremarkable. On their own, their strength could only reach planetary-class. But by borrowing the power of the Path, they could rise to stellar-class—the minimum threshold of Emanators. With the golden puppet giants bestowed by the Aeons, they could reach nebula-class.
If they staked their lives, they could briefly reach galactic-class.
But their existence could not withstand such magnitude, and collapse was inevitable.
As the Liyue Divine Collective often said: "Virtue unworthy of power brings calamity."
Erinas had no wish to remain ignorant and naive as it once had been.
After being resurrected, it had continued learning within the Abyss, battling, understanding the ideals of the various intelligent civilizations of the main universe, and experiencing the many emotions of humankind.
And not long ago, it had reached galactic-class scale, ranking among the forefront of God-King-class beings within the Abyss.
Erinas felt no impulse to act rashly.
The Xianzhou Alliance was one of the few major powers in the Star Rail Universe that could not be easily devoured. Apart from them, there were also the Family.
Both of these great powers were under the direct gaze of Aeons.
When the six Xianzhou vessels gathered, the Hunt Aeon Lan had already cast His gaze upon them. With the black beast tide sweeping across the universe, the Hunt's power had swelled, as countless intelligent lives embraced the Path of the Hunt within the Abyssal tide.
Filtering civilizations was not as simple as merely purging those of an evil alignment. A kind child might have a father steeped in wickedness, and that same wicked father might treat the child with love. Such a child would inevitably hate the Abyssal creatures.
Entrusting such a task of filtering civilizations to the Divine Collectives would never work—thus, it was handed to the Abyss.
After all, the Abyss was the best scapegoat.
Although Erinas was under the Aeon of the Hunt's gaze, and would be pierced by radiant arrows should it stray too far from the Xianzhou, it remained utterly calm.
Erinas was not merely an Abyssal Beast—it was itself a passage into the Abyss, able to dive into it at will.
Not even the causal radiant arrows could strike it.
Jing Yuan, drenched in sweat, stared at the terrifying monster that had withstood his full-force strike and named itself Erinas.
Its body slowly emerged from the spatial rift, so vast it dwarfed even the Xianzhou Luofu.
Even the divine generals seemed minuscule before it.
And in its maw rested a black hole leading to an unknown dimension. If it spat that black hole toward the Xianzhou Luofu, the vessel would be utterly destroyed—and the neighboring Xianzhou as well.
Yet Jing Yuan remained calm. Though the creature was terrifying, the Xianzhou Alliance had gathered eight Emanators.
And since it had admitted that the Hunt already had its gaze upon it, the Alliance was safe—for now.
Even if the black beast tide showed no signs of halting.
Such was the security that came from standing under the protection of an Aeon.
Jing Yuan asked, "Since you are able to converse, and you've introduced yourself as Erinas of the Abyss, a galactic-class beast—do you all call yourselves Beasts? And your universe, the Abyss?"
Erinas twisted the arc of its monstrous Abyssal maw slightly.
"We are indeed called Abyssal Beasts. The universe we hail from is indeed the Abyssal Universe. But that Abyssal Universe is merely one among many within the Great Universe of Teyvat."
"In Teyvat, there are dozens of universes like ours."
"As for the scales of power you asked about—isn't it obvious?"
"To destroy a star is stellar-class. To destroy a nebula is nebula-class. To destroy a galaxy is galactic-class."
Even when Erinas spoke in the faintest of voices, his words spread across the surrounding cosmic expanse, reaching the ears of the Xianzhou Alliance's high command waiting to strike.
Present were not only the Grand Marshal Hua and the other five Xianzhou Generals, but also the great Diviners of each Xianzhou vessel, the Six Chancellors, as well as the Astral Express crew and the Stellaron Hunters.
"What? The Teyvat Great Universe, the Abyssal Universe? A super-cosmic body formed of dozens of universes together?"
"What does that even mean?"
"Teyvat… that's the name the Genius Society decoded from another universe…"
"This is beyond imagination… is it trying to confuse us, or is this real?"
The generals of the Xianzhou Alliance could not help but speak aloud.
Welt Yang murmured, "Hmm… Though it may not be my place to voice an opinion here, I believe the other side has no reason to deceive us."
Himeko nodded. "Indeed. Judging by their actions, there is no premise for deceit."
Kafka added, "That's right. Since we are already enemies locked in life and death, deception offers them no benefit."
Meanwhile, Jing Yuan continued to question.
"Galactic-class… then above you, are there higher levels still? Or perhaps… Aeons?"
For a calamity sweeping across the cosmos, Aeons' involvement was certain—there was no doubt.
But galactic-class was already the pinnacle of Emanators. Beyond that, it would hardly be Emanators anymore, but Aeons themselves.
Erinas replied, "Hehehe… but of course. Above me lies the supergalactic-class, with mass ten thousand times greater than mine—holding the scale of ten thousand galaxies."
"Beyond that is cosmic-structure-class, able to alter the very structure of a universe, affecting its stability."
"To you, such beings would be no different from Aeons."
"And above even that is standard single-universe-class. Beyond that lies high single-universe, and then super single-universe."
"The Aeons of your universe? They are nothing more than standard single-universe—we call them 'Almighty Gods.'"
"And beings of this 'Almighty God' level? In the Teyvat Great Universe, we have thousands of them."
Erinas' mocking voice echoed from his Abyssal maw, reverberating across cosmic space.
Although the present Teyvat did not yet hold that many single-universe-class Almighty Gods, that did not stop him from boasting.
And while they did not exist now, that did not mean they would not exist in the future.
Erinas had personally experienced the age when Teyvat had risen from a bubble world to the current era of many coexisting great universes. Though those great universes remained in a primordial state, in time, the number of Almighty Gods would surely surpass a thousand. Perhaps in some unimaginably distant future, Erinas himself might even glimpse that exalted level.
Thus, the gods from Teyvat looked down from the bottom of their hearts upon any universe in which they carried out missions. After all, such universes were always weaker than their own—whether in heritage, potential, or in strength.
"Hehehe… your struggles are nothing but futile."
"Moreover, we are not here to destroy your universe. Our High Gods do not permit us to do so."
"You must have already noticed—the pattern in our actions is clear."
"Oh, you surely want to ask me about these High Gods, don't you? Hehe… I don't mind revealing a little."
"Our High Gods are beings beyond even the great universes, who can create and destroy universes with but a flip of Their hands."
"They are existences higher than the Aeons of your universe. Each one is of high single-universe or super single-universe class."
"I've said enough. Your Aeons are already straining to hold back from striking me. I should take my leave."
"And let me tell you this: the black beast tide is not under the control of us higher beasts, but exists in accordance with the will of the Abyssal Monarch."
"He is the sovereign of our Abyssal Universe. King to king, general to general—the Aeons are His opponents. As for me, I'll retreat now, hehe…"
Though villains loved their speeches, the Abyss was not truly a villain. Apart from the mindless Abyssal beasts, those with complete intellect adhered to the rule of king to king, general to general. They would bully only the weak—never risking their lives to fight across levels.
Crack—
As Erinas finished speaking, his colossal body shattered cosmic space, slipping into the universe's reverse side.
Even the Aeon of the Hunt, despite his causal might, could not extend his power into the reverse side of the universe, for it was the very inversion of all cosmic laws.
Erinas' planet-sized form sank into that darkness, and the torn space swiftly healed shut.
At the same moment, a light more dazzling than a gamma-ray burst from the heart of a quasar descended.
At its forefront was a colossal radiant arrow, its speed defying the laws of time itself. This arrow had been loosed millions of years ago.
It broke the law of time, striking through the relation of cause and effect—the so-called reversal of causality.
An arrow loosed millions of years in the past arrived at this moment, bearing the might of time, striking down its target from the river of ages.
This was a feat only Aeons could achieve.
Such a causal strike was locked onto its target.
No matter how one fled or dodged, it was of no use.
The instant the arrow was loosed, the target was destined to fall.
This was why Erinas had said from the very beginning that he had already been marked by the Hunt.
But as a galactic-class Abyssal Beast, bearing the Abyssal Universe's own protection, he realized this at once.
Vmmm—
That radiant arrow brushed past the six Xianzhou vessels, exploding with the Path of the Hunt's causal might.
The brilliance was as if one stood at the heart of a supernova.
Rumble—Rumble—Rumble—
The entire black beast tide across this cosmic expanse melted away like snow. Of course, among the destroyed were also some unlucky Cloud Knights fleets and Starskiff squadrons.
Such an attack, on so vast a scale, could never wipe out only enemy targets. It was inevitable that allies would be caught in its wake.
This was the difference between Aeons and the higher gods of Teyvat.
Though Aeons were mighty, their fine control over their own power was nearly nonexistent. For them, the utmost precision was perhaps only at the planetary level.
The only Aeon with some degree of precision control was Aha, the Aeon of Elation.
But even for Aha, such precision manifested only in the projection of consciousness—sending out a small avatar of awareness to handle delicate tasks.
By contrast, the gods of Teyvat—even those of universal-class—could freely regulate the energy level of their own power. Whether restraining themselves to the level of an ordinary person, or raising a hand to alter the structure of a universe, their control was flawless…
The radiant arrow did not stop.
With Erinas having fled into the reverse side of the universe, the arrow lost its target and continued into the depths of space.
On the cosmic scale, only a thin beam of light could be seen piercing straight through galaxy after galaxy, its force undiminished as it shot toward the very edge of the universe.
Along its trajectory, every Abyssal beast tide was annihilated, as were all inhabited star systems in its path. Even unfortunate interstellar civilizations were obliterated together.
In the cosmic void, the sanctified form of the Aeon of the Hunt remained in his archer's stance—his lower half a fusion of steed and chariot, his upper half a mighty humanoid without a face.
"Escaped… but… discovered…"
Lan, the Aeon of the Hunt, gazed toward a certain direction, drawing his bowstring to its fullest.
A radiant arrow appeared upon the string.
The full force of the Path of the Hunt and the Principle of the Hunt manifested.
This arrow was of an entirely different level than the one loosed before.
Even if it struck another Aeon directly, it would shatter their sanctified form, perhaps even grievously wound them.
Before he became an Aeon, Lan had been a human who despised evil with righteous fervor.
Now the entire universe was under invasion, and the Path of the Hunt was in a frenzy of activity.
Thus he had been ceaselessly probing for the source of the invading universe. He had once loosed an arrow toward the Gate itself.
But the Gate was wholly unscathed. Not even Lan's arrow could breach it—perhaps even his full might would scarcely shake it.
And so he shifted his focus, to pursue the rulers of the black beast tide's will.
At the far end of the Star Rail Universe, a violet-black Abyssal Divine Wheel appeared behind Aether. At its center, a celestial sphere slowly turned, radiating the aura of a complete and mature universe.
"The Aeon of the Hunt, Lan… not a bad fellow."
"But it is not that you discovered me—it is that I chose to reveal myself."
"Even though the universe's operation has already been thrown into chaos by the black beast tide, as long as you Aeons do not directly descend, the beast tide cannot shake the foundation of the cosmos."
"And so, I reveal myself—for Aeons are the very foundation of the universe."
"Now, I'll fight ten!"
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven