CHAPTER 24: THE WEAVING OF THE VOID-GATE AND THE SHADOW OF THE PREDATORS
The Central Spire, once a monument to the absolute erasure of existence, had undergone a grotesque and majestic metamorphosis. Its jagged, grey surface was now encased in a pulsating shell of obsidian crystal, vibrating with the combined resonance of a trillion souls. Li Xiao sat at the heart of this "Void-Sanctuary," his consciousness intertwined with the very fabric of the Great Beyond. Behind him, the Prime Silence—once a god of non-existence—stood as a hollowed-out husk, its white-noise face now etched with the indelible silver runes of Li Xiao's new laws.
Li Xiao was no longer just the Architect of Fate; he had become the "Null-Architect," a being who stood at the zero-point of the multiverse. In his left hand, he held the "Essence of Was," the golden light of life; in his right, he held the "Chill of Naught," the grey essence of the void.
[ Ding! Void-Sanctuary Integration: 100%. ]
[ New Function Unlocked: Multiversal Gate-Weaving. ]
[ Warning: A massive spiritual signature has been detected at the 4th Quadrant of the Void. ]
[ Threat Level: Ancient Predator Class. ]
"So, the silence of this sector was not just a natural law," Li Xiao murmured, his voice echoing through the obsidian halls like the tolling of a funeral bell. "It was a hunting ground."
He waved his hand, and the central floor of the spire dissolved into a shimmering pool of liquid starlight. Within the reflection, he saw the 4th Quadrant—a region of the Great Beyond that was not grey or black, but a sickly, visceral crimson. Floating amidst the red mists were colossal entities that looked like skeletal whales, their bodies made of calcified galaxies. These were the "Aeon-Predators," beings that did not just erase worlds, but "digested" them to prolong their own ancient lives.
One of the Predators had turned its sightless, multiple eyes toward the newly awakened Void-Sanctuary. It felt the "Weight" of the stories Li Xiao had brought into the void, and to a creature of eternal hunger, those stories were the ultimate delicacy.
"Master," the hollow voice of the Prime Silence spoke, its tone devoid of will. "The Predators are the reason we sought the silence. We erased the worlds so they would have nothing to track. By making the Sanctuary 'Real', you have lit a fire in the middle of a dark forest filled with wolves."
Li Xiao stood up, his obsidian wings spreading until they brushed the ceilings of the spire. "Then let the wolves come. I have spent five thousand years being the sacrifice for those I loved. It is time I become the hunter for those I despise."
He turned to the Prime Silence. "Weave the first Void-Gate. Do not hide our presence. In fact, amplify the resonance of the New Origin. I want every Predator in this quadrant to smell the 'Regret' of the Empress and the 'Blood' of the Alchemist. I want them to converge here."
The Prime Silence hesitated, its flickering form buzzing with a remnant of fear. "You are inviting the end, Architect."
"I am inviting the harvest," Li Xiao corrected.
He stepped into the liquid starlight, his consciousness traveling across the dimensions to the New Origin. He appeared as a giant, violet-black phantom above the Sanctuary where Lin Yue and the others were guarding the borders.
"Lin Yue! Wei! Han Xue! Yan Feng!" His voice boomed across the stars of his new universe. "The defensive phase is over. The Sanctuary is no longer a cage to protect us; it is a weapon to conquer the Great Beyond. I am opening the Void-Gates. Prepare the 'Atonement Legions'. We are no longer cultivating for immortality; we are cultivating for the Great Hunt."
Lin Yue looked up at the massive phantom of her Master. She felt a surge of adrenaline that she hadn't felt since the first simulation. "The Hunt? Master, who are we hunting?"
"The ones who think they are the apex," Li Xiao replied. "I will bring the Aeon-Predators to the gates of this spire. You will use the 'Karma Stones' you have refined to anchor them, and I will use their galactic husks to expand our reality. This world is too small. I want a multiverse that spans the entire void."
As the first Void-Gate opened, a massive, crimson tentacle—each sucker the size of a sun—reached out from the rift, slamming into the obsidian shields of the spire. The shockwave caused the stars of the New Origin to flicker, but Li Xiao didn't flinch.
He lunged forward, his body transforming into a streak of obsidian annihilation. He didn't use a sword; he used the "Law of Null" he had mastered. He grabbed the crimson tentacle, and instead of being crushed, he began to "Unwrite" the Predator's existence from the tip of its limb.
[ Ding! Harvesting Aeon-Predator DNA... ]
[ Conversion to 'Void-Foundation' in progress. ]
[ New Simulation Slot Unlocked: 'The Hunter of the Starless Night'. ]
The Predator let out a psychic shriek that shattered the nearby grey mists. It felt its ancient, stolen life-force being siphoned away by a creature that was far more hollow and far more hungry than itself.
Li Xiao's violet eyes glowed with a dark, triumphant brilliance. "You have eaten a million worlds, but you have never tasted a world that can bite back. Today, the food becomes the Architect."
Inside the spire, Yan Feng began to fire the furnaces, ready to refine the remains of a god-like beast. Lin Yue and the others stepped through the gate, their obsidian armors gleaming as they prepared to engage the first wave of the crimson swarm.
The 24th chapter of the Architect's legend was written in the blood of predators. The Great Beyond was no longer a graveyard. It was a f
orge. And Li Xiao was the one holding the hammer.