Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

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"Hermit left the tower. Why?"

This was the first piece of information they brought to his attention as soon as they recovered some liveliness and energy, all thanks to his food.

"We didn't expect it too, but yeah, he left. He did conclude his time here. Ah, don't think that he's dead though. That old thing won't die easily; he voluntarily left," Howler explained.

"Tch. That old thing has no respect for his peers. He didn't even bother saying his goodbyes in person. He just sent notice through the system. He didn't even bother showing up for the last time. He just got up and left." Eunuch Wei clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

"The old man stopped at the 8th Stage of the Trials," Backpack Fatty mentioned. "He could've climbed higher, but he decided to drop out instead, which is a damn shame."

"...it would've been nice if he said it in the chat so I could be informed." Cedric muttered just loud enough for them to hear. "Speaking of which, the chat has been awfully silent lately. Then, after we met for quite some time, I see you three banging up pretty badly. What on earth happened to you?"

"Actually, that isn't too disconnected to the reason why Hermit left early." Backpack Fatty replied, "You see, his home has been in danger all this time. From what we learned, his world and his people were barely surviving. He's basically the only hope for his world."

"Hermit actually didn't want to be here at first. He wanted to stay in his world and help defeat their enemies. He didn't mind dying with them, he says. But it's his elders who urged him to come here and improve his strength."

"Hermit's mind and heart have never been here. He also never yearned for the acknowledgement of the alliance. He just wants to become strong enough to protect his world from the Outsiders," the mountain giant concluded.

Cedric was stunned upon hearing this. He didn't expect this at all. It turns out that their situation was far too similar.

"Wait... Outsiders? What are those?"

"Their proper name is Void Creatures." Eunuch Wei answered his question this time. "Their home is the Void, the place outside the primordial universes. They hate creation as a whole and are considered everyone's mortal enemy since they represent the antithesis to life."

Well, that certainly rings a bell to Cedric's subconsciousness.

"The reason why we ended up like this was because of them," Howler revealed. "All of us, minus you, came to Hermit's world as missionaries and helped him eliminate all of them. It was a hard battle. Hermit even lost his right arm twice; fortunately, Moss Lady was able to stitch it back to him or else his potential would've been greatly affected, especially since Hermit was also right-handed."

'Missionaries' is a role of a diplomat that could be given to pseudo-members of the alliance. It gives them permission to visit other worlds under the alliance's jurisdiction without any penalties under the assumption that they won't do anything bad to the places they visit. Missionaries can also provide aid to any world they're in should they see fit.

"Wait, if you all can come to his world as missionaries, then that means..."

"Yep." Howler confirmed Cedric's guesses. "Hermit did it; he became a member of the alliance. I heard it was his final reward before leaving the tower. It's only him so far, not his world and his people yet, but still gave him a lot of advantages."

"It's not surprising. After all, Hermit did reach the 8th Stage of the Tower of Prodigies. He was probably scouted by some sects too. Well, he never told us anything, but it's very likely. After all, that old man is damn talented," Eunuch Wei added.

They said that Hermit never really wanted to be part of any of this. That he would rather just live and die with his people. But honestly, coming here and becoming a member of the Divine Council is probably the best outcome there was for him. After all, just having the status alone allowed him to receive help from his fellow tower challengers.

They wouldn't have been able to come to his world even as missionaries if Hermit didn't become a member, after all.

"That's good." Cedric muttered again. "But...really, all of you were there, but Hermit still lost his right arm twice? Are Outsiders really that fierce?"

"They are," Howler solemnly replied. Cedric could also notice the somber expression on both Eunuch Wei and Backpack Fatty's faces.

"Those fuckers are a huge pain in the ass," Eunich Wei spat. "Their very existence is revolting. They wither all life just by simply existing. They don't follow any logic or sense; they're just beings of pure mass and instincts. The kind that is extremely lethal to any and all races within the Primeval Scarlet Dust Realm."

"That, and Hermit took things very personal during the fight because he lost his wife and kids to them." Backpack Fatty sighed. "He was fully prepared to die fighting them. We literally had to chain him down just to make sure he doesn't throw himself at them. If Hawkeye didn't cry and beg for him to use his noggin' he would've continued his recklessness. Whew, that old man sure was exhausting."

"True."

"Preach."

The corners of Cedric's mouth twitched in amusement at this.

"How long did the fight last, anyway?"

"50 years," Howler replied, sinking deeper into the soft couch.

"Huh? That long?"

"That's already short, Dawnbringer." Eunuch Wei sighed, "Like I said, the Outsiders don't follow any logic of sense. They could ignore concept laws. A single one could turn as huge as a solar system or as small as an antm freely switching in between sizes without suffering any loss to their strength of mobility."

"They could endlessly multiply and turn into a single entity with just a thought. They could turn weak and strong in a flip of a switch. Their forms alternate between illusion and completely manifestation. Time and distance were meaningless to them. And most importantly, all life they touch withers beyond recovery."

"There is no real way to deal with them. At least nothing we know of. Most of the times, we had to rely on reading their patterns and tendencies, or mostly luck to even kill a single one. That's why the fight lasts that long."

"The real kicker is that we can never let our guards down against them," Backpack Fatty explained. "We have to consistently make sure that they haven't corrupted any of us, because yes, they can do that, and once we're affected, there's no turning back."

"I had to shed a few layers of my skin simply because of the assumption that I was touched by their goo. Mind you, we've maintained our distance from them. The distance between them and us was literally worlds apart as we dealt with them, yet I still have to do this just to give me some peace of mind."

"We have to make sure that none of us were carrying any of their remains as we return to our respective worlds. Because even a single speck of them could become an enormous problem for us."

"Well, seeing that you've successfully returned here. That means that you guys are clean," Cedric commented.

'That also means that I'm clean as well.' He thought to himself.

"Right. We wouldn't have been able to come here if we were since the scanners will sense it. The others should be fine too." Backpack Fatty nodded.

"We haven't eaten anything decent in that long." Howler pitifully sank on the couch; he looked drowsy as well. "We also couldn't sleep that much because we have to stay alert all the time."

"Fortunately, we did it." Backpack Fatty sighed in visible relief. "Hermit's world was safe now. As we speak, it's being moved closer to the inner circle of the Primeval Scarlet Dust Realm; it'd be amongst the many planets that would be under the direct observation of the alliance simply because Hermit became a member. They won't experience this kind of crisis again."

"I still hate that old man though," Eunuch Wei snorted. "He couldn't even bring himself to thank us for what we did to him. Ungrateful bastard."

"Well, he did say that he owed us one. I'm sure he'd remember what we did for him." Backpack Fatty smiled helplessly.

Looking at these three, who looked as if they're barely awake, Cedric decided to be merciful and let them rest. After all, they haven't gotten any decent sleep for nearly 50 years now.

"Alright, thank you guys for informing me." He said, "You all should return to your rooms and rest. Lord knows you guys need it badly."

"I agree. Sorry, Dawnbringer. We'll hang out with you some other time."

"It's fine, I understand. Go and sleep; don't think about anything unnecessary."

Cedric watched them enter their respective rooms. Once they're no longer around and he was alone at the reception area, his face turned solemn as he brought out the sealed remains from his inventory.

[Challenger, what you have in your hand is an extreme risk to the tower's sanctity.]

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