Colonial Suit

Black mist spread over Hek's body, engulfing half of him in a matter of seconds. At this rate, it would only take a few more minutes for Hek's body to be completely consumed.

But Hek's expression remained indifferent. Having entered the 'Microscopic' state, he was like a machine, devoid of emotion and driven only by reason.

In the distance, Sivina and Rainbow were rushing over frantically, clearly realizing that something was wrong with Hek. But Blood瞳 merely glanced at them coldly before uttering a strange syllable.

“Disler. (Repel.)”

With a bang, an invisible nuclear bomb seemed to explode in front of Rainbow and Sivina, instantly blasting them away. The two struggled desperately but were unable to break free from the invisible force, until they were slammed into the distant wall. Even so, it seemed they wouldn't be able to break free anytime soon, because they were fighting against not just any attack, but rules—new rules that didn't belong to this universe.

Hek witnessed all of this without even furrowing his brow.

At this moment, the world in his eyes had become a tapestry of cells and molecules. He saw neither Sivina nor Rainbow, only endless calculations and trajectories.

As countless black cells devoured his body, his expression remained unchanged.

As time flowed, he simply watched as the black cells gradually consumed him, watching them evolve from nothing into a new life.

It was a powerful, savage, and terrifying existence.

Although it emitted no energy fluctuations and no space-piercing thoughts, Hek could sense how terrifying this newborn entity was. It was a being that did not belong to this space, a heretic! In a sense, it should not have been accepted by this universe at all! Its existence was a failure of the universe's rules, a failure of the universe itself!

This was, of course, impossible, so the universe's rules, even without consciousness, would instinctively retaliate!

Silently, subtle black lines gradually appeared around Hek, proof of space collapsing. One could imagine that once this entity was complete, normal rules would be unable to bear it, shattering the surrounding space and sinking it into the true abyss.

Yes, it was a demon of the abyss. From whence it came, there it shall return!

"Delicious! So delicious!"

"This individual's flesh is full of positive energy… just like the creatures of the last cosmic era!"

"It's been so long… I've been asleep for so long…"

"I've forgotten the taste of food."

"Let me devour him completely, okay?"

Chaotic streams of thought surged in Hek's mind, all from this alien creature. Hek couldn't imagine how terrifying it was, but from these words alone, he could deduce that this creature must have been an invincible existence in the last cosmic era, so powerful that even the collapse of the universe couldn't erase it. Now, it was using his body as food, not to be reborn, but simply to have a feast.

It was an overbearing consciousness that simply didn't regard the current universe's rules. Even Hek was shocked.

However, he was, after all, a tenacious warrior. Even in such dire straits, he remained calm, thinking and observing. In just a few minutes, most of his body had been consumed, leaving only half of his face and one eye, the rest having fallen under the control of the black cells.

Visibly, a terrifying black monster appeared above the blood cloud in the cave, roaring wildly, its body covered with sharp bone spurs. Hundreds of circular crystals grew within its body, like ghostly eyes.

Before it, Blood瞳 stood silently, his face devoid of expression, showing neither excitement nor fear of death.

After a while, Blood瞳's figure suddenly disappeared, reappearing in front of Hek. His right hand suddenly grabbed Hek's head.

“Master… don’t bother, I can eat him! I can eat it!!”

In Hek's mind, the alien creature's thoughts screamed desperately, as if fearing something. But it couldn't break Blood瞳's indifference. In his expressionless eyes, a chilling glint suddenly flashed.

“No… don’t…”

The alien creature cried out as if about to encounter the most terrifying thing. And in that split second, Hek's remaining half-face opened his mouth.

“I… found it…”

His lips moved, as if to say these words to Blood瞳. But before the words could be uttered, his remaining half-face was completely devoured by the black cells. His entire being transformed into an existence incompatible with the universe. In the sky, a series of rumbles immediately echoed, and countless black cracks expanded outwards from Hek, instantly spreading over thousands of meters. A strange storm suddenly arose, engulfing both Hek and Blood瞳.

In the storm, Blood瞳 remained motionless, holding Hek's head with one hand, his eyes flashing.

The surrounding space cracks became increasingly dense, highlighting the fragility of the universe. It seemed that at any moment, the monster Hek had become would be completely rejected by the rules and fall into the endless abyss.

Of course, Blood瞳 didn't want to return to the abyss with Hek, so he remained silent for a while before suddenly releasing his right hand and retreating rapidly.

He retreated out of the storm, leaving Hek alone within it.

This was only natural, because everyone could see that this sudden storm was the manifestation of the universe's rules, a sign of something that could not be sustained. Staying in the storm now would only mean waiting to perish together, right?

But no one expected that just as Blood瞳 retreated, Hek, who had been almost completely consumed, suddenly revealed a smile.

He had now completely transformed into a monster, and this smile on his face was incredibly bizarre. Blood瞳 seemed to sense something was wrong and turned to rush forward…

But it was too late. In that instant, Hek suddenly let out a sigh.

“The first chain. Collapse…”

These words were uttered abruptly, and no one could understand what he meant. But if someone were observing him with 'Microscopic' abilities, they would have noticed that just as he spoke, on the last piece of devoured territory, a barely perceptible black cell suddenly flashed a blue light. Then, this cell suddenly collapsed…

This collapse was like an avalanche, like a tsunami… like a plague spreading across the sky.

Cells were chained together, cells were assimilated. Almost instantly, Hek's entire body returned to its original form. The black cells roared in fury, but they could not reverse this reality.

Because… this was Hek's second ability.

“Chain!”

All things in the world have a cause and effect, which is called karma. (To be continued…)