Death... and me



Patris then followed Spiegel's group to the teleportation formation after presenting his own badge to the guard. In any case, he could also guess what Spiegel was thinking. "Of course, before you ask, I can't tell you the method we found. You will have to wait and see it when it's time to enter. It pains my heart to be unable to provide it to all our fellow Angels, but we need to be selective."

Spiegel laughed in response. "Hahaha! That's the right choice. I also can't reveal my method yet. Nevertheless, we are doing this for the future of our Angel Race. One day, we will save all the souls in the entire Universe."

"One day, we will save all the souls in the entire Universe," Patris agreed with Spiegel. He seemed extremely determined in his words, to the point that Roan couldn't detect even a hint of pretense in his actions.

'I could clearly see that Spiegel didn't believe his own words, unlike Patris,' Roan mentioned. 'This Patris guy genuinely believes in the words they just spoke.'

Rean nodded. 'The Selfless Angels... I just don't understand why Spiegel is pretending to agree with everything. He's acting like all the other Angels.'

'Who knows?' Roan admitted his lack of knowledge. 'It's not our problem anyway.'

Rean simply shrugged his shoulders and entered the Great Void Formation with Spiegel and Patris' groups, disappearing from sight. The next time he opened his eyes, he found himself in the middle of the vastness of space.

"That's quite a view..." Rean marveled as he floated in space. Ahead of him was a sea of stars, while behind him stretched the nearly endless expanse of the Heavens Realm. It was impossible to see its end.

Spiegel, accustomed to the sight, didn't pay much attention. Instead, he retrieved an item from his Pocket Dimensional Realm that resembled a white crystal ball. After infusing it with his heavenly energy, holographic images appeared all around it.

Spiegel manipulated the images, zooming out to examine the path.

"That's quite a useful thing. Is it a map?" Rean couldn't help but ask, intrigued by the map and the various points displayed on it.

Spiegel had no reason to conceal it. "That's correct. Without this device, navigating the Great Void would be quite challenging. I once got lost here... It took me 55 years until I finally reached a location marked on my map and could find my way back home."

"That long?!" Rean was surprised to hear that.

Spiegel smiled bitterly as he reminisced about the past. "That's not the main problem. The issue was that I couldn't risk opening Spatial Gates that took me too far away."

"How come?" Rean asked.

Spiegel zoomed out the map once again before pointing at several dark-red dots. They were very bright, seemingly designed that way to ensure they wouldn't be missed. "These guys are all Great Void Devourers."

Rean had never heard of Great Void Devourers, but he understood exactly what Spiegel was referring to. "Do they resemble giant black holes? The kind that can devour even light?"

Spiegel looked at Rean. "Oh, you know about them? Well, considering the interactions you've had so far, it's not hard to imagine that you obtained this information from other sources. That's correct. They are giant black holes that consume everything. As far as I know, even Archangels would be in great danger if they were to fall into one. They are the Great Void Devourers, or at least, that's what we call them."

Spiegel continued, "If I were to open a Spatial Gate that passes near one of these things, we would be pulled out of the gate and fall straight into it. Believe me, if that happens, we are as good as dead. The gravitational and spatial power of those things is simply ridiculous."

Rean didn't doubt it for a moment. Back on Earth, scientists already understood the terror these entities possessed, even without ever witnessing one up close. "No wonder you couldn't use long-distance Spatial Gates when you were lost."

Spiegel nodded. "I did my best to only open short-distance ones. Nevertheless, I almost got caught three times by those things. I was truly lucky to have survived. I had to be constantly alert while searching for a way back."

Shaking his head, Spiegel put those thoughts behind him. He would rather not think about those moments any further as it would dump his mood. He quickly confirmed the route they needed to take to the Ruins before grabbing Rean's shoulder. "Alright, we can go now."

He tore space apart, creating a Spatial Gate. The three of them entered it, and a few seconds later, the Spatial Gate closed. Patris and his group did the same. Before long, there was no one left in that place.

This was by far the longest journey Rean had ever taken through a Spatial Gate. Almost an entire day had passed from the moment he entered until the moment he exited. Space-Time Angels traveled much slower through Spatial Gates compared to Archangels, for example. Nonetheless, the distance covered was undoubtedly the greatest Rean had ever experienced.

'It seems we have no choice but to rely on Spiegel,' said Roan.

Rean nodded. 'Without the power to open Spatial Gates, it would take us forever to fly back to Heaven. Well, the Underworld or the Realm of Gods might be closer. Nevertheless, it would still take a lifetime to reach those places anyway.'

Indeed, the Spatial Gates the twins had used in the past could cover multiple continents in just a few minutes. Since it took nearly an entire day to cross this one, one could only imagine how far the Ruins of the Stars were located.

*Vup, vup, vup!*

Rean, Spiegel, and Waremis emerged from the Spatial Gate, finding themselves right in front of the Ruins.

'Doesn't this thing look like a spaceship?' Rean couldn't help but think as he looked at the Delta Shaped Ruins in the distance.