Liam instantly felt the presence of two strong figures standing on either side of him, their energies unmistakable. He glanced over, catching sight of Grakk and Marla, both of whom were watching him with a mix of amusement and interest.
"Marla, you owe me 10 big fat ones," Grakk said with a wide grin, his deep voice rumbling like thunder. "Didn't I tell you this young man would reach the true bottom just fine?"
Marla rolled her eyes, clearly not pleased with the bet she had lost. "Yeah, yeah," she muttered, lowering her bow. "You got lucky, that's all."
"There is no such thing as luck, my dear." Grakk's grin widened. He walked forward, giving Liam a nod. "Fighting that monstrosity ain't gonna get you anywhere, kid. You don't beat something like that with brute strength. You prove you're worthy of the power it guards. It's a trial, one that requires understanding—of yourself, of the forces you command, and the world around you."
Marla crossed her arms, adding with a smirk, "It's not something someone like you can accomplish. We are the first two in many generations that our Master has deemed worthy of claiming this spirit. Wait and watch."
Grakk awkwardly coughed a little.
Marla shrugged. "What? Aren't we going to kill him anyways? What is the problem if he watches?"
Grakk coughed some more. Marla sighed. "Oh come on. You soft-hearted fool. He lost his chance to leave this place alive when he chose to down here. You know Master doesn't want this information to leak. He has to-"
Out of nowhere, Marla suddenly stiffened. Her body turned rigid, and her eyes widened in shock. A faint, ethereal glow enveloped her, rendering her immobile. Grakk's grin vanished instantly as he noticed the change.
"Marla!" Grakk exclaimed, concern evident in his voice. The next second he instantly took out a talisman and grasped it in his hand, swiveling to look at Liam with utter dread and shock. "Soul attack! You used a soul attack just now, didn't you?"
Barriers after barriers sprang up around the two of them as the orc prepared the defense for the both of them. Liam frowned. He knew the chances of him finishing these two like how he had dealt with the bug king was pretty low. These were elites from the other established worlds and it didn't come as a surprise to him that they already had preventive measures for the soul attack, his ultimate weapon.
However, this was not the only ultimate weapon in his possession.
Liam did not hesitate and whipped out his next ultimate weapon. Between the ice spirit that was on the verge of claiming his life and these two powerful elites who had to be at least transcendents, there was simply no room for error or hesitation.
The stone tablet glowed brightly in Liam's hand, emitting an otherworldly light that bathed the entire area in a radiant aura. The moment it appeared outside its aura erupted out. Ancient runes etched into its surface began to shift and rearrange themselves, forming new patterns as the tablet activated.
Liam's hunch was not wrong. This ice spirit was worth all the trouble. He could feel the stone tablet trembling as if it was sapient and excited. Instantly, it started its work.
A giant vortex appeared on the tablet and everything in the surroundings started getting sucked in.
Grakk's eyes widened in alarm. "That tablet... How did you acquire such a relic?" The orc became even more shocked when it saw the damn thing sucking the entire lake dry, the lake that was nick-named the abyss of no return!
Grakk stumbled backward, shock evident on his face. "Impossible!" The orc could sense the spirit itself lose its will and gradually get sucked in. This was a supreme treasure! No! Maybe even more than that. It was definitely a primordial treasure!
He immediately made the decision to forget the ice spirit and from the looks of it, also his partner. The orc was coming for the tablet!
Power welled up around the orc as his body burned brightly with a fiery vigor. Several talismans shot out from him and lit up on their own. They ignited with a ferocity and emitted arcs of crackling energy that surged toward Liam. Grakk's eyes burned with determination and greed. "That tablet belongs to me now!" he roared, his voice echoing through the collapsing cavern.
Liam smirked. This was power far beyond what he could handle but he did not care.
Because he was not going to be the one handling it.
Right on cue, the next uninvited guest of the party arrived.
Leviathan? Kraken? Giant shark? Giant killer whale? Perhaps an overgrown terror octopus? Liam had no idea what it was but the thing was immense in size. Its presence loomed over them like a noose around their throat. The pressure exuding from it was overwhelming, and its many eyes glowed with an ancient, unfathomable intelligence.
Grakk instinctively responded and that the beast did not even visibly move to deal with him. Liam could already sense the soul of the orc freely available for him to claim. Without any defense layer around her, the second one, Marla was also done for.
Liam did not hang around. What other fate could possibly await him? Grabbing the stone tablet tightly in his hand, he immediately switched with his clone. However, Liam's face changed. There seemed to be a small oversight in his plan.
The immense pressure and chaotic energies emanating from the colossal beast were interfering with his abilities. He could feel space distort around him. Invisible pressure was reaching around him, strangling him.
Something latched onto his hands, feet and body, preventing his true being from moving from the spot. "Not good," Liam muttered under his breath, clutching the stone tablet tightly. He instantly took out more of his soul spheres and started siphoning an insane amount of soul energy to fuel a protective barrier around him. The reinforcement was coming. He only needed a couple of seconds.
His soul barrier, which had not disappointed him until now, all of a sudden broke and shattered like nothing. Just as Liam was left completely exposed and vulnerable, the second uninvited guest finally arrived at the party.
The voidlings were here.