Alexander's question sounded a bit odd given the situation they found themselves in. But the Catwoman knew that question wasn't baseless.
Her mind spun rapidly as she considered the actions Alex took to this point.
'The veil tears seem to appear around the surroundings almost equal to this exact location. That's why he returned here.
'But why?' As she recalled what happened here, her mind shifted to the black core as everything finally clicked.
"It's the core, isn't it?" Cassandra guessed and Alex nodded. "But how did they know if you blocked the essence?"
"Because of this." Alex retrieved the core a second time, making the Catwoman look at him like a madman. "Relax… they're already here. There's no point hiding it."
The black core spun around, slightly above his right palm, pulsing with its black essence. The surrounding space appeared to distort from time to time, showing just how much energy was ck trained within its lattice.
"This black essence is a new addition to the void creatures from what I can tell." He explained with a serious gaze. "And you and I know the only way for these things to evolve is through that monstrosity."
Alex didn't have to tell the woman what he was referring to.
"It should be similar to how we make vassals."
This finally got the woman surprised. 'How come I didn't think of it! The answer was right in front of us and had he not drawn my attention to it, I would have missed it!'
Now she was convinced Veilwalkers were all not the same.
'If we can tell where our vassals are, then why can't that thing do the same.' she reasoned. 'And it must know that only Veilwalkers can even defeat those void creatures.'
Seeing the light of realization and soul fluctuations, Alex knew the woman finally got it.
'But there's something off about the veil tears.' Alex thought inwardly.
Since he returned here, he hadn't taken his senses off the veil tears, making sure he didn't miss anything.
'Among the eight, three of them have slightly different signatures.' His eyes shifted to the Catwoman. 'Just like her.'
Alex could only see one conclusion from that observation.
'We could potentially be having visitors. Again.'
"You mentioned taking them outside the universe. How are you going to do that if instead of coming at you, they decide to spread out?"
A good and solid question, but Alex had already taken several precautions. He wasn't sitting there just looking cool and mysterious.
"That's because I locked the space and changed a few laws outside this region," Alex said, leaving the Catwoman confused. "Once in here, unless I say so, no one is leaving."
This was what he planned on putting around the empire, but it was just too large and required time for him to achieve.
Fortunately, his clone was already cultivating to unlock the rest of the universe's laws.
'Hopefully, it doesn't take too long.'
"So that's it, huh?" Cassandra asked after a bit of pondering. "No wonder you're so mystifying."
Her eyes roamed around her surroundings, trying to see if she could do something similar.
'I guess it's not that easy. A level of understanding is required to achieve it. That's why he's so powerful… Having the energy is not enough.'
"It's almost time." Alex stood up from his crossed-legged sitting posture. "This might be the biggest fight of your life. Always approach with caution, and don't go first. Observation is key.
"Question everything that happens, and attempt to see the why behind them. To make it easier, compare them to mundane things you wouldn't normally think about in situations like these."
Cassandra nodded, taking the advice to heart.
When she put on that device, it didn't just make her familiar with the language, but with all the things common to this universe.
From the simple process of photosynthesis to the complex theories about the universe and everything in between.
Alex nodded and turned his attention to the very first one they sensed. It wasn't one of the tears with the foreign signature.
Alex's power was increasing even as he stood in the void while Cassandra siphoned the surrounding energies like there was no tomorrow.
Finally, space cracked as the veil pulse gave way, breaking the fabric of reality.
Then a gigantic monster of epic proportions stepped out of the veil tear. The creature, while disturbing to look at, made none of the Walkers blink.
A resounding screech echoed through the void, shaking space as it travelled at insane speeds.
The creature resembled a black inky spider with so many eyes that it could induce trypophobia. And it gave off the same black essence from the core.
Following the first creature, four more popped open, revealing the rest of the void creatures.
"Why does this feel like someone is sending assassins after you?" Cassandra looked on nervously as she got ready for a fight.
Alex on the other hand, was focused on the last three veil tears that hadn't popped yet.
"That's because it is…" He replied. "Start with your Voidflare state, don't hold back. Give them room and you might be wiped out before you even know what hit you."
Cassandra did exactly that while Alex's clothes slowly morphed into his favourite armour, the lighting giving it an aesthetic and cool vibe.
The armour hummed to life as Alex replicated it to the basic computer codes built in to regulate its function.
"I'll create an opening. If they prove too much for you, focus on evading and understanding them," Alex instructed, his senses still honed in on those three. "Godspeed."
Saying that, Alex sped off towards the spider, his right hand glowing brightly as he conjured a spear charged with the law of Absolute Oblivion--what he called it.
Reaching a few light years away from the incoming void creature, Alex brandished his spear and hurled it towards the creature.
Instantly, the spear reached the void creature as it exploded with absolute power, blasting a huge chunk of it into chaos and sending the rest back into the veil.
In the wake of his spear throw, space was torn asunder, messing with the fundamental structure of the laws.
Without manually repairing that area, it was bound to remain a broken and dangerous zone for all living beings.
Cassandra almost missed the attack as it moved too fast, and the destructive power was out of the universe. Even the creature failed to respond!
'No wonder he said to take the fight outside.'
Under her gaze, she watched as Alex conjured another spear, repeating the same action and sending another one back to where they came from.
And all that occurred in the span of a second stretched infinitely.