Death… And Me

Chapter 4581: Nyxara

While Rean continued his conversation with Soza and the other envoys of the Werdlem Empire, Roan focused his attention on someone else within their Great Void. After listening to the discussion for a while, he suddenly disappeared, only to reappear in a completely different location within the Vinx Great Void.

"Nyxara, we meet again," Roan said calmly.

Nyxara was one of the twelve Primordial Demon Beasts, the Hollow Sovereign, also known as the Pillar of Void. Unlike most of the twelve main Primordial Demon Beasts, Nyxara hadn’t gone to the Celestial Plane yet. (Chapter 4122 First Mention of Her)

"Roan?" Nyxara was clearly surprised to see him. She was extremely far away from the Lisan Universe, so there was no reason for her to expect a visit. "Right... you can control the Echo now, so you can literally appear anywhere you want inside our Great Void. So, why did you come here to see me?"

Roan had been listening to Rean’s conversation with the Werdlem Empire through their soul connection, and that was precisely why he had decided to pay Nyxara a visit. "The Werdlem Empire seems unwilling to tell us anything about its location in the Celestial Plane. According to them, there is some kind of rule preventing information from being shared by using one’s Great Void. Do you know anything about it?"

"Oh, that..." Nyxara’s expression became thoughtful as memories from the distant past resurfaced. "As you know, it has been an eternity since I was last in the Celestial Plane, so I don’t remember the details very well. You would definitely be better off asking Default. Or, even better, Soltrex."

Roan nodded. Default was effectively the leader of the Primordial Demon Beasts, while Soltrex was the Pillar of Wisdom. If anyone among them was likely to know about such rules, those two would be the most obvious choices.

"Unfortunately, both Soltrex and Default have already returned to the Celestial Plane. Who knows how long it will take before they come back here? I know their existences require them to return to the Vinx Great Void every so often, but the intervals between those visits aren’t something I want to wait for right now."

"I see..." Nyxara nodded. "Then I’ll tell you what I remember. In any case, keep an eye on the Vinx Great Void with your Echo. If Soltrex or Default return, you’ll probably learn much more from them than you will from me."

Roan agreed, and Nyxara began explaining.

"From what I can remember, the Arbiters are obsessed with maintaining the balance of the Celestial Plane. Great Voids, however, are simply too enormous. Those who dominate their own Great Voids can travel across unimaginable distances almost instantly, especially owners like you and your companions."

"That means you can return to your Great Void and ascend again from a completely different location. However, the technology, information, rules, laws, and resources available in two different parts of the Celestial Plane can be drastically different."

Nyxara paused briefly before continuing. "You might bring extremely advanced arrays, resources, cultivation techniques, and all kinds of other things to a region that has never possessed anything comparable. In a matter of years, the balance of that entire part of the Celestial Plane could collapse. Tell me, what do you think would happen if one power suddenly gained such an overwhelming advantage?"

Roan wasn’t an idiot. He immediately understood where she was going.

"Everyone else would have to lower their heads to them, which they most likely wouldn’t do. More likely, they would join forces to take that power down. Either way, countless battles would break out and countless cultivators would die in a short amount of time. Dynasties would fall, kingdoms would disappear, and it could take an extremely long time before a new balance was established."

"Exactly," Nyxara confirmed. "That’s the kind of situation the Arbiters prevent. That’s why using one’s Great Void to share information between two completely different locations in the Celestial Plane is considered a taboo."

Roan narrowed his eyes. "As powerful as the Arbiters might be, they can’t possibly stop everyone. How many Great Voids are there? How many ascenders capable of traveling down and then ascending again exist? That sounds like an impossible task."

Nyxara shook her head. "You’re asking the wrong Beast about the how. However, it is possible, and you already know it is."

"I do?" Roan thought for a moment before his eyes narrowed. "Right... The Werdlem Empire is following those rules. From what I heard, so is every other power in our Great Void capable of traveling between the Great Void and the Celestial Plane."

"Indeed," Nyxara said with a smile. "How the Arbiters managed to get everyone to follow those rules is something I don’t know. As I told you, it has simply been too long since I was in the Celestial Plane. Well, I don’t think I knew the answer back then either."

She shrugged. "Soltrex and Default are definitely your best bets if you want a proper explanation. That’s also why ascenders rarely attempt to return to their Great Void and ascend from another location. They’re afraid of attracting the Arbiters’ attention. When they come down, they always ascend back to the Celestial Plane from the same location."

Nyxara suddenly seemed to remember something else. "And... Default has told you a lot of things about the Celestial Plane, hasn’t he? Did he ever tell you anything that could actually be used to tip the balance in the region where you ascended? Did he give you some technology, information, cultivation technique, or anything else that you could pass to the experts of Besgol and use to give them an overwhelming advantage?"

"No..." Only now did Roan realize the significance of that detail. Nyxara was right. Default had told them quite a lot about the Celestial Plane, but everything he had shared had been relatively general. He had never given them pivotal information about a specific region, nor had he provided them with something that could drastically change the balance of power in Besgol.

In a certain way, Default hadn’t broken the Arbiters’ rules at all. "Cunning fox..."

"Hehe!" Nyxara laughed. "It’s not like you only noticed that now. Default is the oldest sentient being in our Great Void, after all."

She then added, "Don’t take it the wrong way. By refusing to give you anything specific that could cause such a massive change, he was also protecting you from the Arbiters."

"At the end of the day, even we Primordial Demon Beasts know very little about that organization. As the old saying goes, better safe than sorry."

Roan didn’t insist any further. "Very well."

Just as he was about to leave, though, another thought crossed his mind. "What about you? Why haven’t you gone to the Celestial Plane yet? Your powers would recover much faster there, wouldn’t they?"

"Don’t want to." Nyxara shrugged as though the answer were obvious. "It has only been a few hundred thousand years since I was set free. I want to enjoy my leisure time for a while longer. There isn’t any serious reason behind it. Once I feel like going back to the Celestial Plane, I’ll simply go."

Roan couldn’t really complain about that. "I see... If you’re still here, I might come to pay you another visit in the future. Goodbye."

With that, Roan disappeared without a trace.