Chapter 32: The Celestial Wanderer’s Secret

As the swirling energies of the Forgotten Depths faded into silence, Xu Han stood beside Kairo, the Celestial Wanderer. The dark chamber that had once thrummed with the cult's power now lay dormant, its obelisk shattered, and the ritual halted. Though the immediate threat had passed, Xu Han's mind was already turning toward the greater conflict—the Cult of the Void, their hidden machinations, and the looming presence of the Void Sovereign.

Kairo's calm demeanor contrasted with the lingering tension in the air. There was something about him—an ancient wisdom, a power that came not just from raw strength but from deep understanding. Xu Han could sense it.

"I am grateful for your intervention," Kairo began, his voice steady but with an undercurrent of urgency. "The Void Sovereign's cult is larger than you realize. What you stopped here is only the beginning of their efforts. Their true aim lies far beyond the Forgotten Depths."

Xu Han's eyes narrowed. "Then tell me what you know."

Kairo turned, his cloak billowing slightly as he began to walk toward the edge of the chamber. "Walk with me," he said, "and I will reveal the truth about the Void Sovereign."

As they moved through the labyrinth of the Forgotten Depths, Kairo began to speak, his words carrying the weight of ancient knowledge.

"The Void Sovereign is not like any being you've encountered before," Kairo explained. "It is not bound by the laws of creation or destruction. It exists outside the cycle of life, death, and rebirth that governs the multiverse. To understand it, you must first understand the Void."

Kairo gestured toward the darkened tunnels they passed through, as if to illustrate his point. "The Void is the antithesis of existence. It is the absence of everything—the very concept of nothingness given form. The Cult of the Void seeks to bring this nothingness into our multiverse, to unravel everything we know and replace it with oblivion."

Xu Han remained silent, absorbing Kairo's words. He had encountered many powerful entities, but this was different. The Void Sovereign was not just a threat to life but to the very fabric of reality itself.

"They believe that by summoning the Void Sovereign," Kairo continued, "they can bring about a 'cleansing' of the multiverse, wiping away all that exists to make way for a new reality. But what they fail to understand is that the Void Sovereign does not create. It only destroys."

Xu Han's voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. "So they are not just fanatics—they are misguided. They believe in something that will ultimately consume them as well."

Kairo nodded. "Exactly. And that is what makes them so dangerous. They believe that their destruction will lead to a rebirth, but once the Void is unleashed, there will be no rebirth. Only endless nothingness."

As they reached the surface of the Forgotten Depths, Xu Han stopped and faced Kairo. "You said you know how to stop the Void Sovereign. Tell me your plan."

Kairo's gaze met Xu Han's, and for a moment, there was a flicker of hesitation. But then he spoke, his voice filled with quiet determination.

"There is a relic," Kairo began. "An ancient artifact known as the Nexus Key. It was created eons ago by the first beings who encountered the Void. They realized that the Void could not be destroyed, but it could be contained—sealed away in the deepest parts of the multiverse where it could never escape. The Nexus Key is the only thing that can close the rifts the cult is using to draw the Void Sovereign into our reality."

Xu Han's eyes sharpened. "And where is this Nexus Key?"

Kairo's expression darkened. "That's the problem. It was lost long ago, scattered across multiple realms to ensure it would never fall into the wrong hands. But I know where to begin the search. One of the fragments is hidden in the Astral Domain—a place where the laws of space and time are constantly in flux."

"The Astral Domain…" Xu Han echoed. He had heard of it, a realm of shifting stars and endless voids, where navigation was nearly impossible. It was said that only those with the deepest understanding of the Daos could survive its ever-changing landscape.

Kairo nodded. "It will not be an easy journey. The Astral Domain is treacherous, and the fragment is guarded by ancient forces. But it is the only way. Without the Nexus Key, the Void Sovereign will eventually break through the barriers between realms."

Xu Han's mind raced as he weighed the risks. He knew the cult's reach was growing. If they managed to summon the Void Sovereign, it would spell disaster for the entire multiverse. But retrieving the Nexus Key would be no simple task.

"We will go to the Astral Domain," Xu Han decided, his voice firm. "But we must act quickly. The cult will not wait."

Kairo gave a small nod of approval. "I expected nothing less from you, Xu Han. I will guide you through the Astral Domain, but there is something else you should know. The cult is already aware of the Nexus Key. They will stop at nothing to prevent us from finding it."

Xu Han's expression remained impassive. "Then they will fail."

It wasn't long before Xu Han and Kairo departed from the Forgotten Depths, opening a portal to the Astral Domain. The moment they stepped through, the atmosphere shifted. The Astral Domain was unlike any other realm Xu Han had visited. Stars drifted aimlessly in the void, their light casting strange shadows on the fractured ground beneath their feet. Planets spun in impossible directions, and time itself seemed to flow differently here. It was a realm of chaos, where the laws of physics held no sway.

Kairo led the way, his movements deliberate but cautious. "Stay close," he warned. "This place has a mind of its own. It bends reality to confuse those who enter."

Xu Han followed, his senses heightened. The energy here was disorienting, but Xu Han's mastery of the Great Daos allowed him to maintain his focus. As they moved deeper into the Astral Domain, Xu Han felt the presence of something watching them. It was distant, but growing closer.

"The cult is here," Kairo said quietly. "They are searching for the same fragment."

Just as Kairo spoke, the ground beneath them rippled, and the sky above seemed to tear open. From the breach emerged several figures, cloaked in the dark robes of the Void Cult. Their faces were hidden beneath hoods, but their eyes glowed with malevolent energy.

"You are too late, Xu Han," one of the cultists hissed. "The Nexus Key will belong to the Void Sovereign."

Xu Han's gaze remained cold. "You are no threat to me."

With a flick of his wrist, Xu Han summoned the Dao of Temporal Severance, freezing the cultists in place. But before he could strike, the sky above them darkened, and a massive figure descended from the void. It was a being of pure shadow, its form shifting and writhing as it approached.

"The Shadow Herald," Kairo said, his voice filled with recognition. "One of the ancient guardians of the Astral Domain. It must be protecting the fragment."

The Shadow Herald loomed over them, its eyes glowing with an ancient malice. The cultists, still frozen in time, posed no immediate threat, but the Herald was different. Its presence was overwhelming, and its power far greater than any of the void beings Xu Han had faced before.

"We'll need to defeat it to reach the fragment," Kairo said, drawing his blade, its edge shimmering with celestial energy. "This will not be an easy fight."

Xu Han's aura flared as he prepared for battle. "I never expected it to be."

The Battle with the Shadow Herald

The Shadow Herald let out a roar that reverberated through the Astral Domain, shaking the very stars around them. It moved with unnatural speed, its shadowy tendrils lashing out at Xu Han and Kairo with the force of a collapsing star.

Xu Han reacted instantly, summoning the Dao of Elemental Fusion. A shield of earth, fire, and light surrounded him, deflecting the Shadow Herald's attacks. Kairo moved beside him, his blade cutting through the darkness as they fought in tandem.

But the Herald was relentless. It struck again and again, its form shifting with every blow, making it nearly impossible to land a decisive strike. Xu Han focused his energy, his mind racing as he sought a way to defeat this ancient being.

Then, he saw it—a flicker of instability within the Herald's form. It was subtle, but it was there. The Shadow Herald's connection to the Astral Domain was its strength, but it was also its weakness.

"Kairo," Xu Han called out. "Distract it. I know how to end this."

Kairo nodded, rushing forward with a flurry of strikes, drawing the Herald's attention. As the beast turned its full wrath on Kairo, Xu Han summoned the Dao of Astral Displacement, a technique designed to sever the connection between a being and the realm it inhabited.

The air around Xu Han shimmered as he raised his hand, and with a single motion, he unleashed the full power of the Dao. The Shadow Herald let out a howl of agony as its connection to the Astral Domain was severed. Its form flickered, growing weaker with each passing second.

With one final strike, Xu Han unleashed a beam of radiant energy, piercing through the Herald's form and scattering it into the void. The Shadow Herald disintegrated, its essence absorbed into the fabric of the Astral Domain.

The battle was over.

As the dust settled, Kairo approached the center of the chamber where the Shadow Herald had stood. There, embedded in the ground, was a small, glowing fragment—the first piece of the Nexus Key.

Kairo carefully retrieved it, turning to Xu Han with a solemn expression. "This is only the beginning," he said. "There are still more fragments to find, and the cult will not stop until they have them all."

Xu Han nodded. "Then we move quickly."

Together, they left the Astral Domain, the first fragment of the Nexus Key secured. But the journey was far from over. The cult's plans were still in motion, and the Void Sovereign's rise was closer than ever.