A few seconds passed when Nero felt a second strong connection, and to his delight, the system was not only strong but also fitted the description of the Devourer system.
The system used three aspects of reality, 'Darkness, Absorption, Suppression,' and from the small interaction, he was even able to somewhat figure out its ability.
It allows its users to affect individuals with dark parasites. Once they mature or the target dies and the worm returns to him, the user temporarily or permanently gains his target's abilities, skills, memories, and even concepts like courage or determination.
The only downside was time, as a single successful attempt required years of patience, but it was not a major issue since, with time, the user could extract only certain aspects without even needing a dark parasite.
At first, Nero felt it was the right system, but after thinking it through, he decided it was not the Devourer system. While it gave him a dark and overwhelming feeling, it did not give off that malevolent, insatiable hunger.
In the time it took to check the Darkness system, two more similar strong systems reached him, and while Nero checked them, something ancient was making his move.
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Far beyond the outermost reaches of the galaxy, there was nothing but a void, an endless, oppressive blackness filled with the most primal force of the universe.
Beyond the last flickering remnants of ancient probes launched by long-extinct civilizations, beyond any record of history or knowledge, there lay an abyss, a cosmic night sea, its stillness broken only by the faint twinkle of distant, isolated galaxies like fireflies in the night.
Yet this Pitch black vastness was far from empty. In the deepest recesses of this incomprehensible expanse, creatures of unimaginable scale and terror moved.
They were the behemoths of the cosmic deep, stirring in the silence, as old as many galaxies. At this moment in this eternal void, a brief spark erupted, a microscopic ripple through space and time, barely a whisper in the boundless blackness.
Milliseconds of existence, radiating out from an insignificant spiral of stars far in the distance, did not go unnoticed in the abyss.
Something ancient and terrible processed this distant signal in its sleep, instinctively, like a beast reacting to the scent of blood on the wind, a presence whose appetite knew no bounds, a slumbering predator that had rested for eons.
A million frozen, unblinking eyes fixed on the cluster of stars, finding the source responsible for it without ever fully waking.
Its colossal, dreaming mind analyzed the information, recognizing he had found a target. In an instant, it took action, releasing a wave of darkness aimed at the distant galaxy, pitch-dark energy that stood out even in the ocean of blackness, quickly vanishing into the fabric of reality.
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In the outermost area of the galaxy, a star was revolving around a giant black hole, slowly drifting towards its inevitable demise, pulled inch by inch into the event horizon.
Dark miasmic storms completely engulfed its surface, making it seem like a semi-gas giant that housed no life except for one individual.
Deep beneath the ranging dark storms, on the surface where the pressure was so intense that few could hope to survive, a figure draped in a large robe could be seen walking on its surface.
There seemed to be an invisible dome around the man, ensuring that not a speck of dust touched him.
"If only I could have found this planet sooner," The man muttered as he removed his hood to get a better look inside the deep crater before him, which was one of the sources of the dark miasma covering the planet.
"Let's hope the trip to these forgotten shores was worth it," The figure said as he began to descend into the crater, but halfway through, he fell to his knees.
He clenched his wide head with both hands, his fingers digging into his scalp as if trying to hold himself together. His oversized, sunken eyes began to darken, the white rings in his eyes vanishing in a dark flash, swallowed by an abyss that spread from his pupils outward.
His neck jerked violently, twisting at unnatural angles as his body convulsed uncontrollably, and as he lost control over his body, he fell on the ground, rolling right into the crater, the barrier around him fading in an instant, making his body feel the full force of the miasmic storm, hurling him into the sky.
But a moment later, the invisible barrier returned, and the figure of the architect stabilized, his pitch-dark eyes turning in a certain direction.
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"No, this one also does not seem right," Nero said, his face deep with a frown, his panic about his situation clear in his eyes.
Nero had gone through six strong systems that he believed to be of the Primordial grade, three of which gave him some form of devouring abilities.
The first system was more in line with the darkness system, whereas the second system used the aspects of Devouring and Absorbing, but its abilities were very limited.
The system allowed its user to siphon the vitality of any living thing, plant or animal, and use it to strengthen himself, temporarily and permanently, but it was only limited to vitality.
He could use the vitality he gathered to create mutated monstrosities of flesh, mindless creatures no different from undead or plague-ridden zombies.
The last system used the aspects of Devouring and Suppression in a completely different way, as it allowed its user to devour the laws that affected him.
It could allow him to devour gravity to float, devour force to nullify an impact, devour space to travel far, and even devour aspects like friction, inertia, or sound, giving him enhanced movement, silence, or stealth.
However, it all came at a great cost. The forces the user devoured were absorbed into his body, and while there were limits that grew with the person so he would not just die, constantly using the power left its toll and, if abused, would lead to getting crippled or dead.
The first system was great because it allowed the extraction of skills and maybe even talent. The second gave unchallenged growth, and the third offered ultimate survivability.
In Nero's eyes, the first was closest to the Devourer system since all he knew about it was what he could learn from the small illusion, but if he had to pick between the three, he would choose the third one.
The ability to devour the laws affecting him was straight broken, and in his eyes, if he was not overwhelmingly at a disadvantage, he could win any battle.
However, the sane choice was to leave without any system if he was not sure because he knew Draven had his countermeasures planned, and if he picked one without being certain, it would only affect his future.
"None of these three give that feeling of insatiable hunger that Draven was talking about, but then again, maybe the first system would slowly evolve into that monstrosity he dealt with," Nero thought, struggling to reach a decision.
It had already been nearly nine minutes since he entered this astral state, and while he could stay for another ten or twenty minutes, he could also be gone in one more minute.
So the pressure of deciding was mounting on him heavier by the moment, and he could not decide whether it was better to leave empty-handed or pick one of the three strongest options.
"I don't know what to do," Nero said, grinding his teeth in annoyance and anxiety.
At this moment, Nero felt a new link, something powerful, far stronger than any before, and that was all he could process before his vision went dark and he was plunged into a reality of hunger.
Nero jerked back to life as his senses returned. He found himself in an unfamiliar place, darkness clouding his eyes that slowly began to clear up, and he struggled to remember his current situation.
'Where am I? What was I doing?' Nero questioned as he silently looked around what appeared to be a dim corridor, having no memory of his past few moments.
'In the evening, I returned to my room after helping Lady Erna, and then we played stupid frog, and then we went to sleep,' Nero recounted the last few events, but then he heard a voice that made him remember.
"You sure you did not hear anything? I swear there was a sound of gasping, like," A thin yet man's voice sounded, followed by a rough reply, "Like What? A ghost," The rough voice boomed much louder than the frail-sounding man.
"No, like a human," He said, but he was quickly silenced. "Our work is done, so shut up, and let's go and get some sleep before those spawns of the devil wake up and start ringing like parrots, making my entire day a drag," The rough voice sounded, followed by footsteps that grew weaker by the moment.
'Aafia, yes, the cook and the cleaner took Aafia and Jack,' Nero mumbled, clouded memories slowly returning to him.