Myriad Heavens: Rise of the Rune God

Chapter 244: Chapter 245: The Void Devouring Dragon

A mid-tier universe in the sector vanished without any warning.

One moment its Universe Will was present, its membrane intact, and trillions upon trillions of lifeforms were living ordinary lives. The next moment the entire universe was simply gone. The void closed over the empty space the way water closes over a dropped stone. No debris. No remnants. Nothing left to show it had ever existed.

Every Universe Will in the sector felt the disappearance at the exact same instant.

The Multiversal Will chat group activated and exploded immediately. Messages poured in.

”Did I just sense a universe disappear?”

”I felt it too. Sector 73bc vicinity.”

”Could be natural entropy. It happens.”

”No. I just checked the projections last cycle. No universe in our sector is anywhere near natural entropy. The earliest collapse is still several billion years out.”

”Then what was that?”

”I don’t know. Extending my perception now.”

While the discussion was still ongoing, a second universe vanished.

The chat group went silent for two full seconds.

Then the messages started again, faster and sharper.

”Another one.”

”That’s two.”

”Two universes. Gone. Within minutes of each other.”

”This is not entropy.”

Every Universe Will in the sector shifted into full combat and vigilance state at once. Membranes reinforced. Internal defenses activated. The calm of eons of quiet management disappeared. What remained was the sharp readiness of beings who had managed their domains for ages and knew what real external danger felt like.

Almost immediately after, a third universe disappeared.

”Third one. Sector 75wd boundary.”

”I’m reviewing the void fabric at the last disappearance site.”

Several Wills extended their perception and reversed the local void time, replaying the moments just before the third universe vanished.

The scene they saw was shocking.

The reports came back quickly and coldly.

”It was eaten.”

”What?”

”The entire universe was consumed in a single motion. The residual energy signature is unmistakable. Something swallowed it completely.”

”What kind of being swallows a whole universe in one breath?”

”Definitely the Void Devouring race. Nothing else leaves that signature.”

”Hey stupid, don’t jinx us.”

”Checking the species...”

A short pause.

”Yup, you are not going to believe this”

”What is it?”

”Its a Dragon. Not only that, it’s a Void Devouring Dragon.”

The chat group went very quiet.

Then the recognition and shock hit all at once.

”Fuck. Willus you jinxed us.”

”What the hell is a Void Devouring Dragon doing in our sector?”

”Those things are nightmares. The whole Void Devouring race is bad enough, but the dragon variant is the worst.”

An older Will spoke with heavy experience. ”I still remember Sector 41. Three cycles ago a full fledged Void Devouring Dragon wiped out 440 universes before the Multiversal Center finally sent a GrandMaster to stop it. The sector never fully recovered.”

A second older Will added, ”Sector 12 was worse. The dragon there was only Adept-tier and still erased everything in a radius of twelve thousand void-distances. We are lucky this one arrived injured.”

A younger Will spoke up, its tone carrying the weight of lessons learned at the Multiversal Will Academy.

”I remember the lectures clearly. The Void Devouring race never cultivates the normal way. They only devour. Everything they swallow — energy, matter, knowledge, even incomplete and complete principles — becomes part of them instantly. They gain everything the thing they ate once had. That is their entire path.”

Another younger Will added, ”They only cultivate one principle. The Principle of Devour. It is one of the top principles in existence. Most beings who try to comprehend it rashly end up getting eaten by the principle itself. The principle turns on them and strengthens itself by consuming the cultivator. Only the Void Devouring race has the innate attunement to handle it safely. It is as if they were made for it.”

”How did it even get here?”

One Will reversed the void time further, tracing the dragon’s arrival point.

”It came through a void rift. The rift opened and sealed almost instantly. The dragon was already badly injured when it arrived. Something on the other side hurt it severely before it escaped.”

”Injured... and it’s already eaten three universes just to start recovering.”

An older Will confirmed, ”Even injured ones are dangerous. They recover by eating, and every meal makes them stronger and more complete. Fully recovered Void Devouring Dragons have erased entire sectors in the past. We were lucky this one arrived hurt.”

”If it finishes recovering, full strength for this Void Devouring Dragon from what i am senseing is at least Advanced-tier Multiversal.”

A brief pause followed as several Wills reviewed the Multiversal hierarchy for the younger ones still listening.

”For clarity — Multiversal ranks go Beginner, Initiate, Adept, Advanced, Expert, Master, GrandMaster, and finally Paragon. We are dealing with something at Advanced tier. That is already far beyond what most of us have ever had to face directly.”

The Wills immediately began discussing an extermination campaign while the dragon was still weakened.

”We need to move now. Before it recovers any further.”

”Combine every Multiversal being we still have and hit it hard.”

A longer silence followed as each Will checked the actual power available inside their own universes.

”Most of our Multiversal beings leave the moment they break through. Standard pattern. Ninety-nine point nine nine percent go out into the void to explore. What’s left are beginner and initiate-tier Multiversals who chose to stay and coast through their remaining infinite lives.”

”So our combined force is only Beginner and Initiate level.”

”Against an Advanced-tier Void Devouring Dragon... even an injured one.”

”That campaign fails.”

”Yes.”

One of the younger Wills — the same one who had contacted William earlier about the being outside his membrane — tagged William in the group chat and messaged him.

”William. You have an expert sitting right outside your membrane. From the power levels we are reading he is probably an Advanced-tier Multiversal being right? Can you ask him to act?”

William saw the message and looked at the void outside his membrane. Runar’s main body was still there, steadily absorbing void energy and completing principles without any pause. William replied carefully.

”I will not interrupt his enlightenment. You all know how rare and hard it is for a Multiversal being to enter the state of enlightenment. The breakthroughs he is making right now cannot be forced or repeated through normal effort. Interrupting it would cost him things he can never get back.”

Only if he knew that Runar could enter enlightenment whenever he wished. But William was still using the normal classification to judge him.

”But the dragon is eating our sector.”

”I know. And I am certain he is already aware of everything happening. His perception covers a wide radius of the void. Nothing in this sector escapes him. He will act when he judges the time is right. But we cannot treat that as our only plan.”

The group accepted the answer with reluctant understanding.

After a short silence one Will spoke up.

”I have a Multiversal being in my universe. Only Initiate tier, but his entire path is the Principle of Runes, Glyphs, Arrays, and Formations. He says he can construct a killing formation that channels and combines the power of every Multiversal being still present in the sector into one focused strike.”

”Every Multiversal being?”

”Yes. Beginner and Initiate tier together, amplified and concentrated by the formation itself. He claims the formation does the work individual power cannot.”

”Has he ever built something like this at this scale?”

”Smaller scale only. But his calculations say it is possible if we finish the formation before the dragon fully recovers.”

The Wills collectively reviewed the numbers, questioned the theory, revised it, and checked again. After careful assessment they reached the same conclusion.

”It could work.”

”It’s the best option we have right now.”

”Then we move. Immediately. Before it eats another universe.”

Note: Multiversal beings are stupidly fast. They have multiversal speed, so they can mobilize and assemble in less than a rontosecond.

William was told to keep watching his guest. If the formation failed, they might still need Runar regardless of the enlightenment.

William replied simply, ”Understood.”

The chat group shifted from discussion into rapid coordination. Across the sector, the remaining Multiversal beings received orders from their Universe Wills.

The formation specialist — an Initiate-tier Multiversal whose entire path was the Principle of Runes, Glyphs, Arrays, and Formations — received the command and acted instantly. He had already completed the design of the killing formation in the time it took most beings to form a single thought. Massive glowing runes and interlocking arrays began spreading across a vast stretch of the void, drawing power from every participating Multiversal being in the sector. The formation was enormous, complex, and designed to concentrate all their combined strength into one devastating strike.

Because Multiversal beings moved at multiversal speed, the remaining Beginner and Initiate-tier Multiversals from across the sector arrived almost instantly. One moment the void near the formation was empty. The next moment dozens of powerful figures stood in position, their auras linking into the growing array. The void itself trembled under the sudden concentration of power.

Meanwhile, far from the gathering force, the Void Devouring Dragon continued its recovery.

It had just finished absorbing the third universe. Dark wounds across its vast body were slowly closing. Energy from the swallowed universe flowed through it, repairing dimensional tears and strengthening its core. The dragon opened its massive jaws and sensed the next nearest universe. It was already preparing to move again. The smell of rich principles and dense void energy in another direction still pulled at its attention, but recovery came first. One or two more universes and it would be ready for the real meal.

Back at the formation, the array continued to charge. Power from every participating Multiversal being poured into the runes. The structure grew brighter and more unstable with each passing fraction of a second. The Wills watched tensely. The dragon had begun turning its head, sensing the sudden spike of energy in the void.

Outside William’s membrane, Runar’s main body continued absorbing void energy and completing principles without interruption. His perception had already registered the entire conversation, the dragon’s current condition, the formation plan, the mobilization, and the growing urgency.

He was aware.

He was watching.

He already had a plan.

The formation reached peak charge. The dragon fully turned toward the gathering force. The void between them grew heavy with impending violence.