The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 2247: A multiversal wormhole

Cain stood on the edge of immense danger, yet retreat was not a possibility for him. He had reached too far, uncovered too much. Turning back now would be a betrayal of everything he—and countless others—fought to protect.

Pulling deeper into the ninth layer might well spell his doom, but if something existed below the King of the Root—something even more dreadful—he needed to know what it was. Without that knowledge, they would have no chance of resisting the Root’s advance.

Tempering his will, Cain sank below the fleshy surface and began moving through the undulating layers of rotted tissue. Each second was a battle of precision, carving a silent path toward the ninth layer. It was extraordinarily dangerous.

No streams of spawn traveled downward into this part of the Heart, and Cain could not allow his body to make contact with the ocean of decayed flesh around him. Every remnant, every corpse fragment, every patch of organic matter might be directly connected to the main consciousness. One accidental touch could alert the Heart of the Root instantly.

It took absolute focus. Cain pushed his mind to its limits, relying on the subtle guidance of the Flow to navigate the suffocating mass of tissue. Inch by inch, pulse by pulse, he descended—until eventually, he broke through into the ninth layer.

What awaited him there was a sight that froze his blood.

A massive, mutated, rotting head dominated the entire layer. It was colossal, grotesque—large enough to rival a small world—its decayed features stretching across the chamber like a mutilated monument. The flesh sagged in ruined folds, and yet the aura it released was not dead.

The power of The Root was purer and stronger in this severed head than in any other part of the world-size tumor, or any other agent, even Radagon.

”An energy nucleus?” The thought flashed through Cain’s mind, but he immediately dismissed it.

The Heart of the Root was similar in size and energy to an Empyrean World, but it was not really a world, not in the conventional sense at least.

It had no single core to destroy, no vital weakness, or center of consciousness. Every inch of its body was alive, composed of an endless mosaic of organisms patched together into one monstrous being.

Given its locations, the head might be a source of energy for the rest of the world-sized tumor, helping its growth. But as Cain focused on it, he sensed something else, forces that resonated faintly with his own Inner Universe.

”Space-time...” The moment he reached that conclusion, Cain’s eyes widened, and a surge of dread swelled in his chest. Memories resurfaced—teachings from Apex regarding the perils of traversing the Emptiness, and visions inherited from Emprik’s memories.

Traveling through the nothingness between universes was extraordinarily dangerous, something even beings like Radagon could not accomplish without immense risk. And from Emprik’s knowledge, he knew the Heart of the Root had stumbled into the Nine Empyrean Suns Universe purely by luck. They had lost contact with all Root agents beyond the Universal Wall. There was no path for reinforcements to arrive.

Yet, this severed head... could change everything.

”Do not jump to conclusions,” Cain told himself, steadying his breath. There could be many reasons why the severed head of an ancient god of the Emptiness was being preserved here.

Of course, none of the possibilities were good—but not all had to be catastrophic. Not all had to point to a beacon calling the Root’s armies from beyond.

Forcing his mind into clarity, Cain analyzed his surroundings and soon detected a powerful force field encasing the monstrous head. His stomach tightened.

This place was already nearly impossible to reach. No one else in the Nine Empyrean Suns Universe besides him—no matter how strong—would have been able to infiltrate this deep into the Heart. Yet even here, even at the bottommost layer, the Root had erected a barrier.

Whatever this head represented, it was of critical importance.

”The force field is strong... but I should be able to bypass it with the [A.I. Chip Module].” Cain approached the severed head with utmost care. He did not intend to interfere, nor even to touch it—just to understand what it was.

One look was enough to know that destroying it was impossible with his current power. He wasn’t reckless enough to attempt it anyway. There was a difference between bravery and madness, and Cain was already walking the razor-thin line between the two simply by being here.

Slowly, silently, he activated the Alpha–Omega Overgod–tier module. It began deciphering the microscopic patterns woven into the force field, deconstructing its layers one at a time. Minutes crawled by like hours. Finally, a breach opened.

Cain still refused to use his Ego Wave. Connecting his soul directly to a structure like this was far too risky. Instead, he relied on the [A.I. Chip Module] once again to scan the head and extract whatever knowledge it could.

Information streamed into him—cosmic principles, warped and twisted, embedded into the decapitated head. With every fragment of understanding, Cain’s expression darkened further. When the truth finally crystallized, a wave of cold horror washed over him.

This was not a beacon.

This was not a core.

It was something far worse.

A teleportation anchor... a multiversal wormhole.

Incomplete, dormant—but once restored and fully charged, it could tear open a passage beyond the Universal Wall. A portal wide enough for the Root’s armies, far beyond what Radagon and the High Lords represented.

Radagon... the Champions... even the Heart itself... were merely the vanguard.

This head—this ancient severed remnant—was the true weapon. The key to the Root’s absolute victory.

Cain’s chest tightened, breath faltering beneath the weight of what he understood. ”If the portal is completed... if the true powerhouses of the Root enter our universe... it’s over. The Nine Empyrean Suns Universe will fall. Everything will be consumed.”

The pressure was suffocating.

But then, suddenly, all thoughts vanished.

The severed head’s eyes—empty, decayed, lifeless moments ago—began to glow.

And they turned directly toward him.