Chapter 270: Wishing Coin, the Awakening World-Swallowing Worm

Wang Yu thrust his right hand, clutching the vial of starlit base liquid, into the void, using the temporarily stable rift as a gateway.

To be honest, he felt nothing out of the ordinary, save for the fact that the arm submerged in the void no longer sensed the flow of air; the chaotic, disordered void and his limb simply failed to reach any state of interaction.

"How is it?"

Avia inquired, already beginning to gather void energy, ready to yank his arm free should any trouble arise.

"It's fine. I've fallen in entirely before; a single hand shouldn't cause any issues."

Wang Yu waved his free hand to dismiss her concern, his eyes fixed through the rift at the vial he held within the void. Its state was changing, just as Moira had described.

The liquid, once like a bottled galaxy, underwent a wondrous transformation, shifting from a solid state into an ethereal one. It began to seep through the glass, and to Wang Yu’s eyes, a flat, swirling nebula appeared upon his hand, slowly expanding and rotating.

As this nebula—which possessed no collision volume—spun, ribbons of light were flung outward, stretching into the infinite reaches of the void. These pure, luminous bands were studded with strange, colored specks, flowing like a river of stars.

Wang Yu had listened carefully to Moira’s teachings; this was the base liquid establishing a connection with the void. This potion was becoming a wizard—or rather, a vessel capable of channeling vast amounts of void energy, more powerful than ninety-nine percent of all wizards, though only for a single moment.

The starlit rivers, extending into the infinite, touched their boundaries, reaching the entities they sought to commune with. A glimmer of violet light was accepted by these ribbons, flowing back along the "starry river" to the source—the nebula at the center—gradually staining it with a deep, purple halo.

"This must be void energy. It’s curious how the manifested state of the void always seems linked to the cosmos. Is it because of its vastness, or is there a true connection?"

As the nebula in his hand turned a shimmering violet, having absorbed enough energy, it began to collapse inward. Wang Yu focused, preparing to withdraw it from the void while pondering his question.

Historically, the fluctuations caused by the completion of a Wish Potion had attracted the covetous gaze of several evil gods; he had no desire to battle them here.

Wang Yu observed the potion, while Moira observed Wang Yu. This disciple had shocked her too many times; entering the void without any protection—was he some sort of void creature?

She wondered if Roland, the so-called "God of Wizards," could have done the same. But the traces of that man had long been buried in the dust of history. Her disciple looked young, and he had much more to achieve.

"Opening the container of starlit dew, investigating the events at the Sorenson Mountains, and now reaching into the void to help an old woman complete the near-impossible second step... Tsk, tsk, you boy, you are the 'bottled' miracle yourself."

Moira wore a strange smile, equal parts gratified and helpless, as she silently mused on his character.

The collapse of the "nebula" drew to a close, and the essence that had diffused from the base liquid gathered back into its original form: a liquid galaxy, contained once more within that unremarkable vial.

Yet, unlike the dead, empty appearance it had before, this liquid galaxy now shimmered with a violet light that gave Wang Yu a sense of "vitality."

"Now!"

Without hesitation, Wang Yu pulled his hand back in a flash, desperate to retrieve the potion before the fluctuations of its completion could spread throughout the void.

"Zing!"

"Damn it!"

His hand whipped out of the rift, but he let out a curse—his palm was empty.

The potion’s state had shifted upon completion; as he pulled back, the vial had simply phased through his hand.

Deprived of his grip, the potion began to plummet into the bottomless void. If it fell, retrieving it would be a fool’s errand.

"Damn it."

Wang Yu lunged forward, thrusting his shoulder into the void. His lightning-fast reflexes allowed him to reach the falling vial, but just as before, he couldn't grasp it; the vial passed right through his hand.

Watching the potion slip through his palm, his subconscious reacted faster than his thoughts. The power of the Chariot flared, an invisible force clamping down on the vial, catching it...

"Whew..."

Retreating, Wang Yu looked at the potion he had snatched back, breathing a sigh of relief. Letting it fall into the void would have been a sin.

The "Wish Potion," its second step complete, lay in his hand. While in the void, it had been intangible, but here in the material world, it was once again a solid object he could hold.

"I apologize; this was my oversight. I never imagined someone could truly complete this step without wizardly means. As a teacher, this was a grave error."

Moira’s apologetic voice sounded nearby. She had seen the problem he faced. Theoretically, starlit dew underwent a duality shift in the void upon completion, but she hadn't known the specifics and thus forgot to warn him.

"It’s alright, the result is good. Moira, does this mean the second step is done?"

Wang Yu didn't dwell on it, placing the potion on the table and asking his teacher.

"Yes, it is finished."

Moira walked over to the vial of "starlight" and took it in her hands. She looked at the brilliant liquid with a complex expression. One of her dream goals, achieved? Though it was still far from the true final product.

"It feels wonderful..."

She smiled. Though she had been helped greatly by her two disciples, she could find some peace of mind by treating one of them as a legendary-grade alchemy station.

"Without your help, I could never have completed this. This potion can be called a 'Wish Coin.' It should be enough to produce a wish-granting effect, though it still falls short of the historical Wish Potion. Half a bottle or a whole one makes no fundamental difference; this half is a token of your teacher's gratitude."

Moira went to a cabinet, retrieved a high-quality vial, poured half the "Lucky Coin" into it, and handed it to Wang Yu.

"Don't be fooled by its connection to the void; its nature is far less chaotic. In fact, its stability is beyond what most things can compare to. As long as you don't use your mental energy to communicate with it to make a wish, it won't change state due to any external influence. You don't need to worry about storage, just don't let the container break."

Wang Yu paused, then readily accepted the "Wish Coin" as Moira continued to explain its unique properties.

"Thank you, Moira."

He thanked her sincerely; another trump card was no small matter.

"No need for thanks. Just help me process more materials. Later, Liahim will have to fight the giant worm you discovered, and I will need plenty of potions for that."

Moira waved her hand, signaling that he should stop talking and focus on helping her process herbs and learning alchemy.

"Chirp!"

A piercing cry echoed across Liahim. It was the signal for the elves to prepare, meaning the arrays used for long-range observation of the Sorenson Mountains had detected a disturbance: the World Eater had awakened...

"Rumble..."

Deafening, dull tremors erupted from beneath the mountains. Rock and soil ground against each other, pushed aside by immense force.

Tree roots were violently torn from the earth; the strength of the awakened entity was beyond what these ordinary, non-supernatural organisms could resist.

The sacrificial fire of life had extinguished not long ago, and the life force permeating the mountains had been absorbed by the World Eater. Now, no longer clinging to the cradle that birthed it, the World Eater had fully awakened from its sweet slumber.

Countless eyes upon its body opened at once, and viscous, yellow fluid dripped from them, causing the soil to blacken and harden upon contact.

This was the corruption the druids of Sorenson had once faced. It hadn't been erased; it had been concentrated within this terrifying worm. This giant creature was the very embodiment of corruption.

The worm’s elongated body was covered in limbs, each joint bearing appendages dozens of times longer than human limbs, which now thrashed wildly, clawing at the earth and rock to propel the massive creature forward.

The mountains vibrated as a massive fissure split the summit, revealing the hollow beneath. As the World Eater’s maw devoured everything in its path, the entire worm burst forth from the mountain.

Its body, over a thousand meters long, was impossibly heavy, yet the moment it emerged, the giant worm began to ascend.

Its myriad limbs thrashed, seemingly gripping the very air, pulling its massive frame into the sky.

From the gaps in its gray, armored segments, smaller worms began to emerge. They looked much like the World Eater, only smaller, with fewer limbs.

Like their progenitor, these corrupted spawn flapped their limbs and dove from the sky, attacking every living thing in their path.

Whether fierce beasts, harmless herbivores, or even lesser magical creatures, all were targets of their hunt.

Their maws, expanding to the width of their bodies, clamped down on their prey, sharp teeth and tiny tentacles piercing muscle and seizing bone.

Then, the frenzied waving of limbs provided a powerful lift, dragging these victims toward the World Eater as it soared relentlessly toward a distant horizon.

"Splat!"

The prey was flung by the corrupted kin onto the massive body of the World Eater, where some, still clinging to life, struggled feebly to rise.

But soon, segments of limbs arched upward to seize them, tearing the victims to shreds with a delicate yet immense strength, letting

their flesh and gore splatter and coat the World Eater’s hide.

"Gurgle..."

With a thick, low swallowing sound, the eyes scattered across the World Eater’s body served as sensory organs, feeding maws, and vessels for spreading rot.

Fragments of mangled flesh and the blood flowing wantonly among them were pushed by the limbs into those eyes; the lenses writhed, gulping down the delicacies, turning the yellowed, putrid pupils into a sickening reddish-brown.

The life force of the flesh was gradually drained dry by the World Eater, and the remnants, transformed by its touch, became a black, viscous substance that dripped from the edges of the feeding eyes, looking for all the world like tears.

Yet these "tears" were far from harmless; the black, semi-fluid matter plummeted from the sky, crashing into the forest below.

The moment they touched the black substance, plants and animals alike had their life force ravenously devoured, quickly reduced to withered, desiccated husks.

Some husks, having absorbed enough life force, began to tremble and sway, something gestating within; after a short time, the black matter ruptured, and new, small worms crawled forth.

These limb-waving corrupted kin began to join in the hunt, bringing life force to the World Eater and birthing yet more of their kind.

The space around the gargantuan worm grew dense with swarms of black specks—these were the corrupted kin, like crows trailing a catastrophe, these multiplying worms were the flies that accompany decay.

At the very front of the giant worm’s body

lay an especially massive eyeball, the core of the World Eater and the only place it possessed for thought.

Yellow-brown, viscous fluid flowed within this giant orb, and rotting, ruptured flesh was visible everywhere, making one wonder if it served any purpose at all.

In truth, the World Eater possessed nothing that could be called wisdom, only emotions named hunger and greed, an endless thirst for life force driving it to fly unceasingly in one direction.

There, an entity existed that had provided it with life force during its long slumber; if it could find and devour that being, perhaps this bottomless hunger would finally be sated!

This rudimentary thought, flashing through its mangled mind, only caused its hunger to surge higher; the life force gathered by the corrupted kin was like a few grains of beef to a man starved for days, serving only to sharpen its cravings.

The World Eater could wait no longer; the speed at which its limbs clawed at the empty air accelerated sharply, and its massive, airborne body began to pick up speed at an unnatural rate, ignoring wind resistance, faster and faster, until it reached a certain limit.

The corrupted kin following in its wake no longer had the chance to hunt for life force to replenish their master; some, unable to keep pace, collapsed into foul, putrid sludge once they fell too far behind, raining down from the sky.

The giant worm streaked through the air, leaving behind a cruel path of creatures slain by the corruption along its trajectory.

Ignoring all obstacles in its

high-speed flight, the World Eater, having left a massive scar across the Sorenson Mountains, would reach the Elven capital of Lyraheim within two days.

...

In a crack between spaces unknown, two figures in suits, their faces obscured, stood watching the world outside through a screen of light; they were devils.

Projected upon the light was the Elven capital of Lyraheim, where the Elves were busy completing their defensive preparations.

The living roots of the Origin Forest had been cleared away, and massive War-Trees moved through the woods, helping the Elves install various facilities; the state of the Mythals was constantly adjusted, and magic reserves became abundant with the infusion of mana crystals.

"Hmm... the Elven race still has its foundations. It was quite troublesome that some strange fellow learned of the gestating thing in advance and warned them, wasn't it, 'Five'?"

With a tone that sounded somewhat like helplessness, one devil patted the shoulder of his companion, "Five."

"Indeed, quite troublesome. The power of distortion failed to lose that wizard in the spatial rift, which was unexpected. However, the opponent's aura was familiar; I may have discovered something interesting."

Devil "Five" responded to "Three" with a smile, and though he spoke of trouble, he appeared entirely unconcerned.

"Sigh, we aren't exactly skilled at direct confrontation, are we? This is our first attempt at such a thing, after all. Despite its near-immortality due to that peculiar organ, in terms of physical strength and destructive power, it is merely at a standard

Legendary level, perhaps even less. Facing the Elves' defenses and Mythals, it is still not quite enough."

Devil "Three" wore a sorrowful expression, seemingly distressed that the World Eater was not powerful enough.

"However, who told the Elves to have such a doting 'mother' for their children? With that factor added, it will be enough."

The conversation shifted, his tone turning high and excited once more as Devil "Three" spoke of the reason for his immense satisfaction.