The Veilwalker-Chapter 567: Bruised Egos: A Lesson Long Overdue

"You're all weak…"

"..."

The primordials did not like those words; their displeasure affected space, as fractures began to appear in the fabric of their universe, spreading far and wide.

"Watch your tone, boy…" One of the primordials growled. "You stand in the presence of the primogenitors of all universes."

Ignoring their overt displeasure, Alexander swung a hand out, instantly crushing and devouring the cumulative might of their presence. "The fate of your Reality is in jeopardy, and all you care about is your ego?!"

The primordials narrowed their eyes as they felt their presence recede into their bodies, almost as if their aura was frightened.

A few had even recoiled slightly, the act itself a denial of their very existence. The feeling of extreme shame boiled over, turning into rage.

"How dare you…!!!"

Never had they ever experienced anything of the sort. The Behemoth Primordial — the primal beast of land, strength and unyielding will — roared his challenge.

The Behemoth could not allow such disrespect to its existence, and was the first to move, intending to show the arrogant child a lesson he would never forget!

With its towering form, the primordial instantly appeared above Alexander, one of its monstrous limbs coming down on Alexander with overwhelming force.

Wherever it passed, space cracked and twisted, energy and essence being violently split apart. There was no doubt… that limb had enough power to crush a high-level universe's Veilwalker.

Three more primordials moved along with the Behemoth, extreme murderous intent suffusing the surrounding space.

And while they bore witness to what their colleagues had done when they first appeared before the boy, these primordials were consumed by rage.

Their pride demanded action, and they would deliver without fear, even if a part of them screamed existential crisis!

From Alexander's left came a speeding blade of emerald energy, cutting through the fabric of the universe with ease.

Directly coming towards him was a harrowing darkness of negativity and death, threatening to drown him in curses.

Finally, from his back came the streaking tendril of black lightning, a tendril imbued with the power to cripple the mind and the soul, potentially leading to death.

"Haa.."

A tired sigh from Alexander echoed out, resounding in their ears and senses, as if he stood right beside them.

As the four attacks converged on Alexander, the other primordials looked on in anticipation, eager to see how he would handle it, if he could.

"!!!"

What they witnessed, however, overthrew every bit of understanding they had about the workings of reality.

Right before their very eyes… and senses, without even lifting a finger, the assaults came to an absolute halt.

Then, a bestial roar shook space for millions of kilometres, as the Primordial Behemoth witnessed its limb explode in a gory of flesh, bones and essence.

Next, the emerald blade of energy, the harrowing mass of negativity and death, and the black lightning tendril capable of crippling both mind and soul, veered off their trajectories.

The destructive masses of energy that appeared before Alexander, who had seemingly made no move, were forcefully merged into one essence — a feat that should have been impossible without stripping the individual wills that were imbued in the attacks.

That was the norm…

But more than that, each attack was born of different energies and could absolutely not be merged. But Alexander made the impossible very possible…

As the energies were forcefully merged while retaining three different wills, something else was born… something entirely different… something frightening.

Space-time quivered, the already existing strain on space worsening, disrupting the healing fractures.

A foreboding feeling emerged as the primordials bore witness to the harrowing and achromatic mass of merged energies.

Nothing in reality came close to describing the nature of the gathered energies. But the primordials could feel it… they could feel the overwhelming urge to withdraw.

Unfortunately for the primordials responsible for the assault, nearly no time elapsed between the exploding limb of the Primordial Behemoth and whatever it was that the boy was doing.

Without so much as a hint or a warning, the merged energies of unknown nature split into three portions and vanished.

Simultaneously, soul-wrenching and horror-inducing screams came from the primordials responsible for the attacks, their towering figures convulsing with ruthless intensity.

The rest of the primordials unhesitantly put a chasm between themselves and the being responsible for the horror their colleagues were experiencing.

With expressions marred by existential terror that the primordials did their best to hide —at least for those with noticeable facial features —the entities of old looked at Alexander with deep apprehension.

"Isn't this what you wanted?"

They heard the boy say in a foreboding tone that left no room for rebuttal. "A lesson long overdue. You could not hold back your senseless pride, drunk on your power and lofty ideals of self…"

A moment passed after his assessment of their character when space thundered following his subsequent declaration, the tremors violently sending waves through their existence.

"For crying out loud, we're facing a crisis! Your reality is dying…!"

But as if the bloody injuries to the body/spirit and soul one of the primordials received were not enough to instil an alarming sense of danger, Wraithlord — a primordial on the Nether spectrum of Reality lashed out.

As the primordial responsible for dishing out the black lightning tendril, the crippling sensation of pain felt from Alexander's counterattack robbed him of all reasoning.

Wraithlord was out for blood!

The primordial could not remember the last time it felt such a crippling sensation!... if ever. Even the dull ache from Reality could not measure up to it.

A disturbing and ear-grating screech that would have sent shivers down the spines of anyone else came from Wraithlord.

Alexander, who had made no physical moves since his arrival, finally turned to face the incoming primordial, his facial features hidden behind an all-consuming darkness.

His majestically designed cloak flared around freely, disturbed by the chaotic mess of the surrounding energies.

Looking at the ghostly primordial madly charging at him, Alexander decided to use him as an example.

After all, Wraithlord was not the only one who seemed to have lost all reasoning. Many were the primordials itching to act, only a thin thread of reasoning holding them back.

'This is just sad…' Alexander silently thought as he lifted his left hand. 'Just how messed up are they? Is it simply sheer arrogance from being the first creatures to be created?'

With his left hand, Alex pointed out his index finger, domineeringly halting Wraithlord 's charge, breaking all of the primordial's momentum.

The clash was cataclysmic in proportion, as the point of impact violently ruptured, creating a mess of the surrounding space for millions of kilometres, the remnants shaking the very foundations of the universe.

Energy shockwaves resulting from the ruthless explosion further pushed back the watching primordials.

That was a full-powered physical charge of a primordial, even if he was not one of the physically strongest.

And yet… and yet Alexander stopped it with nothing but a finger; he did not even flinch! 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

But that was not Alexander's most impressive feat! It was what followed right after halting Wraithlord 's attack.

Before Wraithlord could do a follow-up attack, Alexander moved with the grace of a monarch.

The others could barely follow what transpired. All they managed to glimpse was a split-nanosecond blurred movement from him.

And as Alexander stepped back from the primordial, the others bore witness to the despairing sight of a primordial entity exhausted of all his energies!

"..."

A primordial… an entity with a nigh limitless amount of physical and magical essence, was driven to complete exhaustion in almost no time!

A primordial… an entity capable of battling for years on end, was rendered useless and dried as a husk!

The boy did not absorb Wraithlord's energies; the primordials were certain of that part. And that made what Alexander did even more horrifying.

For a primordial's energies to be exhausted, that primordial must have been engaged in an intense energy-draining feat to keep up with its opponent, and even then, it was a challenge.

'T-This can't be real…He exhausted Wrailtlord of all his essence!'

Wraithlord was barely conscious from what the primordials noticed, profusely losing the remnants of his essence as though he was losing blood.

Every other primordial who was about to act forcefully held themselves back, doing everything in their power to suppress their roaring pride and ego.

Before the primordials even realised their own actions, they all flinched when Alexander's piercing cold stare fell upon them, the overwhelming pressure of his existence weighing heavily upon their existence.

"I believe I now have your undivided attention?"

As the mysteriously powerful boy coldly looked at them, he outstretched the two fingers of his right hand and made a tossing gesture, flinging the exhausted primordial over to them.

Wraithlord was helplessly rolled across the solidified mass of energy as he came to a stop a few million kilometres away from the other primordials, who looked on with varying sentiments.

"Of course, anyone not convinced is free to attack… I'll be more than happy to put you in your place."

Alexander could practically see the whirlwind of emotions rolling off the primordials. Humiliation, rage, shame, fear, helplessness, envy… their sense of self and pride were almost crushed.

Several seconds passed in tense silence. The primordials could neither retreat nor attack, torn between doing what their ego demanded and their reignited sense of crisis.

Attack together? Teamwork was not their forte. The best their egos allowed was rendered useless.

Now that their instincts hammered existential danger signals into their existence, their sense of self-preservation rose to the forefront.

"Wonderful…"

Several more seconds passed with no movements from the creatures and entities of old. Suddenly, the boy turned his gaze to the side, "There's no point in hiding. You're all needed for what's to come."