Chapter 1982 Their friendship was indeed the strongest. "It appeared again." Azriel exhaled, his fists clenching. His crimson eyes glowed with a sharp, calculating light. The Anomaly—this time, he wouldn't let it escape, no matter what. "Where?" He questioned out loud, preparing himself to face the enemy. He knew the Universe would teleport him the instant the Anomaly devoured a being. And just as he expected, suddenly, the space around him turned, and he dematerialized, materializing in yet another world. He looked around. Once again, he tried to find it—the being who had been making his life a living hell all this while. Right now, he was in what seemed like an empty throne room. "I don't see anyone." He spoke out loud as he expanded his senses. Then, he rushed forward into a room right behind the throne room, and there he was. The Anomaly. Azriel's heart pounded. He raised his hand to point— —And it was gone. It happened again. The moment he appeared, the Anomaly had already sensed his presence. The thing's reaction speed was far stronger than Azriel's. If Azriel were as strong as he once was, maybe it wouldn't have been a problem, but with him just being an Emperor, it was far more difficult. Before his finger had even moved, the Anomaly had already escaped. "It's gone…" Azriel muttered. His voice was indeed low, but it was full of so much frustration and hate that even he couldn't believe it. This Anomaly—he hated this thing to his very core! However, before he could lose himself in hate, the Universe called out again. He gritted his teeth as he prepared himself, and once again, Azriel's body was materialized into another world. This time, it was a war zone. It seemed like he was near a general's camp. "Who are you?" One of the soldiers patrolling the area sensed his presence, instantly calling the rest of the patrol party. Azriel was surrounded. "State your name, race, and purpose for coming here." The soldier ordered. "Fuck." Azriel cursed in his head. He wanted to thwart these soldiers away and find the Anomaly, but these soldiers were all Sovereigns. He, as an Emperor, was no match for them. In the end— THUNDER THUNDER THUNDER RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE The world trembled. Yes, the Anomaly had begun devouring this world. "Get out of my wa—" Azriel shouted, wanting to rush toward the Anomaly and see where he was so he could stop him, but— BOOOOOM The soldiers in front of him used their Aura, instantly suppressing him. An Emperor like him could never possibly resist the Aura of a Sovereign. "What did you do!?" One of the soldiers shouted, instantly blaming Azriel. He was prepared to capture Azriel, but suddenly— THUNDER THUNDER THUNDER RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE The world trembled again, and no, this time, it wasn't because of the world's will—the Universe itself was reacting. Since he couldn't devour the Anomaly, he would get rid of the whole world together with the Anomaly, like he had done before. But it was already too late. The Anomaly managed to devour the world, and before the Universe could even attack, the world, together with the soldiers surrounding Azriel, crumbled into nothingness. Azriel, who now knelt in the void, hovering aimlessly, lowered his head, cursing himself for being so weak. This time, they didn't just lose a single entity—they lost an entire world. More time passed. Around thirty minutes later, the Anomaly devoured another being. Once again, Azriel was materialized into a new world. This time, he managed to find the Anomaly, but the Anomaly found him as well. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎 Yes, the Anomaly disappeared again. Azriel failed again. It was the third time. Then the fourth. The fifth. And sixth. Again and again, Azriel was thrown all across the Universe, placed in front of the Anomaly mere moments after it had fed. And every time, before the previous Vampire Progenitor—the once strongest being in this Universe—could even react, before he could even begin to point at the Anomaly, it escaped. It was too fast. Too elusive. Too… impossible. And Azriel—he… was too weak. He hovered in the void, with his head low, as if he had lost everything. His eyes, however, were still determined. He wanted to catch him—that Anomaly—and this time, he would not fail! The Universe's Child waited for the Anomaly to appear again as he prepared himself. Minutes, hours, days, even weeks passed by… But the Anomaly didn't appear. Yes, it was gone. And no, it wasn't gone. It had just… disappeared. It had… escaped. Yes, Azriel failed. He lowered his head, his fists trembling. The silence around him now felt suffocating. "If…" His throat felt dry, his voice barely sounded like a whisper. "If only I had cultivated more… If only I had absorbed more Universal Energy… If I were just faster… just stronger…" He clenched his jaw. The reality was unbearable. If he had been stronger—if he had trained harder—the Anomaly wouldn't have escaped. The Universe's Will did not respond. It did not comfort him. It did not offer him encouragement. It remained silent. "Take me back." Suddenly, Azriel spoke up. The Universe's Will did what he said and materialized him back at the edge of the Universe, where he sat down and started cultivating again. He wanted to get stronger so he could take revenge. He wanted to get even with that thing and destroy it. Even if he couldn't absorb the Universal Energy as fast as he used to, he still wouldn't give up. He would continue to work hard, and he would continue until he finally got rid of it. And just while Azriel was thinking all this— Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh Suddenly, out of nowhere, the amount of Universal Energy he was able to absorb became higher and higher. Not only that, Azriel realized that his connection with the Universe had become stronger as well—just like how it was before. And the moment all of that happened… The frustrated and despairing look on Azriel's face disappeared, and the previous Vampire Progenitor smirked. Just as he expected, his friend had finally solved whatever problem it was facing and was now back. Their friendship was indeed the strongest.