Chapter 1536 Getting Close Author's Note: Unedited Chapter ---------------------- Gustav reactivated his golden body form in time causing a radiant light to envelop him. The hand that had lunged at him, burned upon contact, forcing the shadowy hand to shrink away. Gustav's darkened flesh also returned to its natural state, but Gustav could feel the lingering effects of the encounter. "What was that thing?" he wondered once more. Gustav had destroyed it before and yet it returned so he wasn't sure it was gone for good even after getting rid of it again. His instincts proved correct when he was attacked again, this time by multiple shadowy hands emerging from the ground. They moved with eerie coordination, each one trying to latch onto him and spread their corruption. Gustav unleashing a powerful burst of energy that disintegrated the hands. But even as they fell apart, they began to reform, their dark essence refusing to be vanquished. Gustav continuously did his best to escape physical contact with the shadowy hands. Using his atomic disintegration he managed to temporarily dissipate many of them, but they always reformed, no matter what he did. [ Acquisition Has Been Activated ] Gustav activated Acquisition to see if it could be of any help in this situation. Unfortunately, nothing happened. The hands still came at him. Gustav guessed that these hands didn't count as beings with supernatural abilities. Realizing that his efforts were futile, Gustav decided to flee the surroundings and leave the shadowy entities alone for now. "This isn't getting me anywhere," he thought with a slight look of frustration simmering beneath his calm exterior. "I need to find out more about what's going on here." Gustav activated his void stepping boots again, vanishing from the spot and reappearing on the other side of the planet. He continued to explore the decomposed remains of what used to be Earth. As he moved through the ruins, he saw more of the dark shadowy entities. Some took the form of hands, like the one that attacked him earlier, while others appeared as amorphous blobs of darkness that seemed to absorb all light around them. They moved sluggishly as if they were drawn to any semblance of life or energy. "These things are everywhere," Gustav muttered to himself, watching one of the shadowy blobs engulf a piece of debris, turning it into darkened ash. "What could have caused this? How did Earth, and possibly other planets, end up like this?" He continued to theorize as he moved. "Could this be the after effects of that?" Gustav had a number of guesses but his mind main hinged on a particular one. His thoughts were interrupted by another shadowy hand emerging from the ground. He quickly void-stepped away, avoiding contact and reappearing a safe distance from the entity. "I can't let them touch me again." He decided to explore other planets in the surrounding void, hoping to find more clues. Using his void stepping boots, he began to traverse the vast expanse of space, moving from one desolate planet to another. Each one bore the same signs of destruction and shadowy infestation. Their surfaces were scorched and marked with deep craters. "Every planet is the same," he observed, standing on the surface of a particularly large planet. "It's like a plague has swept through this entire region, leaving nothing but darkness and decay in its wake." As he explored, he noticed that the shadowy entities varied in form and behavior. Some were aggressive, like the hands that had attacked him, while others seemed more passive, simply existing in their darkened state. He also observed that the entities seemed to be drawn to any source of light or energy, which explained why they had attacked him. "I can't waste any more time," he thought as his eyes scanned the desolate landscape. "I need to find Planet Humbad." Gustav had looked around enough to get a general idea of what caused all of this but this was the future. It hadn't happned yet and there was still hope. What he needed to do now more than ever was find Planet Humbad but the problem of which direction to head in, remained. He suddenly got an idea and opened the system panel. From the system panel, he decided to check his five years quests... Or specifically, the one he hadn't completed yet. [ Locate Dimension Six On Planet Humbad ] < Progress > [ 89.10/100% ] Gustav noticed that the percentage fluctuated as he moved. He took a step toward the west, watching the progress decrease to 89.05%. Turning to the northeast, the percentage climbed back up to 89.15%. "North-east it is," he muttered to himself while taking off into the air with a burst of speed. The void stepping boots activated, propelling him forward with incredible velocity. He flew through the stagnant siterus void causing the remnants of destroyed planets and moons to blur past him. The journey was arduous, with Gustav encountering more of the dark, shadowy entities along the way. They seemed to be drawn to his presence, reaching out with their tendrils in an attempt to ensnare him. Despite the burst of speed from the void stepping boots which game him the ability to travel hundreds of light years in just an instant, he would still encounter the shadowy entities. "They're everywhere," Gustav noticed that sometimes they even appeared in space, above the decimated planets. He flew over the charred remains of what had once been thriving cities, now nothing more than crumbling ruins swallowed by darkness. Each new planet he encountered seemed to share the same fate, a grim reminder of the void's corrupting influence. As he flew, Gustav kept an eye on the system panel, monitoring the progress percentage. It was slow, but it was increasing, guiding him ever closer to his goal. Gustav felt like he had been moving for hours already but who knew if this part of space was bound by the normal laws of time. For all he knew, it could have been months already. Nevertheless, he kept soaring through the stagnant siterus void. His focus remained steadfast on the system panel in his vision, the progress bar slowly creeping upwards. \[ Locate Dimension Six On Planet Humbad \] \[ < Progress > \] \[ 98.00/100% \] "Just a bit more," Gustav muttered to himself, his voice barely audible in the vacuum of space. As the percentage reached 98, Gustav's surroundings began to distort. He found himself caught in a peculiar phenomenon. The fabric of space-time seemed to twist and ripple around him. Every time he surged forward, he was inexplicably transported to a different location within the void. \[ Locate Dimension Six On Planet Humbad \] \[ < Progress > \] \[ 95.00/100% \] "What is this?" Gustav frowned, attempting to comprehend the nature of this spatial anomaly. He tried again, using his Lightning Blitz to increase his speed, hoping to break through whatever was hindering his progress. In a flash, he found himself somewhere else, the scenery unchanged but the coordinates different. \[ Locate Dimension Six On Planet Humbad \] \[ < Progress > \] \[ 94.00/100% \] The progress percentage reduction was particularly frustrating. "No matter what I do, it's the same result," Gustav muttered. He paused for a moment, hovering in the void, and pondered his situation. "If the direct approach isn't working, perhaps there's another way." Gustav decided to try a different tactic. He reached out with his perception, extending it as far as he could within the constraints of the stagnant siterus void. Despite the oppressive environment, he focused on sensing any anomalies or disturbances that might explain the warping space. Unfortunately, he couldn't really pick up on much but he could tell that the spatial anomaly was like a wall that extended far deep into the stagnant siterus void. One thing he knw about walls was that, they always had an end. With this thought in mind, Gustav decided to go around it. The void stepping boots glowed and he took a step forward. Thhrrriihhh~ He instantly reappeared, five thousand light years away from his initial position. \[ Locate Dimension Six On Planet Humbad \] \[ < Progress > \] \[ 91.00/100% \] The progress percentage had reduced by so much but Gustav could still sense the spatial anomaly around so he stepped forward once more. Thrrihhh~ This time he reappeared, ten thousand light years away. \[ Locate Dimension Six On Planet Humbad \] \[ < Progress > \] \[ 84.00/100% \] Gustav couldn't sense the spatial anomaly anymore and immediately turned to the side before surging forward with speed. He inputted more energy into the void stepping boots this time and crossed a distance of more than ten thousand light years in a single second. Fortunately, he was not sent reeling back this time. [Progress: 92.10%] He let out a sigh of relief after seeing the progression. He was on the right track. He continued forward, watching the percentage steadily climb. "Almost there," Gustav thought. He kept pushing forward, and soon, he found himself in an area where planets were few and far between. The void seemed to stretch endlessly, but there was a subtle difference in the atmosphere. As Gustav moved further, the number of planets in the surroundings kept reducing.