Re: Evolution Online



Liam stared at the ground with a grave expression. He had stopped because all of a sudden a burst of nether had enveloped him. When he retraced his steps and returned to the spot, he was indeed correct.

The particular spot alone was different. While nether was present to a certain degree everywhere else along with mana, this spot alone had pure nether at such a high intensity that Liam felt as if someone gave him a vitamin tonic. 

There was barely even any mana here. Liam was very sure that this was 100% nether through and through. This just  confirmed all of his doubts. Something beyond the undead invasion was currently underway.

He temporarily stopped his search for other demons and instead started looking for more of these spots. Weirdly, he did not find any in the vicinity. Only in that particular place, there was the rich nodule of nether and everywhere else it was much lesser.

Also nether in that zone in general was a lot higher when compared to the other places, resulting in the dead and decayed part of the earth.

Liam paused and contemplated this new development. Considering everything, there was only one possibility that came to his mind. Could this be an array formation?

The concept of array formations was not unfamiliar to him, but his knowledge in that particular field was limited. He couldn't readily confirm this theory. 

Liam thought about it for a few minutes and first ordered his minions to find more spots like this. At first, they did not come up with anything but as they almost reached the boundary of their limit, they finally picked up on two more spots.

Liam confirmed this by sensing the area through his minions. Now there were three peculiar spots where the same phenomenon was occurring. Nether was 100% while mana was 0%.

This made his theory stronger but he was not really happy about this. Liam narrowed his eyes and thought about his next move. 

What was he supposed to do now? He had no knowledge about arrays so he did not know how to figure out if a formation did indeed exist. If all he could do was find more spots like this, what was he to do with all of these spots?

Liam thought of something and took a deep breath. The next second, he tried to siphon out all the nether from that spot. He closed his eyes and placed his whole focus on the job as he inhaled and inhaled and inhaled every single swirl of nether that he could.

For a moment he was confident that this would work but the more he pulled out the nether, the more kept coming. Nether was simply coming out of that spot endlessly as if there was no limit of supply of energy to that place.

"Hmmm. How much can you give?" Liam sneered.

He might not be able to take out that much nether without ruining whatever was left of his balance but that did not mean he had no means to put pressure.

Liam took out the Stone tablet in his possession. The next second, the ground lightly quivered as a black thread formed on top of the particular spot. This dancing thread immediately bent and stuck to the Stone Tablet. The siphoning then started.

Liam waited and watched as the Stone Tablet started pulling in massive amounts of nether from the area. It was like a black hole sucking in nether endlessly.

The black thread connected to the tablet acted as a conduit, drawing in the potent energy with an insatiable hunger. It was a mesmerizing sight, witnessing the raw power of the nether being consumed by the artifact.

As the nether continued to pour into the Stone Tablet, Liam could sense the intensity of the energy coursing through it. The tablet trembled slightly, its surface emanating an eerie black aura that seemed to pulse with each influx of nether.

A wry smile tugged at the corners of Liam's lips. This was his way of exerting pressure on the mysterious array formation. While he couldn't fully comprehend the intricacies of arrays, he knew that disrupting the flow of energy could potentially weaken or destabilize them.

However, as the Stone Tablet absorbed more and more nether, Liam realized that the task at hand was far from easy. 

Despite the tablet's voracious appetite for nether, the flow from the spot showed no signs of abating. It was as if the supply of energy was limitless.

"Damn it." Liam cursed under his breath. The surrounding air grew heavy with the absence of nether but that particular spot alone was unyielding.

Minutes turned into hours as the relentless siphoning continued. This was not going the way he wanted. 

Liam had a feeling that the stone tablet was capable of absorbing so much more just as he knew that its potential was also a lot more but at his current level, only this was possible.

In either case this endeavor did not look like it was going to bear fruit.

Liam made a decision and placed the stone tablet back into his spatial artifact. It looked like destabilizing this spot was a losing battle. He could now only try other methods.

But first he needed to get a sense of the whole thing. Without that he felt as if he was missing several pieces of the puzzle and was perhaps not understanding the situation properly.

Liam closed his eyes, focussing on the presence of nether around him. He placed his hand on the same spot where nether was seemingly limitless.

He then tried to feel the energy, only that energy and nothing else.

Liam frowned as he suddenly found himself in a dark space. He knew that he was still where he was, but at the same time, there was an endless darkness all around him, enveloping him from all sides. It was a strange feeling, but it was not enough. He needed more.

Liam took a few deep breaths and steadied himself. He then tried to once again sense what was in this dark space. However, no matter what he did, there was only endless darkness. There was nothing else.

Liam snapped out of it and tried once more. He failed again and tried again. This had to work. There was no other choice. Even the Stone Tablet couldn't stop this so right now he could only count on his SSS affinity.

After a few more minutes, nothing was working. He then decided to give it one last try but this time he did not hold back. He sucked in the nether, fully accepting the energy, letting it flow freely through his body and veins.

Another wry chuckle escaped his lips. While he had to forcefully push mana through his body clearing specific pathways and attuning with it, nether flowed freely without any inhibition. 

It formed millions and millions of tiny branches and stems through which it flowed back and forth and occupied the entirety of his body.

Thankfully before it came to his core and could break the cocoon of his growing mana core, Liam stopped and pushed all the nether out in one single swift motion. This was because he could finally see it.

Liam immediately snapped out of the trance and looked at the land in front of him, completely shocked and frozen. 

Like a node in a network, he could sense the numerous nether lines extending from the spot he had been focusing on. They crisscrossed and intertwined with each other, creating a complex web of energy that spanned far beyond his immediate surroundings.

This was indeed an array formation, a complex network of interwoven nether energy. The spot he had been investigating was just one node in this vast array. He flew up instinctively, keeping his eye on the same spot. The further he flew, the more lines he could see or rather sense.

The sight that unfolded before him was both breathtaking and unsettling. 

The nether lines stretched out in all directions, reaching far beyond what he had initially perceived. They extended across the landscape, connecting various points together in an intricate pattern. 

He stared at this in complete shock. An array of this magnitude? It was big enough to cover the entire territory!

And then a frightening thought entered his mind. What if its not just the territory?

He closed his mind and held onto a vague feeling as he pushed the boundary of what he could perceive. For a moment, he caught a glimpse of something. Something that should not exist.

He saw the whole world covered in these dark pitch black nether lines. They extended all over the world, connecting every single point on the globe. There was no more life. There was only death and decay everywhere!