Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 207: Thrain Athrimir

The Rift was as big as they expected it to be, and they used the rest of the day to explore it. There wasn’t anything valuable they could point to except the Rift itself. Now that it was dead, they could use the space.

Since a Rift takes time to fade, they could continue to use it and even feed it energy from time to time to keep it going. But this particular Rift was unstable, as if it would collapse at any time. All the power clashing within it must have caused it.

They didn’t check for resources beneath the ground, though. None of them were experts in that kind of thing, so they would need to go out and call in a team. Even Takoda was at a loss because his sub-essence couldn’t detect something like that, and he only settled for, "Something might be there."

But Vale doubted they would find anything useful. Everything of worth seemed to have been stripped away. Vorgaelor must have planned never to return to the Rift once he had made his escape.

They saw no natural resources or artifacts, so they settled for what they could get their hands on—the monsters themselves. They were dead, but some of them carried armor and weapons made of quality metals.

They even found one or two artifacts from dead Riftborn Titans.

The process of stripping the monsters of their armor and weapons was time-consuming, and they spent most of their time on it.

The next part was the monster bodies. They looked for those with rare fur to skin and those with shiny scales and tough leather skin.

It was an even more disgusting and time-consuming task, and the only reason they continued was that they were afraid that the moment they stepped out of the Rift, it would collapse due to its instability.

They worked deep into the night before they ate and slept.

☆☆☆☆

"Do you think it will collapse?" Slya asked. They stood in front of the portal and watched the dark energy flicker and waver, humming slightly.

"We can’t know until we pass through," Pomora said. "But it will hold for us to pass. Anything after that, and we will have to wait and see."

Takoda led the first example, walking over and into the portal, disappearing inside with barely a ripple. Pomora shrugged and followed after.

"Well," Slya said.

Tiber chuckled. "I will go next. See you on the other side."

"Are you going next?" Slya asked Vale as they both watched Tiber make his exit.

Vale grunted and gestured for her to leave, and she did after reminding him to follow immediately.

Vale took a deep breath as he watched her disappear. Then he turned and looked back at the Rift. There wasn’t much to see, as everything was rugged mountains. But still, it was as if Vale was seeing all the events that had happened since he first set foot in the ruin.

Finally, he shook his head and stepped through the portal.

☆☆☆☆☆

Steelclaw watched them from above, using a technique that let him blend with the clouds. He had essentially become a cloud and floated up there.

Anyone trying to sense him out would only be sensing the air, until he was ready to pounce. A technique that had taken out a good number of people and monsters.

He had been in this state of cloudiness since he made his escape from the palace. He had watched the terrifying power that leeched the color from the Rift.

And he had watched Vale too, as he used power that he shouldn’t have been able to. Steelclaw had stood up there and seen it all, through the passing days and as they left the Rift behind.

What happens to a Rift when it collapses? If this was a ruin, nobody might be worried about it collapsing, but this was a Rift.

"...I suppose I’m about to find out..."

Whatever vengeance or revenge Steelclaw had held had died with Vorgaelor. Now he was just wrung dry. He was... tired. Just as Vale stepped through the portal.

The Rift sensed that there was no longer a living person inside.

The light went first, winking out without warning, and deep darkness replaced it. Then the Rift simply collapsed in on itself.

But before it did, Steelclaw saw something that made his eyes widen. Fear and shock forced him to turn back into his human shape—just before everything swallowed him.

☆☆☆☆

Thrain Athrimir sat on the chair that had belonged to his father. And the father before him. And the one before that. It was made of sleek purple material, the armrests ending in the carved mouth of a serpent flicking its tongue.

He wore golden armor etched with many symbols, and the cloak above it was decorated with the image of a serpent coiling around a helmet, the symbol of the Clan.

The hall was large, made of dark stone etched with ancient symbols and shapes. At the moment, the symbols were flaring with light, glowing with twisting power that hummed and spat.

The frown on Thrain’s face tightened. "Have you not found an enchanter to deal with this yet?"

After the fight with his father, the palace had been affected. The parts that weren’t destroyed had been rippling with defensive power. It made for an uncomfortable sight.

"All the enchanters that have been called do not have the skill," Chief Ryvlan Choxa said smoothly. He was seated on one of the four chairs reserved for the Chiefs just below the dais. He was the only Chief in attendance.

Thrain grunted. "Right. The palace enchanter died."

Almost all the palace occupants had died. The palace had been sealed off during the fight between the three Master Knights. The result had been obvious from the start, but Thrain simply hadn’t cared.

He leaned forward in his seat, his eyes darkening. "We should have sent Terrix Choxa."

Chief Ryvlan Choxa shook his head. "My Lord, the latest news we received was that Vale had entered the Rift. There is a low probability of him ever coming out. He is just a Knight-rank.

"And we sent one of our most powerful rank-A Errant Knights with the envoy. There was no need to risk sending a Master Knight when you do not yet have all the Master Knights under your command," Chief Ryvlan Choxa said.

He continued, "Besides, we should now be wary of other Clans since the news is out."

Thrain didn’t say anything. He tapped the arm of his chair, but his frown deepened.

’......I will rest better once I confirm he is dead... He should be dead... This time, it will remain so...’