Hunger

When they both crossed the library's entrance, a blinding light struck Ruri's eyes. She had never been there before, and after a few seconds, her vision cleared again, leaving her deeply surprised. It was as if they had entered a new world; the library seemed to have no end, no matter where she looked. Even when looking up, she couldn't see the ceiling. The entire library seemed to be blessed by a fantastic law she had briefly read about in some books: the laws of space.

In front of her, Bruno's steps no longer made any sound on the floor made of mystical and dark stones. But she could see a certain instability in those heavy steps.

The first floor didn't contain any confidential techniques or information, so it was empty. As they approached a table, Bruno sat heavily in a chair and closed his eyes, sweat pouring down his round face.

He tried to calm down, but a wild and primal urge made his whole body contract. 'What... what hunger...' Bruno thought.

'Only a remnant of this bloodline being activated was enough to stun everyone. It wasn't a simple mental attack; their QIs were agitated as if briefly subdued. The elder, who had the highest cultivation, had the most intense reaction. The Qi in his body was forcibly overturned. However, that was most likely because he didn't expect the mental attack,' analyzed Alm. 'With his cultivation, he could have protected himself ahead of time. Well, who would expect to be targeted in that situation anyway.'

Bruno, who had been in control of the body before, sighed heavily. 'It was a test, but it turned out to be much more powerful than expected.'

'All the effort of the bastard who had this body was burned. All the energy accumulated in the bloodline runes is gone. What a waste to have used it to simply subdue a few ants. Even worse, if they come after us again, now that we have no cultivation, what will we do? We could have used that remnant power to absorb and refine all the power and life force of the patriarch, perhaps along with the most powerful cultivators we could find. Yet, you persist in this childish pity of yours,' Alm spoke sharply.

'Repeating the actions of the past and expecting a different outcome is foolishness. What have we gained after destroying everything?' Bruno spoke seriously.

'Nonsense, we're just wasting time. Cultivate and step on others to elevate yourself; the weak have no right to complain,' Alm replied coldly.

'This world has many things we don't know. We have to tread carefully. This power is far beyond what a human could control. If we can find a source to nourish it again, we would have a very useful weapon,' Bruno added.

After a brief discussion, they opened their eyes and found a young maid very close to them. She held a completely soaked handkerchief, damp with their sweat, and was wiping them quickly. Alm felt a strange sensation; a spark of an old emotion resurfaced in his mind.

Meanwhile, Bruno smiled inwardly. He experienced the same sensation, given they were one soul. Since the death of his wife in the past, both of them had lived lonely lives, immersed in hatred and vengeance. It had been thousands of years of resentment, followed by tens of thousands of torturous emptiness years. Even Bruno was surprised by the wave of nostalgia that flooded him, remembering the few happy years he spent with his wife. It was the gentle and welcoming affection, even with Ruri there to care for them. Being cared for was a unique experience.

'Maybe it's not a bad idea to keep her around,' Bruno thought. His other half still harbored his unbridled and vengeful will. He wouldn't hesitate to slowly kill this entire universe if given the opportunity, but having someone close to him might cause some gradual change.

Bruno thanked young Ruri and focused on the books surrounding him. While most of the volumes on the first floor consisted of technical and academic works, he restricted his search mainly to fantasy books and legends, significantly narrowing down his research.

To Bruno, every fantasy or lie contained an underlying truth. Otherwise, it would be instinctively rejected by people. Especially legends, which over centuries were often altered and reinterpreted, but the essence of their original idea remained partially intact. The ability to discern and find patterns in stories from different cultures became a key to developing a more solid understanding of reality.

Although Bruno and Alm had made mistakes and faced many failures in their research, they had managed to create a life and cultivation refinement technique based on these legends from their universe. The fundamental shift in their perspective occurred when they accepted that they could never be sure of anything. Everything they read, even if considered right by scholars, was regarded as "maybe."

Their own personal experiences were the only things they considered as absolute truths. If they couldn't verify something for themselves, everything else was just a possibility.

This new perspective opened several doors for them. Even a seemingly ridiculous legend told to scare children about a demon that devoured wrongdoers ended up revealing a surprising connection with other information. And that's what triggered the creation of their technique.

Hours passed quickly as Alm and Bruno absorbed the knowledge contained in hundreds of books. They didn't need to read the books in the conventional way; all it took was touching the cover of a book, and its content was immediately transmitted to their minds.

Normally, people read one or more chapters of a book using this method, as it is fast and convenient, taking only a few seconds. However, reading more than that through this means required a significant mental cost for a mortal to endure. But for Alm and Bruno, the amount of information they could process at once was limitless. They could absorb all the knowledge in the library, including the books from every floor, without any issue.

The sun had already set outside, and Bruno and Alm were back in their room, sitting and analyzing the information they had acquired, while Ruri went to bring food for them.

The laws in all universes have similar threads, although they may appear completely different. Some simple races, like humans, end up existing in practically all of them.

In the most primitive universes with more powerful laws, dragons are the first life forms to exist. The laws that give them life are entirely pure and complete, destined to be the sovereign primordial gods above all others.

In their ancient universe, Alm only managed to obtain the necessary power to defeat the Hero after refining a true dragon into his body. His power became thousands of times more pure, his body covered in impenetrable scales. However, in the end, he burned all that bloodline to unleash the final world-destroying blow, securing his victory.

Dragons were widely known in their original universe. However, in the current universe, where the laws had been enriched by the queen, things were a bit different. After making some connections and analysis, they came to a surprising conclusion: the laws in this universe, after giving rise to the dragons, were not depleted. Instead, they gave birth to other forms of life and primitive races.

After the emergence of a Divine Dragon, several other legendary beings appeared. However, when the first rocky planets formed, the first primitive beasts were born in the waters and on the land. Behemoth was one of these legendary primitive beasts, considered the king of divine beasts on Earth, while Leviathan ruled the seas.

These divine beasts possessed the purest and most complete mastery of the primordial Yin and Yang. However, mortal corruption spared not even these majestic creatures and an intense competition for hegemony between the two extended throughout time immemorial. Leviathan, thirsting for more power, began devouring lesser life forms, becoming the first primordial demon beast.

Behemoth, on the other hand, was the embodiment of earthly laws. He wielded dominion over land and space; his beastly power generated the purest divine crystals in the entire universe, and his defense was unshakable and impenetrable.

He had three horns representing life, death, and the earthly realm. When he moved, his tail swayed like a cedar; the nerves of his thighs were intertwined. His bones were like sacred bronze tubes, and his skeletal structure was like bars of divine steel. He was a masterpiece of celestial laws, destined to be the king under the heavens. 

Ancient legends in the books Alm and Bruno read recount that Behemoth became even more powerful when the laws of the universe were exalted. He refused to bow even to the heavens, and the roar he emitted was so powerful that it terrified all other creatures on Earth, bringing peace to all places. Therefore, Behemoth is considered a guardian of life that helps weaker creatures survive.

'This behemoth is very different from the behemoths in the games we had back on Earth, don't you think?' Bruno couldn't help but mention it. 'They seemed to be nothing more than fury and destruction.'

Alm didn't seem to care. 'So what? Different universe, different laws. I'm already surprised that something similar in name even appeared.'

The legends in the books continued. Unlike Leviathan, Behemoth never succumbed to corruption. As two primordial beasts, they were destined to battle each other. Legends passed down by countless races highlight that Behemoth was a protector, combating Leviathan and the demonic corruption it represented.

"This description... three horns... a roar capable of shaking creatures. The runes of that beast in our dream were also close to the laws of the Earth. Perhaps our remnant bloodline is a variation of that beast," Bruno pondered.

"I still had hopes of being something like another divine dragon. Maybe another god... Yet, a primitive earth-protector beast? This goes against our inclination. We are a lot more like a Leviathan, a demonic beast," Alm expressed.

"We have this still unexplored system; maybe something good will come from it. Since our remnant bloodline is so wild, it won't bow to other bloodlines. We can absorb other races into our bodies and easily subjugate them. Well, at least we are not fragile humans. We won't need to worry about losing our minds like the guy who lived in this body before did," Bruno concluded.

After a meal even more voracious than the previous one, Bruno and Alm felt overwhelming frustration. It seemed they hadn't even touched the food. "This bloodline is not being nourished at all. A simple mortal wouldn't endure insatiable hunger like this every day," Bruno commented, now feeling a bit sorry for Denil.

Now completely alone, the greenish window appeared before them again. This time, they didn't hesitate and answered with a simple "Yes" to accept the rewards of the side quest.

After gaining some knowledge about their bloodline and a better understanding of the structure and fundamental principles of this new universe, they realized that everything there was grand, intense, and more powerful than what they knew in their previous universe.

An immense sense of urgency fell upon them. They could no longer cultivate in the traditional way, so the only alternative left to them was to rely on the system that the Heaven's Will had provided them. It was imperative to fully explore everything the system had to offer to adapt to this new universe.

[10 Upgrade Points Acquired.]

[Main Quest Initiated.]

Immediately, as if an invisible force had frozen the world, they felt the air around them petrify. The light that illuminated the surroundings seemed to freeze, as if time and space had been abruptly paused. It was a surreal and unsettling sensation as if they were suspended in a timeless moment, completely disconnected from the universe.

Celestial runes lit up around them, initially just a few, but soon a dozen of them, then a hundred, and they continued to multiply in an increasing profusion. The runes danced in the air, filling the space around them with a dazzling and magical light.

Everything in their view was covered by these celestial runes, forming complex and dazzling patterns that seemed to contain unimaginable secrets and powers. The bright light of the runes became intense, and then, abruptly, their vision was engulfed in total darkness. It felt like they had been sucked into a mysterious and unknown abyss.

***

Their vision returned abruptly, revealing a dark night sky, devoid of stars, stretching infinitely in all directions. A strange sensation came over them, but their first question was, "Where are we?" Their gazes met in search of answers in the surrounding darkness.

However, as time passed, the strange feeling grew more intense, and they began to feel the dry, cold touch of air on their skin... or rather, their bones. Alm was the first to look down and notice the huge change. "What the hell?! How did we become skeletons?!"

Bruno followed Alm's direction and noticed the same thing. "Holy shit! Sure, I didn't want to be fat, but this is ridiculous!"

With shocked looks, they observed the scene around them: a desolate land with blood and body fragments scattered all around. Hundreds of other skeletons were nearby, wielding rusted and bloodstained weapons. Floating a few dozen meters above, there was a shadowy figure that seemed to be a necromancer, likely responsible for controlling these skeletons.

Suddenly, the necromancer shouted, "For the queen!!!"

All the other skeletons raised their bony hands and weapons and echoed the same cry: "For the queen!!!"

Bruno and Alm, now skeletons, were completely at a loss. However, their silence in the midst of those cries immediately caught the attention of all the skeletons around them, let alone the necromancer in the distance. Following a nervous instinct, they clumsily raised their bony hands and joined the chorus in a clumsy way.

"Fo-For The QueeeeEEeEeeeeEeeeen!!!??"

All the skeletons and the necromancer still looked straight in their direction, and although the skeletons had no eyes, they could clearly sense the strange looks directed at them.

Noticing the necromancer's straight gaze, Alm and Bruno bitterly smiled... or so they would... if they had a mouth... "Errrr... like that?"