Chapter 1535  Landing On A Familiar Planet

Author's Note: Unedited Chapter

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A lot of these planets were either shells of their former selves or their surfaces destroyed and marked with dark scorches.

"This place," Gustav muttered, "it's like a graveyard of worlds. What happened here?"

He floated amidst the celestial ruins, his golden body glowing faintly in the oppressive darkness.

The planets, though numerous, all seemed lifeless. Some were mere husks, their surfaces cracked and barren. Others bore the scars of unimaginable battles, their landscapes torn apart by forces beyond comprehension.

"There is no doubt about it... This is the Stagnant Siterus Void," Gustav voiced, "a void in time and space where the echoes of destruction linger."

He could feel the void drawing every essence of happiness within him, like there was an invisible force around. It was as if the very fabric of this place fed on despair, amplifying the emptiness and sorrow of its surroundings.

"l'll have to be careful even here," Gustav realized. "If I lose myself here, I'll never find what I'm looking for."

He glanced around, taking in the sight of thousands of abandoned and majorly destroyed planets. Gustav knew he had to find out which one was planet Humbad.

"Miss Aimee said this wouldn't be easy," he recalled. "She must have known about the mental and emotional toll this place would take. Quite terrifying."

He floated towards one of the closer planets, examining its surface. The planet was covered in deep fissures, with molten lava seeping from its core. The air was thick with ash, and the landscape was littered with the remnants of a once-thriving civilization.

"This isn't it," Gustav thought. "Planet Humbad... How do I tell which one it is when most of them look the same?"

He moved on to the next planet, a desolate wasteland with no signs of life. The ground was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the sky was a perpetually dark, stormy gray. Lightning crackled in the distance, illuminating the barren terrain.

"Another dead world," he muttered. "How many more of these are there?"

He continued his search, moving from one planet to the next. Each one told a story of devastation, of once-great civilizations reduced to ruins. The further he went, the heavier the weight of the void pressed upon him.

"This void... Depsite my powerful mental fortitude... It's starting to make me feel despaired," Gustav realized.

This wasn't a new feeling to him but he hadn't felt such since over four years ago before he got the system.

The Golden body was dimming and once it got completely deactivated he wouldn't be able to reactivate it any time soon so he had to prepare to tackle the oppressiveness of the siterus void without it's help.

His mind raced with thoughts and memories, trying to piece together any clues that might lead him to his destination.

"Humbad," he thought.  "Did miss Aimee leave any hints as to how I'll locate it amidst all of these?"

"There has to be a way to identify it," he reasoned.

Finding planet Humbad was going to be a herculean task. There were moons, dead stars, and many orbital bodies around as well. It looked like every essence of life was being absorbed by the Stagnant Siterus Void.

Gustav floated among the debris, his golden glow dimming more before he finally decided to deactivate it to conserve energy. The oppressive force of the void weighed Increased, making every movement feel laborious.

"It really is like a black hole for life," he muttered, gazing at the desolate expanse around him. "I need to find Humbad quickly before this void drains me completely."

He started by spreading his perception out. Although his Golden Body was deactivated, his perception was still capable of spreading across a very wide range. Gustav focused, sending out tendrils of his awareness to explore the surrounding space.

As his perception extended, he felt the void pushing back and drawing his energy away. The Stagnant Siterus Void seemed to be actively resisting his efforts to probe its depths.

"Miss Aimee warned me about this," Gustav thought, gritting his teeth. "I can't afford to waste energy here. Every bit counts."

He retracted his perception, feeling the strain of the void's pull. It was like trying to move through quicksand, each attempt sapping more of his strength.

"She said there are threats in the Stagnant Siterus Void. I can't let my guard down," Gustav recalled Miss Aimee words.

After searching through for many minutes, he floated in place for a moment, considering his options.

The planets, moons, and dead stars around him were numerous. Each planet he encountered was in a similar state of decay, making it nearly impossible to identify which one was Planet Humbad.

Anyone could be planet Humbad.

However, searching them all individually would be impossible. He needed a more efficient method.

"This place is even worse than I imagined," he muttered, looking at the countless celestial bodies strewn around like discarded toys. "Is the warp demolator responsible or did something else happen?" He wondered out loud.

"I need to make sure this never happens."

The void was eerily silent, the only sounds being the occasional creaks and groans of crumbling planetary fragments.

Gustav tried to spread his perception again, but it was like trying to push through molasses. The void seemed to resist his every effort, pulling his energy away.

Since he still hadn't discovered a way to efficiently locate Planet Humbad, his only option remained checking the planets.

With incredible speed, he moved cautiously from planet to planet. Gustav made use of the void stepping boots to close in light years distances in just an instant.

"Planet Humbad has to be here somewhere," he had to keep his determination alive or the void would eat it away.

The void seemed to stretch on forever, an endless expanse of destruction and decay. As he floated past another ruined world, he felt a pang of sadness.

He flew towards it and landed on its surface.

Gustav took a deep breath, feeling the strange air of the demolished planet fill his lungs.

The familiarity of the place tugged at his memory, though he couldn't quite place it. The surface of the planet was a desolate wasteland, with scorched grounds and blackened structures marking the scars of ancient battles.

Deep holes pockmarked the landscape, some still smoldering with the remnants of past fires.

"Is this it? Is this Planet Humbad?" he wondered aloud with an uncertain tone.

He had explored countless planets already, each one a shell of its former self, and he knew this one could be just another dead end. Yet, something about this place felt different.

The familiarity...

His void stepping boots had been a blessing and a curse. The ability to traverse hundreds of light years in a single step was extraordinary, but it also made it easy to overshoot his destinations.

Learning to control them was difficult but he had become more adept with each use.

Gustav took another cautious step forward, his eyes scanning the ruined landscape. The remnants of buildings, some still towering despite the destruction, loomed over him.

He walked through what seemed to have been a city square, now a barren wasteland with only the skeletal remains of structures hinting at its former glory.

"This place... it feels like I've been here before," he thought.

He continued to walk, the crunch of debris under his boots the only sound in the eerie silence.

As he moved deeper into the ruined city, he noticed that the destruction here seemed more concentrated, more deliberate. It wasn't just the random chaos of a natural disaster; it was the calculated devastation of a war zone.

"What could have happened?" his eyes narrowed as he surveyed the damage.

He came across a particularly deep hole, its edges charred and jagged. Peering into its depths, he saw a red glow emanating from below.

---ss

Gustav explored the surroundings more and made a few discoveries.

He saw a massive circular structure, cracked and nearly completely crumbled at a particular area that looked like it used to be a road.

Gustav inspected it, causing his suspicion to grow the more he looked around.

Soon, he recognized the planet to be Earth and couldn't hide his shock. He stood on what used to be Plankton City, now buried under ash and darkness.

"Does this mean...?" Gustav knew Earth was still okay back where he was coming from, so what exactly did this mean?

As he continued exploring, a dark, large shadowy hand phased out of the ground and headed for him.

[ Atomic Manipulation Has Been Activated ]

A burst of milky colored light surrounded him as Gustav immediately used atomic disintegration to rip through the shadowy hand.

"What was that?" Gustav wondered but didn't get more time to contemplate as dark mist suddenly phased out of the ground.

The hand reformed and went after Gustav again. The moment contact was made, part of Gustav's flesh turned dark.

Gustav hadn't seen this coming and his perception was slower than usual due to the void.

He gritted his teeth against the pain while jumping backwards multiple times to leave a wide distance between himself and the arm.

However, another shadowy arm suddenly phased out from the ground right behind him.

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