?Jiang Chen found a cave three miles east of the Sect, hidden behind a curtain of weeping moss. It wasn't deep, but it was dry, and more importantly, it was dark.

  ?He collapsed against the stone wall.

  ?His body felt like it was vibrating. The [Void Foundation] wasn't just spinning; it was screaming. The essence of Elder Han—twisted, lightning-aspected, and full of hate—was fighting against digestion.

  ?"It hurts," Jiang Chen gritted out, clutching his stomach. It felt like he had swallowed a bag of razor blades.

  ?"Of course it hurts," the Voice echoed. But this time, it didn't sound like it was coming from his head. It sounded like it was coming from everywhere. "You swallowed a Foundation Establishment soul with the spiritual maturity of a toddler. Indigestion is inevitable."

  ?The cave floor dissolved.

  ?Jiang Chen didn't fall. He floated.

  ?The stone walls melted into ink. The weeping moss turned into streaks of violet light. The darkness expanded, swallowing the world, until there was no cave, no mountain, no sect.

  ?There was only the Void.

  ?Jiang Chen stood on a platform of obsidian glass, suspended in an infinite, starless cosmos. It was cold here. Absolute zero.

  ?[System Transfer Protocol: Mental Space Initiated.]

  [Sync Rate: 1.05% -> Stabilizing...]

  ?"Where are we?" Jiang Chen asked, his voice swallowed by the silence.

  ?"We are inside the hunger," the Voice rumbled.

  ?Something moved in the darkness.

  ?It was massive.

  ?Two eyes opened in the distance. They were the size of moons, vertical slits burning with a pale, violet fire.

  ?Then, the body uncoiled.

  ?It was a serpent. But it wasn't made of flesh. It was made of negative space—a silhouette cut out of the fabric of reality, outlined in shimmering, corrupted starlight. It was miles long, its scales shifting like tectonic plates.

  ?It circled the platform, its head lowering until it hovered inches from Jiang Chen.

  ?Jiang Chen didn't flinch. He looked the titan in the eye.

  ?"You're big," Jiang Chen said.

  ?The Serpent laughed. The sound was like a glacier calving.

  ?"And you are microscopic," the Serpent replied. "I am the Eater of Stars. I am the Entropy that waits at the end of time. And currently... I am stuck in the gut of a malnourished human boy."

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  ?The Serpent exhaled. A cloud of black mist washed over Jiang Chen, smelling of ozone and dead worlds.

  ?"You questioned my motives," the Serpent continued. "You asked for the price. This is the moment where we set the price."

  ?The Serpent pulled back, its massive head tilting.

  ?"My name is Apeiron."

  ?[Entity Identified: Apeiron (The Void Serpent).]

  ?"Apeiron," Jiang Chen tested the name. "Infinite."

  ?"Boundless," Apeiron corrected. "I was a calamity before your sun was kindled. I was betrayed, sealed, and shattered. My essence was scattered across the dimensions. This system interface you see? It is a cage. A life-support unit constructed to keep me from fading away."

  ?The Serpent moved closer, its eyes narrowing.

  ?"I need a host. Someone to carry the cage. Someone to kill the things that hold the keys. Someone to eat enough energy to repair my broken form."

  ?"And if I refuse?" Jiang Chen asked.

  ?"Then I consume your soul to sustain myself for another year, and I wait for the next idiot to fall into the Corpse Pit."

  ?Jiang Chen laughed. It was a dry, sharp sound.

  ?"Honest," Jiang Chen said. "I like that."

  ?He stepped forward, walking to the edge of the obsidian platform. He looked down into the abyss.

  ?"I was a slave," Jiang Chen said quietly. "I was food for the sect. I was meat. You pulled me out of the grinder."

  ?He turned back to the Serpent.

  ?"I don't care if you're a demon, a god, or a parasite. You gave me the power to kill them. That makes us allies."

  ?Apeiron coiled, the massive body tightening around the platform.

  ?"Allies is a strong word. Let us call it... symbiosis. I provide the tools. You provide the biomass."

  ?[Covenant Initiated.]

  ?A contract appeared in the air between them. Not paper, but glowing text woven from purple fire.

  ?The Terms of Ascension:

  ?The Host (Jiang Chen) agrees to feed the Entity (Apeiron) 50% of all harvested Essence Value (EV) automatically. ?The Entity agrees to provide tactical analysis, system management, and access to the Void Tech Tree. ?The Goal: Total restoration of the Entity and the Ascension of the Host to the apex of the cosmos. ?Penalty for Breach: Mutual Destruction.

  ?Jiang Chen read the first line. "50 percent? That's a steep tax."

  ?"Rent is due," Apeiron said lazily. "I rebuilt your heart. I manage your Qi. I keep the corruption from turning you into a mindless ghoul. 50 percent is a bargain."

  ?Jiang Chen calculated. Even with half his EV gone, he was growing faster than any genius in the Sect. With Apeiron's guidance, he could optimize the kills.

  ?"Fine," Jiang Chen said. "But I get veto power on targets. We don't eat innocents unless it's necessary."

  ?"I do not care about morality," Apeiron yawned. "I care about density. Innocents are usually low-calorie. Accepted."

  ?Jiang Chen reached out. He placed his hand on the burning text.

  ?"Deal."

  ?The text shattered. The violet fire rushed into his arm, burning a tattoo onto his wrist—a black Ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail.

  ?[Covenant Sealed.]

  [Sync Rate: 1.00% (Locked).]

  [System Status: Online.]

  [Volume 2 Unlocked: The Hunger of the Void.]

  ?The vision collapsed.

  ?Jiang Chen gasped, waking up on the cold floor of the cave.

  ?The pain in his stomach was gone. The energy from Elder Han had been processed. He felt lighter, stronger. The world seemed sharper, as if a layer of gauze had been peeled from his eyes.

  ?He stood up and walked to the cave entrance.

  ?Dawn was breaking. The sky was bleeding red and gold.

  ?Below, in the distance, smoke was still rising from Alchemy Peak. He could see tiny figures—Enforcers, Elders, disciples—swarming the ruins like ants whose hill had been kicked.

  ?They would be hunting him. They would send trackers, assassins, and beasts.

  ?Jiang Chen smiled. His eyes flashed violet.

  ?"Let them come," he whispered.

  ?"Yes," Apeiron's voice echoed in his mind, clear and distinct. "Let them come. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

  ?Jiang Chen turned his back on the sunrise. He walked into the shadows of the forest, heading deeper into the wild.

  ?The corpse feeder was dead.

  ?The predator was born.