Hetsipara wasn't as empty as they thought. No one realised it until it was too late.

Bast and Colt were the first to be attacked. The only reason neither were killed on the spot was because Colt's instincts kicked in. Before he realised what he was doing, he had grabbed Bast and pulled her out of the way of a giant tentacle. The two went tumbling down the slope beside them. They came to a violent stop at the base, both starting up at the top of the hill. A Void Beast stared right back.

"What is that?" Bast cried.

"You can see it?" Colt asked, surprised.

She shot him a glare. "The giant thing at the top of the hill that looks like a demon? Of course not!"

"You should not be able to see it." He grabbed her hand and began to run. "They are called Void Beasts. We need to get out of here."

Her legs barely able to keep up with his, Bast was dragged along. "What is a Void Beast?"

"Remember how I told you about the Void? They are the creatures that live there."

"And we are running from it because . . .?"

"Because nothing in Creation can beat them!"

"Oh." Bast glanced back over her shoulder then ran faster. The Void Beast had begun its chase. "As much as I like this running idea, we may have to find a way to beat the unbeatable demon."

"Void Beast," Colt corrected. "Unless you have a mass amount of matter on you, we do not stand a chance."

"What is matter?"

"Never mind."

Bast skidded to a stop and pulled her staff from her spine. She held it in front of her like a sword. "I am not going to run."

Colt tossed his head back with a groan as he slowed. "Bast, now is not the time for one of your heroic feats. You cannot beat a Void Beast!"

"Watch me!" With a battle cry, Bast ran forward.

Behind her, Colt pinched the bridge of his nose. Why did I ever let her meet Amneris? There was no way Bast would defeat it. She would get herself killed. Quickly, Colt summoned his sword. He channelled his power into it, the blade glowing with a soft golden light, and ran after his friend.

* * * * * * * *

Across the system, Leo and Nikki were having their own Void Beast problems. Unlike their friends, the pair were focused on actually getting away from it. They ran as fast as they could, both firing their blasters behind them. It was doing nothing to the Void Beast. Hell, the thing appeared to enjoy the blasts.

"This isn't working!" Nikki yelled.

"I noticed!" Leo shouted back.

"Then why are we doing this?"

"Because we have no better plans!"

Nikki returned her blaster to its holster. "Literally anything would be a better plan." She let out a frustrated cry. "Where's a powerhouse when you need one? I knew we should've asked Dan to come with us!"

"You're welcome to call him – look out!"

Nikki dove to the side as the Void Beast's jaws clamped down where she had been standing. She gawked at the hole left in the sand as it turned its attention to Leo. Nikki muttered, "Right, now I'm mad."

She rolled up her sleeves. Nikki charged toward it and shifted into her eagle form. Her talons clawed at the Beast's eyes. It roared, moving away from Leo to give chase. Nikki cawed loudly, flew higher into the air before diving back down, moving at full speed and slamming into the Void Beast head-first. It tumbled to the ground.

Nikki landed and shifted back to Lyriumian form, swaying and raising a hand to her forehead. She pulled her hand back and the feel of something wet. Her fingers were stained with red blood. "Ugh, bad idea. Not doing that again."

"You okay?" Leo asked, running to her side.

"Yeah, it's nothing major." She pointed over her shoulder. "We should move before it remembers how to stand."

"Right."

Nikki spun, took a step forward, and fell on her face. She let out a defeated groan.

Leo hefted her into his arms. "How about we do it this way until you heal?"

"Probably a good idea."

* * * * * * * *

Bast was only now beginning to see why Void Beasts were considered to be unbeatable. No matter what she threw at it, no matter how strong her spells or how much energy was put into them, the spells were absorbed by the Void Beast. From where she stood, it actually appeared to be getting stronger . . . Bast cursed under her breath. Fine. Magic didn't work on this thing? Time to go old school.

Using a part of her power, Bast leapt into the air, holding her staff high above her head, and brought its head down on the Void Beast's. The creature roared, swatting her with one of its tentacles. Bast went tumbling to the dirt. Before she could move, it raised another tentacle—

Only for Colt to drag her out of the way mere seconds before it struck! He left Bast laying in the dirt and hurried toward the creature, dashing this way and that as the Void Beast tried to grab him. Bast watched on in awe. He was running, jumping, sliding and rolling around the creature's attacks as though he'd done this a million times!

Colt leaped and slashed straight across the Void Beast's face. By the time he landed, it had already healed. "This will not work," he called over his shoulder.

Bast couldn't help but agree. Maybe these things really were unbeatable! "Will a portal still work?"

"It can follow us!" He flipped back, coming to a stop beside Bast. "Higher Beings cannot beat these things."

"Yes, yes, I get it," Bast said with a roll of the eyes. "Will your friends be able to help?"

"No idea," Colt admitted. "They might be having as much trouble."

The Void Beast loomed over them.

"Only one way to find out," Bast said nervously.

"Agreed." Colt opened another portal. The pair jumped through.

* * * * * * * *

Nikki was back on her feet. She and Leo ran side-by-side, the Void Beast close on their heels. The thing was fast. It was a miracle in itself that it hadn't caught them yet. Well, it was skill. Nikki had never really believed in miracles. She certainly didn't believe the Gods were on their side. Within reason, of course. Even so, it was clear the Gods of the God Worlds were going to be of no help. They were on their own for this one.

On their own, but with each other.

Physical, magical and energy attacks did nothing on the Beasts. The few times Nikki encountered them back home, they were easy to beat. Matter overload and bam! Void Beast cancelled out. But these ones were so much stronger. What the fuck was going on?

"Niks!"

Nikki gasped, diving to the side as the Void Beast took a swipe at her. She rolled back to her feet and rushed to Leo's side.

He gave her a worried look. "Good?"

"Yeah. Distracted. Focused now." She tossed her short braid over her shoulder. "Thinking we should get moving."

"It can follow us through—"

"Hey, if you have a better idea."

Leo grimaced. "Yeah, alright. Opening now."

Leo thrust his hand out in front of him. A swirling portal appeared. The pair ran through it.

* * * * * * * *

On either side of the galaxy, the four continued running, all of them chased by their respective Void Beasts as they made their way as fast as possible to the centre of the system, the place where the so-called 'Living Sun' had once inhabited. The closer they got, the harder it was to find areas to land on. The system was decimated, almost entirely destroyed. There were chunks of rock floating in deep, dark, empty space.

Two portals let out on a half-remaining planet. Leo, Nikki, Bast and Colt paused in their running as they almost ran right into each other. Before anyone could say anything to express their surprise, the Void Beasts chasing them appeared out of nowhere. And they had friends.

On instinct, the group slammed their hands into the ground. A glowing, multi-coloured, dome-shaped shield surrounded them. The Void Beasts didn't hesitate in their attack, crashing into the shield one after the other. Slowly but surely, it begun to crack. The group channelled more of their power into it, but there was only so much they could hold on. Sooner or later, the Beasts would break through.

For a moment, Colt let his mind rush through all the possibilities. There weren't many. If the Void Beasts caught them, best case scenario, they were taken into the Void. Worst case scenario, they would be destroyed. Chances of escape were slim to none. Even if one of them opened another portal, the jump would have to be massive to get out of reach of the Beasts. But long jumps were practically impossible right now. There was no way of knowing where they'd end up, or if they'd even be in Hetsipara when they came back out the other side.

It was better than nothing.

Colt yelled, "Get ready to jump!"

"Are you insane?" Nikki cried.

Colt slammed his foot into the ground. A portal opened up beneath them. The four fell into the golden light. It closed moments before the shield broke.