Beyond the Bloodline-Chapter 216: The Amorphous Nightmare

The Amorphous Space Beast

The strongest threat that had ever plagued the Pinecone Galaxy.

It was the strongest Space Beast ever recorded, and its power eclipsed that of any recorded space beast by a margin so vast it seemed almost mythical.

The Amorphous Space Beast, or ASB for short, was not merely a ravenous, instinct-driven creature. It was the closest thing to a leader that the space beasts—or whatever race they really were, had ever known.

To call it a "beast" was to diminish the intelligence it possessed. The word was a misnomer at best, and an insult at worst.

The ASB possessed far higher intelligence than its peers. Even in the age of the Destruction Supreme, when entire galaxies trembled in fear of the tyrant, the Amorphous Space Beast had endured.

Time had gifted it far more than longevity— It had learned the delicate art of patience. It understood when to strike and retreat, and how to remain hidden in the shadows of time while civilizations rose and fell around it.

For hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of years, the ASB had bided its time, watching as the Pinecone Galaxy flourished, its people oblivious to the eyes that scrutinized their every move.

When it finally struck, it did so with chilling precision. It didn’t lash out in blind fury like its lesser kin. It waited for the perfect moment—the point where its attack would cause the most devastating impact.

It was common knowledge to any being with true wisdom that the Hybrids were, without question, the strongest entities in the universe.

For the Pinecone Galaxy, having not one, not two, but three of the six hybrids turning their attention toward it made it a place no one would dare attack recklessly.

The first of these Hybrids was Jamie, a mentor to both Cassiel and Lapis. His connection to both of them anchored his presence in the galaxy for a long time, and with Jamie’s presence, few would think to challenge Pinecone.

His mere existence there served as an unspoken warning to any who might have harboured thoughts of aggression.

The second was Miranda. She was not drawn to Pinecone because of Cassiel or Lapis, but because of Jamie. Wherever Jamie’s gaze wandered, Miranda inevitably followed. It was a natural alignment of their bond, and thus, the galaxy came under her scrutiny as well.

The final hybrid was the most elusive of the six—Sarina Aster, known by her epithet: ’Iridescent Versatile.’

A figure shrouded in myth, Sarina commanded one of the most powerful forces in Zanerth. She was the de facto ruler of all Angels, Demons, Nephilim, and Nephalem scattered across the universe.

Her interest in the Pinecone Galaxy lay in Cassiel himself, a Nephilim—half angel, half human. This shared heritage was one of the reasons Cassiel and Lapis were drawn to each other.

Both were half-human, bound by the commonality of their origins, and this deepened their connection, turning them into far more than allies or mere students who had shared the same mentor.

They were close, inseparable even—best friends.

As long as Jamie lingered within the galaxy, the ASB knew it was too risky to strike. It knew that to attack the Pinecone Galaxy while Jamie remained within would be suicide.

So, it waited.

For years, the creature bided its time.

The universe was vast, with billions of galaxies and uncharted territories to explore and even Jamie could not remain in one sector forever.

It was around 50 Cosmic Cycles after the end of the Destruction Supreme’s Reign of Terror and Tiris’ death, so Jamie eventually turned his attention to other sectors of the Universe.

He ventured to places so distant that returning would take considerable time. With Jamie’s departure, Miranda, ever in sync with his movements, soon followed.

It was as though the stars themselves aligned in the ASB’s favour, for it was at this time that Sarina found a lead in her endless quest for the sword she had sought for hundreds of millions of years, so she also shifted her focus.

Even fate seemed to conspire in the ASB’s favour. Just before it made its move, Lapis herself was called away on official business to the Seat of the Pantheon located in Zanerth-O1, a galaxy millions of light years away from Pinecone.

With the greatest threats to its existence gone, the ASB knew its time had come.

But unlike other space beasts, the ASB did not attack with blind rage or chaotic destruction. It was calculating. Cunning. Silent.

Taking full advantage of its amorphous nature, it shifted into a form that concealed its true identity, infiltrating the galaxy without arousing suspicion.

Its first target was Cassiel, the visionary whose genius had strengthened the Pinecone Galaxy’s military might and technological defences against the space beasts.

Cassiel was one of the Pinecone Galaxy’s backbones of power. The ASB knew this, and in one swift, lethal attack, it ended Cassiel before anyone could intervene, absorbing both his body and soul.

News of Cassiel’s sudden death and the ASB’s existence reverberated across the stars, sending shockwaves through the galaxy. Panic ensued. But by then, it was too late.

Lapis, who had been light-years away, rushed back as soon as she heard of her closest friend’s demise. Yet her speed was no match for the distance between them, and no matter how fast she moved, time was not on her side.

By the time she returned, it was already too late.

Standing in her place was her husband, a Leviathan Race Emperor, one of the strongest of his kind who was comparable to the Universe’s Main Entities in power.

He had risen to confront the ASB, not only to protect the trillions of souls in the Pinecone Galaxy but also to avenge his dear friend, Cassiel.

But the ASB was no ordinary foe.

The Leviathan Emperor had fought valiantly, but he was outmatched. By the time Lapis reached Pinecone, the unthinkable had already occurred—her husband, too, had fallen. His body and soul had been consumed by the beast, just as Cassiel had been.

When Lapis arrived, she found not just a monster but a nightmare.

The Amorphous Space Beast had taken on the form of her husband—the strongest creature it had ever killed—twisting the form of the one she loved most and using his strength, his power.

The creature’s mockery of her loved one turned her grief into a searing rage.

The battle that followed was nothing short of cataclysmic. Planets crumbled, and star systems were torn apart by their clash.

Lapis fought with all the fury and sorrow she could muster, but the ASB, now empowered by her husband’s stolen power, was too much for her to handle.

She could not fight it with her full might—as every strike, every surge of power could cause unspeakable collateral damage.

The very people her husband had died to protect—the lives he had sacrificed his own for—would perish if she unleashed her true strength. And if they died, what would have been the point of his sacrifice?

Lapis was enraged, but her rage and grief were no match for the beast’s stolen strength.

Just when defeat seemed inevitable, Jamie returned.

The sudden death of his student had alarmed him, and though he was much further away than Lapis was, he tore through the fabric of spacetime and raced back to Pinecone.

He arrived just in time, intervening in a moment when Lapis had been cornered, saving her from certain death.

With Jamie’s intervention, Lapis found an opening.

Fuelled by the anguish of her loss and the seething desire for vengeance, she seized the opportunity. Her final blow was a strike born of despair and wrath—ending the life of the Amorphous Space Beast once and for all.

But it was a hollow victory.

The creature’s death did nothing to erase the tragedy it had caused.

Cassiel, her dearest friend, was gone. Her husband, the one who had given his life to protect trillions, was lost forever, his very soul consumed by the monster. No amount of triumph could bring them back.

Though the Pinecone Galaxy was saved, the cost had been unimaginable. Lives had been lost—irreplaceable, invaluable lives—and nothing could bring them back.

The ASB’s attack had crippled the Galaxy and sealed its legacy as the most fearsome threat the galaxy had ever known, a shadow that would haunt its survivors for generations.

All of these events, happened around 450 Cosmic Cycles ago, during the 1458th Cosmic Cycle.

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Lapis could have disposed of the Amorphous Space Beast’s colossal corpse hundreds of cosmic cycles ago, but she hadn’t.

Not even Jamie knew that for millions of years, Lapis had poured herself into researching it, hoping to find a way to free the souls trapped within—the souls of Cassiel and her husband, the only two she truly cared about.

The rest meant nothing to her.

More than that, the beast’s body was the last remaining fragment of her husband’s physical form. She couldn’t bring herself to destroy it. It was a relic, tethering her to a time long lost, a bittersweet reminder that she couldn’t bear to erase.

But there was another reason. The corpse of the Space Beast served as bait.

Though it had been the mightiest of all Space Beasts, it was neither the first nor the last to threaten Pinecone.

With such a huge body, the ASB’s corpse had developed its own gravitational pull, strong enough to bind entire stars into its irregular orbit.

Even now, long after its demise, the residual energy from its body lingered like a feast laid out for the lesser beasts that roamed the vacuum of space.

Instinct, not reason, drove the other Space Beasts—Inferior, Intermediate, even some Superior ones—who sought to consume what remained of its immense power.

They were irresistibly drawn to the corpse, captivated by the residual power it radiated. A power that had endured the test of time due to how great it was, and also because Lapis took meticulous measures to preserve it.

By concentrating their attacks on this singular location, she effectively channelled the threats into a manageable zone—one that was thoroughly prepared to defend against them.

Her private residence, though unknown to many, was on Anadus Prime, her father’s home world.

So, if any Space Beast Kings showed up there, she could handle it quickly.

As for her protecting Pinecone from all sorts of threats, that was because Pinecone was the Galaxy her husband had died to protect. So, she was going to carry that torch of protection for as long as she could...regardless of what she had to do.

The galaxy’s current state had improved significantly since the height of the Space Beast threat.

The Creator Society had also been instrumental in this endeavour.

Their assistance proved invaluable, not only in combating the Space Beasts but also in aiding the research into the ASB’s corpse.

Together, they worked tirelessly to locate its core—or cores—and explore the possibility of extracting Cassiel’s soul and granting him true rest.