There is a lot Kent wants to know. But first, he wants to know more about the Evil King/Evil God, or whatever name they call him aside from the Ruthless Bandit.

He had no idea how all of this fit together, but he learned from Vexthra that the Ruthless Bandit had come to this place before. She even said that after he returned from this place, he became a much more evil person than he was before.

Naturally, that explains why these people know him.

What he wanted to know, however, was what he did when he was here.

"We can start by you telling me how you all came to know about the Evil King."

The high priestess was more than happy to answer everything.

"Before I start anything, you should know that, to us Star Beasts, the most important person is the Evil King. He saved us, and thanks to him, we are who we are now."

She let a beautiful smile appear on her face...

"The narrative began several billion years ago when we failed to conquer the Infinity Universe—your universe. Back then, we sustained so many losses, and we were banished to this place and sealed away to rot.

Because of our loss, most of our leaders perished, making it a race with no rulers and, most importantly, no law. Anyone could stand and say they were king, and nobody would dare to oppose them, or else they risk death.

It was the worst moment in our history, and for a while, we suffered.

However, that changed when he arrived—our saviour.

When he arrived here, we were at the breaking point. Some powerhouses among us chose to take control over the entire Star Beast race, and so we were at war. His presence changed that.

He asked nobody for permission.

When he arrived, he began taking whatever he wanted, and all who opposed him were cut down. Those who tried to use their superiority to suppress him were cut down, and even those who looked at him funny were cut down.

It took just a couple of months for everyone to recognise his power, and so the wise ones rallied behind him, making him their unintentional leader.

Soon, his name started to spread, and before long, every last Star Beast from all Seven Passages had heard his name. His presence spread like a plague, and by the time those who sought power from our suffering learned of his power and growing threat, it was already too late.

He had gained the power of faith, and so he ascended to godhood, becoming a god over all of us.

Bear in mind, we already had gods, some Supremes, and a few Celestials. However, his ascension overshadowed them all, making him someone they all had to bow to.

Once that happened, he was forced to become a god to us, and so he began. He killed more people, all who opposed his rule, and after a few thousand years, 80% of the Star Beast race came under his control.

At that point, the 20% who opposed his rule went to war against him, and for 20 years, a great battle raged. In the end, they lost, and so every last one of them was absorbed into his domain.

The day that happened, something impressive occurred here.

You see, when we were banished, this place was merely a prison we were sent to. We could not escape, and most importantly, we could not return to the Star Realm.

However, when the Evil King attained Supremacy by becoming the first existence to bring all Star Beasts under his rule, the long-forgotten Star Realm found us here.

This prison turned into our home.

The Low, High, and Divine Realms were established, and for years, the peace we once had returned to us," she sighed and looked at the glass ceiling...

"Safe to say that peace is now hanging on by a thread."

Kent wanted to know why that was. However, he paused and asked something else.

"You said the Star Realm found you. Care to explain how that happened?"

She nodded.

"The Star Realm is not a place you can go to. From what I know, the Star Realm is a presence, a domain that is established when Star Beasts find the peace they deserve. Before we attacked the Infinity Universe, the Star Realm was under the authority of the Star Celestial King.

However, after he died and we grew fractured, that authority left us, and we became just another realm without rules or laws.

That was the case until the Evil King appeared. Once the Star Realm was reestablished, we became Star Beasts again, and that has been the case for as long as any of us can remember."

"But that authority is breaking, huh?"

She nodded.

Kent asked, "How so?"

"You said you are going to a galaxy just beyond this realm, right?"

Kent nodded. He was indeed traversing the Star Gateway to reach Elina’s galaxy.

"Well, I know of that, and the answer is simple: the gateway you are in currently indeed leads there. In fact, this gateway has three passages to where you want to go.

The first one is at the Tormented Chaos Abyss, a place nobody, not even a god, would dare to go. The second is at the Upside-Down Cliff. I wouldn’t recommend it, not unless you have the means to kill a mutated, corrupted god.

The third is at Stone City, guarded by the Lava King. I have never met him before, but I learned he is the strongest demigod in this gateway.

The reason why I started with this is that inside this gateway, there are 12 kingdoms. All these kingdoms together form one gateway. There are seven gateways, meaning there are 84 cities total found in this lower realm.

You travelled here from one of the seven, and right now you are in Skull City.

Many years ago, the Evil King also arrived here. It was here his journey began, and so before he left, he built a formation to protect us. Safe to say his protection had been strong until recently, when the Stone King and his generals started attacking us.

We are a race of pacifists, and so we can only hide in here. However, that changed when other cities began sending them aid.

We don’t know why they are attacking now; however, I have a guess, and it has to do with something the Evil King left behind." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"What is it?"

"I don’t know."

Kent raised his brow, a bit taken aback by her answer. If she didn’t know, then how could she speculate that the attacks were aimed at that thing?

Seeing Kent’s expression, she smiled. "I don’t know because none of us can get close to it. However, hidden deep underground lies an object that not even I can perceive clearly."

Kent nodded, but then he smirked. "Aren’t you oversharing? I am a guest here, so why reveal such a secret to me?"

In response, the high priestess and her five elders smiled. "It was because you are the hero chosen by the Evil God."

"Oh? And why do you believe that? For all we know, I may just be an ordinary person who happens to know the answers to a few questions."

"No, you are not. If you were just anyone, you wouldn’t have been able to mention the forbidden name."

Kent furrowed his brow. "You mean the Ruthless Bandit?"

"Indeed. If I were to say it right now, I would be struck by the evil punishment and forever perish. The only reason you aren’t affected is that you were chosen by the Evil King."