The Tale of the Void Emperor

[ A/N: By the way, I suggest reading the two new auxiliary chapters I published. You will gain much clarity of the story and status of Athan after reading that. I will also be updating them as the story progresses. ]

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" 580 mid-grade chaos stone for this extremely rare Dawn-Break fruit! Going Once! Hey, hey, This is a rare chance, and this fruit came in a timely manner for those aiming to join Chaos Monolith Hills. You won't get another chance like this in the next five years. Going Twice! And...Sol-"

" 600 mid-grade chaos stones! My final bid. "

Hearing that, The auctioneer smiled and looked at VIP room no.7, " Alright! That gentleman up there bid 600 for this fruit! Anyone else?...600 Going Once! Going Twice! Sold! "

...

" Hahaha, Brother Athan! That's double the fruit's original price. You've struck it rich. "

Shish excitedly spoke. Celesti, Drizzly, and others were also smiling.

Athan nodded with a faint smile, "  Timely Windfall. I'll see if I can buy something useful with the 600 mid-grade chaos stones in the auction.  "

The auction continued for hours after that as many powerful and valuable items were auctioned one by one. For instance, Accessories with powerful effects, Eggs of rare chaos beasts, and two epic grade chaotic spirits, An item appeared that could increase the order base, but its price was way out of Athan's budget.

Near the end, Every single thing was sold for the price of 10,000-20,000 mid-grade chaos stones.

" Finally! It's time for the grand finale. " 

The auctioneer clapped as the tables were swapped from underground as the floor moved, and two wooden boxes with silver inscribed patterns appeared.

The auctioneer walked towards the big wooden boxes that were two meters tall and one and a half meters wide. 

He took out two rectangle papers with weird patterns inscribed on them with black ink and stuck them to the boxes.

After a second, The paper and the patterns on the box shined for a few moments.

After they stopped glowing, The auctioneer floated in the sky, opened the boxes with his hands, and took out two paintings.

But he didn't grab onto the canvas of painting but a transparent blue-colored square barrier that covered the two paintings.

After he put them properly on the stage one by one, He stood beside the paintings and took a deep breath before saying, " Many of you must be confused about these paintings. After all, things like these paintings are rare and generally would not appear in weaker areas like ours. "

" Hurry up and remove the barrier! I can't wait to see a glimpse of their power. "

Hearing this shout, Many people were confused and looked at VIP room no.4. 

The auctioneer smiled and looked at VIP room no.4, " Please have some patience, sir. Even though only you VIPs will fight for this painting, It's my duty to give its introduction to the audience. "

" Anyway, These paintings are mainly for those Zen Order Grandmasters as it will help them breakthrough and also acquire a mystical, wonderful, and powerful chaotic power.

Now onto its introduction, You all must be aware of how we train using order scroll, right? These paintings are similar to order scrolls but very high leveled and mystical. These two paintings are two unique worlds themselves, and once Zen Order Grandmasters infuse their order force inside the paintings, They can experience its true wonders. For now, Let's just have a glimpse of the painting's power. Whatever happens next, don't panic and stay calm. "

Hearing this, The audience became even more confused.

" Drizzly, Do you know what this is about? "

Athan asked Drizzly if she knew something about the paintings, but she also shook her head with confusion, " Nope. But Zen Order Grandmasters are two entire orders higher than even the strongest person in our region. So these paintings are definitely a big deal. "

" Look, The barrier is disappearing after that auctioneer stuck another two papers on the first painting's barrier. "

Athan and others looked in the front as they saw dreamy blue barriers around the first painting disappearing.

Before the barrier fully disappeared, The auctioneer spoke one last time in a serious voice, " This first painting's name is Astral Deep of Starry River. Now, Whatever happens next, do not panic and stay calm. The phenomenon will only last for a minute, and try to see its wonders instead of panicking. "

Athan saw the last spec of barrier disappearing, and right at the moment when it happened, Everything changed.

The scenery literally changed in front of him as the auction hall disappeared. Instead, He found himself in a Mystical place that was filled with glowing blue starry rivers flowing everywhere around him. 

He saw beautiful fishes with starry blue wings flying amidst the rivers. There were many different kinds of beautiful fishes, both big and small, and with different colors of glowing blue shades.

Athan looked around, but there was no one around him. Everything was a starry blue world around him with many things that were in various shades of dreamy blue color.

Suddenly, He saw a river coming at him with many fishes.

Athan put his hands in front of him instinctively but then realized that this must be an illusion, so there was no need for it.

' But what a realistic illusion, I can clearly feel that the atmosphere has changed, and I am also feeling energized. '

At his moment, The river came crashing onto him and...swept him along with it.

Athan was shocked as he got washed up along with the river, and he could clearly physically experience it, ' What's going on? Is it...not an illusion? '

He could feel fishes hitting him and the starry water of this river that took him along with its flow.

*Crackle...*

Suddenly, Athan saw starry blue clouds and lightning bolts appearing in the starry blue sky.

His expression turned grave because those beautiful-looking starry blue lightning looked like the most dangerous thing he had seen aside from that space filled with abyssal darkness where he died.

But right at this moment, The scenery changed once again as he found himself sitting in the auction hall, without moving even a bit from his seat.

Uproar appeared in the auction hall as people started talking about what just happened.