The Collector beheld the portal and analyzed it, shrouding its four ocular vessels in green flow mana. The mana flow of the portal was highly unstable and roughly created. Its mana signature also did not match the pattern of flow surrounding its environment, indicating that it was not created by the dungeon itself.

In addition, because it was personally created, the portal possessed far less total magical energy inside of it than what a dungeon could sustain.

In essence, the portal was a hastily made creation soon to collapse. Mana signature matched that of the Fang specimen, and because the portal did not possess much magical energy inside of it, the Collector estimated that the Fang specimen could not have traveled extensively far.

The danger lied in the fact that the exact coordinates of the Fang specimen’s warp was unknown. She could have warped into reinforcements or a fortified location.

The Collector’s Hunter-Killer ability to track the psionic signature of a target over a vast breadth of space was also already occupied. Specifically, by the coordinates of the Jotnar species when they last occupied this realm and entered into a state of hibernation in what was known as the ‘White Space’. This, the Collector gleaned from memories sourced by the Jotnar core within it..

The value of the Jotnar race far outstripped that of the Fang specimen, for there were many like her to consume if it was such that were there as many Fangs as there were killed Old Gods. In addition, conflict between the draconids and the Collector was soon to be inevitable regardless.

They would meet no matter what.

The Jotnar, however, would prove to be an immensely valuable source of strength and information provided they submitted to the Collector, which, considering the Collector possessed their Shard of Succession which determined rule in their social hierarchy, was not unlikely.

If they did not submit, then the Collector would consume them, for among specimen, the Jotnar was the absolute most efficient for biomass, possessing enormous amounts of physical flesh and dense spirit roots.

The Collector let the swirling portal crackle and fade away, and instead flew upwards, towards the cavern where the mana infused crystals were. Here, it opened up its stomach maw wide and used Sapia to break and draw in all the crystals, vacuuming them in at an extraordinarily quick rate.

As the Collector consumed the crystals, its highly honed digestive system broke them down, reducing them into pure mana, and that mana was circulated into the Collector’s core and spirit roots at astounding efficiency, quickly charging it to 200% of its total mana, though the excess would slowly leech out over time.

With the cavern emptied of crystals, it lost its light and became nothing more than an empty, hollowed out, dark space, and the Collector left it, bursting out in a shockwave of speed as it sailed higher and higher through the mountain and out to the top where Kui was.

Kui sat cross-legged on the snow, his hands drawn together in meditative pose and his eyes closed. He seemed to have channeled out the fire and heat in his body, and his wounds were repairing with his natural healing factor.

Without opening his eyes, he asked, “So? Has my [Falling Star] felled her?”

“No,” said the Collector immediately. “The specimen utilized her capacity to break down her body into a moving mass of wind currents and ice to significantly mitigate the force of the fall. She then constructed an instantaneous warp gate to escape.”

“Ah, so that makes three that have survived the [Falling Star],” said Kui. “Though for the sake of my own pride, I will not count this, for she did not truly take the blow.” Kui exhaled. “Hm. Decades after breaking my vow never to kill, I am still amused at the irony that the mightiest technique of the Gentle Current was one meant to absolutely kill.”

“Such a vow escapes my logical reasoning,” said the Collector. “A restriction to not end lives would only severely hamper one’s capacity to defend themselves or to accomplish a multitude of goals.”

“All life is precious. Some lives have small ripples, others larger, some even are great waves, but we are all part of the same ocean of life. Any one drop is sacred,” said Kui. He sighed. “That is what the Gentle Current’s philosophy is supposed to be, but with the Selection looming near, promising mass genocide on a scale never before seen, it does not make sense to withhold killing intent, yes.”

The Collector clicked its mandibles and began to fly away from the fighter specimen to check up on its swarm. The fighter specimen’s conditions to support the Collector were predicated upon the Collector defeating the white maned draconid, taking his shard, and bringing forth what was known as the ‘End’.

Yet, the Collector surmised that the fighter specimen would not be so inclined to assist the Collector should he know that the Collector would bring forth the end of not only the gods, but also of all life that the fighter knew, for he would likely protest all life becoming subsumed into the breadth of the Collective.

As the Collector flew away, the fighter specimen followed, following through on his words to aid the Collector through the Rift.

==

The Collector came into the cavern where the swarm was and found them all kneeling to receive him.

“The Sovnar is now a dragon slayer!” said Thokk.

“In the time of Gob,” explained Goromir. “Those mighty goblins that could slay even the weakest and smallest of dragonkind were hailed with the highest of honors. They were enshrined as aspects of war and upon their deaths, entombed with honors befitting even a lord.

That you have returned, Sovnar, means that you have slain that foul dragon and become a dragon slayer.”

“The draconid specimen has escaped,” said the Collector. “I did not slay her.”

There was a brief moment of silence as the goblins wondered whether that actually made the Collector a dragon slayer, but then Goromir shrugged.

“Causing a dragon to flee also counts,” said Goromir. “The old ways are long past, some changes can be made.”

“Yes,” said Kandak simply.

“Goblins slaying dragons?” said Kui as he put a hand to his beard. “I have never heard the like. Even now, as I gaze upon your kind, I see that you are stronger, nobler, and smarter than any I have ever come to know.

Even in Xia, where it is said the mightiest of goblin kind, the Oni, live, the stronger ones do not consider themselves goblins, they consider themselves Oni.”

“Oni?” said Goromir. “I have never heard their likes. But it has been long since I have walked these realms. Likely, however, they are descendants of the old blood of Gob.”

“Fascinating,” said Kui. “You are then goblins of a bygone age?”

“Raised from the beyond by the Sovnar himself,” said Goromir.

“You possess the ability to raise the dead?” asked Kui, visibly showing shock for the first time as he turned to the Collector,

“I can only breath life into freshly expired corpses to restore their neural and bodily functions,” said the Collector. “These elite specimens were brought forth not by my power, but through goblin capabilities.”

“Hm. I did not know that goblins had possessed such a diversity of power and forms,” said Kui. “To even be able to overcome the finality of death, even to small extent, is no small feat. One that not even the New Gods cannot replicate.

Only one Old God, the Facestealer, do I know of that can do such, but even it may not truly restore the dead, only create shells within which it can place souls.”

The Collector clicked its mandibles. The Facestealer, along with the Jotnar, were the two targets that the Collcetor wished to encounter and devour.

“You have stated that the Old Gods have been systematically wiped out by both draconids and New Gods in this area,” said the Collector. “Yet, I possess information to indicate that this ‘Facestealer’ specimen is still alive.”

“The Facestealer lies beneath the Rift, so it is beyond the reach of the draconids so far,” said Kui. “And as for the New Gods, if they could destroy the Facestealer, they would. But the Facestealer cannot be killed by ordinary means.

It is said that Eljudnir, the Howling Mountain and domain of the Facestealer, is guarded by an old magic so ancient that it renders it indestructible and untouchable by the New Gods. The nature of it, I do not know, for I have never had interest in exploring it.”

The Collector clicked its mandibles. It seemed that information regarding this Facestealer specimen would continue to be scarce. It would search for more as it traveled beyond the Rift, but it would also signal the conquering force to scour for potential information regarding it as well.

As the Collector processed this thought, it received a distinctive signal from the conquering force. Not one of immediate distress, but one of significant urgency.