The Great Mother was a powerful Rank 9 Archdemon that was supposed to have fallen during the Cataclysmic War at the hand of an ancient powerhouse of the Immortal Plane. Usually, the only fate of those that lost their foothold in Abyss was to have their True Soul devoured by the plane's origin. That is why no one believed she could still be alive.
However, Zatiel was confident things were not so simple. His knowledge about Abyss was vast. While he had been the only Archdemon that did not evolve into Rank 7 by fusing his True Soul into the plane's origin, there was no reason others couldn't retrieve it if they were powerful enough.
The Neo-Demon believed that the Great Mother had endured severe injuries after that battle and knew other Archdemons would take advantage of her situation. Using some arcane methods, she retrieved her soul from the plane's origin and came into hiding.
When he was at the peak of his second life, a moribund Rank 9 Archdemon could not arouse the Incarnation of Death and Destruction's interest. Yet, things are different now.
Zatiel and Hades flew at an extreme speed around the 6th Layer of Abyss, each time faster than before, following a unique orbit.
Finally, after a week, just as the chaotic energy hovering around the layer began to surpass their defenses, a black hole materialized in their path.
Hades acted immediately, taking out the Nine x Nine Black Cage and shattering it. The artifact unleashed a final blast of black force that covered him and Zatiel just as they entered the black hole.
Everything was in complete darkness for a second before the duo found themselves in a void full of blazing stars, and right at the center was a massive creature the size of a High World.
The creature had a spherical body with many tentacles ending in eyeballs coming out from it.
As it opened their massive eyes, which occupied almost a third of their body, Zatiel and Hades could see the fury and killing intent that could make anyone crazy with fear.
The creature's aura put them at the beginning of Rank 9, something the duo could not face even if they worked together. Behind them, the black hole that led them here was still present, so they could escape.
Nevertheless, Zatiel showed nothing but contempt as he saw the creature. His eyes glowed, and in the next second, everything around him and Hades began to crack before shattering into pieces.
The duo just faced an illusion that anyone entering this abode would face. It was supposed to deter anyone from going deeper and force invaders out.
Unfortunately for the Great Mother, if there was one thing Zatiel truly excelled in was his soul defenses, and there was no way a weak Rank 9 illusion could trick him.
Nevertheless, the illusion was not the last problem the duo faced. After breaking it, Zatiel and Hades found themselves inside a massive labyrinth with walls and a ceiling that seemed capable of resisting the might of a Rank 9 life form.
It became even worse as space-time inside this labyrinth was in complete disarray, affecting individuals' proprioception and chronoception.
If Ezequiel were present, he would find this place very similar to the Pseudo-Emptiness Trial.
Hades was having a hard time adjusting, and his senses were starting to overload, but luckily for him, Zatiel was present.
The Neo-Demon's eyes glowed as a ten-meter domain formed around the duo. Everything inside would be subject to the power of Cause and Effect, giving order to the chaotic space-time.
"Follow my steps," Zatiel said nothing else before taking a series of steps in different directions yet not moving.
Hades found that very odd, but he did not waste time and mimicked Zatiel, following this one's movements with such precision and speed that it seemed they were doing them simultaneously.
At first, nothing happened, but then Hades noticed something amazing. It was not them that began to move but the labyrinth.
It was slow at first, but in minutes, those giant walls moved at superluminal speed. Sometimes, parts of the labyrinth seemed ready to blast them, but Zatiel's steps would always provoke a sharp turn at the last moment, allowing them to advance deeper.
Zatiel and Hades kept moving deeper into the labyrinth. Sometimes they would get near dangerous zones or close to armies made of Rank 8 puppets.
Luckily, thanks to Zatiel's skill, they always dodged the danger zones, and Hades' Nine x Nine Black Cage had left in them a cloaking force those puppets' perception could not surpass.
After one and half years of traveling through this labyrinth, Zatiel and Hades finally reached the end. It was a bloody portal that unleashed a monstrous bloodline force capable of sundering worlds.
While Zatiel's bloodline was superior, the one on the other side of the portal had developed to the peak and belonged to a much more powerful creature.
Unlike when they crossed the black hole, the instincts of the duo were screaming about the danger they would face on the other side of that bloody portal.
Neither Zatiel nor Hades considered even for a minute to cross it. Their goal in coming to this place was not to find the Great Mother, negotiate with her, or steal her treasures. It was something much more straightforward.
The Neo-Demon and the Realm Avatar nodded before beginning to work together. Fusing runes and magic matrices, they engraved a formation in the walls that would remain hidden until it was time to activate.
Once they finished, Zatiel and Hades did not waste time and immediately headed out. They took the same path as before, and after another year and a half, they exited the abode.
Now that they finished with the Great Mother's abode, the duo finally could leave for Baator.
As Zatiel approached Baator, he also generated a Dream Avatar inside the Ninth Layer of Legacy. He immediately found its target, a majestic floating castle overflowing with bloodline force.
