Zwein Vortexes were akin to violent twisters that occurred in the great void.

As it were, Void's body was far from regular and linear, but that didn't mean that any irregularities on it could be understood in the same way living beings did when they observed two or three-dimensional matter. As Void's body was a phenomenon as complex as the higher dimensions only powerful Deities could traverse, every irregularity about it – steep slopes, adverse pressure, high temperature – created cataclysmic disasters in the wider reality. Zwein Vortexes were one such disaster.

A mixture of abnormal temperatures, high or low, and fluctuating pressure acting on Void's body created these massive, spinning gusts with a frightening capacity to pull and push. While they weren't nearly as dangerous as Retucents, they were a threat to those without reliable flying vessels.

Lost, shattered Treasures, minerals, gases, and floods of colour whose definition was unknown even to Elita, Uyuniya, and Pell bumped against Amanas' Gradient Cage before being swallowed by the giant, roaring serpent of wild gusts.

The consoles had warned Kintar of the incoming disturbance, and when she discovered that it wasn't a threat to Amanas at all, she sent the vessel flying into the Vortex.

"It just keeps going," said Yuyui, looking in wonder outside the Metgard.

Aside from everything the vortex was pulling in, all that could be seen of it was a vicious blur that made Gerriey dizzy just by looking at it for too long.

"We've been following this wind tunnel for a while now. How aren't we there yet?" Grim said before turning to Pell.

"We're definitely close," said the eyeball. Some semblance of vigor was restored to his voice, but he seemed very tense. Kiek was worse. Savast kept eyeing them both like before, all three of his eyes marred with concern.

While he could detect the impulses and fluctuations of mental energy from Divine beings, he couldn't delve deep into their thoughts and extract what they were thinking. A Divine was a Divine, after all. The Mind Caster silently shared his findings with Baddan.

Uyuniya, who was standing next to Kintar by the consoles, asked the Unlimited Star to verify what Pell had said. Were they really close to their destination?

Kintar doubted it only because, contrary to her expectations, the purple glow she'd seen was far beyond where they were now. It was just as far as it was a few minutes ago, yet they were close to their destination. What did this mean?

"Apparently… yes," she said dejectedly. "If what the eye says is true, this Vortex leads to his crew. It's apparently part of the reason why they can't escape. Besides—" she paused.

"What?" said Uyuniya, inching closer to her.

"Amanas' sensors. They've picked up something ahead."

Kintar adjusted the view from the screen in front of the Metgard, which allowed her and everyone else to see thousands of miles ahead. Even the blurring caused by the gusts was diminished, capturing the crisp view of the location the Vortex fed into.

Everyone fell silent.

The collection of dead things the Zwein Vortex had gathered around the thing only made it look even more archaic and unusual.

It was a head, indeed, and giant didn't even begin to describe its size. Just the hollow eye sockets enveloped by its greyish green, brittle skin were almost a hundred times the size of the Amanas. A darkness deeper than the great void itself filled them and all the other orifices on its face – nostrils, mouth, gashes. The Zwein Vortex fed into the head's gaping mouth and somehow became even more violent. The bits of the Deity's skin flying all around its head were forced off by the accumulated pressure acting from the inside.

"Whoa…" Yuyui said, gaping, much like the creature. "Look at those rings…"

Only when she mentioned it did everyone notice the majestic collection of rings under the Deity's chin. They seemed to act as a beard, each tinged greenish gold. Runic markings were carved into each, but much like the Deity, they seemed dead – purposeless.

"Well, this just might have been worth it," said Kintar, pulling herself from the stupor. She turned to Pell. "And you just might be dying later than I thought."

The eyeball looked uneasy, but not because of Kintar's remark. Savast frowned.

Soon, the ship reached the Deity's lip. Even when the Vortex doubled in ferocity, Amanas held strong.

"Time for a little exploring. Just in case, we'll leave Amanas right here. The weak punks will stay, and the rest of us – including the pirates – will continue on foot," said Kintar, grinning. "Oh, Gerriey, I leave you in charge. Don't panic. The consoles are intuitive. We'll signal if we need help."

…!

Just as Gerriey turned pale, Pell turned bloodshot.

"Are you insane?! I told you how difficult it is to escape! You need—"

"You need to shut your fucking pupil up or whatever you use to talk," said Kintar acidly. "I'm not dumb."

"How are we getting inside without getting swept in anyway?" asked Grim.

"Easy," said Kintar. She turned to Uyuniya and donned the politest, cutest smile she could muster.

"What?" Uyuniya could have vomited. Elita's ears pricked.

"That technique of yours. Void Clot… When you use it here in the great void, you and Elita might as well be invincible, right? This twister wouldn't even make you budge, would it?" said Kintar, her smile growing.

"You can't be serious."

…But Kintar was.

She'd analyzed the workings of Void Clot when Uyuniya and Elita used it in the battle against the masked man. When they were on worlds, it shrouded them in patches of the great void, making them more powerful and resilient. But when activated while in the great void itself, its effects not only became exponentially more powerful, but also, as Kintar judged, it could grow based on the user's strength as a Voided Deathform.

In the end, Uyuniya and Elita might have just been frustrated by how Kintar had figured out their abilities so easily. That much didn't make them reject the Unlimited Star's request. After all, now that they were here, they couldn't help but be interested in the Deity's head as well.

Elita had never seen a Deity grow to such a size. Gigantification, as she knew it, was an ability all Deities could use, but to become as large as this wasn't a matter of titles. One had to be truly…

A few minutes later, nine individuals left Amanas' barrier, cloaked in a dense, twisting blanket barely distinguishable from the great void.

Just as Kintar had surmised, the Zwein Vortex didn't affect them at all with Void Clot in use. The gusts bashed against the edges of concentrated void that Uyuniya and Elita were channeling into one large mass. But to keep it up like this and keep all nine of them safe, the group had to move in a line formation with the Void Users on both flanks so that they could keep the Void Clot's output stable.

Still, however, the group's mobility was limited. Once they landed on the Deity's dry and cracked lip, they had to jump from one spot to the next in a coordinated fashion.

"You owe us after this!" cried Uyuniya when everyone jumped from the lip, into a dark, cavernous mouth, and onto a gigantic, atrophied tongue.

"HOW DO WE EVEN KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING?" shouted Yuyui. The howling of the gusts was too great.

Uyuniya concentrated several globes of her Amras for light and expelled them from her hand. They flew in different directions, illuminating everything modestly. For too long, they exposed nothing of note, but then…

"THERE!" cried Uyuniya, pointing upwards.

Great cracks lined the ceiling of the Deity's mouth. Everything was bone dry and dislodging, flying with the violent wind. Several crevices could be seen above – possible channels leading to other sections of the head – but there was also the obvious path down the Deity's mouth, where the tongue fell into the neck.

"PELL!" cried Yuyui. She could hardly see beyond the shroud of Void Clot without reinforcing her eyes with her Magecraft, and even that didn't do much good.

Before Pell could say anything, however…

"DON'T BOTHER WITH HIM!" said Savast. He was looking above, frowning. "I SENSE THOUGHTS – DREADFUL THOUGHTS!" He pointed towards one of the crevices.

Elita drew Broodweiler. Everyone sharpened their guard even more than before and leaped high, against the gusts, towards the crevice.

Before they could reach it and stabilize themselves, however, someone flew out of it.

Everyone readied to counter, but the assailant simply grabbed both edges of the crevice, popped his head out, and cried in a shaking voice:

"PELL! THE SHIP! WHERE IS THE SHIP?!"