In a boundless, seemingly infinite galactic world.
A galaxy, suspended upside down in the sky, descended from above, then flowed along the starry sky towards the depths of unknown void.
This scene, ancient and unchanging, was broken by a tiny figure with silver hair aboard the ship *Freedom*, positioned above the galaxy.
The young man's upright body radiated a peculiar fluctuation, instantly spreading across the entire starry sky.
At the very moment this peculiar fluctuation appeared, a colossal eye, obscuring the entire starry sky, slowly emerged above the inverted galaxy.
At this instant, the galaxy became tears shed from the eye, and the *Freedom* became dust within those tears.
The eye was unlike that of a human, or any known creature. Within its vast socket, the eyeball resembled a black hole, enveloped in silver light, emitting a soul-devouring suction that was breathtaking.
The moment the eye appeared, everything in the starry sky froze.
The gently flowing galaxy, the twinkling stars, were like a paused film, frozen into a painting.
Of course, due to Kong Tai's presence, even within the body of the Void Insectoid, it could not affect Kong Tai in the slightest, nor even the *Freedom* upon which he stood.
Therefore, though everyone on the *Freedom* was startled by the sudden appearance of the colossal eye, they were not frozen in space like their surroundings.
The black hole spun, as if a lost soul had awakened. Without reflecting any light, the black hole instantly became clear and transparent, mirroring everything outside and fixing its gaze upon the young man at the prow of the *Freedom*.
Within the joy, a hint of greed, the inherent greed of a living creature, allowed everyone to clearly perceive the thoughts of the eye's owner at this moment.
However, just as Bi An had said, Void Insectoids were very gentle beings. Their simple nature meant they knew nothing of snatching or plundering, merely gazing expectantly at the peculiar energy surrounding Kong Tai's body.
"Hm!"
As if discovering something more interesting, the giant eye fixed on Kong Tai, its greedy desire rapidly transforming into confusion.
"Fellow, fellow, fellow, fellow being???"
As if someone who had not spoken for eons had finally found their voice, the profound weight of time that accompanied that moment left everyone breathless.
The eyeball drew closer, instantly appearing a few seconds above Kong Tai's head, completely dominating the entire sky above them.
It circled Kong Tai, looking him up and down, its confusion deepening rather than dissipating.
Few things in this world could sense Kong Tai's peculiarity. Even Bi An only knew of Kong Tai's uniqueness after he actively revealed himself and explained his abilities.
But this did not apply to the owner of the giant eye before them, the Void Insectoid.
It was a favored child of space, born in the void, and thus could discern the countless spaces on Kong Tai's body's surface.
Though it could not see the essence, the peculiar aura that belonged exclusively to space gave the Void Insectoid a sense of kinship, as if it had found a fellow being in Kong Tai.
Gazing at the giant eye, Kong Tai seemed to understand what the Void Insectoid desired at that moment. He had Bi An retract the diffused faith power.
Then, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his azure eyes. With a thought, Kong Tai completely withdrew the endless space that passively covered his body for protection, revealing his true aura.
Trembling, the giant eye trembled, the silver light trembled, and the entire starry sky lost control, shaking incessantly. Even the galaxy beneath them churned, creating colossal waves.
"What's happening? What's happening?"
Feeling the changes around them, everyone assumed the Void Insectoid was enraged and instantly entered a combat stance, gripping their weapons.
Only Kuina, who understood Kong Tai best, and Yisheng, who could not see anything outside but felt no danger due to his powerful Kenbunshoku Haki, remained still.
"It's nothing."
Kong Tai extended his right hand and waved it backward, signaling them not to be nervous.
"What's wrong with it?"
Kong Tai looked at the giant eye, a hint of confusion in his azure pupils.
"I don't know either."
Little Bi An slowly materialized on Kong Tai's left shoulder, also looking at the trembling giant eye with confusion.
"I can feel its joy, even ecstasy. This emotion surpasses its reaction to the faith power."
Bi An withdrew his gaze from the giant eye and tilted his head to look at the side profile of the silver-haired youth, asking with doubt, "Say, do you have any more secrets you haven't told me?"
"What secrets do I have? What secrets could I possibly have!"
Kong Tai glanced at Bi An. "If you want to talk about secrets, it should be my body!"
"Even I don't know what's going on with my body."
"It seems it knows."
Bi An gave Kong Tai a meaningful look before turning his attention back to the giant eye.
At that moment, the giant eye retreated rapidly, moving away from Kong Tai instantly.
Then, the entire starry sky followed the giant eye's retreat, rapidly receding as if traveling through time. In that instant, all they saw was a blur of silver light.
When their vision cleared again, they saw a silver behemoth, resembling an earthworm with a single eye, floating in the dark void.
This silver behemoth was precisely the Void Insectoid they had seen depicted in the murals within the castle.
As the Void Insectoid retreated, they were naturally exposed to the outer void.
Looking at the familiar void, the confusion in Kong Tai's eyes vanished.
This was not the time for confusion. He abruptly expanded his domain, instantly enveloping the entire *Freedom*.
Within this seemingly peaceful and serene deep void, infinite dangers lurked. One wrong move, and the entire *Freedom* could be devoured by the void.
"Roar~"
At this moment, the Void Insectoid, lacking a mouth, nose, and ears, underwent another transformation.
The front of its body, with its single eye, began to protrude forward. First came two long dragon whiskers, then a mouth, a nose, and two other pairs of eyes, distinct black and white, unlike the black hole eye on its forehead.
With a joyful cry, two massive, coral-like dragon horns slowly emerged on the giant beast's forehead.
As the beast looked back towards the *Freedom*, colossal dragon claws, beneath its silver-clad body, silently began to grow.
"Roar~"
Its body elongated, and as it turned, a deafening roar echoed through the void once more. What appeared before them was a colossal dragon, of unimaginable size, its silver luster gone, its color matching that of the starry sky.
Before the others could react.
The dragon flew rapidly towards the *Freedom*.
And as it flew, its massive body seemed to shrink rather than grow within their sight.
By the time the dragon reached Kong Tai, it had transformed into a star dragon, as thick as an arm, radiating silver light, with three eyes on its head.
At that same moment, the space-time around the *Freedom* froze, as if an ice-covered lake, due to the arrival of the star dragon.