“Crack”
The sound of something shattering echoed from the gray barrier surrounding Samuel, which he soon emerged from. He looked almost the exact same as when he decided to break through, with only two differences. The place where Samuel had once engraved a slit like rune to allow himself to cultivate autonomously, an eye was now present. This was no normal eye, however. Obviously third eyes are not a normal thing, but this one was different even compared to them. The part, which is white in human eyes, the sclera, was a pure gray color. A gray so basic and dark looking it would make the soul tired if stared at for too long. In the center of this goo of gray was a shining, golden iris. An iris that was swirling towards the pitch-black pupil, akin to a galaxy orbiting a black hole, only more royal in appearance. What effect this eye would have, or what implications it would bring was unknown, but it surely would not be something common.
Although this change was stunning and surprising to say the least, the second change was even more so. This change not only applied to his body, but also his soul, or rather the other way. One of the previously obscured patches visible on Samuel’s soul was now shining as bright as a thousand suns. It was shining so bright his spiritual sense would melt when too close in proximity to it. It was shining so brightly it directly imprinted itself onto his physical body. A burning red colored rune was present directly above his heart, making Samuel’s blood surge and boil. A power so volatile and restless it would cause the Shattered Realm to dissipate if ever released, was being pumped out from this rune every time his heart beat.
Normally, Samuel would be ecstatic at this change that would improve him greatly. However, this time, something was different. Something was wrong. Sitting cross legged, which he hated, Samuel looked akin to a statue. A statue that would never wither with time. A statue with a purpose. The purpose to rectify injustice inflicted upon him.
“That was no mere dream, it was real. How or why is not something I can explain, but the very core of my being tells me that happened to me. Not before I transcended, but as I was breaking through. How long did I spend inside my cocoon this time? Indeterminate, huh? Something or someone has interfered with me. Not just my mind and soul, but also my body and talents. Presumably the thing referred to as Sanguilan. I believed no magic or special powers existed on Earth, but I was clearly wrong. What I still don’t understand is why they said that I have sinned. I was not even on Earth; how could I have sinned there? Unless that presumed deity is present in this universe, or that I’m still in the same universe as Earth. No matter. The damage is done, now only my crusade against their depraved ways remains. Whether this is the same universe or not, whether that being is a god or not, every person or thing related to their group shall perish according to my promise, no matter what.”
“I have an instinctive feeling I can control the flow of time around me to a certain extent, especially within this dimension I have created. I won’t exit here before I manage to either create a technique to travel to the higher realm, need to test something or I reach the required stage to ascend naturally.”
While Samuel said he could only control the flow of time around him to a certain extent, that was in comparison to his new time sphere, which, accordingly, went from a 100,000 increase to 1,000,000 times increase. In fact, his personal distortion of time in his own dimensions was at the rate of 10,000, akin to the first level of the time sphere. His control outside would be lower, but not by much. This would allow him to use the calendar almost freely as it relied on the time surrounding it, not that of a fixed realm or place.
“First, I will test if it is possible to create the technique I require, if I find it to be implausible, I will simply cultivate. There is no time to lose.”
Entering the time sphere and ignoring the expansion that had occurred and the 15 items spread across it, Samuel sat down to ponder over the mysteries of space, realms and dimensions.
“Space is all encompassing but seems to be easily affected by the other laws of the universe. When these laws coagulate into a cluster reaching a certain size, space will bend to their will, forming realms and dimensions. This should mean that every independent realm uses a different version of space, making teleporting between them an impossibility. Connecting them should not be an issue however, as only a tunnel is required. The tunnel would naturally have to pass through space, meaning it is very easy for me to do. The only problem would be to sense the realm I want to travel to and find a way to enter. From what Mike told me, there are restrictions upon entering realms, whether they are higher or lower in terms of rank. It would be impossible for me to test this out on the higher realm as it is too far away, presumably. I will have to try on other lower realms first instead. I have marked the location of the Shattered Realm in a multitude of ways already, meaning finding it again if I get lost, won’t be a problem. Then, the only thing hindering me now is how to sense the other realms.”
Sanuel thus proceeded to focus on his sensory abilities, or mostly on his eyes’ spatial sense. Detecting the oddities in space should be simple enough if he has the detection range necessary to reach them. A long period therefore followed with this arduous study. Well…long to Samuel. In the Shattered Realm, no more than a few seconds passed. The time sphere was dependent on the realm it was present in, or entirely based on the time in the Shattered Realm itself. It was impossible to know now as his control over the ‘gowla’ rune was far too shallow. Even after all his transformations and understanding towards time and space, the rune was only about 20% visible, not even nearing completion.
Upon ending his cultivation retreat, Samuel removed the dimension that was surrounding him before promptly peering into the distant night sky. The few meters of materials in the house were incapable of hindering his spatial sense at all, allowing it free passage. The main problem Samuel encountered with his wish for the technique was the vast distance which had to be perceived by him at the same time. The fact of the matter is that his mind is not powerful enough to process the data gathered from lightyears upon lightyears of space, as stars and debris filled it. This was not viable, so his solution was to have his senses only perceive certain fluctuations, those of realms and dimensions. This would allow him to find them at impressive speeds, before marking the location and creating something that can only be called a wormhole for him to pass through.
His probe of space went on for hour after hour. Soon, an entire day passed.
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“I found one. Let me not waste any time.”
Although the discovery was exciting, Samuel’s voice was still as calm as a windless lake. He seemed…broken. And as if being cheerful would hurt him; he could only remain stoic and disinterested.
Creating the wormhole was even easier than he expected, as the Dimensional Tear ability of his was enough to open one up without any modification. The moment the tear/wormhole appeared; he stepped through it. In contrast to his normal spatial tears, this one was more like a turbulent waterslide ride than anything.
“This is unnecessarily uncomfortable. I still need to make some modifications it seems. At least it’s fast, seeing as I’m almost there already.”
Samuel, upon being spat out of the wormhole, was a little confused at the site that greeted him. Floating in space above what looked like an abyss, even in the endless expanse of darkness that was the void, was thousands upon thousands of hideous tentacle monstrosities, all seemingly fighting a figure surrounded by them.
“What is going on here? I guess my method of locating realms is flawed, seeing as this is no realm. Also, what are these creatures? I feel such a strong sense of spatial essence emanated from them. There is also something off about them. Their power feels too volatile, almost as if not in harmony with the universe, in nature rather than power. It feels…chaotic. Are they some form of chaos-void amalgamated monstrosity, some eternal destroyer of worlds?”
A feminine voice abruptly sounded from the person surrounded by the monstrosities.
“Are you just going to stand there and watch, or are you going to help?”
“I don’t know you, why would I help a stranger who seems to have gotten herself into trouble. As you are fighting outside this…thing and they have you surrounded, I can confidently draw the conclusion that you attacked first. There is no need for me to help in such a situation.”
“This has nothing to do with etiquette and who I am! These are Chaoticas, the scourge of realms. As a humanoid, it is your duty to exterminate them on site. So, stop standing there and come help me. They can’t hurt me, but I can’t deal enough damage to them either. I seriously miscalculated their strength, or this would never have happened.”
“I don’t care. I’m not under an obligation to help. I will only help if I care about the person or reason for requiring help, and I have no care for what is going on here.
“Young boy, this is not the attitude an aspiring Creator should hold towards his comrades in arms, especially not in front of the bane of the Heavens. Whether you like the Heavens or not: it is an undeniable fact that it’s the sole reason why life can thrive the way it does. As such, you should help it when you can.”
An ethereal voice sounded from everywhere around him, being transmitted to his mind from a place far, far away. It slightly startled Samuel that some powerful being was observing. A being so powerful it could make every trace of his existence vanish. This was the most powerful being Samuel could ever remember meeting.
“Wait. If you have the leisure time to be watching this event, and the face to lecture me on my actions, how come you don’t act yourself? Seems quite hypocritical of you, doesn’t it?”
“I am not allowed to act in the lower dimensions. It is a restriction placed upon my being by the position I hold, but I don’t like your calling me a hypocrite. I would act if I could. You choose not to act when you can. I see nothing wrong with criticizing you, seeing your flawed mindset.”
“My flawed mindset? Let me tell you old geezer, I am the furth…”
“Stop quarreling and help me!”
“No”
“No”
Both the mysterious powerhouse and Samuel answered at the same time, finally agreeing on something. Before he could restart his rant however, one of the monstrosities finally noticed his presence and emitted a terrible screeching sound, drawing the attention of more monstrosities towards him. Without fair warning, they all lounged at him, sending tentacle upon tentacle his way. They were so powerful, so fast and so big that space, with the help of their natural talent, became their plaything, rippling around Samuel like crazy. If not for his strength, space comprehension and talent, he would be seriously injured by this attack, but unluckily for the creatures, this was not the case.
“Who gave you permission to attack me? I was going to ignore you and leave, yet you still court death. Insolent.”
As he said insolent, everything within a radius of millions of kilometers became still, except for Samuel, of course. His distortion of time went both ways, he could slow it down, and he could speed it up. That was not what this was, however. This was something different, something much more powerful and destructive in nature. A power so unimaginable to mortals, it froze anything it touched, whether it be a living creature or a particle. All had to bend to this power. A power emitted by Samuels body, being enhanced every time his heart beat, constantly becoming more powerful. One second there were countless Lovecraftian tentacle monstrosities from the void in front of him, the next, only him, the female and that abyss remained. No trace of the creatures anywhere in space. They were gone, never to be seen again. The power remained, however.
“Lady, if you don’t have the capabilities to take something on by yourself, don’t. And especially do not expect strangers to help you. Since I now exterminated all these creatures for you, I find it fair you provide me compensation. I want a star map or what it’s called, with detailed markings for where to find the different lower realms in this dimension. Don’t even attempt to say you don’t have it in your possession, as it would be a lie. You are clearly from the higher realm and have this powerhouse backing you up. It is impossible for you not to have one. So, go on, give it to me.”
Only after he finished his monologue did the pressure on Mortia disappear. Reluctance was clear on her face. What if this person had nefarious plans towards the lower realms? Would she not become a great sinner if she gave him their locations? These were questions she was asking herself.
“Mortia, give the boy what he wants. He possesses no evil intent towards the realms.”
“Are you sure?”
“Are you doubting your greatest master?”
“No, no I wouldn’t dare, oh’ great master! Here is the map you want.”
Slung at Samuel was a bracelet from which a lot of different spatial signatures were being emitted. Catching it, he was satisfied.
“With this, my testing will be much smoother. Kindness pays off in certain situations indeed. In others it will be the cause of your downfall.”
With renewed vigor at this thought, Samuel vanished into a wormhole that led to the nearest realm. Left standing there like a fool, expecting a thank you or some appreciation, was Mortia.
“He left just like that? And he possesses a power far beyond that of a person from the lower realm, why would he need my star map?”
“He needs it because he didn’t have one, naturally. His power was indeed impressive for someone of his age from the lower realm. The higher realms will shake and tremble upon his transcendence. All the great powers will want to recruit him. It might even cause a war. It will be really interesting, won’t it, Mortia?!”
Mortia was left shocked at the fact that such power was emitted from someone yet to reach the Transcendence stage, and speechless at the behavior of her master. He was a figure revered by almost everyone in the higher realm, you know? Yet he acts like a child! Why could he not possess the appropriate temperament?