“That doesn’t mean there’s nothing there,” his mentor reminded him wisely. “Rhufija’s nest was hidden behind illusory and deterring arrays.”

  “We should investigate,” Silvia suggested. “Maybe we have been looking the wrong way this entire time?”

  “That would make me feel so bad.” The panthergirl groaned in frustration.

  “Can you guide us to where this map goes without having it open?” Asterios asked the dark-skinned lady.

  “Of course.” Abyss nodded.

  “Let’s fly, then.” He nodded back with gratitude.

  Pocketing the token, Asterios shifted again, this time without turning into literal darkness. Helping the ladies up, he took off into the air. As he sped up at a sharp angle, Abyss accompanied them on the side effortlessly. It almost looked like the enigmatic woman was attached to their orbit somehow, moving exactly as fast as they were, but they could tell she was simply matching their pace.

  If that wasn’t an incredible flex, then they didn’t know what was.

  The village below them grew smaller and smaller as they gained altitude. The further they went, the stronger the pressure around them became. Asterios knew that it could start being rather dangerous at a certain distance, at least in Kraedorion, as his studies did include general knowledge about higher layers of the sky and the space behind it. It wasn’t impossible to reach with magic and artifacts, but they currently held none of those specialized items.

  Even so, he was ready to protect his beloved with his might, bringing them as far as they could go. He didn’t know if Umbra’s realm followed the same principles, but it had to have its edge at some point. And in case they wouldn’t be able to continue, Abyss surely shouldn’t have such limitations, already having mentioned before how she traveled the space between worlds.

  For now, he had his energies at the ready and continued to shield the girls as they ascended. The village was now a small dot the size of one’s nail, almost disappearing in the dark terrain. It couldn’t go much farther, could it? Or did it span over days worth of travel, perhaps?

  “Stop—”

  DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN.

  Asterios heard Abyss call to them, but before he had a chance to react, he slammed into an invisible barrier at full speed. The ladies yelped in shock and surprise as the loud noise of a metal gong echoed around them. Pretty much all of them flew off Ast’s back and smacked into the concealed obstruction, which was now slightly more noticeable as a golden pulse traveled outwards from the point of impact in a circle similar to that made by a rock thrown into a silent lake. Thankfully, Selene created a wide platform for them to land, including Asterios.

  “What happened?” Miria shook her head with a wince. “Did we hit something?”

  The mocha-skinned woman descended next to them. “My apologies. I can’t believe I miscalculated the position of the barrier. It shouldn’t be this close to the surface. At least that’s how I remember it from the outside. Perhaps this is another unusual change that took place during my absence.”

  “Is the seal shrinking?” Selene wondered out loud, bringing their foothold higher.

  She held her arms out and stopped when her hands touched something that she couldn’t see.

  “Even you weren’t able to spot it?” Silvia asked Asterios.

  “Now that I’m putting more effort into it, there is a slight shimmer ahead, but nothing emitting enough spiritual energy to equal a powerful realm-spanning seal that requires the support of numerous condensed clusters,” he replied confusedly. “Maybe that person is just this good at hiding his work.”

  “No. This thing gives off a completely different aura,” Abyss said with a tense note. “Step back.”

  Spotting the evil-looking tome making an appearance, Selene hastily moved them quite a bit away, not willing to risk it. Asterios took the position in front of everyone while she readied to bring up any additional protection they could need. Something told them that their friendly goddess wasn’t going to hold back for the sake of the realm this time.

  And surely, they were suddenly hit with such a powerful spiritual pressure that Selene’s platform flickered briefly before she stabilized it, the others flinching from the mighty assault. Their entire bodies prickled like in an icy cold climate as they watched Abyss hold onto her grimoire, quietly chanting some incantation in a language that reminded them of cracking rocks.

  With a loud thunder, a violet splinter appeared in the air behind her, rivaling an at least ten-story-high tower. Then, fingers thick as entire houses and as galaxy-patterned as the inside of Abyss’ gravity-defying hat pushed out of the breach, all six of them, three per side. They tore the crack open, but from their position, Ast’s team couldn’t see what exactly it revealed as they stared at the scary crevice from behind.

  Whatever it was, though, it brought forth a massive chisel while emitting ear-splitting shrieking noises that forced them to cover their ears. The starry arms the size of a warehouse positioned the tool made of pure seething and seeping void energy that dripped off it against the invisible barrier. A hammer of the same design and much bigger size followed it.

  When that hammer moved back, everyone knew what for.

  Closing her fist angrily, Abyss commanded the cosmic horror to strike true, and strike it did. The combination of the barrier’s echoing gong and the hammer striking the chisel was so powerful that Asterios and the ladies could hear only painful ringing in their skulls. No amount of covering their ears or silencing their surroundings helped them. The noise was transmitted spiritually at this level.

  A massive wave of golden radiance launched into all sides from the point of impact, and for a moment, it looked like it would hold. But the arm finished preparing another strike and struck with even more power. This time, the chisel went right through the tough surface. Immediately, cracks shot to the sides as if it had struck glass, and a moment later, they surged everywhere.

  The entire sky was in pieces, as far as their eyes could see.

  In the next second, it was gone.

  Golden particles fell from above as the whole canopy spread over the realm shattered. Asterios and the girls shielded their eyes from the initial wave and peered into the sky again.

  And their breaths hitched at the very same time.

  They were met with a humongous golden web of magical arrays, formations, circles, sigils, glyphs, and patterns. There was no doubt that this was the true seal locking Abyss’ world out of the big universe. It felt so wrong simply existing above the dark dimension, its yellow radiance now falling onto the shadowy surface and bathing it in a faint glow.

  But that wasn’t all.

  Somewhere between their position and that magical screen, what looked like massive passages made of white blocks extended in every direction. They always connected at right angles, creating a cross-like framework around the world.

  One of those geometrical branches ran down not that far away from the spot Asterios and the others had paused at, descending into a grand fortress of the same style and design. Cubes poked out of it as if randomly combined, but they definitely had a meaning.

  Additionally, a gigantic empty tunnel ran through the very middle of the curious structure, perfectly circular in this case. It reminded everyone of the static chasm, but on a smaller scale. That one extended for days, while the one before them could be traversed in minutes.

  More of these fortresses could be spotted at regular intervals over the realm-spanning network of white blocks.

  “So the seal is visible from the inside too,” Abyss mused, banishing her helper back into its resting place. “That bastard covered it up so the natives know nothing about what is happening.”

  “It looks like we really were looking the wrong way.” Tina let out a wry chuckle. “These weird geometric buildings seem important.”

  They heard a snap, experienced a strong pull, and the giant facility was above them. As their heads shot to the only person capable of literally displacing all of them without breaking Selene’s techniques, Abyss simply stared back cooly and shrugged.

  “We can examine it sooner now,” she said without any care in the world. “I think I can see the entrance.”

  Without waiting for them, the moody woman flew towards the white structure. Asterios shook his head while the ladies laughed at their bizarre life, and the fox lady launched their platform after their guide. They soared between various protrusions for a minute or two before spotting Abyss waiting for them on one of the flat surfaces. In front of her stood a familiar gate, one that resembled those of the buried facilities.

  Everyone hopped off the floating spiritual panel and gathered before the impressive entrance. Asterios quickly found a circular niche fitting the mysterious token and shared a nod with his party. Getting ready to run or fight, he slotted it into the hole.

  A golden ring appeared around it, glowing brightly on the white surface. Then another. And another.

  They stopped at a total of eight circles, and the process paused. A few seconds later, two more joined the formation but flashed red instead. Asterios instantly shifted and covered his mates, a powerful wave of light comparable to that of the spiritual cluster shooting out of the gate. He withheld its assault for thirty seconds before it faded. As he and the girls peeked back at the entrance, they found the token on the ground and emitting faint smoke.

  “Well. It seems we might need those two last pieces before gaining access to whatever this place is,” he commented tiredly. “Unless Abyss is willing to create a shortcut once more.”

  The dark-skinned lady picked the badge up and held it out to him. “Even if I did, there’s a high chance it’s not merely a gate key but something much more. We might require it inside. A fully charged version of it.”

  “You can’t have everything.” Silvia patted Ast’s scales reassuringly. “Let’s take a rest to recover from all the experiences we’ve just gone through, and we can fetch the remaining fragments at full strength. My ears are still ringing a lot. I’m fairly sure we understand each other only thanks to our shared thoughts.”

  The girls chuckled while nodding in agreement, while Abyss offered them a quiet apology. Asterios glanced at Umbra and smiled warmly.

  They had to be close to their objective now.

  Chapter 24

  First Coming of Lord and Savior

  Moving closer to the edge of the marble platform, the ladies set up a simple picnic blanket padded with comfy cushions on the hard floor. They gathered at the very end, brought out some refreshments, and sat down with their legs hanging off the ledge. Being so high in the sky, the view from up there was more than impressive. Especially now that the golden seal surrounding the realm was visible, its light adding some glow to the previously dark realm.

  “The monsters down there must be in panic,” Tina commented while taking a bite of a sandwich, courtesy of Miria’s cooking, filled with lots of love and affection. “Most if not all had never before experienced such a sight.”

  “That is certainly true,” Umbra confirmed. “The last incident on a comparable scale was most likely Kaguya’s arrival and the following war. It shook the very foundations of our dimension. I have a feeling this might be another occurrence in our entire history that could bring the residents together, united against an unknown. They won’t be able to say if it’s a threat or boon yet.”

  Asterios hummed to himself thoughtfully, letting Silvia offer him a bunch of baked potato strips, accepting her cordial feeding with a warm smile. “Now that I look at it, aren’t we right above the facility viewed as the holy grounds by the Darklings?”

  Everyone followed his gaze and spotted the faraway image of the ruined terrain with some white fragments poking out of the rubble.

  “You are right.” Tina nodded thoughtfully. “Perhaps that’s how they came into possession of this token? Could it have come from here?”

  They glanced over their shoulders and examined the closed entrance. It bore some marks of external struggle, but Ast’s party knew how decently durable this mineral was with the golden arrays active. Selene frowned softly and got up, the others watching their sister-mate walk up to some imprints.

  She crouched to brush her fingers over the scarred floor. “The way these traces look… It’s not far from the spiritual arts our kin uses… Naturally, many spells and techniques could be based on the same principle, so it’s not something I can ascertain, but…”

  “It might have been Kaguya’s doing,” Miria finished for her.

  “How?” Asterios rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

  “Maybe she somehow made it past the illusory barrier and tried forcing her way in?” Althea theorized. “No one can be sure she hasn’t made an appearance between the layers. What if the scene of her arrival that the residents share in their stories isn’t the first time she was transferred here by Asterios’ father?”

  “I could see him pulling her out and trying again after she described these things to him,” the fox lady agreed. “If he was as careful as we saw him be throughout the memories, I wouldn’t put it past him to choose not to mess with a spell this massive.”

  “So, she attacked the door, and then what?” Tina tilted her head curiously. “Hit it hard enough for the badge to be shattered and fall to the surface? Or get thrown away after she couldn’t do anything with it?”

  “Sounds like a plausible explanation,” Abyss commented. “We would need to visit more of the suspended fortresses to confirm it.”

  “Speaking of which, am I the only one who thinks the position of the underground hubs is not accidental?” Asterios pointed out. “I can’t say anything about the other ones, but we are right above it. This seems intentional, and I wonder if the other ones we hit are under these structures too. It might be related to the clusters and the seal.”

  “Professor would have loved to crack into this.” Tina let out a quiet giggle. “She will be so disappointed at missing such a fun puzzle.”

  “I’m sure Master will be able to make it up to her, right, Master?” Miria grinned at Asterios knowingly.

  Smirking softly, he gently twirled her fluffy tail between his fingers. “Definitely. She has to be working hard to show how useful she is, so it’s not even a question. I’ll need to spend some time with her and Bryn.”

  “That won’t be an issue after we return.” Silvia smiled at him mysteriously. “Our winged friend will have the perfect opportunity for that.”

  He didn’t ask for any details, knowing that they would have shared those if it was something he should know. Instead, this definitely was one of the situations where the ladies hoped to keep their mouths shut until the arrival of what they were talking about. So, Asterios didn’t mind waiting to witness whatever scheme his girls were cooking up behind his back. Even if sometimes a tad troublesome, they were always enjoyable and with his best interest in mind.

  Hopefully, it wouldn’t turn into too big of a deal.

  Turning his face up for a change, he stared at the shimmering shield far above them. “You previously said that it wasn’t possible to do anything to the seal from the outside, Abyss. But, since we are now inside and even uncovered what looks like the framework upholding it, can’t you just destroy it from here or something? Using those powerful spells?”

  She faced him, literally, as she floated before them all in a space a bit of distance from the ledge.

  “I wouldn’t think destroying something of uncertain role and function would be this high on your list of first choices,” the dark-skinned lady replied matter-of-factly.

  “Honestly, it most likely wouldn’t have even made it to the last spot, but we are in completely different leagues, aren’t we?” Asterios scratched his cheek as he looked at the powerful entity currently accompanying them.

  “You and your silly persistence in perceiving me as some kind of a goddess.” Abyss shook her head slowly, which appeared closer to turning it repeatedly instead. “I’m just a fairly powerful individual, and that’s all. The fact that I was able to nurture a small realm doesn’t mean I can annihilate another if I wished to. There is also the matter of my affinity.”

  “The light dispels darkness, yes, but doesn’t it work the other way too? The darkness consumes the light, no? Or is he just that much stronger than you?” he inquired, stroking his chin.

  “I’m afraid you are only half correct. The light is truly advantageous here as it does repel darkness, or to be more precise, banishes it from the space it exists in,” she explained in response. “But, I can see why you would be confused after your recent actions. Your darkness is different because you are a True Dragon, even one of a primordial line coming down from the black progenitor. You are most likely the only one able to consume the light, and anything else.”

  “Does that mean Master is stronger than you?” Miria’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she peered at the almost almighty entity in front of them.

  Thankfully, Abyss didn’t seem to take offense at her words.

  “Perhaps not at the moment, but in the future? His potential would be vast as just a normal True Dragon, but a being at least twice as capable? It’s hardly possible to gauge. If his kin wasn’t so proud and self-centered, the universe might have been in much more trouble. His people are already feared in multiple worlds, but if they shared his studious and improving mindset, barely anyone would be able to stand in their way,” the ancient woman shared her thoughts.

  “That sounds both like a compliment and a scary thought.” Asterios chuckled warmly. “Some old people in Kraedorion would piss themselves after just imagining this.”

  “Well, they might need to start getting used to the idea because what do you think will happen when we start popping out your little Dragons, my Lord?” Selene grinned impishly, bringing quite a few blushes onto the faces of the more timid ladies, turning one or two completely crimson.