Chapter 735: Land Area of The Limitless Void
Northern already had the details he needed. He had, after all, surveyed the place before; he had a rough idea of how he wanted the whole place to be.
The Void Palace marked the beginning of the Limitless Void, well, in a way. Northern considered it more of a center than an actual beginning.
The Limitless Void for now had no beginning and also no end. But the landmark that it started with, however, was the Void Palace.
The palace stood perched atop the tallest mountain in the scape, its jagged and uneven silhouette resembling the visor of a gigantic demonic knight.
Eerie azure lights spilled from its slick, horizon-cut windows, casting ghostly beams that illuminated the dark mountain beneath.
At the base of this mountain was a foreboding coppice. The blackened, twisted trees appeared as though they'd been torched by an inferno of Black Flames, their charred remains frozen mid-scream.
This haunting grove acted as a grim prelude to the first mountain of the Red Mine.
The Red Mine consisted majorly of three large mountains; although they were not as tall as that which held the Palace, the mountains of the Red Mine boasted more robustness, with a single mountain spreading over three thousand kilometers.
The soil and rock gleamed a deep crimson, making the terrain look as though it bled endlessly from unseen wounds.
At the edge of the third mountain, the stark vividness of the Red Mine gave way to something different—a vast lake of still, dark water, shimmering faintly under the omnipresent dim light of the Limitless Void.
This lake rested in the shallow valley formed between the Red Mine and the imposing Glazier Mountain.
But before the waters could lull one into tranquility, there lay the ominous carcass of a massive creature. The beast's bones jutted out from the ground like the ribs of a fallen colossus, their white marred with streaks of black decay.
Time and the weight of the earth were already claiming it, as some parts of the skeleton had begun to sink into the cracked, blood-red soil.
Beyond this grim sight, the icy majesty of Glazier Mountain loomed.
The mountain rose tall and imposing, its peaks encrusted with blue-white ice that shimmered with an almost unnatural brilliance. Glacial sheets draped over its flanks, flowing down in slow, frozen cascades.
Unlike the bloodied tones of the Red Mine, Glazier Mountain was a realm of cold purity, its chill seemingly seeping into the surrounding air.
Past the icy expanse of frozen mountain, the landscape transformed again.
Here, the fiery wrath of nature revealed itself. A volcanic mountain stood in stark contrast to the frozen beauty that preceded it.
Rivers of molten lava coursed down its rugged slopes, cutting glowing paths through the darkened rock. The air here was thick with ash and sulfur, the ground trembling faintly under the mountain's restless heart.
And after the volcanic mountain, the world unraveled into desolation.
A vast, dark plain stretched endlessly under oppressive gray skies. The land was barren and jagged, its surface cracked and dotted with black hilltops that rose like scars from the earth. Twisted black trees, stripped bare of leaves, clawed at the sky, their forms unnervingly human in their skeletal appearance.
This was all there was to the Limitless Void... for now.
Northern had already walked the length and breadth of this place at his leisure times except the newest terrain which just came around yesterday.
Also, thanks to Mind's Eye, he could easily gloss over everything with a satellite-like vantage point.
As for where he wanted to start his building, the point that would mark the heart of his forge... Northern was still walking with the three humans. They were gasping for their breath, panting and sweating like they were walking through the bridges of ruthless inferno.
The poor part was, they had not even gotten to the volcanic terrain yet.
Northern glanced at them and shook his head in disappointment. How could they be so weak?
After a few moments, it did not matter that they were feeling so hot and tired. Perhaps the three of them had been deluded to think that the chilling wind of the frozen mountain would be a friend to them because the Red Mine was a temperate region.
But they were wrong.
The cold assaulted them with biting intensity. They hugged themselves and shivered nonetheless, their upper and lower teeth smacking against each other uncontrollably. The perspiration on their faces instantly froze and their hands were whitening.
They looked in front of them; Northern wore a thin white fabric that was dancing happily in the wind. He did not look at all like he was treading the path of such an unfair cold.
After a while, they arrived at the volcanic region.
As they crossed into the volcanic region, the air transformed abruptly. The frigid winds of Glazier Mountain disappeared, replaced by an oppressive heat that bore down on them like a heavy, suffocating blanket.
The ground beneath their feet became hot to the touch, forcing the three humans to hop uncomfortably in an attempt to keep from burning their soles.
Rivers of molten lava snaked through the cracked, darkened earth, glowing with a fierce orange-red hue that cast flickering light onto their sweat-slicked faces.
Geysers of steam hissed from the ground without warning, and the air was thick with the acrid scent of sulfur, burning their throats with every shallow breath.
The three humans-tired, shivering, and now sweltering-groaned in protest.
They wanted to speak, ask the Void King how exactly he was resisting the harsh temperature of the Limitless Void. But none of them dared.
Aside from the fact that they couldn't even conceive of just calling and talking to Northern casually like nothing was wrong, their hearts quaked heavily with intense fear for the boy that walked before them.
They stumbled forward, trying to keep pace.
The volcanic mountain loomed ahead, its peak hidden by thick clouds of ash and smoke.
Rivers of molten rock glowed faintly in the distance, creating an eerie, shifting pattern of light and shadow across the desolate terrain.
Finally, Northern stopped at a small plateau overlooking a wide, flat expanse surrounded by jagged rock formations.
Here, the heat was less oppressive, though the ground still radiated warmth. The three humans collapsed onto the ashen earth, gasping for air.
"This is the place."
Northern announced, his voice cutting through their exhaustion like a blade.
The three looked up at him in confusion.
"What place?"
He gestured around them, his eyes scanning the terrain with a calculating precision.
"The forge will begin here."
They exchanged uneasy glances, unsure if they had misheard him. Oland, with a sweat-
drenched face and trembling hands, finally spoke-with caution.
"Here? In the middle of this... furnace?"