Chapter 311: Meeting Dante In Person
I started thinking.
Where would I even find an Abomination that used space abilities? It couldn’t just be any random one—we’d need something with clear, noticeable spatial traits. Something that would stand out even to the System.
Honestly, I needed one for myself too. If I could bind it with my Soul Shackle, maybe it would help speed up my own understanding of space. Having access to the memories and instincts of such a creature would be invaluable.
I turned to Azalea.
"Hey," I asked, "do you think there’s any Abomination with space abilities here?"
She raised an eyebrow at me. "By here , you mean inside this realm?"
I nodded.
She shook her head gently. "No. You’ll have to go outside. Into the real world."
I sighed, but I had expected that answer.
Instantly, my mind went to Arkas. If anyone could help me locate one, it was him. His knowledge of Abominations was on another level.
Before I could speak again, I felt something shift around us.
The Essence in the chamber stirred, flowing toward Steve. It swirled gently around his body, then surged inward like it had found its rightful place.
"He’s made his choice," I murmured.
The energy kept streaming into him from all sides. This was it, the process that would evolve both his class and his race. His entire being was transforming.
I found myself thinking back to my own evolution. Mine had been different. My class had evolved, sure but my race hadn’t just advanced a step. It had changed completely. From human to... something else. Something called [Executor (Human)].
I still didn’t fully understand what that meant or what kind of effects it would have in the long run. But the shift had been permanent and powerful.
I exhaled and looked at Azalea again.
"How long do you think this will take?"
She gave a small shrug. "Normally one to two hours. If he got something rare or unusual, maybe an extra hour on top."
I nodded. "Alright. You keep an eye on him. I’m going out to find an Abomination with space abilities."
She blinked. "For Steve?"
"No," I said with a small smile. "For myself. I don’t think he’d want one jammed into him anyway."
She returned the smile and gave a nod. "Come back in three hours then."
"Will do."
With a flick of my hand, I opened a swirling portal beside me and stepped through.
The world on the other side greeted me with total darkness. I was high above the ocean. Faint starlight flickered in the clouds above me.
"You’ve got to be kidding me," I muttered. "First the desert, now this?"
I stretched out my perception, searching for land. The moment I locked onto it, my wings flared wide and I blasted forward through the sky with a thunderous boom.
I flew higher, avoiding attention. No one needed to see me right now.
After a few minutes, I reached the edge of a city. I dropped low, slipped through the shadows, and snatched a phone from someone distracted. It wasn’t hard.
I called Edgar first and gave him my new location.
He picked up and immediately started ranting. "You know I’m not your personal servant, right?!"
I ignored his complaints. "Just tell Arkas to get here."
Before he could continue, I hung up.
I hovered alone in the sky, just outside the city limits. The night was quiet—no sound, no wind, only the soft glow of distant starlight above and the dim city lights far below.
My mind drifted back to what I’d felt earlier while meditating on the spatial ripples from the core. There had been something strange—something still, yet deep. The more I thought about it, the more it felt like space itself wasn’t just empty...
Then suddenly, I felt it.
A faint disturbance in the Essence, right behind me.
I didn’t turn. My perception had already spread out in all directions like a web. There was no one there, not within the range of my normal senses. But this fluctuation was real.
My brows furrowed.
Silently, I activated [Absolute Domain].
The violet Essence inside me stirred. It churned in my core and poured outward like mist, expanding from my chest and flowing through the sky. The entire area was now under my influence.
That’s when I saw it.
An anomaly.
A faint silhouette formed within my domain—a shadow of an old man. It wasn’t a physical presence, more like an imprint... a ghost caught in the weave of space and Essence.
But I recognized it instantly.
Dante.
Only one person could leave such a hidden signature and still affect the fabric of space within my domain.
I kept my face calm, my breathing steady. No sudden movements.
"So, you did notice me," came a dry, hoarse voice behind me.
I didn’t turn. My expression grew darker, but I didn’t let it show in my voice.
"Yes," I replied evenly.
Without delay, I activated [Psynapse Fracture].
A sharp pulse surged through my mind as two fractures lit up. My perception grew even sharper. And yet—even with that—I still couldn’t see him. But I could feel him more clearly now. Whatever he was using, it wasn’t normal concealment.
Essence began circulating through my body automatically, my instincts preparing for anything. I channeled some of it into my wings, just in case I needed to escape in a flash.
Then he spoke again.
"I’m sure you already guessed who I am. So I won’t waste time. Why did you call Arkas?"
My mind snapped into gear.
’He knows I called Arkas?’ That meant only one thing, Edgar had sent him.
My shoulders relaxed slightly, just enough to not seem hostile.
"I’m looking for a specific kind of Abomination," I said.
He paused, as if weighing my words.
"Oh? That’s new. What kind?"
I decided to twist the truth a little, not give him everything.
"I’m looking for an Abomination that uses space-based abilities," I answered. "I want to study how it manipulates space to refine my own understanding."
Silence stretched between us for a few seconds, until he finally spoke again.
"You have control over space?"
The question caught me off guard. It wasn’t mocking, but it wasn’t impressed either. I hesitated for a second before replying.
"Yes. I’ve started exploring it. I want one of my governing laws to be based on space."
A chuckle echoed around me.
It wasn’t loud, but it rubbed against my nerves the wrong way. It wasn’t laughter—it was disbelief, maybe even amusement. I didn’t like it.
My eyes narrowed as I focused on the silhouette. There was no hostility in his tone yet, but I could sense something... off.
"Alright," he said after a pause. "Why don’t you show me?"
My heartbeat quickened.
He continued, "If you impress me, maybe I’ll take you to an Abomination that uses space. One you’re looking for."
That was it. I finally turned around to face the spot where he stood or where his presence lingered in my domain. Even now, he didn’t step into view. Just a silhouette... a vague shape that didn’t belong to the space around it.
’Maybe he’s just really ugly,’ I thought dryly.
I remembered catching a brief glimpse of a very old man back when I met the Emperor. Could that have been him? No way to be sure.
I raised my hand and pointed straight at him.
"[Space Lock]," I said calmly.
The command flowed from my voice into the Essence, and my domain pulsed in response. Runes shimmered. Space around the figure condensed and formed into a perfect cube—tight, structured, like a prison built from the laws of the world.
For a second, I thought it worked.
But then I saw it, the shimmer of his hand lifted lazily. He poked the cube like it was made of paper.
Crack!
The lock shattered.
"Weak," he said. "Anything else?"
His tone wasn’t harsh, just deeply unimpressed.
I didn’t answer. Instead, I raised my hand again and cast the same skill—but this time, I called upon the [Equivalence Clause].
Runes surged in the air. The violet glow of my domain intensified as the law patterns floated in front of me. They shimmered, shifting rapidly, like searching for something they could trade.
’I need more stability. More weight. Let’s give something up.’
I tried to sacrifice the dynamic nature of space completely—to freeze every shifting edge of the cube. But the runes started trembling violently, pushing back against me.
’Too much. I can’t control that yet.’
So I adjusted.
Instead of sacrificing all movement, I gave up just the bending aspect of space. That made it simpler. Rigid. No warping, no soft corners, just pure, unbending edges.
The skill responded instantly. The cube began forming again but this time, it felt solid. Stronger. Denser. Like a fortress had locked around the man’s silhouette.
It shimmered brighter, holding firm around him.
I felt the pressure of it in my chest, the strength of my domain anchoring every side of that cube into place.
"Ohhh..." I heard him mutter, clearly intrigued.
Then his voice picked up, each line sharper than the last.
"How did you do that?"
"Is this your talent?"
"Or is it your class?"
"To be able to tune one aspect to reinforce another... that’s rare. Very rare."
His words weren’t calm anymore—they were excited. His voice echoed like he was shouting, bouncing off the edges of my domain.
"It’s not a class skill... doesn’t feel like an ability either," he continued. "So it must be a trait. An evolution trait maybe. Or something even stranger."
I stayed quiet.
His silhouette raised a hand again and tapped the cube.