The circle pulsed softly beneath my feet, every rune aligned and stable.
I didn’t wait.
"Vivi," I called out.
There was a small splash behind me, followed by a streak of violet as she shot out of the pool and hovered beside me, droplets of essence trailing from her wings.
"Done already?" she asked.
"Yes."
Her eyes brightened.
"Then let’s go."
I stepped into the center of the formation and extended my hand. Violet essence flowed outward, sinking into the runes. One by one, they lit up, the entire circle awakening as layers of space, sealing, and time laws activated together.
The air distorted.
Then—
The portal opened. A familiar tunnel of flowing light stretched before us, stable and contained within the layered protections I had built.
"Stay close," I said.
She nodded and flew onto my shoulder.
We stepped in.
The world shifted instantly. The tunnel carried us forward, currents of spatial energy moving around us like a controlled river. The sealing laws formed a stable boundary, allowing us to exist within it without being torn apart, while the threads of time laws accelerated our movement.
For a few moments, everything remained steady. Then I felt it.
A subtle shift. Vivi’s presence weakened.
I turned my head slightly.
Her flames had dimmed.
"You alright?" I asked.
She didn’t respond immediately.
Instead, she tightened her grip on my shoulder.
"...I feel weird," she said slowly.
Her voice lacked its usual energy.
"What kind of weird?"
She hesitated.
"Far," she said. "I feel... too far from Vaythos."
I frowned.
Her essence flickered again, weaker this time.
"We need to hurry," she said, her voice dropping further. "If I stay like this for too long..."
She paused.
"...I might die."
My expression hardened.
"Then hold on."
The tunnel surged. I pushed more essence into the formation, forcing the transit to accelerate further. The currents around us intensified, the space ahead collapsing faster as we closed the distance.
Vivi’s form flickered again.
"Hurry..." she whispered.
The next moment—
We arrived.
The tunnel collapsed behind us as we stepped onto the isolated island on Abor.
Without wasting a second, I moved.
Space folded. We appeared inside the pocket space.
The massive world core of Abor floated before us, far larger than the ones from Peanu or Sukra. Its surface churned with dense, powerful essence, its presence alone pressing against the surroundings.
"Vivi," I said sharply. "Now."
She barely responded. Her small body lifted from my shoulder and drifted forward, unsteady but determined.
As she approached the core, her form trembled.
Then—
Her head began to expand.
Larger.
And larger.
But this time, the size of the core dwarfed even that.
"Damn it..." she muttered weakly. "It’s too big..."
Her flames flickered violently.
"Just eat it," I said.
She opened her mouth.
With effort—
She bit down.
And began devouring the core piece by piece. The entire pocket space trembled. Outside, across Abor, the sky darkened as a dense violet haze began spreading rapidly across the planet.
Inside—
Vivi’s body ignited as the transformation began. The transformation did not slow this time.
It surged. The moment Vivi began devouring the core, her body ignited with a far deeper shade of violet than before. The flames surrounding her intensified, no longer flickering lightly but roaring with dense, concentrated essence.
Her form expanded. Not just her head, her entire body.
Feathers of violet flame stretched outward, growing sharper, more defined, as her wings widened and her presence filled the entire pocket space. The weak, flickering glow from moments ago vanished completely, replaced by something overwhelming.
She bit down again.
Then again.
Until finally—
With one massive motion—
She opened her beak wide and swallowed the remaining core in a single gulp.
The space trembled violently. Vivi’s body expanded further, her phoenix form rising higher and higher until she stood nearly twelve feet tall, her wings spreading wide as violet flames cascaded from her form like a living storm.
Her eyes burned brighter than ever before.
At the same time—
Something within me broke open.
Laws and their comprehension surged into my mind at once. Space twisted in new ways. Time unfolded with deeper clarity. Elements merged, separated, reformed.
Each law expanded beyond what I had previously understood. The sheer volume of it forced my eyes shut. I exhaled slowly and let go of everything else.
I sank into it instantly. Inside my body, the Dawn Core reacted.
The entire structure trembled before expanding once more, its size increasing significantly as the islands shifted outward. The volcanoes representing my laws grew alongside it, becoming larger, more stable, their surfaces glowing with intensified energy.
The silver currents within the core surged faster, brighter, more refined than before.
Outside—
Across the entire planet of Abor, a massive violet shield shimmered into existence. It rose silently, covering the world in a protective layer of essence before slowly fading from sight, becoming invisible but ever-present.
Back inside the pocket space—
Vivi stood tall, her expanded form radiating immense power. And I remained still beneath it all. Eyes closed. Mind deep within the laws that now unfolded before me.
Time passed without measure as I remained immersed in the expanding understanding of my laws. The surge of knowledge eventually stabilized, the overwhelming flood settling into something I could grasp and control.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
A faint glow lingered in my vision as the system window appeared before me.
[Laws Upgraded]
[ Level 4 - Major Law of Space, Major Law of Time, Major Law of Elemental Convergence, Major Law of Devour, Major Law of Stormfire, Major Law of Froststorm, Major Law of Assimilation, Major Law of Polarity, Major Law of Resonance, Major Law of Sealing ]
Multiple laws had advanced again. Their stability, their efficiency, their responsiveness to my will, everything had improved.
I exhaled softly and closed the window.
Above me, Vivi let out an excited sound.
"I’m bigger!"
I looked up.
Her phoenix form still hovered in the air, now far larger and far more refined than before, her violet flames burning with a deeper, richer intensity.
Then, almost immediately, her form began to shrink. The massive phoenix compressed smoothly, her body condensing until she returned to her small, palm-sized form. She fluttered down and landed lightly on my shoulder.
"That form is inconvenient," she said matter-of-factly.
Then, after a brief pause, she added in a softer tone,
"...Thank you."
I smiled faintly.
"You’re welcome."
I shifted slightly.
"How is the connection?"
She closed her eyes for a moment, sensing it.
"It’s stable," she replied. "All four worlds are connected properly now. The flow has settled."
She tilted her head slightly.
"And Abor is... strong. I’ll be able to slowly introduce its higher-quality essence into Vaythos," she continued. "Not all at once. That would destabilize things. But gradually... I can raise the overall quality of the planet."
"And the laws?"
"The same," she said. "Abor’s law density is higher. Over time, I can let those patterns seep into Vaythos as well."
I nodded.
"That’s good."
With that, I stepped forward and left the pocket space.
In the next instant, we stood once again on the isolated island where the teleportation circle rested quietly at its center. The ocean stretched endlessly around us.
I looked at the formation.
"This place needs protection," I said.
Vivi followed my gaze.
"Because of the portal?"
"Yes. This is now a direct link between worlds. We can’t have anyone stumbling upon it."
She nodded.
"I’ll handle it."
She lifted from my shoulder and hovered above the island.
Her control spread outward. The air shifted. A dense mist began forming around the island, rolling in from all directions until the entire landmass was hidden from sight. From above or afar, it would look like nothing more than an empty patch of ocean.
Then the ground trembled slightly. At the edges of the island, massive stone figures began to rise.
Giant statues.
Each one towering, humanoid in shape but carved with elemental patterns. They positioned themselves around the perimeter, standing guard like ancient sentinels.
"They will watch," Vivi said.
I nodded once. Then I raised my hand.
Space responded instantly.
A subtle field spread outward from the island, bending the surrounding space. Anyone attempting to approach would find themselves redirected without realizing it, their path gently shifted away from the island no matter how they tried to reach it.
The island vanished from reality. I lowered my hand.
"That should do it."