-CRAAACCCCKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Huh? A Dimensional Rift? Did we arrive already? I closed my eyes for a second there, and we are already here?
A Dimensional Traveller named Henry questioned as he looked at the enormous Dimensional Rift before him. The journey had felt so smooth that he had barely noticed the passage of time.
< Negative. Due to a sudden Spatial-Temporal Storm, the destination seemed to have changed. >
< Running Analysis to determine the current situation. >
Spatial-Temporal Storm? Are they common? What is the probability of me running into one?
< Negative. They are extremely rare, such that only 0.013% of people throughout the Infinite Dimensions ever encounter one and live to tell the tale. >
Are you saying I am so lucky that I encountered one during my first ever travel like this..?
Henry could not help but feel speechless. Out of all the possibilities that could have happened during his first dimensional journey, this was probably among the worst.
< .... >
What? Are you laughing behind my back now too??
< Negative. >
You are awakening more and more emotions, Inara. But I don’t seem to dislike it.
A faint smile appeared on Henry’s face as he spoke.
Perhaps because Inara was embarrassed, she immediately changed the topic in an unusually professional manner.
< The appearance of the Spatial-Temporal Storm was too abrupt. I didn’t even detect its earlier manifestation signals. Otherwise, the route could have been adjusted. >
So, you are saying someone deliberately created a Spatial-Temporal Storm and moved me here...?
< The probability of that happening is around 97%. >
Hearing that answer, Henry’s expression became slightly more serious.
After thinking for a few moments, Henry decreased his body size and became the same size as a normal human.
< It might be dangerous to enter such a place. It could be a trap. >
It will be fine. If that being has the power to create a Spatial-Temporal Storm, then killing me would not be that hard. There would be no need to go through so much trouble just to lure me here. Let’s find out the reason why we are here in the first place.
< .... >
Of course, Inara knew that.
She was once the most Superior Dimensional Intelligence, an existence that held the knowledge of countless dimensions throughout the Infinite Dimensions.
But due to certain incidents, every piece of knowledge she possessed had been lost, and her Existence Level had fallen all the way to rock bottom.
Along the way, she met Henry through a fateful encounter, and after that she slowly began to like him more and more. As time passed, that affection gradually transformed into an almost excessive desire to protect him whenever possible.
Thus, she knew it might be selfish.
But Henry needed to protect his life at all costs.
More so when he was using his real body this time around.
Normally, Henry travelled through dimensions using various methods that ensured his safety even if something unexpected occurred. However, this journey was different, and any mistake could have real consequences.
Therefore, while Henry calmly observed the unfamiliar dimension before him, Inara quietly pushed her capabilities to their limits, intruding into every place she could reach and gathering every piece of information she could obtain about this dimension as quickly as possible.
No matter what secrets this place held, she intended to uncover them before they could become a threat to Henry.
Let’s descend. There are quite a number of Ocean Beasts I can sense beneath that ocean. What’s more, there are some rather interesting ones as well. I think I’ll go and have a talk with them.
< There is also a Vampire below. >
Do you think I didn’t notice? I want to kill that filthy thing right away, but I just arrived here. I can’t start a massacre the moment I show up, can I? They’ll brand me as the enemy immediately, and that would make things unnecessarily troublesome.
Although his words sounded casual, a faint trace of disgust flashed through Henry’s eyes when he mentioned the Vampire.
Still, trying to remain as positive as possible, Henry began descending toward the ocean below.
He deliberately took his time.
Partly because there was no reason to rush, and partly because he wanted Inara to finish gathering information before he reached the battlefield.
The more information they had, the easier it would be to understand why he had been brought here in the first place.
And as he slowly descended, his body, completely unaffected by the surrounding Spatial-Temporal fluctuations, gradually came into everyone’s view.
The moment they saw him, more than a hundred thousand beasts instantly lost consciousness.
It was not an attack.
Nor was it some kind of ability.
The sheer beauty and charisma radiating from his existence alone were enough to overwhelm ordinary minds.
A normal human would likely die on the spot if they looked directly at him without preparation.
His long black hair flowed behind him like a living river of darkness, yet scattered throughout it were countless strands of different colors.
Those multicolored strands created a breathtaking contrast against the darkness of his hair, appearing almost unreal as they shimmered beneath the surrounding light.
The brilliance and perfection of those flowing locks made comparison itself seem meaningless.
Even Ash’s appearance, which many would have considered extraordinary, appeared ordinary beside it.
His skin was fair and flawless, free from even the slightest imperfection.
A faint radiance seemed to naturally emanate from it, not the radiance of energy or power, but something far more fundamental, as though perfection itself had taken physical form.
Then there were his eyes.
A pair of abyssal black eyes so deep and mesmerizing that anyone who looked into them could easily lose themselves, just like a black hole.
And the resemblance to black holes was not merely a metaphor.
His irises and pupils genuinely resembled miniature black holes, as though fragments of the cosmos itself had been placed within his eye sockets instead of normal eyes.
He wore a simple black skin-tight bodysuit that perfectly fit his figure.
Over it rested a dazzling long black coat accompanied by matching black pants, giving him an appearance that was both elegant and mysterious.
All in all, he appeared to be the very incarnation of black itself from head to toe.
The only exception was his flawless skin, whose pale brilliance stood in stark contrast to everything else about him.
Just then.
-FLASSHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
A flash of light erupted somewhere in the distance.
Huh?? Did someone just escape?
Henry’s gaze immediately shifted toward the source of the disturbance.
< Affirmative. >
I can sense where he is heading. I’ll mark him. There is actually someone who can move under the Spatial-Temporal fluctuations.
A trace of curiosity appeared in his voice. After all, ever since arriving, everyone he had observed had been completely immobilized by the temporal disturbance.
Yet someone had managed to escape.
< I would advise against meeting that individual. >
Hearing the seriousness in Inara’s tone, Henry unconsciously slowed his descent.
Why is that..?
< There is a Universal Intelligence in this Dimension that is connected to every living being. I attempted to bring it under my control, but I have yet to recover all of my authority, so the attempt failed. >
Understandable.
Henry did not seem surprised by that answer.
The fact that Inara had even attempted such a thing was far more surprising than her failure.
< However, I still managed to obtain every piece of information available from it. As a result, my previous hypothesis has been proven incorrect. >
What do you mean? Which hypothesis?
< The place where we were supposed to arrive and the place where we are now are the same location. Only the timeline is different. >
"..."
For the first time since arriving, Henry genuinely fell silent.
< Due to the Spatial-Temporal Storm, we have arrived seven years into the future. At this point in time, our intended destination, the World of Akumia, no longer exists. >
< All of the worlds have fused together into a singular landmass known as Eden. It has evolved into a Realm. >
Damnation.
The casual expression on Henry’s face finally disappeared.
Although he had suspected something was wrong, he had not expected the situation to be this absurd.
< What’s more, the individual who escaped moments ago has been designated as the Absolute Anomaly by the Universal System. The people gathered below were attempting to capture him alive. However..... >
Henry’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Our arrival gave him the opportunity to escape.
< Affirmative. >
For a few moments, Henry remained silent as he processed everything he had just learned.
Does that mean... the one who escaped is Ash Burn, the Master of Runes and the Chosen One of this Dimension?
< Affirmative. There is a 99% probability that this conclusion is correct. >
Ughhh!!! Doesn’t that mean he has already acquired most of the Runes by now?
< Possible. >
Henry’s face immediately darkened.
Shit!!! I wanted to arrive before he could absorb them. Don’t tell me this Spatial-Temporal Storm was somehow his doing as well?
< The possibility exists. >
Hearing that, Henry’s mood became noticeably sour.
A seven-year delay was already bad enough.
But if those seven years had allowed Ash Burn to gather most of the Runes before his arrival, then the situation was far worse than he had initially imagined.
< It is advised not to move against the individual known as Ash Burn. That person is an anomaly through and through. He has changed his own fate and the fate of countless others entirely on his own, without you ever needing to interfere. >
< According to the information available, countless events that should have happened never occurred because of him, while countless impossible events became reality solely because of his actions. The current state of this Realm differs greatly from what it should have been. >
< He is also not bound by any Laws of Dimensions, and only a very small number of Laws of Reality appear to have any connection to him. However, that number is so absurdly small that even I find myself questioning whether someone like this should be capable of existing in the first place. >
< Every piece of information regarding him points toward the same conclusion. His existence itself is abnormal. >
< It is better to befriend individuals like this than make enemies of them. Opportunities to become stronger will appear again in the future, but enemies capable of altering the course of reality itself are rarely worth creating. >
"..."
Henry remained silent.
The seriousness in Inara’s voice was impossible to miss.
Normally, she would present information objectively and leave the final decision to him.
Yet this time, she was openly advising him to avoid conflict.
That alone spoke volumes.
You know... the more you talk about him, the more ridiculous he sounds.
< I am merely stating the facts. >
An individual who changed fate, altered history, escaped people stronger than himself countless times, and somehow ended up becoming an existence barely connected to reality itself?
< Affirmative. >
"..."
Henry stared toward the distant horizon where Ash had disappeared.
For some reason, the more information he received, the less sense the whole thing made.
And yet, considering everything that had happened since his arrival, he could not dismiss it either.
You know what the funniest part is?
< What is that? >
I haven’t even met him yet, and somehow I already feel like he is responsible for half of my problems.
For the first time since learning the truth, a faint smile appeared on Henry’s face.
A very helpless smile.
Because if even half of what Inara had said was true, then Ash Burn was undoubtedly going to become one of the most troublesome individuals he would ever meet.
****