Chapter 1836: Chapter 1833: Between Void
“This door… Why does it feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before?”
Han Dong recalled his initial contact with the Void, which happened during his clash with Dean Richard in Derry Town, when his consciousness was drawn to a desolate planet where he encountered a similar [door].
“In normal circumstances,
any individual who contacts the Void will catch a glimpse of this [door], indicating that you have established some sort of connection with the Void. Otherwise, you couldn’t possibly use Void Techniques.
By the way, how did you come in contact with the Void? There’s no relevant record in your archive.”
“Ha? You’ve looked at my archive?”
Pope pretended to be calm, explaining, “While talking with Mr. Black White, I inadvertently mentioned you and took the opportunity to glance at your archive in the human main city.”
Han Dong, with a peculiar look, scrutinized Pope from head to toe while slowly describing his situation during his contact with the Void.
“My contact with the Void didn’t happen at S-01, but within the Fate Space… A special being named Richard Powell possessed such an attribute, and through my contact with him, I absorbed and assimilated this attribute.”
“A character from Fate Space?
That would probably come from the people the Black Tower secretly kidnapped during ancient times, or descendants born from the demons’ indigenous people during fate events.
In any case, the Void only exists here with us.
Even the Void creatures from other worlds still need to connect here, and their development is much more challenging than our local Void apprentices.
Of course, there are exceptions.”
“Hmm.”
The [door] standing on the surface of the planet is also a product of subjective consciousness.
It appears differently to everyone,
Han Dong sees it as an ordinary iron door, while in Pope’s eyes, it’s a door constructed of stardust, and to other demons, it might even be a door made of accumulated tentacles.
When Pope reached out to push it open,
the starlight spilling out from inside enveloped them entirely,
and in that instant, every trace Han Dong left in S-01 vanished completely, rendering any marker or positioning method entirely ineffective, as if he had disappeared from this world altogether.
“Is this the Void!?”
It’s entirely different from what he imagined.
In Han Dong’s expectation,
the [Void] should belong to the deep cosmos, with a high density of spatial fluid, where individuals would swim between neighboring stars.
But the actual situation was vastly different,
it wasn’t even the same concept.
Han Dong stood in a passage composed of “bubbles,” not those blown from a bubble maker, but [flesh bubbles] resembling human tumors or blisters.
Sticky, disgusting, coated in foul-smelling slime.
Han Dong’s feet sunk into these revolting flesh bubbles, buried about halfway up his calves, feeling the sticky and squeezing sensation of the bubbles, along with the concentrated liquid flowing along his legs and feet.
Pope, however, was different.
His feet stood firmly on the surface of the flesh bubbles, with no tendency to sink in at all.
“Only sinking this shallow? It should be the effect of reading the ‘Brief History of Void’… General newcomers would sink completely, leaving only half their head exposed.
Many would even fall indefinitely downward without traction.”
“What are these flesh bubbles?”
Seeing Han Dong’s astonished expression, Pope, quite satisfied, explained:
“An alternative expression mode of [space],
or a result of space expressing in ‘material form’ after being corrupted, distorted, and mutated.
Neither these bubbles nor the fluid flowing between them can be seen in the real universe; they’re highly pure spatial material.
Any being without Void characteristics would be completely lost upon touching the flesh bubbles.
Seemingly walking through the passage, they’re actually undergoing irregular hyperspace movement… By the time they snap back, they may have experienced several lifetimes, or even have vanished.”
“I see, no wonder only S-01 houses the [Void].”
“Stick close to me, compared to the Mad Abyss you’ve visited, it’s easier to get lost here… I don’t want to waste time searching for you.”
As soon as the words were spoken,
Han Dong put a hand naturally on Pope’s shoulder.
The latter was, of course, very resistant and wanted to shake off such a shoulder-hugging action when he unexpectedly found… Han Dong, whose calves were sunken in the bubbles, slowly floated upward until only his soles were submerged.
At this time, even Han Dong’s skin presented a starlit state.
“Are you [mimicking] me?”
“Hmm… In this way, it should be more convenient. If I get lost, I should be able to find my way back.”
“Hurry up, there’s a long way to go before we meet the teacher… I’ve confirmed your mental state before departure, stay focused throughout.”
Squelch, squelch~
During their progress following Pope, a peculiar sound emanated from stepping on the flesh bubbles.
Soon, Han Dong noticed a certain bubble emitting white light.
“Hmm? What’s this glowing bubble?”
“Don’t touch it; glowing means ‘activated’… These flesh bubbles in the activated state constitute a transient inherent space inside.
Professional detection equipment is needed to assess the space’s stability, safety, and applicability inside.
Of course, I can directly detect it by myself.
But currently, we need to meet the teacher; let’s not waste time here.”
After walking a bit further, more glowing bubbles appeared, some on the surface, others wedged in the deep layer.
Some even emitted different colors.
“Why are there blue and red ones? What does the color difference mean?”
Pope was quite happy to explain to Han Dong, feeling somewhat superior, “The most common white means activated but undeveloped.
Color indicates that Void creatures have already detected them.
Blue signifies long-term and stable,
Green for short-term and stable,
Red for unstable and not recommended for entry.
Moreover, there’s a black one, indicating the space is currently in use by a Void creature, do not disturb.”
“Oh~ By the way, Pope, were you born here and spent your childhood here?”
“I have no memory of how I was born.
By the time I had cognitive ability, I was already here, not just childhood, but all the way to the mature stage was spent here.
The outside world is too impure, it’s more pure here.”
“Do you usually study in these bubbles, or is there a special classroom or training area?”
“You sure ask a lot of questions~
The void space doesn’t have fixed learning areas.
After learning how to ‘walk,’ the most frequent activity for apprentices here is ‘seeking bubbles.’
The bubbles scattered across the void space activate irregularly, completely randomly without any rules to follow.
Occasionally, rare bubbles appear, forming hyperspaces suitable for Void cultivation inside, or might even become a Void chamber containing secrets.
No more questions; we’ve delved deep into the Void. I need to focus on finding the path.”
“Okay.”
As the concept of time became blurred here, after an unknown length of journeying…
The Void passage gradually began to widen,
squelch!
One step into a hemispherical, super-large area.
The bubbles forming the circular hall area all emitted a pure white glow, in an activated state.
At the center of the area,
amidst a throne embraced by endless bubbles, sat a man whose head could refract a panorama of the universe.
“Teacher, Nicholas has been brought!”