NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1432: The Space between Realities
Meanwhile, at the Library of Nowhere...
<...>
=...=
Logos and Pathos were silent as they stared at the screen, flat expressions plain on their faces.
If one were to look into their eyes, they would see a faint hint of…nostalgia.
<=...welp, looks like our current Lord is about to get a crash course understanding about where his powers come from...and the ones we based it upon...=>
...Now back to Zhen Liu...
In every myth and religion, there is a belief that before there were worlds, gods, or even life itself, there was... something.
This "something" varied from telling to telling, with some believing there was a paradoxical nothing while others believed that there was a strange material that would then be used to create the world as they knew it.
However, there was at least one commonality between these stories of there being "nothing" and there being "something": the presence of a primordial being.
These primordials were sometimes creators who pulled meaning and materials from the void around them.
Other times they were massive beasts whose movements caused the world to be created by simply digging up the bits and pieces that would go on to become the details that filled it.
And sometimes, both primordial creator and beast alike would become the world itself by using their very bodies.
Either way, while all these myths and stories have different understandings of what came before and different beliefs on how the world was changed by their presence, there is at least one thing that can be agreed upon from story to story: the creator eventually bows out from the story.
The giant beasts get butchered to become the land and sea, the primordial mothers go to sleep and wait for the day their children return, or they simply give up their divinity to live amongst their mortal creations.
In other words, their presence in the wider universe should be less than that of a shadow or an echo.
And this was true...in the solid parts of reality.
But in the spaces between the worlds, in the places where the laws of physics are merely suggestions and emotions carry more weight than morals, Zhen Liu found that these primordial figures were a bit more...prominent.
At least, that's what Zhen Liu thought he was perceiving.
'Okay...staying quiet as much as possible...'
In a space that he could only describe as a sea of rainbow static, where creatures that dug deep into the uncanny valley floated and walked as naturally as birds in flight, Zhen Liu could perceive the presences of multiple primordial slumbering beings.
Some reminded him of giants, others of massive reptiles, but even more were simply so incomprehensibly large and strange that words failed to properly describe them.
At least, he thought there were primordial beings present.
Due to the incompatibility of his own existence and this space between worlds, Zhen Liu had to rely exclusively on his [Chaos]-based senses to barely make out anything.
Hell, he was fairly certain that if he hadn't broken through to the Aether Lord rank, then the unmitigated [Chaos] that filled this space would've turned his head into a literal block of Swiss cheese.
Instead, Zhen Liu felt as if he were dunking his head into a tub of ice-cold water...that was somehow breathable and smelled of lavender cheese.
In other words, unless Zhen Liu extracted his head soon, then he was going to be going down the rabbit rabbit rabbit hole of his own mind mind mind.
...wait a minute.
"OooHhhh, thissss (ain't/isn't) [good]/great…(!!!)" Zhen Liu spoke/thought.
Little by little, Zhen Liu could feel that his existence was…fraying.
That his very definition was being replaced with black ink, and some strange outside entity was using that messed-up ink to write an entirely new—
[You shouldn't be here.]
'Huh?/What?/Who?!'
Suddenly and without warning, one of those primordial presences suddenly appeared before Zhen LIu's [eyes/faces/vision holes].
One that he was oddly familiar with, no less.
'Oooohhhhh(AAAAAAHHHH)! That move of mine was more than a tribute, wasn't it…'
Before his eyes, a massive coiling sea dragon was staring at him with a gaze that could only be matched by a thousand admonishing mothers who were all upset at the silly behavior of their singular shared spawn.
Then again, it was kind of hard not to feel that way before an ancient mother of gods and monsters.
[You have arrived much too early, little Shaper. That little upstart from before appears to have left you quite the mess to deal with as well,] the sea dragon said with a caring tone. [It'd be best for you to return home before someone other than mother finds you.]
'I'd love to/want to/need to, but I appear to be stuck/trapped/ABOUT TO DIE!' Zhen Liu replied/responded/answered back. 'Mind lending me a hand?'
[Very well.]
What happened next is hard to exactly describe in great detail, but the main conceptual spirit of the moment can best be described with a single sentence: the sea dragon flicked Zhen Liu's forehead with enough force to send him flying back to reality.
[Now, after you leave, I will close up the rift since the original contractor is here to maintain it's cost. As for the future ..try not to let your new insights drive you too insane...,,]
...Now back to reality...
[...NOW PULL!]
[HEAVE!]
Despite being the largest and heaviest amongst the kaijin, Frosttusk wasn't able to fully extract Zhen Liu's head from the rift in reality.
As such, when it became clear to the others that Frosttusk was only able to maintain a stalemate at most the other Kaijin moved assist to Frosttusk.
Then again, the other motivator just so happened to be the fact that they could feel their connection to their Lord getting all fuzzy again.
It made for a rather comedic sight, seeing all of these strange monsters working together in such a mundane matter, but none of this was a laughing matter...
[There's over a dozen of us here, how the hell can we not—]
Pop!
...until Zhen Liu suddenly popped out of the rift in reality like a wooden stake being pulled out of the ground via a strong rope.
[Eh?]
[Incoming!]
Zhen Liu's sudden status of freedom caught the Kaijin off guard. As such, the lot of them stood there with shocked expressions as Zhen Liu's airborne form ended up crashing into the gaggle of Kaijin and bowling them over.
Nobody was injured by this sudden action, but they were all distracted enough that nobody noticed that the rift in reality was briefly used by a giant sea dragon like a peep hole for a few moments before being closed up forever.
At this moment, the Kaijin were too busy swarming their boss with well-meaning hugs and admonishments of recklessness that outrivaled their own.
[Milord, you're okay!] Nepherage shouted in a manner that was wildly different from her usually cool, big sister-like demeanor. [I mean...oh, who am I kidding! Don't do that again!]
[Agreed,] Hurricroak echoed. [We already almost lost you to a weird hole in space-time once. We really don't want to risk losing ya again.]
[Hear hear,] Frosttusk rumbled with cooling passion.
[Especially losing out on our bond,] Razorstella added. [It's not a pleasant thing to feel twice.]
Since he was connected to the Kaijin, Zhen Liu already knew exactly what they were saying was the unvarnished truth...it was still nice to hear, though.
'Wait...were you guys unable to see and feel what was happening to me while my head was on the other side of that rift?'
[No.]
[All we got was like...television static.]
[Which is not a pleasant thing to listen to in the back of your head.]
[Really? I didn't get anything except a high-pitched whistle.]
[Same.]
'Huh...well, you do not have to worry my dear Kaijin. I plan to spend the next few months reading up and practicing anything and everything that could possibly pertain to the act of teleportation and it's related schools,' Zhen Liu assured the Kaijin as he finally disentangled himself from their vice-like hugs. 'But before all that...I think I need to re-examine those bodies I made for those god fragments.'
...Meanwhile, back at the observation room...
=Well, I'll be damned,= Logos muttered as he reviewed the footage of a certain giant sea monster literally flicking their master back into the realm of reality.
=It's been ages since we seen big mama act in such a way. Wonder if that means she actually approves of our choice of Lord this time around.=
<Well, I can kind of see it,> Pathos commented as they were busy painting a picture of that same sea dragon holding a figure of Zhen Liu in the palm of her claws. <Our lord is surprisingly paternal when it comes to the Kaijin, despite them being essentially fully grown adult warriors.>
=I suppose...=
While reviewing the footage one last time, Logos eventually decided to shrink down the window and switch to another that seemed to show a map of some kind.
=Perhaps it's time to share some more secrets with him...=