Secrets of the Universe

Half an hour later, Jake could be seen walking down the campsite with Aydin and Kris.

His job was done. So, all that was left was to inform his team.

As the three walked confidently, one of them said, "What should we do about the other teams?" 

It was Aydin and he had a good reason for saying that. Since they left for the wall, some bounty hunter has been following them.

Even now that they were already at the campsite, the three could feel multiple eyes staring at them. 

Deciding he had had enough, Jake turned back and faced the hunters.

He didn't have to say anything, as an ethereal energy spread from his body. It turned into a snake-like figure which hovered behind me, staring with a deep vast eye at the hunters

It was the aura that Jake had manifested when he reached [Realm 3].

The purpose seemed to have been executed well as the hunters got scared off by the aura.

'This should be okay,' smiled Jake.

He withdrew his aura continued walking, along with the two.

"What if they go through the gap?" questioned Kris.

It wasn't exactly a monopoly, but they had created the gap and wouldn't like it if someone else used it first. Yet, they couldn't exactly close it.

"Don't worry about them," replied Aydin.

The three then reached a dividing point and they went their separate ways.

Now alone, Jake scouted for the exact tent that his group used.

Having spent minutes and still not found them, Jake decided to use his spiritual sense to scout them.

He had already fiddled with this ability a lot and was used to it. This rate of progress could be attributed to the lesser form of sixth sense Jake normally used.

It was too easy for him to control his senses now. Without even closing his eyes, he could get a near-clear three-sixty degree(360) view of his surrounding.

As he surfed around, he saw a tent with his mates inside it.

Before he could withdraw his senses, Eden caught onto it and imposed it with his own senses.

Afterward, Jake finally withdrew his spiritual sense.

He knew that it was rude to use his spiritual sense in public places, but the situation called for it.

Jake snaked into the tent as soon as he found it. He was met with an alert Eden, who only calmed down when he saw Jake's figure.

"Are you the owner of the spiritual sense?" asked Eden.

Jake nodded his head in reply.

He brought out his notebook and jotted something for Eden to read.

After he gave it to Eden, the latter read out loud, "The gap has been opened and it is safe to go in….."

He quickly understood the message and rallied the rest of the teammates, who had been taking their rest.

Ten minutes later, the group found themselves looking face-to-face with the gap on the array.

However, their attention was not on it.

In front of them were fresh corpses that, if they had to guess, belonged to the bounty hunters that tried to jump inside.

Judging by their charred skin, the group could understand that they were submerged in flames. Jake deciphered that it was by the defense mechanism, as he had seen it at work.

The idiotic hunters that died managed to trip the mechanism. They probably rushed at the gap, as they didn't want anyone to see them.

Jake wrote down his reasoning for his mate to see. He let them understand that while the gap wasn't dangerous, it was still dangerous.

"So what do we do?" asked Archer.

Jake put his index finger on his lips, indicating for Archer to shut up, then he got to work.

In a comfortable movement, he picked a nearby stick and poked the gap made on the inner barrier.

'I just need to re-stabilize it,' thought Jake.

Jake released his lightning element through the stick and softly transmitted it to the gap edge.

After a while, the gap stabilized and didn't seem as threatening as before.

*Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!*

The sound of two palms clashing against each other was heard. It made Jake wonder who made the sound.

He knew it couldn't be his mates. They had never complimented him. Far from that, they took pleasure in teasing him, which he didn't take offense at.

Hence, Jake turned his head to see the person.

"Jake, it appears you are a natural prodigy of this path," appreciated Aydin.

Having conversed with Jake hours ago, he behaved free around him.

Aydin was a kind man. 

Most array masters never compliment each other, and always view their techniques better than others, but he was different.

He saw no gains in holding onto negative emotions like envy and hate.

This made Jake see a striking resemblance with Aydin and former Nico.

He almost let his curiosity take over him, but he curbed it down as it was the right time for it.

"Oh, is that so? With two of them, we will gain further guarantee," Heath ran his mouth.

He deliberately reminded them that they viewed each other as competition, despite saying contrasting words.

Taking a deep breath, Eden voiced out, "What happens after now?"

He could already see the future stained with blood.

It wasn't all bad. At least, they would be fighting for survival, the primal instincts ingrained in all humans.

Each person or team would hold themselves accountable to one another. That was why he didn't recruit another person to his group. 

The mission rewards only covered six people, the perfect setup for a bounty team.

"After now. Well, who can tell?" smiled Heath, but a hint of nostalgia coursed through his head.

"Hah! What's with the sad face? We will just be killing one another, nothing more," laughed Alyssa.

The others wondered maybe perhaps that was Alyssa's way of saying her last greetings.

Not having anything more to say, Eden steeled his face and said to his mates, "Let's go."

Since they were the first to get here, they jumped into the gap and met with the world inside.

All the while, Jake thought, 'I am here. What a sad life?!'