Chương 72: 4.5D

Elias stood in the center of the room, his translucent feet barely touching the carpet, staring at the deity who sat lounging in a chair that defied the frozen timeline. The absurdity of the situation—the solid sunbeams, the motionless dust, the god drinking tea —pushed Elias past the point of mere anger into a state of cold, analytical bewilderment. Deus didn't say anything and instead picked up the porcelain cup and took a sip.

"Why?" Elias asked, his voice flat.

"Hm?"

"Why create something so fundamentally absurd? This... inter...."

"Interstatial Dimension."

"Whatever the fuck this is." Deus set his teacup down with a soft clink that resonated like a cathedral bell. He looked at Elias with the indulgent, mocking pity one might show a particularly slow child.

"Absurd? Elias, even explained in the simplest, most charitable layman's terms, the answer alone requires a conceptual framework you simply do not possess."

"Are you mocking me? Huh?!"

"No, im simply stating the truth." He took another sip of tea.

"You Earthborn are such quaint creatures, subject to the linear constraints of the fourth dimension, crawling along the timeline like ants on a string." Deus stood, and as he moved, the space around him seemed to ripple and fold.

"Earthborn minds are subject to the fourth dimension, you move through time. You cannot step outside it. You cannot observe it whole. You age, decay, die. I do not." He looked at Elias and smiled.

"At my level of existence," Deus went on casually, "time is not a river. It is a mere object. Something I can choose to walk around, step over, or ignore entirely. Which presents a problem." He leaned forward slightly.

"I have transcended those constraints. If I were to descend fully into your four-dimensional reality, my mere presence would overwrite the basic laws of physics; the world would crumble into raw data before I could even say 'hello'. I could create a simple avatar, yes, but I really, really wanted to see you in person. To look into your eyes without the risk of your mind shattering into countless jagged shards while your soul evaporates into nothingness." Elias swallowed despite himself.

"So… you made this," he said, gesturing at the impossible space around them, "to… what? Meet me halfway?" Deus beamed.

"Oh, you are clever." He swept a hand across the room." This is an infinite space that exists beyond the fourth dimension while remaining a tethered part of it. A conceptual buffer. A safety margin made for the sake of your sanity." Elias staggered slightly, gripping his temple.

"So… not five dimensions," he muttered.

"But not four either." Deus tilted his head.

"Go on." Elias looked at the spears of light and the distorted corners of the room where the walls seemed to meet at impossible angles.

"So it's a halfway house. A point five. A 4. 5 Dimension?" For a moment, Deus simply stared at him, then snapped his fingers, the sound echoing like a bell struck inside reality itself.

"Bingo! That is exactly what I love about you, Elias. That sharp, cynical little mind. 4. 5 Dimension... I think I'll keep that." Elias made a face of pure disgust.

"Don't..." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Oh, relax," Deus laughed.

"You should be proud. Most mortals would be drooling or screaming by now."

"I don't need the info-dump, and I certainly don't need your approval. You haven't answered my question. You've spent seven years taunting me through the world itself, hiding in the shadows. Why show yourself now?"

"Ah," Deus said.

"That." He noticed Elias glaring at him.

"Oh, don't be so ungrateful," Deus chirped, pacing the room.

"I've been quite the guardian angel. I saved your life, after all." Elias snorted.

"From what? The Grimboar? The Spiked Bear? That sapphire monstrosity?"

"No," Deus said cheerfully.

"From Aina." The name hit like a slap.

"She would have killed you," Deus continued pleasantly, "if I hadn't subtly hinted about her being a tsundere. You're welcome." Elias raised a fist, his knuckles whitening, but he felt the futility of the gesture in this ghost-like state. He let out a low, frustrated grunt.

"Fine. You're a hero. Now tell me the real reason." Deus's expression shifted, the playful light in his eyes dimming into something more calculating.

"I created this space to prevent the other Deities from eavesdropping. They are quite tedious creatures. They apply their 'Authorities' to reshape existence like toddlers with play-dough, but my Authority is something they find... inconvenient. I initially wanted to use you as pure entertainment—watch you struggle to find an exit from this life to no avail—but'The Hanged Man' has presented Us with some shocking information."

"The Hanged Man? What the hell are you talking about?" Deus smiled, and for the first time, the connection between them felt like a physical weight.

"Did you know that we are connected?" Elias scoffed.

"Because you gave me an unkillable body?" Deus chuckled softly.

"It goes far deeper than that." He stepped closer.

"Deities share a primal bond with those who carry their Traits. In extreme cases, the 'Patron' and the Ward become mirrors. Tell me, Elias... what is your Trait?" Elias stiffened.

"What's my... Trait?" Elias stiffened. He thought of the Sigil in his spirit domain, hidden behind that impenetrable cloud of cosmic dust.

"I don't know," Elias lied.

"You don't know because you don't want to know," Deus laughed, the sound echoing through the 4. 5 dimension.

"Deep down, you think that knowledge will fully entrench you in this world. You think if you don't name it, it isn't real. Because once you do, you think you'll be trapped here. Anchored. Real."

"Shut up!" Elias snapped.

"You don't know anything about me!"

"I know everything about you. Beacause you and I are on the same path. You're at the bottom, crawling through the mud, and I am at the peak. I am your Patron, Elias. You should be honored. Now what is it that i represent?" Elias's breath caught.

"Your… Trait." His thoughts flickered. The Fool. Unpredictable. Potential. Hope. No, as much as he wanted to call deus a fool, Literally, he was a far cry from its symbolism. Inversely... Then The World. Completion. Finality. Stillness. As the realization hit him, Elias felt his internal spirit domain convulse. Who was a bigger representation of Finality than Deus? Elias's soul trembled. The infinity symbol of opposing Flow rose from the dark waters, and the clouds of dust finally parted.

Above the nebula of his soul, an intricate pattern of infinitely spiraling rings revealed itself being completed by the infinity symbol which embeded itself at the sigils centre. There was no denying it. If Deus was the patron of Finality, then Elias was the same thing he had spent two lifetimes despising. He was ' The World.' Deus smiled, a cold, triumphant expression. He walked to the window and peeled back the curtain of frozen light, peering out at the motionless city of Blackhaven.

"Why are you doing this?" Elias asked asked hoarsely.

"Isn't tormenting me enough?" Deus scoffed, his tone suddenly turning deathly serious.

"I can feel the duality in your soul, Elias. You aren't fooling anybody. You want to belong just as much as you want to vanish." He walked up to the window and peeled back the curtains, observing the frozen world outside with cold eyes. He turned back.

"I intend to use you. Not yet. But soon. Savor the 'human' life you pretend to hate, because when the time comes, you will only be able to look back at these days wistfully."Deus said lightly. The deity then turned back, his cheerful mask snapping back into place.

"Brace yourself for the next few months. Things are going to get... hectic. I've given you this information today to protect you. There are forces that will try to use Corruption to corrode your mind. My presence here has reinforced your mental architecture—somewhat." Deus began to walk toward the bedroom door. The velvet chair vanished into a cloud of gold dust.

"I'll visit again when the time is right," Deus said, his hand on the doorknob.

"Oh, and Elias? Brace yourself for some very awkward reunions."

"Huh? What reunions—" Deus opened the door.

"Wait-" Elias said— And then he was upright in bed. The room was normal. Morning light streamed softly through the blinds, dust motes drifting lazily. The world was no longer dull; it was sharp, loud, and painfully vivid.

"Bastard," Elias muttered, his heart hammering against his ribs.

"Elias!" A cry of pure, unfiltered joy broke his concentration. Before he could process his surroundings, he was enveloped in a familiar scent of lavender. Elara was hugging him so tightly he could barely breathe, her tears wetting his shoulder.

"You're awake... oh, thank the Stars, you're awake!" Elias looked past his mother's shoulder, his mind still reeling from the encounter but all that seemed to fade and He closed his eyes.

'Savor this time, You'll miss it.'