Chương 54: Connection

Having learned how to travel across the universe to different planets, the core proceeded as it always had in the past; testing again and again. It sent its perception to trace more of the divots to reach more planets so that it could spread further. Unfortunately, it was in doing so that the core learned that the universe was not nearly as simple as it had understood. The vast majority of the paths it pursued did not lead to planets at all, but to other sources of gravity: stars.

The first time that the core's perception returned to the normal layer of space and it was confronted with powerful gravity and raging plasma storms, it had no idea what it had found. It had tried to explore, but unfortunately, there was no substance in a star that could serve as a sub-core.

As time passed, the core started to learn to sense the gravitational strength of its target a layer or two away from the normal layer on which most of the universe existed, and it simply stopped investigating the stars, as there was nothing to be accomplished with them. Even then, the vast majority of the moons and planets that the core discovered were completely uninhabitable.

Some had no air at all, others were completely toxic to any living creature the core had ever encountered, and still others had no solid mass to them and were actually nothing but an atmosphere. None of the planets were ignored. If they could hold a sub-core, they received one. The day would come when every planet would serve the core's interests, it just needed to find the right way to proceed with each individual place.

After exploring 2, 892 planets—the 275 stars did not count—the core had succeeded in finding 81 planets with some form of life on them. Nineteen of those planets even held sapient life. Those nineteen planets became the core's first priority, and dungeons started appearing on every one of them. Interestingly enough, once the core's perception spread to two different planets, it found that it was possible to use the Concept of space to transport objects from one place to the other.

While that did not seem particularly useful, as the core had full access to all of its mana everywhere in its perception, the core did find a planet that had no opals at all with which to create sub-cores. While the core had learned how to manufacture almost all forms of crystal from the raw materials, transporting a prepared sub-core was a faster and easier solution.

Opals started bouncing between planets as the core worked to extend its perception across each planet it found, regardless of whether or not they held any life. All along, the core never stopped exploring the universe and searching for more planets. It was slowly spreading across the galaxy, and by avoiding the kaiser dragons' strands of control, the core did not have to compete with anyone.

It was also happy to discover that one of the inhabited planets it had found was ruled by a kaiser dragon, and yet the beast noticed nothing at all when the core found the planet on its own and without tracing a strand. That meant that so long as the core did not directly touch the kaisers' workings, it would be safe from detection, which was wonderful news. One day, the core felt a gravitational pull unlike anything it had ever sensed before.

One of its paths of exploration that was further ahead had sensed a powerful gravity pulling at it from across more layers of space than the core had ever found before. This far exceeded what it had felt from any star, no matter how massive they had been. Anything new needed to be investigated, but caution was also important.

Through trial and error, the core had learned how to pierce the layers of space even without using existing paths, and that allowed the core to appear near a specific target, while not directly at the target itself. This was how the core had managed to learn what stars were, as they needed to be observed from a considerable distance. Given the mass of the object that had been found, the core pulled back further than ever before as it pushed through to the surface layer of the universe.

Once there, the core tried to observe the area, extending its perception in every direction. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be found. Further and further the core spread its perception, and still nothing could be found. Wait, there was something. Something was pulling at the core's mana, ripping it away. The core pulled back, but whatever it was fighting was implacable and absurdly powerful. There was nothing the core could do against it.

While it was true that doing so would waste tremendous amounts of mana, the core needed to know what this mysterious threat was, and so it followed the pull on its mana. Slowly, cautiously, the core stretched its perception further and further through space towards the pull. It had already stretched far from where it had returned to the surface layer of space, and the core was worried that it was taking too long. After all, it had already been pushing for… That was odd.

As the core tried to get a sense for how long it had been investigating this mysterious threat, it had two different answers. It had only been a few seconds for the core itself, but several hours had passed for its extended perception. How did that make any- It was all gone. The core gathered as much of its processing abilities as possible to find out what had just happened.

Its perception had crossed some invisible boundary in space, and at that exact moment, the core had lost that portion of its perception and all associated mana as well. Whatever it had found was devouring mana, matter, and everything else that drew close. This black devourer seemed to be so powerful that it not only affected gravity, it affected time as well. The core tried to pull its perception back from the invisible boundary, terrified of losing more of itself, even if it had not lost anything irreplaceable.

With nearly its full focus, the core tried to make sense of what it had found. In this location in outer space, near to this unfathomably large object, at least if judged by its gravity, it was experiencing more near the pull than elsewhere in the core's perception. Wondering if this was an isolated event, the core started comparing every planet and moon that it was touching, and it quickly found that planets with more powerful gravity allowed for time to pass the slightest bit slower.

It was such a miniscule difference that the core would not have noticed anything at all for years, as it would have taken decades to show a difference of even a single second, but the variance was there. This was an opportunity. If the core could learn to control time, even slightly, so many things would become possible for it.

As it tested and examined the temporal differences, the core managed to gain some level of understanding of what it had encountered, and with that comprehension combined with the fact that the core was experiencing time pass at differing rates simultaneously, a barrier fell away, and the core touched upon the Concept of time. The core was not the first to touch upon the Concept of time, but it had managed to do so faster than any other creature before.

Most of the time, the few kaiser dragons or other creatures at that level of existence which managed to touch upon the Concept of time did so accidentally due to the endless years that they had lived. When a dragon could sleep for a millennium, but feel that it had only been a few seconds, to their perception, they were experiencing time at two different rates. While this was merely perception and not reality, most of the time, Concepts were mastered with insight, rather than scientific knowledge.

Of course, as soon as the core obtained access to what seemed to be the final Concept, it started exploring new possibilities. Interestingly enough, with the combination of the Concepts of space and time, the core was able to slightly resist the implacable pull that it was struggling against in the place where the distorted time was the most excessive.

With that ability to resist slightly, the core lost less mana, and was able to move its perception a bit closer to the invisible barrier, and it immediately noticed that time distorted even worse. Temporal anomalies started being introduced to various places, starting with the core's breeding grounds. It was rather mana-expensive to accelerate creatures' growth, whereas accelerating time itself in a specific area relied on the core's new Concept, which was much cheaper.

As time started speeding up or slowing down in various locations throughout the core's domain, it had a sudden thought that sounded fascinating; what if it split time into different flows entirely, rather than allowing it to move faster or slower? A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Immediately, the core focused on one of its most popular dungeons; the life-themed dungeon near Sercen.

The dungeon was still home to the core's first dragon, though the humans had still not made their way past the level of the dungeon with all of the wyverns and griffins. The military was sending multiple groups into the dungeon every day, and while the core could recover after each visit, what if it did not need to? As the next group entered in pairs, the core stretched its abilities to the limits, and each pair entered the dungeon in a separate, yet parallel, moment in time.

With that, there were ten different groups exploring the same dungeon at the same time, and yet none of them were able to see each other at all. The men panicked, but then quickly got themselves under control in most of the timelines. Explorations proceeded, and the core started to feel strained the further the ten groups diverged from the original moment in time. It was a struggle to keep things together, but the core was determined to endure.

One timeline snapped into another, but as the two converged in an uncontrolled manner, they were both entirely destroyed. With just eight remaining, the strain lessened for a while, and the core was better prepared as the difficulty mounted yet again. Hours later, three pairs of soldiers stumbled out of the dungeon at the same time. This was the Savaren Empire's costliest delve into the dungeon in decades, but for several hours, that one dungeon had become ten different dungeons.

The core felt strained, as though it had overstepped its limits, and yet it also knew instinctively that it could do the same thing again without as much of a struggle. The moment the soldiers had left the dungeon, the timelines had merged, and at that moment, the core had to pay for what had transpired in those three timelines, while reaping what it had harvested in the other seven, destroyed timelines.

It was intriguing to see this belated payment take place, but it actually lowered the cost of running the dungeon, as the core was able to use the same creature to fight multiple teams across various timelines. Could this function be combined with accelerated time? What if each team entered a dungeon at the same time, fought in their own timeline, and yet the days spent in the dungeon only corresponded to a few minutes in the outside world? This could make the core's busiest dungeons more profitable than ever.

More temporal options were incorporated into various dungeons, and the core even warped time for itself, as doing so further increased its processing ability. All along, as its mastery of the Concepts of space and time improved, the core moved its perception closer and closer to the invisible barrier and the unseen threat. Whatever that black hole in space was that devoured everything, the core felt that it needed to understand it. It was too great a threat to remain unknown.

It was Burt's last delve into a dungeon. He was old, far older than he had any right to have lived. Elicia had passed on long ago, along with all of her children and grandchildren. Hera was still alive, but even she had started to age. She had reached the limits of her potential, and while she was among the most powerful druids, as people had taken to calling those with abilities similar to her, that was not nearly enough for her to keep up with Burt.

He had never stopped progressing and leveling, and he looked to have stopped aging from the moment he had first stepped foot in a dungeon all those years ago. The only change to have occurred had been when he had accepted his race change and become a beastkin, and that had been… How long had it been? Burt genuinely had no idea. He felt his age, and had for some years. His mind was as sharp as his body, but he constantly felt drained and fatigued.

It was not mental or physical, but somehow spiritual, as though his soul itself was not capable of enduring for the number of years that Burt had lived. That was why this was his last delve. He said goodbye to Hera and the few surviving members of her family. Like Burt, she had also outlived almost everyone she had ever known, Burt aside. However, unlike Burt, Hera was starting to show gray hair and wrinkles. Her body had started to slow down, and she was even starting to have trouble remembering things.

His goodbyes said, Burt made his way to his chosen dungeon. He would never leave it, he had decided. Burt was not going to use any of the dungeons close to his hometown. This was his end, and he wanted that to take place in the same location as his metaphorical beginning. He was going back to the first dungeon, the one between Guilone and mountains at the border of Tamar. Burt felt almost called to that dungeon, as though there was something special about it that was calling him home.

As all dungeons were supposed to be, this dungeon was guarded by the Savaren Empire, reserved for training soldiers, but Burt had no trouble at all bypassing all of their security measures and entering the cave. At the entrance, he looked up at the writing, the same that had been there all those years ago when he had entered with Hild, Theo, Ackley, Edgar, and Herald. Enter ye, who fear not pain, Who riches and strength wish to gain. Deep below, thy dreams may lay. Dare thee enter and lay thy claim?

Burt had gained strength and riches. He had long since lost his fear of pain, but other than raising Hera, Burt had never achieved any sort of dream. This was his final chance. He was going to push all the way to the end of the dungeon, something he was certain had never been done before. That, or he would die trying. Either way, he would achieve his goal. He would never leave this dungeon again. He entered the cave, and soon appeared in the wooded section that was the first portion of the dungeon.

Burt just strolled through. None of the creatures on the first level could even detect him, unless he revealed himself to them. Stealth had always been something he had excelled at, and his racial change had only improved upon that. However, after he had hit level 200 a few years ago, he had acquired an ability that was called Spatial Phasing, and with that, Burt could walk through a solid wall.

While it did not allow him to walk through living creatures, so long as Burt used his ability, nothing could see, hear, or smell him. He passed through the swamp, and into the maze of the insects' burrows, where Theo had lost his foot to the centipede they had fought. Deeper still, Burt continued. He meandered through the lava hell of the fourth section, which he had seen a few times while with the army, and then proceeded into the unknown. Deeper and deeper Burt pushed.

He fought against giant monsters and invisible opponents, flaming beasts and frozen cyclops. He saw the pinnacle of various creatures he had fought throughout the years, such as a nine-tailed fox, elemental spirits that had the appearances of men and women instead of formless gatherings of mana, something called a phoenix, which just would not die no matter how many times Burt killed it. There were eventually even dragons.

The beasts could speak and use magic, and were incomparably powerful, and yet Burt still came out victorious. Deeper still, and Burt started to encounter truly bizarre creatures that he would have had no name for without being told by the dungeon itself. Giant eyes floated through the air, attacking Burt's mind instead of his body. Other beasts moved through space in ways that defied reality, much like Burt's own abilities. Eventually, he found things known as demons and fay.

They were disturbingly intelligent, and had their own twisted civilization, though Burt wanted nothing to do with them. Still, their abilities were a challenge to overcome. Succubi and sloth demons were the worst, but Burt prevailed, his age and experience giving him the slightest edge which he managed to use to seize an advantage. Finally, Burt ran into opponents that could not be fought, only endured. They were called Old Ones, and their very presence warped reality around them.

Just looking at them was a challenge, and Burt was sure that anyone else would have lost their minds upon simply seeing the beings. He could not even call them creatures, as they were somehow beyond such descriptions. That was it. Burt was at the end of the dungeon. He had overcome every challenge, defeated every foe, and he had reached the bottom of the dungeon. Somehow, he could feel that he was at the bottom of the world, and that if he tried to go any further, he would be climbing upwards again.

Unfortunately, there was nothing there. Burt stood in an empty chamber. There was no dungeon core, like what he had heard had been destroyed in the first undead dungeon in Hera's hometown. There was no guardian beast to protect some treasure. There was nothing at all. For the first time in more years that he could count, Burt felt defeated. He had entered this dungeon to either destroy it, or die trying. This was supposed to be his end, and he could not even accomplish that.

He crumpled to the floor, overcome with despair. He was so, so tired. He just wanted to accomplish this one last thing before the end. Even worse, at this moment, Burt had to acknowledge his greatest fear; was there even an end for him anymore? He had stopped aging long ago, and after challenging the most difficult dungeon in existence, he had found nothing capable of killing him. Would he just linger on? Enduring after all else was gone?

A quiver ran through his body, and for the first time since he could remember, Burt started to weep. He had lost so, so much. Friends. Family. His nation. All that he had known or loved was gone or soon leaving, and yet Burt remained, unchanged. It was terrifying, and the possibility of such a future crushed him. As he cried, alone in the cavern at the center of the earth, he slumped from his knees to down on all fours, and then rolled over onto his back.

As he rolled over, sprawled across the stone floor, Burt's hand swept through the air above his head, and he felt something. It was a distraction and an excuse, but Burt needed anything at this moment. He pulled himself together and rose to his knees again, touching the air where he had felt something. There was clearly something there, and yet there was nothing but air. Curious to see what he could find, Burt followed the familiarity of what he sensed, and used Spatial Phasing.

The moment he did, Burt suddenly saw the core. This was not a dungeon core, but the core. It was perfectly round, and taller than Burt. It floated in the air above the ground, slowly spinning, just out of phase with the rest of reality, aside from Burt. It was beautiful. It looked black, but there were so many colors in the stone's depths, including ones that Burt had no names for. The colors shifted and swirled in the depths of the stone sphere, revealing all that the core had mastered throughout its existence.

Every mana affinity and Concept could be seen, including affinities that the core had created, such as space and time. Burt was mesmerized by the sight, and he instinctively reached out to touch the core. The moment his finger made contact, the universe froze for both him and the core, as the two connected to each other.