Chapter 101 Under Scrutiny
Chapter 101 Under Scrutiny
Under Scrutiny
(Only 1 chapter today. New year stuff.)
And with that, Christopher had managed to gain the Loyalty of the Dragon Race which he promptly transported into his Dimension and had them enhanced.
After that, he sat down on a rock. He'd taken in the massive Skeleton along with the Dragons, so now there was a huge Skeleton shaped imprint in the ground.
Christopher sat on the rock for a while, a myriad of thoughts running through his mind.
'I've done quite a lot huh?' He thought with a bit of melancholy.
He'd been transported to this world a few months ago, and back then, while he was sure he was going to do big things with the help of the system, the thought of taking in every single race on the planet seemed like an insurmountable task.
And now look at him. Technically speaking, he was now the Ruler of the world.
'Kinda crazy honestly.' He sighed. Then he got up.
He'd achieved an incredible feat, but he knew that it was just the beginning, after all, he'd pissed off the very personification of the Void who was a being of unimaginable power.
What the Viid said about him fighting merely an inconsequential part of itself was very true, and Christopher was sure that if it summoned a clone that had even a percentage of its power, then he'd be cooked.
As such, he couldn't be satisfied with where he was now.
'Sigh.' He sighed and looked down. He'd taken all the races, now there was one more thing to do.
He closed his eyes, then he teleported.
However, his destination wasn't anywhere on the surface or in the ocean, instead, it was deep, deep underground.
***
When he reappeared, Christopher was in the center of the planet.
This world, like most others, possessed a core. And it was the core of the world that was responsible For it existing.
That's why the Void was so hellbent on destroying the core. Even if he killed every living being on the planet and razed the surface, with time, the world would recover, and new life would bloom on it.
When Christopher reappeared, he found himself in a massive chamber. It was truly huge as in diameter alone, it was at least a thousand kilometres across.
The chamber seemed to be made out of a very durable naturally formed steel that made getting to the core incredibly difficult, and the space between the cavern walls and the core was also chaotic to make teleporting difficult, but Christopher only had to exert himself slightly.
His eyes focused forward and reflected in them, was a dazzling sphere of titanic proportions.
The core seemed to be made of clear glass, and swirling within it was a myriad of colours, and to Christopher who could see both runes and fate threads, the center of the sphere was filled with all sorts of Runic lines and fate threads, far more than he'd seen anywhere ever.
When he appeared, the core vibrated slightly, as if responding to his presence.
"You can speak can't you?" Christopher said simply.
{...} He was met with silence, but he waited.
{... You are an anomaly.} A voice about as robotic as that of the system spoke, it's tone filled with calculative caution.
"I've heard that before." Christopher shrugged and the World's core was silent fir a moment before speaking.
{You plan to assimilate me as well I take it.} It wasn't a question, but a fact, one which Christopher nodded to.
{... I already understand that you have set your mind on accomplishing this task, and as it is your will, it will be so. However…} It paused slightly.
{My disappearance will cause a ripple, one so big that it will draw the attention of many entities beyond comprehension, and not all of them will be interested in sitting still. Doing this will cause you lots of trouble. Are you prepared for that, Anomaly?} Hearing this, Christopher smiled faintly.
"I am aware." At this, the world's core was silent for a moment. Then it spoke again.
{Do as you wish then.}
At this, Christopher nodded, then closed his eyes.
Immediately, his perception erupted outwards and spread. From the core of the planet, it spread out further and further, until the entire world had been covered.
And even then it still went, until the moon was also within his perception range.
Christopher instantly made it so that no information was filtered into his mind besides the masses of the Planet and its Moon. Even then the sheer scale of the two celestial bodies pressed on his mind heavily.
"Ugh." He wobbled a bit, but quickly regained his bearings. Then, with a breath, he transported the planet into his Dimension.
Immediately, it was as if a nuke had gone off within his soul.
In an instant, his soul expanded massively, and a flurry of notifications flashed in front of him, but a few of them stood out.
[Outstanding Achievement! Master has successfully assimilated an entire world as well as its original into his Dimension!]
[New Item Detected. Does Master want to undergo Enhancement?]
[Requirements have been met. Dimension can now be upgraded.]
[World Origin has been Detected. 10/1000 Singularity Fragments have been collected.]
Christopher shuddered. What?
World Origin? He assumed that was the planet core. But singularity fragments? Now that was new.
Christopher blinked as he realised that due to absorbing the planet into his Dimension, he was now floating in the Vacuum of space. He couldn't breathe, but he could use Mana as a substitute and he was too durable to experience desiccation.
Still it was weird, while flying he could always feel the strength of gravity trying to pull him down. Unless he used a gravity rune and turned off the gravity around himself that is.
So experiencing the Zero Gravity was certainly an interesting experience, but it was something he was bound to get used to quickly.
Then suddenly, he shuddered and felt every single strand of hair on his body stand on end.
Danger. Such an intense feeling of Danger that it was suffocating. Christopher felt his thoughts become sluggish and his muscles tense as if he was suddenly thrown into quicksand, where moving would only make it worse.
'C-Crap.' He groaned.
***
What Christopher didn't know though. Or rather, didn't fully understand the implications of his actions.
In a world, everything has its own Fate that is represented by threads. And all these threads all weave together to form a massive tapestry which is concentrated in the world core.
However, something most weren't aware of, was that the weaving of fate didn't stop there. In fact, they were just the beginning of a much, much larger tapestry as all the fate threads of the inhabitants of a world made up the singular fate thread that belonged to the core of their world itself. Meaning that each world that possessed a world core possessed it's own fate, and these threads also weaved together to become a large tapestry, for the star of the solar system they inhabited, and made up the String that was the Star's fate.
And these threads for the stars weaved together in a massive tapestry that made up the fate for the Black hole of their galaxy. And the process went on and on.
As such, the tapestry of fate was much, much, much larger than anyone could fathom, and that included Christopher. However, its core principles were still the same.
And one of these was that, a fate thread being destroyed, no matter how small, would lead to a far bigger result.
When Christopher absorbed the world into his Dimension, an echo reverberated through the metaphysical fabric of existence. The tapestry of Fate. Each world has a distinct presence within the Tapestry, and the sudden Void left by Christopher's actions caused a rift that cannot go unnoticed.
The moment he absorbed them, fate itself reacted as its weavings were disrupted as the loss of an entire world shifts the balance between countless interwoven destinies.
One must understand that what Christopher did wasn't as simple as destroying a world. In that case, Fate would always reweave itself calmly. However he completely cut out this thread from the delicate and intricate tapestry.
And sure, causing such a rift by maybe removing the fate of an individual would be somewhat catastrophic, but this rift is unlike the passing of an individual or even a race. It's a hole in the very structure of reality, sending Ripples across countless realms.
And for entities of a higher existence. Those who observe or manipulate this tapestry, this disturbance is akin to a deafening roar. They do not see the tapestry as mortals do, but as a living, breathing organism, and the rift left behind is a wound that demands attention.
And Christopher caused this wound.
Suddenly, the System roared in his mind.
[WARNING: DIMENSIONAL OVERSIGHT SYSTEM ERROR.]
[UNIDENTIFIABLE PRESENCES DETECTED]
The message appeared in his mind, jittering as though the system was struggling to process what it was currently encountering.
[ANOMALIES EXCEED CURRENT PARAMETERS. INITIATING CRITICAL PROTOCOL..] Explore more stories with empire
A brief pause. Christopher felt the fabric of his Dimension shudder, and he felt as though he was suddenly naked, like something… or things were staring at his very essence.
Finally, the system spoke again.
[OBSERVED ENTITIES:]
1.[THE OBSERVER OF INFINITY
DESIGNATION: CUSTODIAN OF TIMELESS FLOW.
ATTRIBUTE: INFINITY—ENSURES UNENDING PROGRESSION OF EXISTENCE AND TIME
SCALE: BEYOND COMPREHENSION.
INFLUENCE: OMNIPRESENT WITHIN ALL CONTINUUMS.
REACTION: ANOMALY DETECTED. ASSESSING POTENTIAL DISRUPTION TO INFINITE CYCLES.]
2.[THE KEEPER OF EQUILIBRIUM
DESIGNATION: BALANCER OF ABSOLUTE FORCES
ATTRIBUTE: EQUILIBRIUM. MAINTAINS BALANCE BETWEEN ALL OPPOSITES AND EXTREMES.
SCALE: INFINITE SCOPE.
INFLUENCE: NEXUS OF ALL SCALES AND DUALITIES.
REACTION: SIGNIFICANT IMBALANCE NOTED. PENDING JUDGMENT.]
3.[WEAVER OF CONTINUITY
DESIGNATION: REPAIRER OF THE TAPESTRY.]
ATTRIBUTE: CONTINUITY. ENSURES THE SEAMLESS FLOW OF CAUSALITY AND FATE.
SCALE: UNFATHOMABLE REACH.
INFLUENCE: ROOT OF ALL FATES AND THEIR INTERACTIONS.
[REACTION: ANOMALY DETECTED. WEIGHING POSSIBLE THREAT AND BOON.]
4.[UNKNOWN ENTITY:]
[DESIGNATION: ???
ATTRIBUTE: ???. OBSCURED BY INCOMPREHENSIBLE FACTORS.
SCALE: INDETERMINATE.
INFLUENCE: DORMANT.
REACTION: PASSIVE OBSERVATION.
CAUSE: ???]
Christopher shuddered. What was he even looking at right now?
[CRITICAL ADVISORY: ENTITIES' SCALES TRANSCENDS CURRENT DIMENSIONAL LIMITS. ALL PROACTIVE ALTERATIONS ARE TO BE CEASED UNTIL SUFFICIENT MASKING PROCEDURES ARE ACHIEVED.
That was the last message Christopher saw before the System went silent, then he was suddenly hit by a wave of drowsiness. He guessed that the system was putting him to sleep to put up these appropriate masking measures.
Still, he sighed. Despite all his growth and power, he now truly understood that there are forces far beyond him. Observing him Like a mortal ant gazing at the sun.
The rift caused by his actions is no longer a mere afterthought, it is a beacon. One that may invite both opportunity and calamity. For now, he had to tread carefully, knowing full well that his path has caught the gazes of Existence's highest Arbiters.
He felt a rift open behind him and pull him in, and right before he lost consciousness, he sighed.
'What a pain in the ass.'
———
[End of Arc 1. Creation and Void]