Chapter 15;The Monolith

As Vastoth flew through the endless expanse of the Divine Realm, his humanoid form cutting effortlessly through the air. His eyes narrowed with quiet focus as he traversed the boundless space. Suddenly, he froze mid-flight, his form hovering silently in the air.

A strange sensation alerted him,he felt faint but undeniable sensation. He turned his head sharply to the right, his gaze narrowing as he focused on the distant horizon. The air around him felt subtly warped, as though the laws of space were bending unnaturally in that direction.

"What could be the source of this feeling?" he murmured, his voice low but laced with curiosity.

For a moment, he hovered in silence, his mind racing with possibilities. It wasn't often that something could disrupt his connection to the spatial laws so subtly yet unmistakably.

Vastoth's instincts urged caution, but his curiosity outweighed any hesitation. "I can't ignore this," he muttered to himself, his hand clenching slightly at his side. "Whatever it is… it's powerful enough to distort the space of the Divine realm,it's worth investigating."

Without another word, he altered his course, turning sharply toward the source of the sensation. His aura flared briefly as he accelerated, his movements deliberate and precise. The closer he got, the more the feeling intensified, like a gentle but insistent tug pulling at his very essence.

The vast expanse around him began to change subtly. The air grew dense, almost heavy, and faint ripples appeared in the space ahead, distorting his vision like heatwaves rising from the ground.

Vastoth slowed his pace, his cautious nature taking hold. "Whatever this is, it's not ordinary," he thought. "Could it be another primordial? Or Maybe a treasure?"

As he pressed forward, the sensation grew sharper, and the faint ripples transformed into visible distortions. Space itself seemed to twist and fold, revealing glimpses of something hidden just beyond the veil. Vastoth's eyes gleamed with anticipation, his flew fast as he prepared to uncover the source of the mysterious sensation.

After a few minutes of flying, Vastoth arrived at the source of the sensation. What greeted him brought him to a sudden halt, his eyes widening in disbelief and his mouth gasped. A colossal mountain appeared before him, its sheer size commanding awe, but it wasn't the mountain itself that made Vastoth gasp. His sharp eyes locked onto something far more extraordinary,something that defied even his vast understanding of the Space law.

And he moves closer to the base of the mountain as he walks with caution. His eyes narrow and he sees chaotic phenomena unfolding around him. The air here shimmers with an unnatural clarity, and the very fabric of space seems alive, twisting and bending in impossible ways. One must know that even for someone like Vastoth, who has the deepest mastery of space laws, it is nearly impossible to twist the space of the divine realm. But here, it twists and bends so easily.

Vastoth was utterly engrossed, his focus consumed by the mesmerizing distortion of space around him. But his trance was abruptly broken when the ground beneath him trembled, fractures spreading outward with startling speed. Glowing fissures snaked across the surface like veins, each one pulsating with an ominous energy that seemed to resonate with the very fabric of the dimension.

As he stared at the fissures, analyzing their patterns, an overwhelming sense of danger gripped him. His instincts flared, a primal warning urging him to move immediately.

He turned back sharply his face pale with terror.Behind him,he saw large shards of fragmented space rushing towards him, resembling jagged, broken mirrors. They reflected warped images of the surroundings, some showing glimpses of distant stars, while others hinted at terrifying voids.

Vastoth darted through the shards in hurried, fluid motions, his body weaving expertly to avoid the deadly fragments. Yet, despite his efforts, a small shard grazed his outstretched hand. For a brief moment, he felt nothing,but then, as if the shard had passed through butter, his finger was severed cleanly. The missing piece vanished into the void, swallowed by the shard's fractured surface.

He landed abruptly, his breathing heavy. Beads of sweat formed on his brow, though he hadn't yet noticed the missing finger. It wasn't until he sat down to examine himself that he realized the truth,his finger was gone.

His golden eyes widened in disbelief, and a shiver ran down his spine. Fear gripped him tightly, but alongside the terror, a strange thrill coursed through his veins. His lips curled into an uneasy smile as the tension in his chest shifted to something almost exhilarating.

"Imagine…" he muttered to himself, his gaze lifting to the peak of the mountain. The shimmering monolith stood there, its form indistinct but unmistakable. "Imagine what I could uncover if I fully explored this place… or if I reached the top."

His eyes gleamed with equal parts dread and ambition, the flickering glow of the fissures reflecting in his gaze. Whatever lay ahead, Vastoth knew he couldn't turn back now.

Vastoth moved with measured caution, each step deliberate as he approached the base of the towering mountain. The air around him shimmered with increasing intensity, and the ground beneath his feet seemed alive, pulsating with spatial energy. With every step, the phenomena grew more unpredictable,fractures that twisted light, swirling vortexes of banishment, and ripples in space that made the terrain appear both near and distant simultaneously.

He paused briefly, his eyes scanning his surroundings, analyzing each distortion. His instincts screamed at him to remain alert. "The deeper I go, the more dangerous it becomes," he thought to himself.

Vastoth's eyes lifted toward the peak of the mountain. The faint outline of the monolith became slightly clearer now, its glowing patterns flickering faintly through the distortion. With a determined look, he slowly ascended, his body lifting into the air as he floated upward. He kept his movements deliberate, scanning for anomalies that could trap or harm him.

Each mile brought new challenges,waves of fractured space curled outward like tidal forces, and jagged shards floated unpredictably, their sharp edges gleaming like cosmic knives. But Vastoth pressed forward, his focus unbroken, driven by the desire to uncover what lay at the peak.

After hours of relentless flight,Vastoth finally reached the mountain's peak,here the air was heavy with chaotic energy that made him feel like moving was hurdle.

The abundance of spatial phenomenons was overwhelming,Each step forward was calculated risk,if he moved even slightly to the left he will be greeted by jagged shards of fragmented space.To the right swirling space storms manifest tearing and twisting space.

These phenomena appeared without warning,their randomness adding to the treacherousness of the journey.Vastoth stopped briefly closing his eyes as he activated his consciousness fully.He expanded it outward to scan for any shifts in the spatial currents. His heightened awareness allowed him to anticipate where the next anomaly might arise, but even then, the unpredictable nature of the environment kept him on edge.

Slowly, methodically, he began moving towards the monolith. Each step was deliberate, his body tense but controlled as he weaved through the chaotic spatial phenomena around him. The towering structure loomed closer, its glowing patterns clearer now, radiating a strange harmony amidst the surrounding chaos.

As Vastoth neared the monolith, the chaotic spatial phenomena that had plagued his journey suddenly ceased. The once-turbulent environment gave way to an eerie stillness. The area surrounding the monolith was untouched, serene, as though it existed in a separate reality entirely. The sharp shards, swirling storms, and bending distortions were nowhere to be seen.

Relieved, Vastoth allowed himself to relax. The oppressive tension in his chest eased as he cautiously approached the monolith. However, when the distance between him and the towering structure narrowed to about 1,000 meters, something unusual happened. No matter how much he moved forward he couldn't take step forward, it felt as though he was being pushed back. It wasn't a physical force,his surroundings remained unchanged,but the space between him and the monolith seemed to stretch infinitely, defying his every step.

He paused, frustration flickering across his face as he sat down on the reflective ground. His golden eyes fixed on the monolith, glowing faintly with curiosity and determination. For minutes, he contemplated the strange phenomenon, analyzing the structure and the forces at play.

Finally, he arrived at a conjecture: The space surrounding the monolith is infinitely stretching, creating the illusion of distance.

As if responding to his thoughts, a single line on the monolith's surface lit up, its glow cutting through the tranquil air. The rest of the line remained dim, except for a faint glimmer near the bottom. Vastoth studied it carefully, his mind racing.

"This must be tied to mastery," he murmured, his gaze sharp. "The more one understands the laws of space, the more the line lights up. Perhaps… it reflects my own progress."

Curiosity driving him, Vastoth extended his consciousness toward the monolith. What he discovered left him stunned. The spatial laws surrounding it were unbelievably clear and simple,so much so that even someone with no prior knowledge of space would quickly become adept.

A rare smile crossed Vastoth's face, his excitement barely contained. "A place where space reveals itself so freely," he muttered. "This… this is a treasure beyond comprehension."

His earlier frustration was replaced with a sense of exhilaration. This monolith wasn't challenge anymore ,it was an opportunity, a gateway to perfecting the mastery of space itself. The infinite stretch of distance now felt less like a barrier and more like an invitation.