Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 2650: Spatial Tunnel

Unlike the standard spatial gates that transported one instantly from one location to another, the Star Gate functioned differently. It was a long-distance spatial portal—an ancient marvel that led its users into a dimensional corridor known as a spatial tunnel.

This tunnel was no simple hallway. It glowed with an ethereal brilliance, its walls made of cascading light and shadow, like an infinite kaleidoscope shifting with every step. Threads of raw spatial energy laced the air, pulsing and dancing with dangerous beauty.

Navigating it was a feat of both power and precision. Without exact spatial coordinates, a traveler could easily veer off and be spat out into some random, desolate part of the universe—or worse, into a collapsed dimension.

“Stay close,” Vayerel warned from the front. “The tunnels in this realm are unstable.”

Unlike the well-mapped Magus Universe, where teleportation paths were precisely charted, the Tartarus Realm was chaotic, largely uncharted. Here, only the most powerful factions—like the fey—had established stable teleportation gates. Even then, their usage was limited.

Vayerel, a grand magus with comprehensive law over space and magnetism, acted as a living compass. As the group moved forward, he explained the anomalies of the Tartarus realm: how the void surrounding its star system disrupted the laws of space, and how the Rainbow River—a volatile astral current—twisted gravitational flow.

Fortunately, the Star Gate had created a semi-stable path, a rare opportunity to bypass much of the surrounding chaos.

Emery moved cautiously near the center of the group, glancing at the swirling energies around him. The tunnel vibrated underfoot, and from time to time, his shadow seemed to stretch in unnatural directions, touching parts of the space that weren’t there.

Then suddenly—

Rosin Karat, the Supreme Magus, halted.

The entire group stopped immediately, tension rippling through them like a coiled spring.

“Master?” Vayerel asked, turning back. “What is it?”

Rosin’s gaze narrowed. His voice was calm but cold. “Someone is following us.”

The words froze the group mid-step. Instinctively, they formed defensive formations, a few believing it to be dark magus from the Netherrealm.

But within moments, the truth was clear.

A lone figure emerged from the misty corridor, stepping through with calm, deliberate grace.

Lean, white-haired, and glowing faintly. It was a man many of them recognized instantly. Galael, the Ember Sage. A notorious grade-8 alchemist. His reputation for ruthlessness was as potent as his skill. Most of the group tensed. Though not openly hostile, his arrival was… unsettling.

Galael stopped several paces away from them and offered a casual smile. “Now, now… no need to look so surprised.”

Emery narrowed his eyes. “Senior, why are you following us?”

The ember sage drifted closer, hands casually behind his back. “The whole reason I came to the Northern Territory was for this—an expedition to another realm.”

He turned to Rosin Karat and offered a slight bow. “With a supreme figure like yourself leading the way, I believe we might actually survive the crossing. I respectfully ask to join.”

Rosin Karat, silent and unreadable, said nothing. Instead, his gaze shifted to Emery.

The choice was his.

Emery hesitated. He didn’t particularly like Galael. While they had fought side by side, the Ember Sage was unpredictable—dangerous. Still, Galael’s knowledge of alchemy was unparalleled. He might be difficult, but he could prove invaluable in surviving the perilous journey ahead.

The dark Emery spoke in his mind with quiet reasoning:

<I say yes… The man will be a stranger to our realm. If we play this right, we could gain a powerful alchemist to help our faction.>

With a quiet breath, Emery nodded. “You can come.”

The party gained another powerfull figure and continued the journey deeper into the space tunnel. Vayerel resumed the lead, adjusting their trajectory as the tunnel twisted once more. For what felt like hours, they passed swirling anomalies, phantom shadows, and crackling void sparks that burned without heat.

At last, the tunnel began to narrow into a single radiant point—an endpoint.

Kaeylin narrowed her eyes. “A dead end?”

“No,” replied the dark Emery, one who also has some comprehension of the law of space.

“It’s a veil. The path is hidden.”

Vayerel confirmed, then turned to the Supreme Magus. Without a word, Rosin Karat stepped forward. A simple gesture of his hand—wreathed in cosmic light—tore through the veil like silk. A rift opened, revealing a terrible vista beyond.

A violent realm of churning spatial pressure, it was a place where even light seemed to scream. Winds of void energy howled through the space, and swirling black rivers twisted through it all.

“This is the Eternal Void,” Veyarel warned, turning to the others. “Once we step through, stay close. It’s extremely dangerous.”

The group moved quickly. Cosmic shields were summoned, protective barriers drawn. Emery activated his Elysian Armor, wrapping himself in glowing armor humming with magic. The dark Emery, however, only smirked and casually slipped back into their shared domain with a snide thought:

<You can lead the way. I’ll enjoy the ride.>

Once all preparations were complete, Veyarel entered the rift. Emery followed closely behind, and immediately, he was slammed by a familiar, crushing gravitational force. However, unlike before, this time he was already in the Grand Magus realm. Emery was able to withstand the pressure with far greater ease.

He looked around and saw the chaos unfold around him. Debris spun like weaponized stars, massive slabs of obsidian colliding in explosive bursts. The void stream flowed through the landscape like a furious river of ink, dragging pieces of shattered realms along with it.

“Watch out!” Veyarel shouted.

A jagged spike of dark crystal—nearly three meters long—hurtled toward Kaeylin at deadly speed. She froze, too slow to react. But one of the fey warriors lunged forward. The bear-like half-blood, a two-cosmos powerhouse, roared as he intercepted the projectile with his bare, armored arms. The impact sent him skidding backward, sparks flying from his feet as he absorbed the blow—but he held firm.

Another fey warrior, this one with antler-like horns and glowing eyes, raised his hand. A massive spectral arm burst from the void and swatted aside more debris as though clearing a path through a storm.

Around them, others struggled. One misstep could throw them into the void stream.

Thinking fast, Rosin Karat thrust his hands forward. A metallic platform formed beneath them, stable and reinforced by his cosmic power. The two fairy race figures accompanying Kaeylin flanked the structure, their magic flowing in tandem to cast a multicolored barrier. Rainbow light shimmered around the platform, reinforcing Rosin’s construct and shielding the group from further harm.

“Everyone, stay on the platform and stay close!” Veyarel commanded, resuming the lead.

Drawing on his affinity for spatial manipulation, he guided the platform through narrow channels and treacherous bends, carefully avoiding the strongest void currents and the densest debris fields.

Then, just minutes into the Eternal Void, the true danger revealed itself.

From the distant folds of darkness, dozens of flying figures emerged—silent at first, like phantoms drifting through space. Then they accelerated.

Twisted humanoid shapes cloaked in shadow and mist, their eyes glowing like embers, their limbs elongated and sharp. Duskrath. Dozens of them raced toward the platform.

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