Chapter 807: The Secret within the Ruins

Chapter 807: Chapter 807: The Secret within the Ruins

Trusting Crul’s warning implicitly, Ethan turned toward Isabella. The young lady was still brushing dust off her outfit as she observed the imposing entrance of the ruins cut into the rock wall.

"Wait for me here, I am going inside to check something," said Ethan in a calm voice. "I will be back soon."

Isabella furrowed her brow, stepping forward to take him by the arm.

"Go alone? No way, I’m coming with you," demanded Isabella, looking at him with determination.

"No, wait for me here with the rest," insisted Ethan firmly yet gently.

Isabella immediately pouted, letting out a soft huff that contradicted her image as the delegation’s ruthless princess.

Ethan couldn’t help but smile. He stepped closer, tenderly stroking her cheek to calm her, and gave her a quick kiss on the lips that left her breathless.

"Come on, be a good girl," murmured Ethan near her ear with a playful smirk. "If you stay here, I’ll reward you tonight... do you want to?"

Isabella felt a flush cover her face, but she let out a low giggle and finally gave in, releasing his arm while giving him a gaze filled with implicit promises.

Meanwhile, back in the Golden Sun Grand Colosseum, the massive projection screen was broadcasting every second of the exchange in high definition. The entire crowd of nobles, sect elders, and delegates fell into a deathly silence, turning their heads to stare directly at King Alaric.

There sat the princess of his kingdom and his future son-in-law, flirting and being intimate in public without a shred of shame before millions of spectators across the empire. King Alaric felt a vein on his forehead begin to throb violently as he cleared his throat, trying to maintain a majestic posture despite the awkwardness.

Ethan descended from the sky with elegance, landing at the entrance of the structure with a soft clack against the stone.

[It is on the bottom floor below], said Crul, echoing directly within Ethan’s mind.

Ethan observed the darkness of the depths before replying in thought, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Well, we’re here now. Tell me once and for all what this mystery is about," said Ethan.

[There is no mystery, but before you were too far away and too weak for me to tell you about the upper planes], explained Crul.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed as he processed the words echoing inside his head.

"Is that where the Amethyst Ancestor lived?" asked Ethan.

[Indeed, he originates from that place. The upper planes are a territory governed by their own rules, where everything functions differently than in this world], answered Crul.

Ethan felt the voice echo with greater force in his consciousness as he gazed down into the abyss at his feet.

[Your body has been cleansed step by step, polished until becoming pure. Right now, you are on the verge of reaching the level of Spiritual Transcendence, breaking the limits of what it means to be human. Your organism will attain such high spirituality that it will allow you to feed directly off the environment’s energy. At this level, you will no longer need to eat or drink; you will be able to live off the rain’s dew or solely off sunlight], said Crul.

Ethan listened in silence, feeling the energy within him resonate with the words of the ancestral voice.

[It is the first step toward ascending to that world. The laws over there do not allow anything worldly to draw near; mortals simply have no place unless a great power marks them to grant them entry. Otherwise, the Dao itself will see to exterminating them. That is why, when cultivators attempt to ascend through their own means, they must battle the Dao directly. You must possess the conviction to gain everything, even if the price is your own life], explained Crul.

Ethan nodded firmly, without a trace of doubt in his eyes.

"How can I get there?" asked Ethan.

[Fairly simple, actually. You just have to go up until you arrive], answered Crul.

Ethan furrowed his brow, bewildered by the simplicity of the answer.

"Go up?" repeated Ethan.

[Indeed. What you know as planets is nothing more than a misconception. The entire universe, as you imagine it, is a sea as vast as creation itself. This continent is merely an insignificant mass of land floating in the waters of this plane], said Crul.

Ethan let out a brief laugh of disbelief in his mind.

"You must be joking," muttered Ethan.

[Not at all. Ascending literally means that: escaping this plane], countered Crul.

"Now I know that the upper planes are a physical place and not a mere concept," said Ethan, beginning his descent down the stone stairs. "Why all the mystery?"

[It wasn’t a mystery], said Crul, his voice vibrating with an ancient resonance within his mind. [Rather, this place is governed by different rules. One could say they were created to protect the beings of this plane, though depending on how you look at it, it could just as well be considered a prison.]

Ethan paused on a landing along the tunnel, furrowing his brow.

"I don’t understand what you mean," said Ethan. "What prison?"

[Would you like to hear a legend?] asked Crul, letting out a low chuckle. [In the upper planes, almost everyone knows it. To them, it is the equivalent of what you came to know as God creating the world in seven days.]

"I would really like to hear it," said Ethan, pushing deeper into the structure’s depths as the light from outside faded completely.

[It bears a striking resemblance to the story you know], said Crul, adopting a solemn tone that echoed through Ethan’s mind like an ancient resonance. [It speaks of an omnipotent being, without name or beginning, who created all existence and divinity. In the upper planes, they do not call him God... they call him the One.]

Ethan kept a steady pace along the stone steps, listening attentively as the gloom of the abyss enveloped them.