Chapter 311: Frostars

"With this, we will be there within a minute. It is quite far away from here, after all."

Atlas nodded as he looked at the trident. Melina remained silent for a moment before speaking again, "You just need to hold the Trident, Sir Atlas, and we will travel through space to arrive there." Atlas nodded again as he understood what travelling through space meant to some extent, although he still had no clear idea about how the process itself worked.

"I see, but when I arrive there, won’t your people immediately attack me after seeing that I am from a different race?" Atlas asked, already considering the possibility of being surrounded by the Mermaid race the moment they arrived.

Melina nodded at his concern and replied, "They would have done that if I hadn’t introduced you as our benefactor, since I am the princess of Frostars’ sole empire, they would never disregard my words." Her answer immediately caught Atlas’s attention, especially because she had casually mentioned something he hadn’t known about her.

Atlas slightly arched an eyebrow. "You are a princess? And Sole Empire, you mean to say there is only a single empire in your world?" Melina nodded again while the trident continued floating beside her. "Yes, I am the princess of the ’United Mermaid Empire’ in our world. Everyone lives under the Empire’s protection."

Atlas remained silent for a moment because he had never guessed that Melina belonged to the royal family, and the fact that her entire world was governed by a single empire made her situation even more interesting.

’This is interesting. If she is a princess, then her going out personally to find that person must mean that person is someone highly respected throughout the Galaxy, or their situation is even worse than what she has told me.’ Atlas remembered Melina mentioning that they had been searching for someone who could locate barren worlds for them, and that person seemed important enough for a princess to personally leave her world and search for them.

He didn’t want to make assumptions before learning more, however, so he decided to observe the situation first and ask about that person later.

’For now, I should go and see how the process is done. After that, I can ask her about that person.’ Atlas dismissed his previous thoughts before turning toward Melina. "Alright, now let’s go."

He stepped forward as Melina gestured toward the upper part of the trident and held the lower part herself. The moment both of them placed their hands on the weapon, the surrounding space immediately began to ripple.

ZZTTZZZZ

Streaks of thunder suddenly seemed to emerge from the empty space around them, spreading outward for a moment before disappearing again. Then, the space directly above the trident suddenly tore apart on its own, forming a circular opening in the air.

The opening was only large enough to contain roughly three people at once, but Atlas could clearly see a strange force spinning inside it at a speed that seemed to defy everything he understood about movement.

’Even Orivian and Melina weren’t that fast—!’ Before Atlas could finish the thought, he suddenly felt a powerful pull coming from the Space-Hole. He didn’t even have enough time to think about resisting it before his entire body was pulled inside along with Melina and the trident.

The moment Atlas entered the Space-Hole, his eyes widened as he found himself surrounded by what appeared to be an endless vacuum illuminated by white light, with no visible ground or ordinary environment around him.

Atlas shifted his gaze toward his right and saw Melina smiling calmly as she spoke, "Do not worry, Sir Atlas, this is how travelling through ’Space-Time’ feels. From what I can sense, my world is fifteen thousand Light Years away from here, so we will reach there in a minute."

Atlas didn’t understand the new terms she had used, especially the distance she mentioned, but he understood the important part of what she was saying. They would arrive at her world within a minute, so he simply turned his attention toward the front and remained silent while his body continued moving forward on its own.

The force pulling them through the Space-Hole was strong enough to carry both of them without requiring any effort from Atlas. He continued holding the trident while observing the strange environment around him, trying to understand what exactly was happening.

There was no sensation of normal movement, and yet they were clearly travelling an enormous distance in a very short amount of time.

...

A minute later...

In the empty space filled with distant stars and planets, space itself suddenly rippled violently at a certain position. The ripple expanded for a moment before transforming into the same Space-Hole that Atlas and Melina had entered earlier. The moment it stabilized, both of them were pushed out of the opening, and the trident finally stopped as the pulling force disappeared completely.

The moment Atlas and Melina appeared in the empty space, Atlas’s breathing immediately stopped because of the lack of air around him. His body reacted instinctively as his eyes began bulging and his chest tightened, but before the situation could become worse, Melina calmly extended her hand forward. A seemingly small barrier immediately formed around both of them, separating them from the vacuum of space.

"Huff... Huff... What was that?" Atlas panted heavily as he looked toward Melina. She immediately answered, "That was empty space, Sir Atlas, there was no oxygen or air pressure around us, which caused your natural Human body to react that way. After all, the Human body requires oxygen to function normally." Atlas immediately understood the problem and altered the Logic controlling the speed of his Regenerative Hide Trait.

In a single instant, his body recovered completely and his breathing returned to normal.

Atlas then turned around and looked at the vast emptiness surrounding them. There seemed to be no end to the space around him, while countless stars could be seen in the distance and massive planets moved around them.

The sight was completely different from anything he had ever witnessed inside Eliomor, and the sheer scale of it caused Atlas to remain silent for several moments as he took everything in. He had spent his entire life inside a single world that was insignificant compared to the vastness surrounding him, and seeing the Galaxy directly made him realize just how much existed beyond the place he had always known.

"Is this... the Galaxy?" Atlas muttered instinctively.

Melina nodded as she watched his fascinated expression. "Yes, Sir Atlas. It is. This is the Primartia Galaxy, where countless Worlds exist." Atlas nodded slowly before lowering his gaze slightly toward the space ahead of them.

The moment he did, his eyes widened again when he saw a massive world covered entirely in blue. Vast layers of water covered its surface, making the entire world appear like an enormous blue sphere floating in the darkness of space.

"That is our world, Sir Atlas, ’Frostars.’"