Chaos Heir

Chapter 1594: Cube

Cracks suddenly appeared on the black ground, the empty atmosphere, and the starless sky above. They didn’t expand or deepen. They materialized out of nowhere, distorting the scenery as a whole.

The area came to a complete standstill, frozen in time and space for a fraction of a second that seemed to last an eternity, granting everyone on scene an endless moment to absorb the breathtaking event.

It soon became clear that the ground didn’t actually break. The air didn’t crack, and no wounds had cut through the starless sky. Those material elements were still intact and unharmed, but the fabric of space over them wasn’t.

Space didn’t have a proper shape. It wasn’t something people could grasp, but it existed nonetheless. It was nowhere and everywhere at the same time, too. It simply was, and Lord Envoy’s technique had granted everyone first-row seats to its mysterious wonders.

The hidden layer of reality had surfaced, covering everything, resting above the material world like a glass-like membrane that was impossibly faint but also undeniably solid.

Actually, that layer wasn’t a layer at all. It wasn’t a membrane, either. It was a polyhedron with an irregular but three-dimensional shape that existed wherever reality was.

Truth be told, the irregular shape was a visual trick. An expert in the field would understand that the polyhedron was really a cube. The distorted space had twisted its superficial appearance, giving it that unclear form.

Still, most importantly, the cube was cracked, as if someone had punched its corner, littering it with scars that turned its seamless shape into an intricate puzzle of patchworked shards, which distorted anything they encompassed.

And then, without needing additional inputs, the seemingly endless moment passed, and the cracked cube blew outward, sending its countless shards everywhere.

A storm of ethereal but distorting shard-like items engulfed the area, generating winds that had nothing to do with air. Space itself was moving in disparate directions, rearranging itself violently and chaotically.

Airrak, Lord Envoy, and Lord Blind Sword were immune to the storm. They still closed their eyes and covered their faces to endure those violent, eerie gales, but the shard that had previously distorted their figures had blown away without affecting them.

The same wasn’t true for literally everything else. A vast chunk of the quadrant seemed to have become a piece of glass that had crashed onto a solid surface, shattering and sending its many pieces everywhere.

Of course, Lord Envoy wasn’t at a level where he could rupture space permanently. The allied front wouldn’t have needed Khan, the scar in the fabric of reality left behind by the Scarlet Eyes, and massive amounts of synthetic mana to invade that separate universe otherwise.

So, as those shards blew away, displacing everything that had once been that vast chunk of the quadrant, more space took their place, reassembling the area and restoring its structural integrity.

The storm vanished as if it had never existed, and a new environment took its place. An immense, flattened gorge expanded in every direction, its irregular base perfectly matching the previous polyhedron.

And, on top of that giant but strangely precise cavity, Lord Envoy, Airrak, and Lord Blind Sword hovered, only for gravity to become a variable again and pull them toward the flat surface.

A tinge of tiredness invaded Airrak when she restored her bearings, but her mind didn’t bother recording it. A far more intense shock took over her brain as soon as she placed her cane on the ground and lifted her head, inspecting that widespread consequence from behind her grey strands.

The technique had indeed required some set-up, which would have taken Lord Envoy far longer to arrange on his own. Yet, its effects were undeniable and unavoidable.

Unless a warrior could oppose or at least interact with the pull of the fabric of space, Lord Envoy’s technique would result in a direct hit. It was a sure-fire trump card that could deal virtually any opponent, ensuring a mathematically correct path to victory.

Airrak’s experience was far from shallow, but that performance surpassed her wildest imagination. She had already confirmed that Lord Envoy outclassed her, but that technique stood in the realm of monsters.

Moreover, the injured Lord Blind Sword limped toward Lord Envoy and Airrak, no trace of surprise affecting his being. His casual stance made that incredible display of power look like an ordinary occurrence, hinting at how he also stood in a superior realm.

Airrak obviously couldn’t forget how the Thilku Empire had two more of those Royal Guards, and the thought tried to send a chill down her crooked spine. Humankind had to maintain friendly relations with that species at all costs. Its destruction would become a certainty otherwise.

"We should move before they reassemble themselves," Lord Blind Sword announced in the human language once he reached his two companions. "[Old Envoy], how long do we have?"

"The creator of this separate space should be able to reassemble them immediately," Lord Envoy revealed, ripping off one of his military uniform’s sleeves. "The fact that he still hasn’t done that means that he is busy."

Since the conversation was in the human language, Airrak gained insights into that sure-fire technique’s drawback. Despite its widespread destruction, it seemed it couldn’t actually kill the affected entities. Lord Envoy had only shattered the Kings and displaced their pieces, buying his team time.

"It must be Blue’s wife," Lord Blind Sword guessed, accepting the torn sleeve and tying it around his closed eyes to restore his eyepatch. "Our path toward the Emperor should be clear then."

A streak of light flashed in the area as soon as Lord Blind Sword finished speaking his line. The world blazed for a second before returning to its regular dim darkness, showing the new addition to the trio.

Kodwa had landed among his companions, showing his unharmed state. The upper part of his creased and starless military uniform had disappeared, revealing his surprisingly shredded torso, and chunks of his messy beard had burned, but he looked otherwise perfectly fine.

"[Ah]! You are done, too!" Lord Blind Sword exclaimed, limping toward Kodwa to slam his huge palm on his shoulder. "Your performance was exemplary. You brought honor to our alliance!"

Kodwa wasn’t a friendly fella. He also came from the Kodwa noble family, so the area had little to no real allies. Still, he knew the importance of politics, so he accepted the Royal Guard’s praise and enthusiasm. Kodwa simply wished the Thilku hadn’t tried to break his shoulder in the process.

Nevertheless, before the four could devise their next move, an earthquake shook the area, sending its tremors into the sky above.

Lord Blind Sword initially thought the shattered Kings were returning, but his fellow Royal Guard’s stance hinted at something else. Lord Envoy was looking at the ground, gaining insights only his specific expertise could grant.

"This separate space is breaking down," Lord Envoy explained, unsure of how good a thing that was.