Chapter 444: Astral Realm and Authority Extraction

Golden light rushed past Caelus and Sylvia as the passage dragged them away from the Abyss. He held her hand and searched for somewhere they could stop.

"Caelus, do you know where we’re going?"

"Give me a moment. If something goes wrong, I’ll get us out."

His dragon form would strengthen Origin Lock and help him cut an escape route. At least that was the plan until a notification appeared.

[Ding! You are leaving the universe.]

[Skills cannot function beyond the jurisdiction of the Axiom Origin.]

[Mystic Codes are fundamental building blocks of reality and remain usable.]

Caelus read the first line again because leaving the Abyss and leaving the universe were very different problems. He had not packed for the second one.

The Hollow King had said their world was not the only one. Were there other universes without the Axiom Origin or even a game world?

The passage released them into a golden realm filled with flowing light. Its entrance closed behind them as Sylvia searched their surroundings.

She kept her hand in his and moved closer.

"Well, we’re still together. I’d rather we stayed that way until we know where we are."

Caelus examined the realm through his Ender power.

[Skill Activated: Origin Lock.]

Despite the familiar label, the authority still answered him. However, the concepts rushing through his vision changed too quickly for him to understand.

He cut off his perception as pain spread through his head. The entire realm was moving at a speed that made his ability to travel at light speed seem almost useless.

"This place is moving so fast that I can’t measure it."

For all he knew, it moved faster than a universe could expand. Trying to confirm that sounded like an excellent way to destroy his brain.

Sylvia fell silent at his explanation, then noticed several small lights moving across the ground below.

"There are little creatures down there. Shall we take a look?"

"Stay cautious. We don’t know what they are."

They descended toward the creatures and found tiny cores wrapped in glowing spiritual bodies. Soft chirps came from them as they gathered around the newcomers.

One circled Caelus’s hand and drifted closer. A system panel appeared beside it.

[Would you like to extract?]

The offer surprised him, but he accepted it.

[Talent Activated: Endless Extraction.]

[Ding! You have extracted an Astral Seele from the Astral Realm.]

[Authority obtained: Multiverse Traversal.]

[Multiverse Traversal: Allows travel through the multiverse with sufficient energy.]

[Authorities exist above Mystic Codes. Controlling an Authority is difficult.]

[Further information unavailable. Axiom Origin Database cannot be detected.]

The little Seele disappeared as the notices arrived. Every creature around them stopped chirping and turned toward Caelus with a look of hostility.

They were clearly displeased.

"What did you do hubby? Did you just kill that thing?"

"I don’t know..." Caelus replied cluelessly. "It just disappeared when I pressed extract. I got something called an Authority to travel the multiverse though."

"I don’t think its friends agreed to it, hubby."

The Seeles rushed together and formed a towering golden body. A pair of arms stretched from its sides as Caelus pulled Sylvia away.

"We need to leave!"

The creature crossed the distance in a flash and slammed its palm into their path. Sylvia raised her hand to summon a blood weapon, only for the skill to fail.

"Right... no skills here."

She abandoned the familiar skill and drew on the Mystic Codes she had received after ascending.

[Mystic Code Activated: Earth.]

A stone shield rose between them and the descending hand. Sylvia thickened its center too quickly and left the edges thin enough to shatter on contact.

CRACK!

Caelus dragged her through the broken edge as the palm crushed the shield. She caught the fragments with wind and drove them back into the creature’s face.

The stones burst against its golden skin without slowing it. Another hand swept toward them while Caelus gathered lightning between his palms.

[Mystic Code Activated: Origin Lightning.]

He tried shaping a spear, but the power spread into uneven branches. With no time to fix it, he threw the entire mass at the reaching hand.

BOOM!

Lightning tore through the palm and raced up its arm. The golden limb burst apart as scorched Seeles scattered across the ground.

Caelus immediately sent another bolt through the opening. It struck the creature’s shoulder and forced the entire body backward.

"I can hold its other arm for you. Just give me a moment to form a rope."

Sylvia formed water around its remaining arm and tightened it into a rope. The shape kept breaking under the creature’s movement, so she let it flow and turned it into a spinning current instead.

Caelus fired through the current, carrying Origin Lightning along the water wrapped around its wrist. The creature jerked backward as the blast ripped its second hand away.

Sylvia released the water and raised stone spikes beneath its feet. This time she kept their shapes simple, driving them through its legs as it tried to recover.

She smiled at Caelus through the rising dust.

"I’ve left the chest for you."

The creature bent toward her, exposing the opening she had made. Caelus gathered a thicker bolt and drove it straight through.

BANG!

A hole opened through its torso and golden fragments sprayed from its back. It collapsed against Sylvia’s spikes while lightning continued burning through its body.

Caelus was already preparing another strike when lights appeared beyond its fallen shoulders. More Seeles raced toward them from the surrounding realm.

"More are coming from your side."

Sylvia spread fire across their path and fed it with wind. The first wave scattered around the flames, but hundreds more poured over them and entered the damaged body.

Its missing arms grew back thicker than before. Then the creature rose and crushed the spikes beneath its feet.

Caelus struck its chest again and blasted another deep hole through it. Fresh lights immediately filled the wound as a second stream arrived from behind them.

Sylvia pulled her flames into a wide ring around the creature, forcing the incoming Seeles to climb higher.

"I can’t keep them out for long. Do you have enough for another strike?"

"Let’s see for ourselves!"

Caelus gathered Origin Lightning into both hands and sent the bolts together. They struck its chest with a deafening crash and drove it through the fire.

For a moment, he could see the distant ground through its ruined torso. Then the golden sky brightened with thousands of approaching lights.

"You’ve got to be kidding me."

The Seeles poured into the creature until it rose above Sylvia’s wall of fire. Its newly formed hand reached down and swallowed the flames beneath its palm.