Chapter 691: Three Layer Space Problem, Divine Stone

The ground came up slowly, revealing a large metal door buried beneath the wilderness. Isaac stood a few steps away from it, studying the structure while Selene continued checking the area around them. The entrance alone was large enough for several people to pass through at once.

Isaac wanted to send a few of his clones inside first and scout the area, but Selene confirmed that the ruins were safe. With her assurance, Isaac entered first alongside Catherine’s clone, and the others followed carefully behind them. They did not know what they would find inside, so everyone remained alert even though nothing had attacked them so far.

The moment Isaac stepped through the entrance, he stopped for a moment and looked around. The space inside was enormous as expected, far larger than the Sky City.

He had seen spatial expansion technology before, so he could tell how baffling this place was.

This place was doing something that should not have been possible. Living beings could not normally enter spaces that were spatially expanded by large margins, which meant that simply standing inside this ruin was proof that the civilization that created it had accomplished something far beyond modern technology.

For example, living creatures could not simply be placed inside a storage ring and kept there safely. The internal space of such objects existed under completely different spatial conditions, and anything alive would normally be rejected by the spatial laws governing it. The Soulbind Pendant was an exception, but as far as Isaac knew, that was something created by the System itself rather than a genuine achievement of existing spatial technology.

This place, however, was clearly expanded through spatial magic. Isaac could sense the strange arrangement of space around them, yet there was no feeling of rejection or instability, and every living person in the group was able to remain inside without any problem.

"This is solution of the Three Layer Space Problem," Catherine said quietly as she looked around the massive structure. There was faint amazement in her voice, as though even she was having difficulty believing what she was seeing.

"So it really is the Three Layer Space Problem. I can’t believe the Luminar civilization actually managed to preserve something like this. That’s... shocking," Althea said as she looked around.

Emily glanced between them. "What is the Three Layer Space Problem?"

Althea looked at her before beginning to explain. "You know that living beings normally can’t enter spatially expanded objects, right?"

Emily nodded.

"The problem comes from the nature of the space itself. The internal space of most spatial objects exists in what we call negative spatial conditions, which is why living beings cannot remain inside them safely. However, there has always been a theory that it might be possible to create an expanded space where living beings could enter."

Althea paused briefly before continuing, making sure that she explained the complicated concept as clearly as she could. "The theory requires three separate spatial fields, with the first being the normal space around us and the second spatial field existing inside it. The second field needs to be larger than the first field, which means the second field is expanded positively."

She continued, "Then a third spatial field is created within the second one, and that third field functions like an ordinary spatial storage space, meaning its internal space is negative. If everything is balanced correctly, the positive and negative spatial conditions can cancel each other out, allowing living beings to enter the expanded space without being rejected by the spatial laws. The problem is that creating a net positive spatial field is considered impossible, or at least something scientists haven’t been able to achieve. But the Luminars clearly solved it, because we are standing inside the result of that theory right now."

Emily nodded slowly, her expression becoming even more serious as she listened to the explanation. Isaac looked at her for a moment and immediately realized that she had understood almost none of it, because she was simply nodding with the seriousness because she did not want anyone to realize that the entire subject had gone over her head.

As the group moved deeper into the ruins, Isaac sensed weapons hidden behind the walls and large machines that looked like tanks positioned throughout the corridors. Some of them were partially covered by the surrounding structure, while others appeared to have been deliberately placed in defensive positions, but none of them moved or showed any sign of activating.

"This is strange. Why aren’t they attacking us?" Althea said, looking at the weapons with confusion.

"I think it might be because of me. Remember that I’m a Moon Dragon, so maybe this place recognized me, and that’s why I was able to find it so easily," Selene replied after considering it for a moment.

Althea nodded, although she did not seem completely convinced by the explanation. She had no better answer, however, and Selene’s connection to the Moon Dragons made it believable enough that she decided not to question it further.

In truth, Selene had received a reward from her trial that allowed her to access the ruins of the Moon Dragons. This ruin must’ve belonged to that civilization, which meant that the defenses were responding to Selene in much the same way a locked door would respond to the person who possessed its key.

"We are quite lucky. If these things were still fully operational, we would probably be in serious trouble," Alice said as she examined one of the weapons.

"How so?" Emily asked, looking at Alice.

"I know the answer to that!" Celia suddenly said, joining the conversation. "The space here is being maintained in a very delicate balance. If we used too much mana because of a powerful skill, or damaged the structure badly enough, the spatial fields could become unstable and we would..."

She made a slow twisting motion with her hand near her neck, making the meaning obvious without needing to finish the sentence. Isaac chuckled as he continued walking, because Celia was clearly enjoying the exploration. That said, she was actually correct about the danger despite the casual way she had explained it.

They had no idea how powerful the weapons were because none of them specialized in that field, but the spatial structure itself was already dangerous enough. A large battle inside this place could easily disrupt the balance of the three spatial fields, and the consequences would likely be far worse than simply being attacked by the weapons.

Despite that, Celia was clearly enjoying herself as they continued through the ruins. Alice and Selene were not much different, although each of them had a different reason for being excited about their discovery.

For Celia, discovering a hidden ruin during her first real trip into the wilderness was almost a dream come true. Alice had always wanted to experience adventures like this, while Selene was more interested in what kind of treasures the ancient civilization might have left behind.

Isaac and Emily exchanged glances as they watched the three girls. They both smiled, understanding exactly what Celia, Alice, and Selene were thinking without needing to say anything.

Eventually, the group reached another large door that looked considerably more secure than the others they had passed. Selene stopped in front of it and examined the surface for several seconds before placing her hand against it.

"I can feel that there’s something important behind this door. But I can’t hack into the defense system inside the room, so I don’t know what’s waiting for us," Selene said after a moment.

Isaac’s expression became serious as he looked at the sealed entrance.

"Do we need to be prepared to fight?" he asked.

"No. The defense system won’t attack us. It’s just taking too much time to complete the verification process before it allows me to know what is inside. I tried hacking the system directly, but that is also taking time," Selene said, keeping her hand against the door as she continued examining the system.

Isaac nodded as he looked at the sealed entrance. If the defense system was not going to attack them, there was no reason to waste more time waiting for Selene to complete the verification, especially when they were sure they would not be attacked.

"I’ll open the door now," Selene said before waving her hand toward the entrance. The runes along the surface of the door lit up one after another, and after a few seconds, the heavy door slowly moved aside.

Beyond it was a large room that looked different from the corridors they had passed through. Runes covered the walls and floor, forming several layers of complicated formations, while a giant stone stood in the center of the room, surrounded by the formations.

The stone was glowing with a soft white light.

Everyone froze when they saw it.

They recognized it immediately.

"A Divine Stone," Alice muttered, her eyes fixed on the enormous stone in the center of the room. Her voice was quiet, but there was no mistaking the excitement in her eyes.

The others entered the room carefully, although there was no immediate sign of danger. Isaac followed them while keeping his attention on the surrounding formations, but even he found it difficult to ignore the Divine Stone standing in the center.

Divine Stones were extremely important to Alice because they were required for her resurrection skill. She still had several stones that had been left behind by her ancestors and discovered in her mansion, so she was not in immediate need of them, but having another Divine Stone of this size was obviously valuable.

For Saintesses, these stones were very important. Only with these stones could they resurrect someone.

Moreover, powerful awakeners and Ascendants who had some connection with a Saintess were willing to pay almost any price to obtain even a fragment of a Divine Stone. They could then offer it to a Saintess in exchange for a favor, or keep it as a form of payment that could potentially be used to have them resurrected in the future.

"A Divine Stone this big would cost almost the same as the Florathi Kingdom’s annual budget," Althea muttered as she stared at it.