Chapter 387: Fault Line Obstruction, Not Necessarily

Why Wang Yu felt the need to touch this colossal octopus, or what he might gain from the act, was something he could not fully articulate.

Yet, from the very moment he laid eyes on the creature, his body had instinctively sensed something—a feeling that urged him to reach out, suggesting that perhaps, just as he had learned from vampires or dragon blood, there was knowledge to be harvested here.

The progress those previous encounters had granted him was immense, and he was deeply curious about what changes this giant might bring. Risks existed, certainly, but in his view, they were entirely acceptable.

If a touch from someone of his caliber were enough to awaken the beast, then the lullaby this dream deity had been broadcasting for untold ages would be far too fragile to hold any meaning.

"Guide the power of this dream deity as I instruct; simple divine arts will make our movement through the void much easier."

The girl guided Wang Yu in channeling the power inherent in the deity’s shell to weave divine arts. Wang Yu followed her directions, rapidly structuring the divine energy in a specific configuration. Faced with the power of the Chariot, casting divine arts was merely a matter of adding a few extra steps to his usual spellcasting.

A faint radiance enveloped them. With this simple yet effective art, they could now move freely through the void, whether up, down, or side to side.

Previously, lacking any leverage in the void, they had been unable to navigate normally; they had either relied on the rope fashioned from the shattered meteorite blade or simply drifted helplessly downward.

The octopus was unimaginably vast, its body, several orders of magnitude larger than any mountain, having become the very backdrop of this space. Wang Yu feared it would take them over half a year just to reach it.

Fortunately, they were in luck. The gargantuan creature possessed countless tentacles, one of which pierced the space beside them and plunged straight into the unfathomable depths of the void. To reach this tentacle would not take nearly as long.

Having decided on his course of action, there was no need to linger. Wang Yu began to use the deity’s power to propel himself through the void, carrying the girl toward the tentacle, the thread of the shattered meteorite blade still clutched in his hand, ready to retreat should danger arise.

As they pressed forward, the tentacle grew ever larger in their vision. The sheer scale that had seemed distant now loomed before them, pressing down with the crushing weight of a titan.

If this creature were to descend upon the outside world, what would those who stood against it think, or even do? At such a scale, its very physical density would render most attacks utterly futile.

"Sss..."

A faint sound, like something being torn asunder, echoed through the void. Wang Yu’s forward momentum halted. He reached out, puzzled, to touch the space before him; something was blocking his path.

In his attempt to break through the barrier, he suffered injury. His fingers, coated in the power of the Chariot, bore clear, jagged lacerations—a gruesome sight.

Though the flesh appeared mangled, it was merely the outer layer that had been shredded. As the blood around the wounds began to writhe, the gashes vanished in an instant.

Still, this proved the barrier’s lethality. He dared not force his way through, fearing what a deeper penetration might do to him.

Canceling the Chariot’s power on his fingers, Wang Yu reached out again. This time, he felt no resistance; his fingers passed through the barrier as if it were nothing.

"The premise that I cannot touch void entities, and they cannot touch me, only holds if I do not use the Chariot’s power. But it seems that condition doesn't apply here..."

After a moment of thought, Wang Yu shook his head. While deactivating the Chariot would render him intangible—untouchable by anything—the idea of charging in while defenseless was a non-starter.

He needed the Chariot’s power to channel the divine energy for movement, and more importantly, to protect the girl. From this barrier to the tentacle was a distance of several hundred meters.

His Chariot’s protection could not extend that far; the moment he dropped it, Avia would be consumed by the void, and Wang Yu would never allow that to happen.

He relayed his findings to Avia. The girl fell into deep thought, eventually urging him to experiment further to uncover the nature of the barrier.

Wang Yu followed her instructions, repeatedly thrusting his Chariot-protected hands into the barrier. Each time he went deeper, the injuries grew more severe, peaking when he pushed his entire arm inside.

After forcing his arm in, Wang Yu pushed harder, enduring the agony to gain a little more ground. Deep, jagged tears appeared instantly on his fingertips.

Normally, his regenerative abilities could keep pace with such damage, fighting the tearing of flesh with constant healing. But as he pushed that extra bit further, the rate of destruction immediately overwhelmed his limits.

In a heartbeat, the tip of his middle finger was ground away; flesh vanished, the bone within was pulverized, and the marrow was exposed. Before the blood could even spray, the omnipresent force tore it into nothingness.

"No, I can't take it."

Clicking his tongue, Wang Yu immediately withdrew the Chariot’s power from his arm. His limb lost its physical form, and the damage ceased. As he pulled it back, the wounds healed in moments.

"It seems forcing our way through is impossible; you can't withstand it. But I want to try to understand how this tearing effect works. Try coating your arm in divine energy and probing again. I should be able to gather some data from the process."

Avia examined his arm, but the fully healed limb offered no clues. Determined to help him bypass the barrier, she shared her plan.

Wang Yu complied. With the dream deity’s power layered over his arm, he reached into the zone once more. The tearing sensation returned, shredding his arm just as before.

But this time, the divine energy itself was also being torn apart. The changes in the energy were perceived by Wang Yu’s Chariot and relayed to Avia in real-time.

Through repeated attempts, Wang Yu gathered enough information for Avia to begin a rigorous analysis.

They had plenty of time. This void was devoid of life, making it relatively safe and allowing them to avoid the cataclysmic tides of the outside world.

Even for Avia, these fragmented clues were not immediately conclusive. After half a day of deduction and elimination, she finally realized the source of the tearing.

"Wang Yu, what you were doing was essentially moving from an incomplete space into a complete one. The space we are currently in is incomplete, while the space the octopus occupies is whole."

"As we move forward, our incomplete space begins to merge with the complete one. But because we are from an incomplete space, we lack certain components that exist in the complete one. When we enter, those missing parts manifest as the trauma you suffered."

"It seems there is a space synchronized and overlapping with our own. We are in one, and the octopus exists in both. It is possible that Zig and the others are over there."

Avia shared her conclusion, her voice thoughtful. Wang Yu understood her words, but not the mechanics behind them. He could only give her a thumbs-up.

"Impressive! If that’s the case, is there any way we can contact the Professor and the others, who are likely in that other space?"

...

"As expected of Avia. To analyze the existence of two spaces based on those changes alone..."

Zig watched the scene unfolding before him, sighing. The image showed Wang Yu and Avia moving through the void, though the footage was slowed down dozens of times. He successfully read their conversation through lip-reading.

"Are they your companions? I never expected him to tear away the remnants of the power left by that Abyss creature—the very thing blocking the connection between my soul and my body. He might not even realize it himself. And he is a human, isn't he? I have never seen a human enter the void in the flesh, save for those of the Abyss."

The old man looked at Zig, his tone filled with wonder. Even having witnessed calamity and extinction, what Wang Yu had just done was among the most absurd things in his memory.

The fact that he could transmit the image from near his shell to this location was merely a side effect of Wang Yu forcibly borrowing his power through the Chariot.

"You say he wants to touch that Abyss creature. Do I know why?"

The old man continued to ask, unable to fathom Wang Yu’s motive.

"I don't know. But if anyone can complete the plan you failed to finish, it will likely be him."

Zig shook his head. Though he had an inkling of Wang Yu’s reasons, he chose not to speak them aloud.

"What kind of being is he? But it is true—this place, which hasn't changed in eons, is changing because of him."

The old man grew even more curious about what kind of entity Wang Yu was. The plan he had failed to complete was to cast this octopus—which clung to the material world—into the depths where the void and the material world converged. He had long since abandoned hope for it; how could Wang Yu succeed?

"He always gives us some terrifying surprises. We can't do much right now, and we can't even leave this desolate realm to reach them. We might as well try to help him see it through."

Zig stood up and walked toward Noel, who was rummaging through her storage items.

"Indeed. That girl’s analytical ability is equally astonishing. But I cannot move the power of my shell over there. All I can do is relay the images to you; I cannot help them cross the barrier created by the spatial rift. Or rather, even if I had all my power, I could not do it."

The old man sighed. Having spent days with Zig, he knew him to be a man of great precision. If he described Wang Yu in such terms, there had to be a reason. Yet, the spatial rift made everything seem impossible.

"If the nature of these two spaces is as you say, sir, then perhaps not."

Zig’s tone was strange as he took the alchemical materials Noel handed him, holding them up to the light to inspect them.