Chapter 47: The Gravity of Gods
The High World, Terra Nova, was a place where physics hated you personally.
Inside Fortress Eternity, parked camouflaged on a branch of a World-Tree, the atmosphere was heavy. Literally.
The 50x gravity of this dimension was crushing.
Prince Valerian was lying flat on the floor of the training room. He couldn't stand up. His bones were creaking audibly.
"I... can't... move..." Valerian wheezed. "My blood... weighs... a ton."
Lyra and Kael were in similar positions, pinned like insects in a display case. Even Anya was sitting down, hugging her bear, looking pale.
"Big Brother," Anya whispered. "My tummy feels heavy."
Only the monsters of the team were standing.
Seraphina (Demon Physique) was walking, though her steps were slow and deliberate.
Ria (Machine Goddess) had simply recalibrated her internal hydraulics to compensate.
Old Mo and Kassandra were meditating, sweating profusely as they used Qi to reinforce their skeletons.
And me?
I was in the kitchen, chopping vegetables.
"Time for lunch," I announced.
I walked into the training room carrying a massive pot. The smell wafting from it was intense—spicy, rich, and vibrating with energy.
Gravity-Adaptation Stew.
Made from the Void-Touched Chimera meat (which I saved) and High-World Moss I scraped off the tree branch outside.
"Eat," I ordered, ladling the soup into bowls. "This stew contains high-density protein. It will reinforce your muscle fibers to handle the pressure. If you don't eat, your hearts will fail in an hour."
Valerian clawed his way to the bowl. He ate face-first, like a dog.
"Delicious..." he groaned. "I can feel... my legs again."
"We have to adapt quickly," I said, sipping my own bowl. "We are illegal immigrants in a world of giants. If a local squirrel finds us right now, we die."
I looked at the window.
Outside, a "bird" the size of a Boeing 747 flew past, screeching. Its feathers crackled with lightning.
Rank 6 Beast: Thunder-Roc.
In the Middle World, that bird would be a Calamity. Here, it was a pigeon.
"I'm going out to scout," I said, putting down my bowl. "Seraphina, Ria. You're with me. Everyone else, stay inside and cultivate. Do not open the door. Not even for the pizza delivery guy."
The Jungle Floor.
We descended from the fortress using Ria's anti-gravity belts.
The drop from the tree branch to the jungle floor was five miles.
We landed in a clearing of fern-like plants that were taller than skyscrapers. The sunlight from the Sentient Star filtered down in dappled beams of golden radiation.
"The Qi here," Seraphina took a deep breath. Her eyes glowed. "It is Divine Qi. It's pure. If I cultivate here for a year, I could regain my True Demon form."
"We don't have a year," I said. "We have empty pockets."
I checked the Ouroboros Ring.
My stash of Spirit Stones (Middle World Currency) was useless here. It was like bringing Monopoly money to a Ferrari dealership.
We needed Divine Stones (crystallized Divine Qi) or Faith Orbs.
"Target located," Ria whispered, pointing South. "City of Polaris. Distance: 50 miles."
"Let's go," I said.
We moved through the jungle.
Suddenly, the ground shook.
THUMP. THUMP.
A massive shadow fell over us.
A creature emerged from the ferns. It looked like a Centipede, but it was armored in black chitin that shone like obsidian. It was a hundred feet long. Its mandibles dripped green acid that hissed when it hit the ground.
Rank 7 Beast: Obsidian Earth-Splitter.
(Equivalent to a Low-Tier True God).
"Lunch," Seraphina licked her lips. She summoned a whip of black fire.
"Wait," I stopped her. "Let me test the new engine."
I stepped forward.
The Centipede saw me. To it, I was a speck of dust. A calorie.
It screeched and lunged. It moved with terrifying speed for its size, closing the distance in a blink.
I didn't draw Antakala.
I stood still.
Inside the Ring, Chronos opened his golden eyes.
'Ability: Time Skip.'
I visualized the timeline.
Frame 1: Centipede lunges.
Frame 2: Centipede bites me.
Frame 3: I punch it.
I deleted Frame 1 and 2.
I skipped directly to the result.
ZIP.
I vanished from the Centipede's vision.
I appeared instantly inside its guard, floating right in front of its ugly face.
My fist was already buried in its chitin armor before my brain even sent the signal to punch.
Gravity Seal: 1000x Impact.
CRACK.
The sound was deafening.
The Centipede's head exploded. Not just crushed—vaporized. The force of the punch traveled down its hundred-foot body, shattering every segment of its armor in a chain reaction of destruction.
SPLAT.
The massive beast collapsed, dead before its nerve endings realized it had been hit.
"Time Skip is unfair," Seraphina critiqued, crossing her arms. "Where is the drama? The struggle?"
"Efficiency is its own drama," I said, wiping green ichor off my glove.
I turned to Ria.
"Harvest the core and the armor plating. We need something to sell in the city."
The City of Polaris.
We arrived at the gates of Polaris an hour later.
It was magnificent. Walls made of white crystal rose a thousand feet into the air. Void-Skiffs floated in and out of the docking bays. The guards at the gate weren't human—they were Demigods wearing glowing blue armor.
A line of travelers waited to enter. Merchants with carts pulled by dragons, Ascenders with scarred faces, and pilgrims in robes.
We joined the line.
"Cover your aura," I whispered to Seraphina. "If they sense Demonic Qi, the alarms will ring."
Seraphina donned a veil. "I am a humble noblewoman," she practiced her innocent voice. "My husband is a merchant."
We reached the front.
The Guard Captain, a towering man with four arms, looked down at us.
"Identify," he rumbled.
"Rudra Ye," I said. "Ascender from the... Outer Rim."
"Ascender?" The Captain scanned me with a device. "Bone Age: 16. Cultivation: Core Formation?"
He laughed. The other guards laughed.
"A Core Formation brat ascended to the High World? Did you stow away in a cargo hold? You should be crushed by the gravity."
"I have a strong back," I smiled.
"Entry Fee," the Captain demanded. "10 Divine Stones."
"I don't have currency," I said. "But I have trade goods."
I signaled Ria.
She opened her briefcase.
Inside was the massive, glowing purple Core of the Obsidian Earth-Splitter we just killed.
The Captain stopped laughing.
His four eyes widened.
"A Rank 7 Earth-Splitter Core? Fresh?"
He looked at me. Then at the core. Then at his scanner, which confirmed the kill time was less than an hour ago.
"You... you killed a True God beast?"
"Roadkill," I shrugged. "It got in my way."
The Captain's attitude shifted instantly. In the High World, strength was the only ID card that mattered.
"Apologies, Lord Ascender," he bowed slightly. "Please, enter. The Star-Fall Exchange is down the main avenue. They will give you a good price for that."
He stamped a temporary visa.
[Guest: Rudra Ye. Status: High Threat.]
We walked into the city.
The Star-Fall Exchange.
Polaris was bustling. The streets were paved with light. The shops sold items that would start wars in the Middle World—Divine Pills, fragmented artifacts, slave contracts for Demigods.
We walked into the Star-Fall Exchange, the largest trading post in the city.
The interior looked like a stock exchange. Screens displayed prices of beast parts, ores, and information.
I walked to the counter.
The appraiser was a goblin-like creature wearing a monocle. Master Gix.
"I have a Core to sell," I slammed the purple crystal on the counter.
Gix adjusted his monocle. He sniffed the core.
"Hmm. Rank 7. Earth-Splitter. Good quality."
He looked at me, seeing my "low" cultivation and shabby clothes. He smelled a rube.
"Market is down today," Gix lied smoothly. "Too much supply. I can give you... 50 Divine Stones."
Seraphina reached for her dagger. 50 stones for a God-Beast core was robbery.
"50?" I smiled. "Master Gix, do you take me for a fool?"
"Take it or leave it," Gix sneered. "I am the only licensed buyer in this sector. You can't sell it anywhere else."
"Is that so?"
I leaned on the counter.
My eyes flashed silver.
Chronos scanned the immediate future.
'Timeline A: I kill him. Guards come. We fight the city. Bad.'
'Timeline B: I haggle. He raises to 60. Still bad.'
'Timeline C: I expose his operation.'
I grinned. Option C.
"Master Gix," I said loudly, creating a scene. "Is this core really only worth 50? What about the Star-Fire Ore you have hidden under the counter? The illegal contraband from the Forbidden Zone?"
Gix froze. "W-What? Keep your voice down!"
"And the tax evasion records on your tablet?" I continued. "Did you tell the City Lord that you've been skimming 20% off the top of the Guild fees?"
The other customers stopped. They looked at Gix.
Gix turned pale. "How... how do you know that?"
"I have good eyes," I tapped my temple.
I leaned in closer.
"Here is the new deal. You buy this core for 5,000 Divine Stones. Fair market value."
"And," I added. "You give me a membership to the Merchant Guild. Rank: Gold."
Gix sweated. If this boy yelled any louder, the City Lord's enforcers would raid him.
"Fine! Fine!" Gix hissed. "5,000! And the badge! Just shut up!"
He threw a bag of glowing white stones and a golden badge across the counter.
"Take it and get out, you demon!"
I took the bag.
"Pleasure doing business."
We walked out of the Exchange.
"5,000 Divine Stones," Ria calculated. "Sufficient to purchase provisions and raw materials for Fortress upgrades."
"And a Gold Membership," I pinned the badge to my coat. "Now we have a legal identity."
"Where to next?" Seraphina asked, eyeing a jewelry store.
"The Library," I said. "We need a map of the High World. I need to find where the Arbiters live."
I looked up at the giant trees towering over the city.
"We have a foothold. Now, we climb."
Suddenly, my Ouroboros Ring pulsed violently.
Chronos sent a sharp warning.
'Anomaly Detected. Timeline Convergence.'
I stopped in the middle of the street.
Walking toward us was a woman.
She wore white robes, simple and unadorned. She had silver hair and silver eyes. She carried no weapon.
But the crowd parted for her like the Red Sea. Even the True God guards bowed as she passed.
She stopped in front of me.
She looked at me. Then she looked at the Ring.
"You are loud," she said softly. Her voice sounded like wind chimes.
"Who asks?" I tensed.
"I am Aeon," she whispered. "The Saintess of Time."
She smiled, a sad, knowing smile.
"You stole a piece of my God, didn't you? The Fragment from the Middle World."
She didn't attack. She simply held out her hand.
"My God is dead. But he left a message for the one who would eat his heart. Do you want to hear it?"