Chapter 17: Chapter 17- Dimension Wars (Part 2)
Talon blinked slowly as he looked at Acrypha. He could see within her eyes a myriad of thoughts, comprehensible and incomprehensible. He saw anger, regret, and a very faint hint of despair that he almost believed was just his imagination for a second. Yet, he was completely charmed by those glints for a mysterious reason.
But, in the end, he averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his head. "If such things exist, then that means that they were able to live there happily?" He asked.
Acrypha shook her head slowly before she readjusted her position and sat in the air with her legs on top of each other, accentuating her curves so naturally. Even such a simple gesture would make any man go crazy for her.
"Things like this were naturally sought after by everyone. Now, imagine what would happen if billions of creatures were after the same things?" She asked.
Talon's face froze as he realized what she meant. "Wars..." He murmured the reply.
"Exactly... wars and that's exactly what happened. Wars ensued everywhere in the Core Dimension between all kinds of races from all dimensions. Brutal wars that were never seen before. So brutal, their remains are still present in the Core Dimension to this day. After thousands of years, the hierarchy of power was finally established. Those who won were able to take control of the Core Dimension and those who lost perished forever or simply were placed in a lower level. Consequentially, that created the current hierarchy of Dimensions."
Then, Acrypha slowly lifted her beautiful fingers and drew a triangle in the air before pointing at the top of that triangle. "The highest Level is the Core Dimension, it's the most dangerous place and also the most sought-after place for its endless treasures and the remains left from the wars that happened on it. It's where everyone wants to go."
Then, she pointed at a lower level. "Then there are the High-S Dimensions. Those are the closest to the Core Dimension in terms of power level and those who lived in it are the descendants of the people who came out victorious in 'the Dimension Wars' era. Then, there are Medium-S and Low-S Dimensions which are still very strong but not as strong as the High-S."
Slowly, her finger descended the hierarchy. High-A, Medium-A, Low-A, High-B, and so on till she reached the bottom of the triangle and said. "The lowest of the lowest and the majority of Dimensions that exist are the Low-Ds. They're dimensions that were recently connected with the Core Dimension and so the creatures that live in them are extremely weak compared to others."
"Let me guess, Earth is at that level, right?" He asked.
"Yes."
"It says in my profile status that I'm currently in Low-D dimension and I can't access any other Dimension till I reach level 25. Does that mean that if I reach level 25 I can go to another dimension?"
"Mainly, the ability to go to other Lower-D Dimensions of the same level becomes possible. It's all a rule created by the Core Dimension to make Low-D Dimensions fight between each other and get stronger from killing each other which creates stronger Dimensions constantly."
"That's messed up... They want everyone to use each other for the sake of strength." Talon frowned just thinking about it. The Core Dimension clearly wants to see blood being shed for its twisted reasons.
"That's the price for strength many are ready to pay," Acrypha said. "And that's also what you have to be ready to pay if you want to become something greater."
"..." Looking down he contemplated her words. Of course, to go far and beyond, one would need to sacrifice a lot and do things they don't want to do. Talon was completely aware of that.
In the end, he decided to keep this for when he was faced with that choice. To simply be satisfied with whatever he achieved or to aim further than anyone else, only future him will tell what to choose.
"What about you, Acrypha? Which Dimension did you come from?" Talon finally asked curiously as he lifted his head.
His beautiful companion didn't reply immediately as she took a deep breath.
"I'm from a Medium-S Dimension."
Talon was surprised to hear that. "Really?! That's insane."
Acrypha didn't comment on Talon's excitement and instead looked outside again. "Yeah... Really insane..." She murmured where Talon couldn't hear her.
Then, she shook her head and focused on the topic again. "As for why I ended up here. You can say that it's a destined coincidence." She said.
"Destined coincidence? How does that even make any sense?" Talon raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"You won't understand it for now. But, I will explain it in the future when the time comes." Acrypha replied.
"Uh, another mystery added to the list. Very exciting." Talon said lazily as he rested his back against the wall again and closed his eyes.
"You will realize why I did this in the future."
"Yes ma'am," Talon replied jokingly. "Ok, my last question for the day. Why are you unable to help me kill those monsters?"
"Because the Core Dimension doesn't allow for individuals from higher dimensions to affect lower dimensions. That would make it impossible for weaker Dimensions to have a chance to get stronger. My existence in this place as a whole is already breaking the rules."
"What? If that's breaking the rules... Why are you not being punished for it? And what's the punishment even?"
"If I attack or help alter the state of anything in this world, my soul will sustain damage equal to the severity of the alterations I made."
"Damn..." Talon didn't know how painful it was to sustain soul damage, but he was damn sure he didn't want to experience it.
"As for why I'm not being punished... You can say I have a special privilege. However, that privilege could only protect me so much." She replied mysteriously.
"... I see." Talon wanted to know more, but since she didn't want to tell him, he decided to be satisfied with what he got for the day. They barely met recently, he couldn't ask her about everything and expect an answer.
As the two went quiet again, Talon slowly felt himself drifting to sleep. His tired body finally succumbed to the exhaustion. He never had a chance to fight that urge.
Acrypha watched the young man silently with a mysterious look. No one knew what was going through her head at that moment.
"Where are you going to bring me, human? I wonder..." She murmured to herself.
****
A few hours passed and the sun finally vanished completely, dissipating any light that was able to penetrate the gate. Talon's eyes slowly opened again as he groaned slightly under his breath.
The warehouse was completely dark so he had to rummage through his pocket to find his phone before he turned the flashlight open.
Directing it around him, he noticed that Acrypha wasn't present.
"Acrypha?" He called for her as he stood up and rubbed his eyes. However, she wasn't there.
"Hm, where did she go?" Rubbing the back of his head, he decided to simply wait for her. He assumed that she went somewhere during the time he was asleep.
"It's already midnight. Shit, I slept for too long." He murmured to himself.
Talon didn't feel like he slept for 10 hours and yet it seems he did. However, fortunately, that sleep energized him a lot and he even noticed that the pain decreased all over his body. His sore muscles also felt lighter.
Even the huge injuries he sustained from his fight with the mosquito were already closing up.
'Damn, this healing speed is just amazing! I can't even believe that I can recover this fast from all that beating.'
Looking up again, Talon noticed that there was a small source of light coming from the other side of the warehouse.
Walking toward it slowly, he noticed that the light was coming from a phone's flashlight. Near it was Hyun-Jae who was completely focused on something in front of her as if it was the only thing in the world worth looking at.
"Are you ok?" Talon asked quietly, making Hyun-Jae look up. He noticed that her face was a little pale and she was clearly exhausted.
Everyone else was sleeping and yet she clearly seemed like she didn't rest at all.
"I'm working on catching any radio frequencies we can use to communicate with anyone outside. Preferably the military or the law enforcements." She said as she pointed at a small, old phone she had been fidgeting with for a while.
"Did you find any?" Talon asked as he took a look at the phone.
However, Hyun-Jae shook her head as she rubbed her temples slowly. "Yawn, No, not yet. It seems like almost all means of communication are destroyed or not usable anymore."
"Did you try satellite signals?" Talon asked.
"I did, but that thing in the air is covering all satellites that we can connect to. Sigh, this is annoying." Hyun-Jae murmured to herself as she clenched her fists. She had been searching for any signals for hours and yet nothing came back.
Talon stood there silently as he thought about it. "Is there a guaranteed way we can get a signal?" He asked.
Hyun-Jae raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. "If you can find a communication center that links directly to a satellite, yes, those don't need signals to receive or send messages since they're connected with the satellite itself without a third party in between."
"A communication center?" Talon squinted slightly as he stared back at Hyun-Jae. The two seemed to realize something as they said at the same time.
"The University's research center!"
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