Chapter 185: The Temporal Void
Chapter 185: The Temporal Void
The colossal starmetal elevator violently shrieked.
Sparks rained down inside the pitch black shaft. The heavy iron cage had been descending at terminal velocity for six unbroken hours.
The ambient temperature had completely vanished. The elemental mana of the upper labyrinth floors was gone. I was plunging directly into the absolute foundation of the world.
CRASH.
The elevator hit the absolute bottom of the shaft. The heavy iron doors were violently blasted outward by the sheer kinetic impact. They tumbled away into the darkness.
The descent was finally over.
I stood alone in the center of the ruined metal cage. My S-Grade Hive Chitin armor hissed as the internal pressurization adjusted to the sudden void.
Just a few hours ago I had stood in the warm Grand Hall of the Iron Estate. Ramona Lysandra Kaelith Anise and Nyssa had gathered before my throne.
I looked at my five Queens and officially announced the completion of the Ironclad Lineage. The Velkrath Imperium was entirely secure.
I gave them absolute sovereign orders to remain on the surface and govern the empire in my absence. The deep dark was too dangerous for my unborn heirs. This was the ultimate solo mission.
I stepped out of the broken elevator.
There was no stone floor beneath my heavy brass boots. There was no ceiling above my head.
Strata 9 was a terrifying endless abyss. It was a chaotic distorted gravity zone where time and space were completely fractured.
Floating aimlessly through the pitch black void were massive chunks of ancient ruined architecture. I saw shattered marble columns and colossal rusted iron statues.
I saw entire floating city blocks torn from the earth. It was a silent floating graveyard of failed ancient civilizations that had tried to reach the core before me.
The physics of the room were entirely broken.
A massive jagged boulder the size of a warship flew directly past my glowing red visor. It was moving at the speed of sound. The temporal distortion of the floor accelerated the debris to lethal apocalyptic speeds.
But it did not blur.
My newly acquired Absolute Kinetic Perception buff completely took over my mind. My mental processing speed entirely transcended mortal limits.
I watched the supersonic boulder crawl past my face in perfect slow motion. I could see the individual gray dust particles floating gently off its jagged surface. I could calculate its exact trajectory down to the atomic level.
The chaotic terrifying speeds of the Temporal Void were completely nullified by my Sovereign biology.
Suddenly the pitch black abyss illuminated with a blinding white light.
A colossal entity materialized from the fractured space exactly one hundred yards ahead of me. It was not a biological beast.
It was not a dungeon monster. It was a pristine ancient machine built by the original architects of the planet.
It was a Seraphim.
The construct possessed six massive wings of solid white starmetal. Its body had no humanoid shape. It was composed entirely of spinning golden rings covered in millions of glowing runic eyes.
It radiated an absolute overwhelming pressure that made the surrounding floating ruins vibrate. It was the gatekeeper to the final floor.
DING!
[System Alert: Ancient Architect Construct engaged.]
[Target: The Seraphim of the Core. Level 95 Gatekeeper.]
[Warning: Target possesses absolute temporal manipulation. Extreme caution advised.]
I was Level 75. The gatekeeper was twenty levels higher than me. But I did not feel a single drop of fear.
The Seraphim did not speak. It did not roar. It simply rotated its massive golden rings.
Hundreds of concentrated temporal light beams erupted from its runic eyes. The beams were designed to instantly erase the target from the current timeline. To a normal mortal the attack would be instantaneous.
To my modified brain the light beams moved like crawling slugs.
I ignited my heavy boot thrusters. I launched my massive green body directly into the zero gravity void. I pushed effortlessly off a floating marble column.
I gracefully twisted my heavily armored torso in midair. The temporal light beams passed inches from my armor. I perfectly calculated every single trajectory.
I closed the distance in three seconds.
The Seraphim recognized the immediate threat. Its six starmetal wings violently folded forward to create an impenetrable physical shield around its spinning core.
"Your metal is obsolete," I growled.
I channeled my absolute core capacity. The pitch black Flame of Death violently ignited around my right brass gauntlet. The dark conceptual fire hissed aggressively in the silent void.
I drove my fist directly into the center of the massive starmetal wings.
The physical impact was deafening. My Level 75 consolidated vessel possessed a base density that rivaled dark matter.
The raw kinetic force shattered the outer layer of the ancient wings. But the Flame of Death did the true damage.
The pitch black fire completely devoured the holy starmetal. The conceptual destruction melted the impenetrable shield like wet paper.
My heavy brass fist broke straight through the defense and plunged directly into the center of the spinning golden rings.
The Seraphim let out a high pitched mechanical shriek. The Level 95 construct desperately tried to reverse gravity to throw me away.
The immense spatial pressure crushed violently against my chest plate. My internal organs groaned under the terrifying weight.
I instantly ignited the pure white Flame of Life. The healing conceptual magic flooded my green veins. It perfectly sustained my biology against the crushing gravity.
"Open the gate," I commanded coldly.
I unleashed a massive apocalyptic burst of the Flame of Death directly inside the Seraphim.
The Level 95 gatekeeper violently detonated. The spinning golden rings shattered into millions of burning fragments.
The resulting spatial shockwave pushed the massive floating ruins miles away into the dark abyss. The blinding white light completely faded.
DING!
[System Alert: Level 95 Seraphim defeated.]
[Sovereign Core efficiency violently increased. You are now Level 79.]
[Notice: The Temporal Void is cleared.]
I floated silently in the center of the empty space. The extreme heat radiating from my armor slowly cooled in the dark. I breathed heavily.
Defeating an enemy twenty levels higher than me required absolute precision but the execution was flawless.
I looked forward.
Floating in the exact spot where the Seraphim had died was a single massive glowing golden doorway. It was not attached to any wall or floor. It simply hovered in the void.
It was the entrance to Strata 10. The true planetary core. The absolute bottom of the world.