anovelconsole Chapter 39: Exploring The Xenorealm
Chapter 39: Exploring The Xenorealm
Chapter 39 - Exploring The XenorealmThe ringing started faintly, like a series of bells far in the distance—then came the sensation of their tolls reverberating through Kivas' bones, clanging again and again until her vision broke apart.
The Xenorealm unraveled before her.
"Woah..."
Clouds blanketed the horizon below, tinged in soft shades of gold and cyan, their edges curling upward as though rising rather than falling.
Floating islands drifted across the expanse, suspended by columns of mist that spiraled with a steady rhythm like a heartbeat.
Above them, where the sky should have opened to an endless atmosphere, instead there loomed an inverted continent—an upside-down world bristling with alien spires, towering monoliths, and living structures that defied symmetry.
The landscape bore no horizon, only depth. The upper expanse stretched infinitely, layered in impossible architecture. Some parts pulsed gently, others hovered midair with appendages of living stone reaching outward like antennae.
The scale was disorienting, the gravity subjective, and it was still nothing but breathtaking to witness through Kivas' own eyes.
Connecting all of the floating islands, were vast ropes made of sinewed flesh wound from one floating landmass to another, their veined lengths twitching occasionally as if aware of the party's presence.
On the islands themselves, trees shaped like pulsating neural clusters swayed in a nonexistent wind, their branching dendrites folding inward and outward like breathing thought.
No one spoke for a while. The entire party stood still, each struggling with their own threshold of awe, fear, and the unease of existing in something this alien.
Azulus broke the silence. "If anyone wants to head back for a break, eat something, breathe a little—this is the moment. We've crossed through, and there seems to be no immediate danger unless we
Beilan approached quietly. She stood before Kivas and Samael, her posture uncharacteristically tense.
"I want to apologize," she said. "I misjudged you. Both of you. Especially you." Her eyes flicked to Samael. "I greatly apologize..."
Samael looked her over once, then waved a hand. "I don't take offense."
Kivas wryly grinned. "It's alright. Samael is not holding grudges. Or else, you would be dealt with already." Kivas waved her hand as if she was throwing a casual retort.
Samael added after a moment, "Still, if I may give a thought. Unless you have the strength to dismiss someone completely, it is more advantageous to form connections."
"Aww, what kind word from the almighty Samael," Kivas teased.
"Relationships are levers," Samael continued, "use them, manipulate them, utilize them wisely."
Kivas turned slowly toward her, face filled with disappointment. "I almost felt proud until that last sentence."
Beilan absorbed the comment, then bowed with respect.
"I'll remember that."
The air relaxed again. Everyone sat quietly, either eating or observing the alien landscape.
At this point, they should have collected enough loot to be exchanged for a great amount of rewards and services on the Solvish Chapter. And by the off chance, promote their grade!
Even if a foreign party entered and began monopolizing this Xenorealm, Kivas and the rest of the expedition would be happy to let it be.
"It's bizarre," Kivas said. "But peaceful."
"It is..." Beilan answered, still acting shyly around Kivas and Samael.
"Hmm..." Samael hummed with unsureness.
Kivas' gaze drifted upward—toward the ceiling world far above, layered in black towers and shimmering chains of light. Then she paused.
A singular black dot glowed faintly near one of the monoliths on the world above. It pulsed once, then twice, and so on, rhythmically, like a heartbeat made of void.
Samael stood immediately and prepared herself. "Kivas."
"I see it...!"
The flickering intensified in an extremely short timespan!
A blink later, something impossibly fast plummeted.
Before anyone could react, a glowing stone the size of a small fortress crashed down from above, its form wrapped in molten runes—crushing Beilan under its massive lump of wrath.