Book 6, chapter 16

Dominating the entire display, the scar in space that was the wormhole grew larger, its edges no longer visible as The Fist drifted towards its center. It was the largest gate Zee had ever seen, looking even more imposing than a gateway to the abyss.

No matter how many times she saw one, the sheer scale and power wormholes emitted gave her the chills. She was a spatial cultivator and yet had no hopes of replicating or tampering with a gate this gigantic. Even if she dumped all of her power into opening a gate, it would still only be a drop of power compared to the ocean this wormhole emitted every second. No one knew if these wormholes were natural phenomena or if someone built them, but one thing was well known. 

All wormholes were intelligent and fiercely protective of themselves. Anyone who tried to damage or alter the wormhole would not have a good day. The entities who controlled the wormholes could use the vast power it channeled to devastating effect. 

Everyone who was anyone was aware of this. Rule number one of wormhole travel, do not piss off the guardian. From what she heard, they were not only powerful but had long memories and could be incredibly spiteful. The wormholes didn't care if people passed through, except those with cursed relic class objects that could endanger them.

Many high ranking Cultivators had been banned from entry for just such an infraction. Like always, an incomprehensible power washed over The Fist, probing it. The way it scanned them made her feel like they were nothing more than pests. Nothing they had could harm it, nor did they have anything to interest such a being.

Zee let out a relieved sigh as the Fist passed through the event horizon without issue. The illusory display, which had been dominated by the black vortex, suddenly lit up in a burst of color. 

Zee and the others let out surprised sounds. 

"Holy shit," Bastion exclaimed. 

"That is the cosmic river!?" Malden asked, stunned.

"It's enormous," Allison said, equally awed.

Zee could understand their sentiment, her eyes wide as she took in the sight before her. The cosmic river lit up space as far as she could see, like a blanket spanning amongst the stars.

The sheer scale of it threatened to break her mind. A passing crewman laughed at their expressions. 

"Must be your first time seeing the cosmic river. If so, I would suggest you take a seat. First timers usually vomit after we make our first jump. The energy the cosmic river emits is quite intense even this far off, and makes the jump rough," the man said. 

"What do you mean? Is it dangerous?" Malden asked, his fluffy ears twitching. 

The crewman shrugged. "For someone of your power, not necessarily. The energy the cosmic river emits is simply so intense that it makes most E grade Cultivators sick. Some even pass out, hence why I suggest you take a seat," the man replied.

Malden snorted, clearly dismissing the warning. The crewman shrugged, muttering, as he walked away. "Whatever, it's not like I will have to clean up your vomit. Why do the newbies never listen?"

Zee was curious as to what the crewman meant. Judging by the faint humming through the ship, she wouldn't have to wait long. She could already feel the immense buildup of spatial energy reaching its peak as The Fist prepared to open a gate. Her senses had grown much sharper over the past year, able to detect the phenomenon. 

As expected, the captain's hissing voice followed shortly. 

"Prepare for jump. It's going to be rough, so brace yourselves," Tanra said, his tone casual, as if he had done this a thousand times. 

Zee wasn't sure what he meant by rough, but she didn't have to wait long to find out. Usually the transition through a gate was smoothe, hardly even detectable, but this one was different. They jumped, and the ship shuddered as a chaotic wave of energy washed over them. 

All around her, most of the people on the viewing deck suddenly looked nauseous, swaying on their feet. Some of them even threw up.

For her part, Zee only felt slight discomfort. That wave of energy was the backlash from passing through a gate in an area with chaotic energies. She had experienced much worse backlash in the past, having leapt head first through brute force gates. Escaping the Tundra through a gate formed by cracking a beast fragment had been much worse than this. 

Her friends, on the other hand, didn't share her thoughts on the matter. Bastion swayed on his feet, looking sick, while Malden looked queasy. Yukna and Allison didn't look much better either, with Yukna looking a bit green. 

"That was awful," Yukna said with a grimace.

"Why do you look so chipper?" Malden asked, eying Zee unhappily. 

She shrugged. 

"Not my first time going through a chaotic gate," Zee replied.

Just then, the last two members of their team stagger into the viewing bay. Greg, a tall dark skinned Armenian, looked pale, the mercurial feel of shadows staining his aura. Taylor looked completely fine, a faint mist of blood already swirling around them both, returning color to Greg's cheeks.

"You guys look like shit," Taylor said, his healer's robes immaculate as always. As he approached, the scent of blood washed around them, as Taylor activated a skill. In seconds the nausea faded, and they could all relax.

"I missed you. Having a healer on hand is quite convenient," Malden said, his mood immediately improving. 

Taylor beamed. "I'm glad you feel that way. Supposedly, that uncomfortable sensation we felt just now will only get worse the closer we get to the cosmic river. It's actually one of the reasons opening a gate is unadvised deeper in. 

Once we reach the endless storm, that feeling will be much worse. Not even spatial Cultivators will be able to ignore the backlash in there," Taylor said, giving Zee a warm smile. 

"Good to hear that at least someone else has done their research," Yukna said, giving Taylor an approving nod. Malden, Greg and Bastion glanced between each other before quickly looking away.

Allison didn't miss the shared glances. "I thought I told you to do some research," Allison said. 

Bastion rocked back on his heels. "I know you told us that, but I was busy. Not a lot of time for some light reading while oversized bugs are trying to bite my face off," Bastion said, taking a side step, subtly placing Zee between himself and Allison. 

Allison scowled at him over Zee's shoulder. "You say you had no time, and yet, I constantly found items with your logo on them in the hands of other crewmen," Allison said sternly. 

"I couldn't just stand by while their were profits to be made. My purse was getting a little light, and a guy has to put food on the table," a nervous Bastion said, taking another step, using Zee as a shield.

Allison rolled her eyes. "Put food on the table, my ass. You are the richest member of our team, even more so than Taylor, who is the son of a noble house," Allison exclaimed. 

"Am not. And why are you only scolding me? Your wife made even more profits than I did, selling all of those hunter killer bombs," Bastion said. 

"Don't point your finger at me Bass, you got a share of those profits," Yukna said, adjusting her glasses higher on her nose.

Bastion grinned behind Zee as Allison palmed her face, letting out a frustrated sigh. " I should have stayed with the star teams," Allison muttered.

Malden laughed, slapping Allison on the shoulder with a gigantic paw, staggering her. Zee couldn't help but smile as everyone laughed at Allison's aggrieved expression. Even if they were headed into a dangerous place like the endless storm, It was good to be back with her friends.

While the others bickered, she glanced at the illusory display. The cosmic river dominated the display, its vibrant hues taking up her whole field of view. It had already been two weeks, and over a dozen jumps, each one more unpleasant than the last. 

Standing on the viewing deck, she could actually see the swirling currents of energy. There was an ebb and flow, and the river rapidly changed from one moment to the next, its vibrant colors a sight to behold. It was unpredictable, one moment calm and the next raging like a storm. The scariest part was that those changes in current, though looking small, were on the scale of entire star systems.

"Are we really going into that?" Zee asked. 

Beside her, Allison nodded. 

"Be thankful we are only venturing into the shallows," Allison replied.

"Says you. I'm the one who is absorbing ancient relics into my body so that I can be a vessel to find the eternal throne," Zee said. 

"I'm aware. Have you found a way out yet?" Allison asked, her voice calm and confident. 

"No, not yet. Julian, the emperor and the bone lord seem determined to get their grubby hands on the eternal throne and they need me to find it. Short of dying, I can't see a way out," Zee said. 

Allison hummed.

"Given what's at stake, their desperation makes sense. It's not every day celestial cultivators have a chance to rank up," Allison said.

Zee nodded. "As weak as we are now, venturing into the cosmic river means death. We have three years to scour the endless storm for treasures and to grow our power," Zee said.

"I hope you are ready to work yourself to the bone. If you don't intend to be used by those old monsters, you will need to be strong enough to tell them to go shove it," Allison said, her words filled with conviction. 

Zee nodded seriously.

Allison cracked a wan smile. 

"Does my suffering amuse you?" Zee asked.

"It's not that. I was just remembering how we first met. Sparing your life, and then helping you get home was the best decision I ever made," Allison said. 

Zee raised both eyebrows.

"Where is this coming from?" Zee asked.

Allison shrugged, gesturing to the lit up display. 

"I guess I'm feeling sentimental. It's been years since we left Iztara, and since then, all we have is the word of an ancient librarian that our home planet is safe," Allison said. 

"I can sympathize with your concern. Knowing Tar, wherever he moved the planet is probably just as dangerous as having some Terlashar knocking at your doorstep," Zee replied.

"Do you think he actually held up his end of your deal?" Allison asked.

"Given I threatened to reveal his true identity to the world if he didn't, there is a pretty good chance he followed through on his promise," Zee grinned.

Allison gave Zee a disapproving glance. "I still can't believe you had the gall to threaten one of the most infamous and powerful Cultivators in existence," Allison said.

Zee shrugged. 

"Tarnival might be a grumpy old geezer, but he isn't so bad," Zee said.

Just then, something soft and light smacked into the back of her head.

It wasn't painful, but it startled her. "What was that for?" Zee asked, glaring at the living book who had already darted behind Allison, using the taller woman like a shield..

"That wasn't very nice," Zee said, rubbing the back of her head.

Raina bobbed in the air, pretending like nothing happened.

Allison laughed. "When we set out on this mad adventure, I would have never thought we would run into so many crazy things," Allison laughed.

"No kidding. We have come a long way since I promised to help you improve your sword technique," Zee replied.

"King Bethel would be shocked at just how far we have all come," Allison grinned, tapping the pommel of her sword. 

"Speaking of which, why do you still have your old sword eclimidal? I thought the emperor gave you an artifact grade sword," Zee asked, eying the longsword curiously.

Allison nodded, tapping a thick, intricate metal band wrapping her right wrist.. "My old sword has reached the limit of its potential, but my new one is a bit too dangerous to keep out," Allison said.

Zee raised both eyebrows. "It's that powerful?" Zee asked.

"Yes.. I don't take it out unless I want to turn everything in my surroundings to ash. It's a lot like that bloodline talent you were telling me about, only I can't control it. The rage elemental trapped inside is insane, and indiscriminately burns everything," Allison said.

"Sounds powerful, but also troublesome," Zee whistled.

"I know. I almost wish he would have given me one of the less powerful artifacts. I think the emperor just wanted to get rid of this troublesome thing," Allison said, fingering the densely etched bracer.

"That's certainly something he would do. I bargained for each of you to get a rare treasure. No one said it had to be a safe one," Zee laughed, eying the illusory display.

Allison chuckled. 

"It's probably for the best. This will force me to go the extra mile when tempering my body in the D grade. If I don't increase my resistance to flame, using that sword will turn me to ash by accident," Allison said.

"That's going to be rough. I do not envy you. Body tempering with fire sounds dreadful," Zee said.

"It really does. What about you? Have you decided which concept you are going to choose to temper your body with?" Allison asked.

Zee grimaced.

"I'm leaning towards either the concept of spirit or space. Combining all of them like you are is out of the question for me, as that touches on the concept of the Apocal…." 

As the word slipped through her lips, an ominous pressure with boundless wrath coalesced around her. Zee caught herself, biting her lip to stop herself from finishing the word.

"What the hell was that?" Allison asked, eyes wide.

"That is something we should probably not talk about," Zee replied, licking her suddenly dry lips.

"Fair enough," Allison said. 

Zee let out a sigh of relief as the terrifying pressure on her surroundings slowly faded. She was immensely grateful she hadn't accidentally conjured heavenly wrath again. That was something she couldn't deal with right now. Venturing into the endless storm was already dangerous enough, there was no need to go and make it even more so.

Just then, the display lit up vibrant orange, as a section of the approaching storm changed colors, appearing to light on fire. It was a stark reminder of the unpredictability and danger they were heading into. If they didn't keep on their toes, all of them could die on this excursion.

Like a raging hurricane, the storm of flames drifted along the current, vanishing back into the depths in seconds. The sheer unpredictability was the greatest danger of the endless storm. 

One wrong step, one poor bout of luck and you could be caught up in a terrifying surge of energy. If you were not prepared for something like that hurricane of fire, you would be burned to a crisp.

The closer the ship flew, the more doubtful Zee was becoming. 

With each gate the ship passed through, the ambient energy shot up. By now, it was at least five times that of Lorocos. It was now at levels so high that F grade cultivators would die from the ambient energy alone. The energy was so intense that her hair stood on end.

If it was this bad already, and they were on the fringes, just how bad would it be deeper in? And even more worrying, how bad was the cosmic river itself? 

Zee shuddered at the thought. She was going to have to get a lot stronger if she wanted to survive the trip into the cosmic river in four years.