Death... and me



Jeskli increased his guard even more, prepared to pull everyone with him if he felt the presence of another one of those giant invisible spatial rifts. At least he could feel it as long as they were as big as the previous one. Rean, obviously, kept guiding them further inside.

In the end, Jeskli and Luan avoided several of those giant spatial rifts. But there were also some Jeskli was too slow and had to use his power to hold on. After some time, even Jeskli began to consider whether it was better to turn around and leave or continue forward.

It was during the time he considered it seriously that they finally found something different inside the central area. "What's that?"

In the distance, there was a floating island. However, that island was by far the biggest they had seen. That also included Jeskli and Lily. Not even the Islands where their nests were located were as big as that one, making one wonder if it wasn't, in fact, a floating mountain instead.

Yet, what really caught their attention was what was happening at the top of the island. There was some kind of cubic white barrier that separated the top from the outside world. That cubic barrier made it impossible to see what was inside.

"Is that the reason why the Floating Islands of Time have its effect? It has quite a weird shape..." Jeskli couldn't help but ask.

Roan narrowed his eyes. "That barrier is not natural. Have you ever seen any natural manifestation with perfect cubical dimensions?"

Jeskli and the others looked at Roan. Sure enough, none of them had ever seen something like that. Finally, Jeskli understood what Roan was trying to say. "Then... someone put the barrier there?"

Roan nodded. "I can't think of any other explanation."

A moment later, their group landed on that island. As soon as they did, they noticed a huge difference. "It's quite tranquil in here," said Lily. Indeed, different from the chaotic environment created by the spatial rifts, the island itself seemed like a paradise. Trees, a stream, and above all, an unexpected sunlight.

One must remember that it was always nighttime in the Floating Islands of Time. Yet, there was definitely the warmth of the sun touching them now. Not only that, they could also feel that the messy space, time, and elements were not gone.

Jeskli looked at the people and birds behind before saying, "You guys stay here. I don't know what we will find there, so it is better for me to go alone first. If anything happens, I'm confident I can escape."

Rean and Roan shook their heads, though. "We came here for that, so we won't back out now. Besides, there is no need to worry. We are also confident in our ability to escape if necessary."

Jeskli didn't mind Rean and Roan, but he definitely didn't want Kentucky to take that risk. "Then you two can follow me. However, Kentucky has to stay with Lily. I'm not going to risk our Regal Minokawa."

"Oh! I'm completely fine with that!" Kentucky couldn't be happier. He didn't want to get into danger for no reason. 

Lily, on the other hand, complained. "Why do I have to stay with him?"

Jeskli wasn't in the mood to discuss, though. "This is an order."

Lily-Yu's expression turned dark, but she nodded. In the end, the elder held the authority. "Fine..."

Roan also looked at Luan, but he didn't order him anything. "You are already in the Space Bending Realm, so it is up to you whether you want to risk going up with us or not. Remember that I might not be able to protect you."

Luan was happier than Kentucky, though. The fact Roan allowed him to follow based on his own decision shows that he believes in Luan's strength. "I'm going too."

Jeskli nodded and immediately began to make his way up the mountain. Rean, Roan, and Luan obviously followed right behind. 

At first, nothing happened on the way up. However, as soon as they went halfway, things changed. Their vision blurred as the space around them contorted. It only lasted a second, though. As soon as their vision came back, Sister Orb's voice echoed in the twins' minds. [There are formations here. And they are very high-level ones. From the looks of it, the source is within that barrier up in the mountain.]

'What kind of formations are they?' Rean immediately asked back.

[Quite a few. Concealing, Trapping, Anti-Divine Senses, Anti-Spatial Senses, Anti-Flight, and one that I can't figure out what it is for. This one I can't identify is by far the most powerful and is wholly focused on whatever is inside the barrier ahead.]

Rean immediately warned Jeskli of Sister Orb's words. "Those are the ones I can identify at the moment."

"So, this Spatial Change we just got through was the moment we entered these formations' range, right?" Jeskli asked back.

Rean nodded. "Correct."

Jeskli turned around and gathered his Spatial Powers. Right after, one of his blade feathers came out of his body and tried to pierce through the border of the formation right behind them. 

*Bzzzzzz!*

However, Jeskli's blade feather was completely immobilized. In a split second, all its power was drained, and it fell to the ground, void of any energy. Jeskli narrowed his eyes and used his Divine Energy to catch the feather and attach it back to his body. "Although I didn't use my full power, that wasn't something that could be blocked that easily. It will take quite a long time to break through this formation."

Roan looked where the feather hit. "If you can't break it with your Divinity Realm Cultivation, then we have even less of a chance of doing so."

At the same time, Roan contacted Sister Orb. 'These formations are high level, but they aren't at the Legendary Grade, right?'

[Yes, they are mostly Divine High-Level and Peak-Level.]

'Then try to take control of them. Even if it will take some time, it is better than doing nothing,' Roan asked her.

[Roger! At this level and with this number of formations, it should take around three days to gain control of one of them. Which one do you want?]

'The trapping one,' Roan immediately made his decision.