Mage? Magic Engineer!

"The gauges have stabilized, and the buffer cabin’s fill rate is decreasing... We survived... We made it!"

Cavendish suppressed his overwhelming excitement with the last of his fear. After repeatedly confirming all indicators had returned to normal, he reactivated the transparent canopy with trembling hands.

The star-filled sky that met his gaze was no longer warped and dazzling.

It even seemed somewhat empty and desolate.

Next, they proceeded with operations exactly as rehearsed. They carefully reduced speed again, allowing the Starship to graze the Transformation Dust Layer Flow. This was to draw in and refuel the engines, providing the energy needed to maintain the vessel’s complex systems.

Once the skimming maneuver was complete, the storage tanks were at 80% of their designed capacity, and the Starship resumed a stable orbit.

During the "skimming," they released several more one-way communication spheres to urgently report that the Starship was safe. A few of these spheres were expected to be captured by a Collector’s Teleportation Array and would then appear inside a furnace along with the Transmuting Dust.

"Can we activate the Gravity Trap now?" This piece of equipment was the pride and joy of Istani’s Tower of Time. A weightless state was easy enough for Casters to accept; High Tier Casters like Kano could even briefly transform into the form of a Star Realm creature to perfectly circumvent such problems.

But for the team, and any future personnel who might enter the Star Realm, conducting experiments required a gravity environment similar to that on the ground. And the Starship’s design guaranteed that as long as it could reach the upper surface of the flow, it could continuously draw energy without ever having to worry about Magic Power. Therefore, the Gravity Trap system was naturally included on the prototype Starship.

The Magic that formed its core, [Earth Binding], was once used as Combat Magic.

"Hold on," the Female Mage said, halting his proposal. "Before we’re shackled by gravity again, why don’t we experience the stars for a bit?"

Cavendish nodded, and one by one, they unstrapped themselves from their seats and floated gently into the open cockpit. They all shared the same feeling: while the cockpit’s physical dimensions hadn’t changed, the freedom to move in every direction made the space feel immensely larger.

Their weightlessness training on the ground had consisted of having the [Floating Skill] cast on them. They could feel the difference now; the slightest movement would instantly alter their position and velocity.

Cavendish found himself drifting toward the transparent canopy, drinking in the sight of the cosmos. His gaze then fell upon the iridescent "surface of the sea" below. They had all once been inhabitants of the "seabed." Kano was, according to historical records, the first to break the surface. Now, they were the second.

Looking down, the continents and oceans were still visible, though now tinged with a subtle, shifting iridescence. At the edge of their world’s protective sphere, he could vaguely make out smaller "bubbles" fused with the Prime Material Plane, all squeezed together into one larger "bubble."

’Are those Sub-planes... or is the Prime Material Plane itself fractured?’

Cavendish saw phenomena unrecorded in any ancient text and silently committed them to memory. ’Once the Starship establishes a stable presence here, we’ll surely be able to analyze these things clearly...’

"Captain, we’re ready to engage gravity," a crewmate’s voice broke Cavendish out of his observations. Once all three were secured, Cavendish activated the Starship’s internal [Earth Binding] spell.

Once the cabin’s environment stabilized and oxygen, derived from electrolysis and processed through an [Air Filter Bubble], was pumped in, the trio proceeded to unveil the Starship’s true form.

Magic Power from the engines was diverted into circuits embedded within the ship’s inner walls, causing the cabin space to expand before their very eyes. They then released the contents of their Storage Bags and containers, and only then was their "base" among the stars truly complete.

With that finished, the secondary engines redirected Magic Power back to propulsion. But Cavendish couldn’t rest. He now had to take on the role of Helmsman, determining their position from the star chart and correcting the Starship’s course as needed.

He quickly realized this would be no easy task. The space above the Transformation Dust Layer Flow was far from calm; it was littered with "reefs" and "islets."

The "reefs" were mostly minuscule celestial bodies that should have fallen to the world below. Some could warp and pierce the Transmuting Dust. Others had been transformed by chaotic Divine Power into complex, tangled masses. Some were beautiful crystal clusters, while others resembled living tumors, constantly growing only to be eroded away by the Transmuting Dust. Their final form seemed to depend on which Divine Power had gained the upper hand during their alteration.

Then there were the "large Divine Kingdom Fragments," of which Rorschach had seen many. Some were the corner of a building, others were like the silhouette of a Divine Kingdom, bathed in radiant light... These relatively intact fragments hadn’t been so densely clustered before, but as the array of Collectors expanded, the resulting vortex was drawing all the large, affected pieces together.

These seemed even more dangerous than the Transmuting Dust. The space around them was illusory, like a rupture in the normal world. It was highly likely one could ascend through these "ruptures" to the Symbolic Realm or even the Original Layer without performing Ritual Magic, as Kano had done.

’The past dwellings of the gods...’ Only now did the reality of it all truly sink in for the three of them.

’We’re too close to a large fragment...’ Cavendish gripped the control sphere, trying to steer the Starship away from the source of danger.

’...Why can’t we shake it? Is the fragment... chasing us?’

...

"What’s wrong?" Caroline asked, seeing Rorschach’s relaxed expression instantly turn grave. She knew something had happened.

"I sense a familiar aura... but it’s not the Mother Goddess," Rorschach explained preemptively to avoid any misunderstanding. "When I first discovered the Boundary Land, I visited the ’Thoth Temple,’ what I suspect was a complete Divine Kingdom. There was a Divine Beast of Archangel Level inside... Now, a similar presence seems to have reached the great vortex."

"Thoth?" Caroline, of course, knew what that divine name implied. "I’ll return in my Spirit Body at once and notify Master Kano and the others," she said immediately, grabbing Rorschach’s hand. "Don’t you dare risk leaving the Boundary Land before reinforcements arrive."

Rorschach was silent. Once Caroline’s Spirit Body had departed, he shook his head. ’If I just sit here and do nothing, Cavendish and his crew will be wiped out without a trace.’

His form dissipated from the Boundary Land.

The Divine Kingdom Fragment, which had been closing in on the Starship, came to a halt. Something had appeared between it and its target.

A humanoid figure rose from the surface of the Transformation Dust Layer Flow. It was indistinct, constantly shifting.

From a corner of the Divine Kingdom Fragment, a being in a nigh-perfect male form emerged. He was dressed in robes more ancient than even those of the Old Empire Era. Facing the one who blocked his path, he said faintly, "You now bear a striking resemblance to His Highness, the Formless God."

After speaking, the man took another step forward. Now clear of the fragment’s crumbling ruins, his right hand, which held a Flame Sword, was revealed.

Within the silhouette opposing him, a blue light flared. It consumed the surrounding Transmuting Dust, purifying the chaotic Divine Power within it and using the result to coalesce a distinct face, body, and a Mage Robe.

Rorschach spoke, asking, "Who are you? Thoth? Or an Archangel under another’s command?"

"The answers to your questions are not mutually exclusive. As for the first, the answer is that same old phrase: I am Thoth, but Thoth is not me." After speaking, he gave Rorschach a deep bow.