Chapter 259 - 260: Crossing the Threshold
A few seconds passed after the huge energy wave hit.
For someone as powerful as Runar, a few seconds felt like an endless amount of time. His mind worked fast. He stayed seated in the empty void, perfectly calm, and kept reading. His special ability, the Eye of Myriad Truths, remained open. Golden-white light poured from it, washing over the barrier and the outer walls of the ruin. More and more symbols appeared under his gaze. Connections between different rules and principles clicked into place, one after another. Small gaps in his understanding quietly filled themselves in.
Still not enough, he thought. But better than nothing. Every layer I figure out now is one less problem I have to deal with later.
He could feel the structure of the barrier much more clearly now. The outermost layer, the one that simply said "no" to anyone trying to get in, was already cracked from his earlier work. Beneath it sat several systems locked together. There was spatial isolation, which kept the space sealed off. There was temporal damping, which slowed down any attempt to force time open. And there was something else — something that felt like the barrier simply refused to accept forced entry as a concept. It was like a rule written into reality itself. You cannot enter this way. Full stop.
The deeper he read, the more the symbols fed into the principles he already understood. Several things he had only half-grasped before suddenly became sharp and clear. A few new connections formed that he had not expected at all.
Whoever built this place didn’t just know symbols, he thought. They treated them like a complete language for describing reality itself.
Then his awareness sharpened suddenly.
Looks like they are already close.
Several strong auras had locked onto his location. They were moving fast, closing the distance quickly. Different types of power brushed against his senses. Some were open and aggressive, making no effort to hide. Others were carefully hidden behind cloaking techniques. One carried the heavy, crushing pressure of pure physical strength. Another felt sharp and analytical, like a mind built for solving problems. A third was wrapped so tightly in concealment that only the faint trail of its movement gave it away.
They were almost here.
No point sitting around outside to greet them.
Runar made his decision instantly.
He raised one hand and widened the small gap he had created earlier in the barrier. The symbols along the edges shifted and stretched under his control. They formed an opening just large enough for one person to walk through. The moment the gap became stable, a faint current of strange void energy leaked out from the other side. It brushed against his skin like cool, heavy water. It was denser than the normal void outside. It carried a feeling of old authority — ancient, but carefully organized.
This void energy is different, he thought.
Runar stepped through and entered the ruin.
The strange energy washed over his body the instant he crossed the threshold. It pressed lightly against his skin and his principles, as if testing him. Then it settled, finding no conflict. The feeling was distinct. It was cleaner than the chaotic void outside, yet much denser. It felt like the space beyond the barrier followed a slightly different set of rules.
He walked forward without stopping.
Ahead of him stood the real entrance. It was a tall door made of pure, stable light. The light rose directly from the surface of the ruin. It did not flicker. It did not pulse. It simply existed, solid and patient, like it had been waiting for a very long time. Behind it, he could feel the spatial structure — a deep, folded pocket of space. It was clearly far larger than the outside of the ruin suggested.
A teleport gate.
He stopped in front of it for half a breath. Then he stepped through without hesitating.
In the final instant before the teleport fully took him, he reached back with one hand.
"I can’t let the incoming crowd have an easy entry."
He sealed the gap in the barrier completely. The opening vanished as if it had never existed. The barrier’s absolute refusal returned in full force. It cut off the strange void energy and restored the clean wall between inside and outside.
The light door activated.
At the exact moment the barrier sealed shut, the first Multiversal being arrived.
He was a tall man with a sharp face. A heavy saber hung at his waist. His power sat solidly in the Advanced tier. He caught only the last flicker of a dark-robed figure disappearing into the light door.
The man clicked his tongue hard.
"Damn it. I’m too late. Someone already got in ahead of me."
He stared at the now-closed barrier. His eyes narrowed. Faint traces of spatial energy still lingered in the air where the light door had been. He raised his hand and slammed a concentrated blast of force against the barrier. The attack landed and simply disappeared. The barrier did not even shake.
How the hell did that guy get in? the man thought. Frustration rose fast inside him. The seal is still rock solid for me. Did he actually read the damn symbols?
He switched methods. He sent a sharp spatial fold at the same spot. Nothing happened. He followed with a conceptual erosion technique — one that had broken weaker seals before. The barrier rejected it without any effort at all.
"You’ve got to be kidding me," he muttered.
Inside the ruin, the ancient will watched everything with clear amusement.
"Looks like the first bait just walked into the trap," it said to itself. "And here come the rest of them."
A low chuckle echoed through the internal spaces of the ruin.
"He even closed the door behind him. Polite, or just greedy. Either way, interesting. Most of the ones who found this place never made it past the first layer. This one actually read the symbols and walked in like he belonged here."
The will’s attention stayed on the sealed barrier for a moment longer.
"Let’s see how the others react when they realize they’re locked out."
Outside, more powerful beings began arriving one after another.
A woman made of pure blue energy appeared first. Her form stabilized with a soft crackling sound. Right after her came a beast-like Multiversal being with six arms and burning horns. He landed heavily, sending a faint ripple through the local void. An abstract geometric shape unfolded into something roughly humanoid. Two heavily cloaked figures appeared at a distance, their power tightly held back. Within moments, a small crowd had gathered. Each one stared at the sealed barrier and the faint teleport traces still fading in the air.
"Someone already went in," the blue-energy woman said in a flat voice.
"No kidding," the six-armed beast growled. He flexed his claws. "I can still feel the leftover spatial trace. That bastard was fast."
The sharp-faced man with the saber crossed his arms. "I got here first among us and still missed him by a heartbeat. The barrier is completely sealed again. I already tried forcing it open. Nothing works."
One of the cloaked figures spoke in a dry voice. "So the first one actually opened it, walked through, and closed it behind him. That’s annoying."
"Annoying?" Another arrival stepped forward. He was a thin man with floating symbol-seals orbiting slowly around his shoulders. He let out a short laugh. "That’s rude is what it is. He’s already inside taking whatever’s valuable while we’re stuck out here staring at a wall."
The six-armed beast stepped up to the barrier. He slammed both fists against it. The impact made no sound. The barrier simply refused to acknowledge the attack existed.
"Useless," he spat. "Anyone else want to try?"
Several of them did.
The blue-energy woman fired a concentrated beam of pure force. It vanished on contact. The geometric silhouette tried a complex spatial fold that should have bypassed normal seals. The barrier ignored it completely. The thin man with the orbiting seals sent a carefully structured symbol probe forward, hoping to find a weakness in the barrier’s logic. The probe broke apart without giving any feedback.
"This is ridiculous," the blue-energy woman said. "How did the first one get through if none of us can even scratch it?"
"He read the symbols," the thin man said quietly. The seals around his shoulders spun a little faster. "That’s the only explanation that makes sense. The rest of us just tried to break it or trick it. He actually understood it."
A short, irritated silence followed.
"So what now?" the saber man asked. He glanced around the growing group. "We just sit out here like idiots while he takes everything?"
"We wait," one of the cloaked figures answered. "Or we keep testing. Or someone finds another way in. But throwing ourselves at the barrier like mindless animals is not going to work."
The six-armed being snorted. "Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who just watched the prize walk away."
"None of us watched it walk away," the cloaked figure replied calmly. "We all arrived late. The difference is some of us are smart enough not to waste energy on a wall that clearly does not care."
More auras were still approaching in the distance. The crowd outside would only keep growing. Greed, caution, and irritation mixed heavily in the void around the ruin. A few of the newer arrivals immediately started testing the barrier with their own methods. They met the same absolute rejection as everyone else. Others hung back and watched, already thinking about whether working together, competing, or simply waiting would serve them best.
Inside, the ancient will continued to watch with quiet satisfaction.
The first piece had entered the board. The rest were gathering exactly where it wanted them — locked outside, frustrated, and already starting to turn on each other in small ways.
"Perfect," it murmured. "Let them pile up. The more, the better."
Outside, the sealed barrier stayed absolute. Nothing changed. Nothing cracked. Nothing bent.
And Runar was already gone, deep inside the ruin. The teleport had carried him far beyond the reach of the growing crowd. The quiet window was over. The competition had officially begun. But for now, he held the advantage of being first.