Round Six: The Star Realm

A portal to another world.

Forty-Seven stared at the magical portal, its edges glowing with a deep red, flame-like hue. Light bands resembling antennae swayed, causing the space within the hall to tremble—somewhat like visual distortions caused by temperature differences.

Inside the massive portal lay a solid mass of dark shadows, making it appear like a huge piece of burning coal. Victor stood beside the portal, with beams of light flickering around him without casting any shadow in the lich’s pitch-black eyes. He raised his finger and whispered a word.

The sound was merely a muffled murmur; with Forty-Seven’s hearing, he couldn’t even distinguish its pitch. Yet it clearly activated the portal, as the shadows inside began to swirl and churn—gradually becoming clearer under Victor’s gestures, like water mixed with ink finally settling.

“Moriel, where do you plan to start?” Victor stabilized the portal in a state resembling burning mist, with fleeting, indistinct scenes appearing inside from time to time. “Unfortunately, though it took me a long time to perfect this portal, it can only lead to a limited number of realms so far, mostly lower-tier ones. I suggest you start from…”

The female mage glanced at Forty-Seven before making her decision.

“The Star Realm. Please send us to the Star Realm, Master Victor.”

“The Star Realm?” The lich was slightly surprised. “You intend to go there in physical form?”

Moriel nodded. “Yes, Master Victor. To be honest… I don’t intend to follow in the footsteps of my former teacher, Isabella. Since she and the other masters are going to search for… the remnants of ancient constructs, all I need to do is get there first. Theoretically, the Star Realm connects to all known and unknown outer realms, so I think starting from there would be a good choice.”

After hearing Moriel’s explanation, Victor nodded.

“You’re good at thinking, Moriel. Very well…”

The lich used both hands, his thin fingers moving swiftly through the air. Flowing red light danced with his movements, creating numerous strange magical symbols, which were thrown one after another into the increasingly turbulent portal.

Soft starlight streamed out from inside the portal. Through it, Forty-Seven saw a familiar scene—a vast world filled with brilliant stars. Many tiny specks of stardust drifted into the hall through the portal; they were pure aggregates of energy, flawless and clean. A breeze blew past Forty-Seven’s ears—air drifting toward the beautiful starry sky inside the portal under a gentle yet irresistible force.

Victor manipulated the portal, allowing the worlds within it to flow past them. Thousands of endless silver threads intertwined to form a vast network-like structure—transparent and delicate, dotted with starlight, like glistening dewdrops on a spiderweb at dawn. The galaxy of stars flowed in the distant horizon; only when the perspective widened could one realize it was merely a part of a slowly rotating spiral nebula spreading out. Countless points of light flickered in the vast universe, dispelling the darkness and cold that should have existed in the void.

Forty-Seven stared intently, his eyes burning with red flames; he was growing impatient.

“I’ve found for you a physical entity floating in the interstellar realm…” Victor finally stabilized the scene inside the portal on a swaying grassland, the blades also glowing faintly. “Be careful, children.”

Watching Forty-Seven’s tall figure block out Moriel and Kayro’s silhouettes as they disappeared together in the starlight emanating from the magic portal, Victor lowered his hands.

The hall quickly darkened—the portal reverted to a lifeless gray-black mirror, and the pulsing magical flames along its edges dimmed, turning into a faint red halo.

The lich stood quietly for a while.

“Gather the remaining stardust and send it to my laboratory,” he ordered, making the most of everything before turning to leave, even though the dim hall seemed empty aside from the magic portal and a few floating remnants of stardust.

The grass beneath his feet shifted slightly, clearing space for Moriel to stand.

The starry sky stretched endlessly. The female mage looked up and saw a bright streak crossing the interstellar sky.

“A meteor!” Kayro also saw it and exclaimed happily.

Forty-Seven focused his attention elsewhere. He looked down at his own body—the form-fitting armor made of living metal now appeared before him in a strange new guise. His steel body, wrapped in starlight, appeared dark and blurred, seemingly covered in grayish rust at first glance. But when he scanned it using different visual modes like a Iron Man, various energy frequencies and plasma spectra radiated from it, operating steadily like a nuclear reactor. Forty-Seven took a deep breath; the star dust particles floating around him, like fireflies, seemed to merge into his mouth like iron filings drawn to a magnet—a wonderful sensation.

Moriel and Kayro no longer resembled their forms in the main material realm. They seemed thinner, lacking depth—was it just an illusion? Like the grassland beneath their feet, they too were illuminated by flickering starlight, as if they had been assimilated into the same form as other interstellar matter.

“We need to find an interstellar portal to leave soon. Traveling through the interstellar realm is quite difficult, at least for us.” Moriel took a tentative step, yet not a single blade of grass was crushed; her feet slipped through the grass like blades of a knife, unimpeded.

“I do like it here… but why not let that skeleton take us to a more practical place?” Forty-Seven turned his head, only the red glow in his eyes remaining unchanged—deep as abysses, bright as stars.

“I don’t trust Victor.” The female mage was surprised to find that in the Star Realm, Si Shi Qi’s appearance had changed greatly. He no longer had a cold, steel-like body; instead, energy radiated from his armor, where starlight and flames intertwined, making him resemble a human-shaped sun—while she and Kayro only became slightly more translucent, covered in a faint glow.

If she could discuss the differences in their appearances with Si Shi Qi, it might be a fascinating subject of study. But Moriel simply replied to his question, “As long as we enter the Star Realm, it will be much harder for him to track us… At least ordinary spells will fail. This also prevents us from being led around by the nose. Finding a suitable portal in the outer realms isn’t easy, but in the Star Realm, which borders all outer planes, we have more choices.”

“Ahah.” Si Shi Qi touched his chin, sparking bright sparks. “So… ladies, want a ride?”

“The Star Realm is different from the main material planes. Can you really do it?” Moriel doubted.

“Sure! Of course!” Kayro cheered excitedly.

Giant, thin wings of radiant light slowly unfolded. Under the super-material effects of the Star Realm, Si Shi Qi’s transformation took on characteristics distinct from those in the material world. He was surrounded by a hazy glow, and the translucent wing membranes connected to his grotesque, living metal skeleton appeared like flowing shadows under the light of the Star Realm. Sparkling stardust stuck to them but quickly extinguished. As the dragon with ever-changing colors gently swayed its spiny tail, even the breeze in the Star Realm carried a hint of chill.

Si Shi Qi lowered his head, allowing Moriel and Kayro to find a comfortable spot among the sharp bones on his neck—of course, this required his cooperation. Then he spread his wings wide, making them even larger, seemingly covering an entire grassland—yet they didn’t seem to have any weight at all. The dragon took to the air silently.

They left the grassy island behind, with the starlight along the way paling in comparison.

In the vast silver currents of the Star Realm, a ship—or rather, a fortress—drifted along the river-like silver threads, powered by endless starlight. Built using materials gathered from the Star Realm space, along with the astonishing skills of its creators, it grew larger over time through continuous repairs, modifications, and expansions, until it resembled a true city that would last forever.

The creators of this floating giant ship lived within it. A layered armor surrounding the entire ship protected numerous domed buildings and spires in the living area, where farming, forging, and trade took place… But aside from building their Star Realm fortress, they spent most of their time on rigorous military training to prepare for any dangers that might arise in this seemingly peaceful realm, while also hoping to find opportunities to satisfy their desire for “victory” and “conquest.”

“Sir.” One of the guards on duty turned his head. His rough, earth-gray face was framed by a pair of dull yellow eyes, and his steel-thin hair was tied back into a small ponytail. Against the backdrop of the starry void outside the large window, he appeared tall and thin. His pointed ears had serrated edges as if bitten by rats, but what set him apart the most from humans was his almost nonexistent nose; his nostrils flared open and closed, giving him the appearance of a breathing skeleton.

He reported to his superior in his race’s mysterious language, filled with distinctive nasal tones: “An unknown reaction has been detected on the psionic detector.”

The noncom, clad in finely crafted armor, approached the detector, his lipless mouth pressed into an almost invisible line. The main component of the device was a crystal lens about six feet in diameter, mounted on a circular platform made of a star-metal called “starsteel.” Beyond reflecting the noncom’s meticulously crafted armor, the lens showed only a silver void filled with flickering lights.

Yet these humanoid beings from the starry realm saw much more.

They observed the psionic detector for a while longer before acting swiftly. A dark yellow button was pressed, and the cables connected to it sent out a tremorous wave that set off the magical bells in the fortress barracks. The guards stationed below the watchtower nervously tensioned their crossbows, adjusted their firing angles, and the blades of their spear-arrows glowed with a faint light—ready to be launched with astonishing force by the elastic animal tendons the moment the crossbow was pulled back, piercing their targets through and through. If the target was clever or lucky enough to dodge, the arrow would continue flying along its trajectory in the gravity-free, airless space of the starry realm, forever until it struck some floating object or some unlucky soul wandering through the stars.

The entire fortress became as chaotic as a disturbed beehive. Soldiers rushed out one after another and formed ranks in the small fan-shaped square in front of the fortress’s main entrance. Each of them wore armor with distinct personal markings, and their weapons had been specially crafted, featuring unusual and extraordinary designs.

At the commander’s order, a group of warriors near the edge of the square took off running, leaped, and without hesitation left the ground to plunge into the endless starry realm. They didn’t fall into the silver abyss beneath the fortress or flail about like drowning fools; in fact, they made no physical movements at all—simply standing with their legs together, firmly holding their weapons, and “swimming” out with incredible speed, heading toward the massive flying monster that was approaching on the psionic detector’s display, devouring starlight as it moved.

As Moriel knew, movement in the starry realm was different from anywhere else. Here, well-developed muscles and brute strength were of little use, as the starry realm had its own rules. Mental energy and willpower were the true sources of power for travelers—having extra legs or wings didn’t make one move any faster; all that was needed was focus. And the female mage believed that was precisely what Forty-Seven lacked the most.

But it is said that creatures without intelligence or self-awareness, such as zombies or golems, cannot move a single step in the Star Realm. This claim provides yet another piece of evidence that this guy, Forty-Seven, is not an ordinary construct. She turned her head to follow the dragon’s outstretched wings—the blade-like wing membranes cutting through the mist of the Star Realm, leaving behind vivid trails like burning clouds in the silver void.

Forty-Seven was thoroughly enjoying the feeling. The wind of the Star Realm blew around him, and the energy reactions in the wind filled him with both satisfaction and hunger. The endless star sea contained the spiritual projections left by countless consciousnesses over infinite times—perhaps long since vanished in the material world, but in the realm of spirit and energy, they were everything.

Suddenly, some faintly glowing human figures appeared in his vision, as if suddenly cut out of the void of the Star Realm. The dragon did not change direction but charged straight at them. Yet those human figures possessed a flexibility that defied all physical laws—they flew away in various directions to avoid Forty-Seven, then returned to follow him, much faster than him, quickly forming a loose circle behind the dragon’s tail.

Forty-Seven couldn’t turn around as easily as they could. Perhaps he hadn’t fully broken free from the constraints of the material world’s ways of moving. But the dragon’s shimmering body suddenly rippled like water, its overall structure changing with the vibrating energy. In an instant, it reshaped itself like a mass of fluid, flipping end over end to face these guys.

“Githians?” Moriel recognized them.

“Saiyans!” Forty-Seven muttered under his breath.

The Githian warriors also watched those two and the dragon warily. Undoubtedly, they were material-minded beings, especially that little girl whose every expression showed sheer ignorance. But they weren’t ordinary material-minded beings either—as an ancient race that had drifted in the Star Realm for tens of millions of years, the Githians had a longer history of wandering than the intelligent beings in many realms. They were experienced enough to tell whether the travelers before them were delicious fresh meat, tough challenges, or dangerous killers like the Star Realm’s Fearless Beasts.

Neither the female mage nor the girl had silver threads connecting to their physical bodies in the material world, allowing them to return at any time. This proved they were traveling in the Star Realm using physical forms. Those who did such things were either foolish enough or strong enough—given the move the dragon had just made, the latter seemed more likely.

“Um… pleased… to meet… strong… Githians,” Moriel said with difficulty, as her knowledge of dragon language was poor.

The noncom who led the Githian scouting party floated forward a bit. He looked down at Moriel arrogantly, his strangely shaped silver greatsword gleaming with a liquid-like luster. “I speak your language.”

“Thank you.” The female mage didn’t let her sense of direction in the Star Realm be affected by his position, as doing so could be seen as a sign of weakness according to records. “We’re just a few realm travelers looking for a Star Realm portal… Honorable Githian warrior, what brings you to stop us?”

“You’re approaching our people’s city,” said the noncom, his Common tongue laced with a slight nasal accent, though it didn’t hinder communication. “If you’re unaware, take another route. Within the Silver Expanse, there are countless directions you can go.”

Moriel thought for a moment. The Jith were the most common inhabitants of the Star Realm, though not natives—and rather infamous. Their greatest hobby was to enrich their arsenals through attacks and plunder, creating all sorts of weapons for war; most of the time, they were nothing but outright bandits. Yet perhaps they could reveal some possible locations of portals… and what price would be required depended on one’s status in the eyes of the Jith.

“My friends and I mean no offense to the Jith,” said Moriel. “We’re just passersby in the Star Realm…”

“We just need a safe place to rest for a while,” added Forty-Seven, not echoing Moriel’s words. “Uh—Jith warriors, would it be possible for us to stay in your city briefly?”

As he spoke, he also watched the Jith. Next to their terrifying dragon-like heads covered in sharp horns, the Jith appeared extremely frail. Forty-Seven examined them from different angles, his long neck twisting like a snake, his body stretching and contorting in the light—this eerie transformation made it seem as though he had surrounded the Jith. His fluttering dragon wings shifted, resembling those of a giant ray. Meanwhile, he glanced several times at the silver blade in the Jith noncom’s hand, either intentionally or not.

The Jith looked nervous.

The noncom’s gaze involuntarily followed the two red dots in Forty-Seven’s eyes, as if he couldn’t feel at ease without them in sight.

“Wait, travelers,” the noncom said when Forty-Seven’s gaze settled on his face. He forced himself to return the stare but still activated the psionic communication stone hanging around his neck.

Then the noncom’s yellow eyes went lifeless—he held the communication stone to his forehead, his stiff body frozen motionless in the Star Realm space. Moriel saw beams of psychic energy emanate from the polyhedral communication stone, stretching several feet before vanishing into the silver void. During this time, the other warriors gathered around the noncom in a defensive formation, clearly on high alert.

After a moment, the noncom returned to normal.

“Follow me.”