Chapter 2108 - 2108. Volcanos
A sulfurous scent filled the whole environment and made Noah unable to smell anything else. The entire area was on fire, and lava seemed to occupy the underground world, a large part of the surface, and a big chunk of the sky.
Noah and June studied their surroundings. The ground felt normal, and the same went for everything else, but they knew that something was odd. That place couldn't be one of the lower planes. They couldn't see a single material under the divine ranks in the area, and many of them even touched the ninth rank. However, they also sensed that they were outside the Immortal Lands.
'This is a separate dimension,' Noah thought before correcting himself. 'No, this is a separate reality. Who built this?'
The area was a proper world built inside a hidden spot of the space-time array. Noah couldn't help but let his mind wander to understand the theory behind its creation. He could see an expert bending the fabric of space and time to open an area where to erect something that Heaven and Earth couldn't reach.
"Can you do something like this?" June asked after sensing the same separation from the higher plane.
"I can bend the space-time array to my whims," Noah explained, "But this reality touches depths that my aspects can't reach. My knowledge is very destructive while this is pure creation."
"Can't you fuse the two?" June continued.
"I can create something that exploits my understanding of time and space," Noah stated. "I can erect buildings with an imitation of the array that suits my needs, but this area is the exact opposite. Someone has transformed the real space-time array and stuffed this reality inside it."
June nodded. She could understand the theory and the differences between the two approaches, but she lacked the aspects necessary to gain proper knowledge on the matter.
Noah was the exact opposite. The more he studied the area, the more he realized how vast the aspects of space and time could be. He was an expert in some areas of those laws, while the creator of that separate reality knew far different abilities.
The sky was the most peculiar aspect of the fiery area. It was dark due to the many waves of black smoke released by the volcanos, but Noah could see past that dense gaseous layer. The place had a ceiling masked as an endless space that seemed to stretch endlessly.
The area didn't give Noah and June any clue. They only knew that the pagoda had teleported them there, so they used the banners' marks as their sole piece of knowledge. The environment was a labyrinth, and they had to get out of it.
"Do we check the volcanos first?" June asked after she completed her inspection.
"Of course," Noah agreed as he grabbed June's waist, and a cold smile appeared on his face.
June rolled her eyes while clinging herself to Noah. The latter saw the space-time array unfolding in his vision and bending to his desires. The separate reality featured laws similar to those found inside the higher plane, so he could rely on his movement technique.
Noah sprinted forward, and giant cracks opened behind him. It turned out that the separate reality wasn't connected to the void. Lava spurted out of the fissured and created new pillars of lakes as the movement technique continued.
The two reached the nearest volcano in an instant. The fumes coming out of its opening tried to engulf them, but the gas shattered as soon as it touched their auras. Noah and June even expanded their mental waves to clear the area, and the boiling liquid inside the structure soon became visible.
June raised her arm, and a spark shot out of her finger. The attack flew toward the dense layer that covered the ceiling before transforming into a giant lightning bolt that fell right at the center of the opening.
An earthquake immediately spread in the area as the volcano exploded into a mess of debris, fuming boulders, and flares of lava. The structure turned out to be empty, but Noah and June remained in the air above it to study the event.
The boulders and debris turned into dust when they entered the duo's auras, but nothing special appeared. The volcano didn't contain anything valuable, and even the underground world under it only featured dense rivers of lava. Noah tried his best to check everything with his consciousness and instincts, but he couldn't find anything capable of triggering reactions.
Noah and June didn't need to speak to decide their next move. June clung to Noah as he performed another sprint that brought them above another volcano in an instant.
June destroyed the second volcano, but nothing special happened even there. The two could only reach a second fuming mountain and repeat the process, but their approach didn't lead anywhere.
"I don't think the volcanos are the key," June guessed after destroying the thirtieth volcano.
"Why isn't the environment reacting to this destruction?" Noah wondered loudly. "Something as valuable as a separate reality should have defensive mechanisms, formations, and much more."
"Maybe the creator wants us to destroy the area," June supposed.
"I find it hard to believe that," Noah declared while pointing at the destruction behind them. "The environment isn't even trying to fix what we have done. I'm starting to think that this isn't a test."
The scenery had transformed during those short minutes. The fiery area had been far from peaceful, but its current state expressed pure chaos. Giant fissures hovered in the air and released seemingly endless rivers of lava. Some of them even gave birth to red lakes or scorching pillars due to the density and amount of the red liquid on the other side.
The destroyed volcanos had also transformed into large holes that released the lava flowing through the underground world. The place was literally brimming with that scorching liquid, and Noah didn't know how to approach it. The name "Cursed Labyrinth" hinted at the presence of tests and challenges, but he couldn't find anything similar there.
"Let's just destroy everything until something comes out," Noah sighed, and June giggled before clinging on him.
Noah and June relied on the most basic approach that they could think of. The separate reality didn't work as a separate dimension, but it had similar weaknesses. The two would find something as long as they kept unleashing their destruction. In the worst option, they would only need to shatter the whole place and create their own escape route.
The ground never stopped shaking as volcanos continued to explode due to June's lightning bolts. More cracks also filled the environment as Noah sprinted uncaringly from one target to another. Lava soon filled everything in their vision, and the annoying thought that they might need to explore the underground world grew stronger during the process.
The separate reality didn't seem to have limits to its vastness, but Noah knew that it had proper limits. He and June could really make the entire structure fall prey to the lava, but a change eventually happened.
June was about to destroy another volcano when the ground under the structure started to move and surged. A humanoid giant grew from the surface, and rivers of lava followed. Noah and June inspected its growth for a few seconds before exchanging a glance and launching their attacks.
The giant had yet to stabilize its body, so a large chunk of its structure fell apart when the slash and lightning bolt hit its chest. A mess of lava and boulders shot everywhere, but Noah and June didn't go anywhere. They remained still as they waited for something to come out.
A figure eventually appeared in Noah's consciousness for less than a second before disappearing among the mess of fumes and lava. It seemed to have every intention to escape, but Noah didn't hesitate to sprint toward it while carrying June.
The figure turned out to be an old-looking woman in the gaseous stage of the ninth rank. She revealed a surprised expression when June and Noah appeared on her path. Cracks followed behind them, but the woman didn't let that sight scare her.
"Wait!" The woman shouted. "I have been stuck here for countless years.. I can't be your enemy."