บท 133: Breaching the Foundations of the Earth (4)

It was accepted knowledge in the world of science that an object with the mass and density of a grain of sand, confined a sufficient quantity of energy within its inner structures that once unleashed without restraint, could deploy the intensity and destructive appeal of several hundred nuclear warheads.

Similarly, the grain of sand could sate an entire supernation's electricity requirements for many years without any sign of shortage.

The scientists of many mortal worlds had long since become cognizant of the notion of the relation with mass and energy.

The major problem behind their lack of technological improvement in refining and harnessing the seemingly limitless source of energy was due to a simple problem.

…they knew that a relationship between an object's respective mass and pure energy existed, but didn't know how to harness it or even extract it.

It was akin to the folly of a secular man granted a holy doctrine. The entire ideological concept was laudable, but not pragmatic.

They could stare at it and mire themselves in dumbfounded interest, but at the end, wasn't their efforts completely useless?

The bead nestled within the young girl's chest pulsed fiercely in anger, a terrible current of divine essence pooled within its infinitesimal mass.

Gradually, faint patterns of different color began to etch themselves on the bead's surface, each revealing an imposing aura capable of sundering the heart of the heavens.

The pillar of solidified golden light had been accepted and assimilated into the previously empty bead.

The ring of tempered divine essence had reached an optimal rotational velocity, the faint contours and ridges spanning across its length generating a weak and subtle attractive force that caressed the bead on all sides.

Time to time, tinges of golden light flickered from the bead towards the ring, transmitted and absorbed quietly and quickly.

The bead quivered once more, the frightening mass of divine essence lazily rearing its head towards the empty void. The void glared back with its customary antipathy, before roaring in a taunting rage.

Bang!

A heavy collision resounded within the young girl's chest, and the bead was displaced from its originally stable position by a few millimeters.

The mass of divine essence howled in rage, golden light suffusing the inscriptions that decorated its surface.

The void dared not tolerate its existence, thus it shall not tolerate the void!

Hong!

The infinitesimal bead erupted in a towering rage, pure golden light exploding from its surface towards the ring rotating around it.

The light branched into countless threads of golden divine essence, and ruthlessly permeated the tempered ring, causing it the resonate with the bead's temper.

The ring's rotation increased in speed as it hastily attempted to abridge the connection with the bead serving as its axis, the inscriptions writhing in agony as they appeared to melt into a blur of color that spanned across the entire surface.

Nonetheless, the bead refused to relent in its rage, the sea of golden light completely inundating the ring of tempered divine essence until both artefacts reverberated with the same radiance.

The ring and bead vibrated twice more, before suddenly ceasing their unusual actions.

The golden sea remained within the chest cavity of the young girl, lounging lazily through the blood vessels and tissue as it followed the current of her bloodstream.

Several strands of golden light detached from the sea to permeate the bloodstream, circulating throughout the young girl's entire body, rearing its head in a probatory gesture.

The meridians in her body, be it major or minor, contemporary or extraordinary, Yang-attributed or Yin-attributed, were carefully scanned by the exploratory threads of light, compiling an invisible but massive tome of information.

Numerous threads of light flowed back into the golden sea, containing volumes of the unspeakable within the fragmented information obtained from their search.

The sea hummed in response, its tranquil surface rippling with the occasional rumble of basic sentiment and emotion.

Several threads of golden light attempted to connect with the ring of tempered divine essence, yet both the bead and the ring were unresponsive regardless of the communication.

The golden light wreathing the ring rebuffed the cautious strands of divine essence, chasing them back towards the sea to nurse their injured self-esteem.

The golden sea probed in curiosity, only to receive a noncommittal answer from the infinitesimal bead.

Heng!

The sea of golden light puffed in distraught, beginning to shrink in volume as it wrapped around the ring of tempered divine essence.

Countless threads overlapped over one another as they wrapped around the ring's surface, constructing a powerful defensive barrier that enveloped the artefact.

An abrupt silence overwhelmed the previously chaotic atmosphere within the young girl's chest, causing the heart to palpitate in anxiety.

The blood vessels protested in abused anger, but discovered that neither the sea of golden light nor the unique ring and bead responded regardless of its protests.

…having settled into an idle state, the golden sea, the ring of tempered divine essence, and the bead of infinitesimal mass… all awaited the young girl's decision.

–

"What is the purpose of this void?"

A young girl's soft voice resounded within the infinite darkness surrounding the advent of creation, filled with exasperation and a thread of curiosity.

The darkness hummed in response, conveying an intelligible and absurd response. The young girl paid no heed, the fingers of her right hand reaching upwards to gently rub at her chin as she fell into thought.

She could move an incredible distance, but her orientation and mapping of coordinates didn't exist.

She could create an object via her imagination, but lacked the verity required to solidify its existence.

She could create from nothing, she could generate nothing from creation, and she could… manipulate nothing.

The young girl possessed the absolute control over everything, and nothing at the same time.

With a single word that escaped her tender mouth, the infinite void could be rendered finite, or even become compressed to a single point's boundaries.

The only downside was that such a notion possessed little aptitude nor purpose, for she could not define a mapping of coordinates that could house an infinite or finite void.

"I can move; I can create, and I can destroy," An Fei muttered to herself in helplessness, shaking her head with a despondent mood.

"All of these unparalleled abilities bestowed on me, and I can't depart from a dream."

The young girl bent her knees in an attempt to sit, before smacking herself on the forehead upon realizing her folly.

A wave of her hand created the existence of a chair directly underneath, but evaporated into nihility the moment An Fei moved to sit on its surface.

A simple wave of her hand could create anything, from a silver spoon to a godslaying weapon. Her imagination provided the initial framework necessary to redesign the entire universe, to mold creation as she wished.

Unfortunately…

"I can create, but I can't have them remain," An Fei nursed her temples in frustration.

"What's the purpose of creation if it cannot remain stable within an undefined plane of existence? Why… am I even in this void?"

The darkness offered its hands to the young girl as an exchange of penance, a peaceful smile on its countenance as it gestured for an armistice. The young girl frowned in reply, the pair of scarlet irises examining the infinite void in contemplation.

Finally, after an indeterminate period of time, An Fei allowed her lips to part, ejected her question through puffed cheeks and a pout.

"I don't see any point in being here, this pace is so run-down and boring. Can I leave?"

The void twinkled in reply, and the darkness reached forward to encompass the young girl in a delicate embrace.

The infinite void hummed with an unintelligible intention, the ripples at its horizon beckoning the fall of the frontier.

In response to the young girl's peeved question, the infinite void had determined to sacrifice its definition to establish a set of coordinates.

The darkness howled in agony as its boundary continued to orient and compress itself, but did not disengage the chaotic world from removing its state of disorder.

When An Fei squinted, she could faintly perceive the edge of the infinite void's frontier.

The edge appeared to be a thin veil with the strength of a fabric's thread, obscuring a mysterious entity from her vision with all it's might.

Regardless of how the young girl focused and concentrated in her numerous attempts to bypass the veil to peek upon the mystery hidden beyond its elusive appearance, the frontier of the void demurred with a faint hum.

Similarly, An Fei perceived that as the infinite void transitioned into a finite realm, her abilities to create, destroy, and manipulate nothing increased by an equal margin.

Perhaps if the void compressed to its absolute limit to present a mapping of ordinal coordinates, she wouldn't be required to seek veracity for her actions in altering the composition of the world. Perhaps she could even transcend the regulations upon creatures, to become a godly being…

Perhaps, supposedly, and if.

The young girl suddenly froze in thought, her lips puckering to form an astounded 'oh' as she pondered on the reason for the void's act of compression.

An Fei stared at the continually diminishing frontier with a shrewd gaze, before taking a deep breath.

"Perhaps there's no… point… in attempting to leave?"

Bang!

The void ceased its action the instant the young girl's words reverberated throughout the darkness. An instant later, the seemingly finite void had been restored to its incomprehensible state, as if everything before had been an illusion.