Death... and me



Gem narrowed his eyes, the weight of their task bearing down on him. "That's not something that can be done at the moment," he said, shaking his head. "As you know, even the most skilled experts in the Divinity Realm can't get close to the Foundation Pillar, let alone us."

Sister Orb, the ever-optimistic AI, chimed in. [I didn't say we have to reach the Pillar itself. You just need to get to its location. As long as we're within range, we'll be able to enter the Chaos Energy Source.]

Sesame's brow furrowed. "But Master, even getting close to it would require cultivation at the Space-Time Realm."

Gem nodded, his lips pursed in contemplation. "I know. But if it's possible, it's worth a try."

Sister Orb interjected, [Yes, getting near the Pillar is enough. With how massive it is, any place where you can at least see it should be more or less sufficient. The Space-Time Realm should be the right realm to resist the force there.]

Despite their optimistic plans, Rean, Roan, and the others were still uncertain. "That's all well and good, but we don't even know where this Foundation Pillar is located."

Gem gave them a small smile. "That's not an issue. In the Space-Time Realm, one can finally break through the atmosphere of the Realm of Gods, Underworld, or Heaven. If you can do that, going to the location of the Foundation Pillar will be a walk in the park. You'll be able to feel its presence straight away."

Sesame added, "And that's why being in the Space-Time Realm is crucial. If you're not in a sealed place like this Swamp of No Return, you'll be able to open Spatial Gates to travel vast distances. You'll need this ability if you want to reach the Foundation Pillar's location."

"I see..." Roan pondered for a bit. "But there is a problem. With how important this Foundation Pillar is, wouldn't it be heavily guarded? After all, the experts of the Cultivation World believe that the secret to going beyond the Divinity Realm is located there, right?"

"That would be very difficult," Gem immediately dismissed the idea. "The Foundation Pillar is truly massive, not to mention it is located in the gap between the two sides of the Universe. Why do you think the experts on this side of the Universe can't get to your side? Because of the Pillar itself. To be able to keep an eye on the entire thing would be ridiculously hard, not to mention expensive. You would need countless formations, resources, knowledge, and others."

Sesame, who was also in the Divinity Realm, agreed with Gem. "To be honest, I don't think a single realm alone would be able to do it either. I think you would need an alliance of the Underworld, Realm of Gods, and Heaven to get enough beings to take on such a task. And you would need to trust each other for that. It doesn't matter how I see this. It truly gets close to the true meaning of the word impossible. The three main realms would never do that."

Naturally, that made the twins' group happy. "That's good news. Then, once we get to the Space-Time Realm, we can pay it a visit."

[Alright, then it is decided,] Sister Orb was happy they agreed to that plan.

Of course, Roan still wanted to know. "So, how exactly will you get us inside this alternative plane?"

[There's no point talking about it now. You are just too far away from the Space-Time Realm. Besides, it is not something easy to explain either. It involves certain conjectures that are just too abstract for you guys to understand without experiencing it,] Sister Orb replied.

Rean shrugged his shoulders. "Translating what she said, Sister Orb simply has no idea how it works. It just works because she was the Universe Sentience."

Everyone nodded. "Yeah, that's most likely the truth."

[Fuck you! You know what? No more Chaos Origin Source for any of you. Go get your asses wiped and cultivate like everyone else,] Sister Orb exclaimed.

Rean quickly took his words back. "It's a joke, a joke! Someone as magnanimous and calm as the Great Sister Orb would never take it to heart, right?"

"I guess you are right," Sister Orb was easily placated.

Finally, Sister Orb brought Soul Gem's projection over the Orb again before saying, [Alright, I told you everything I had to. I truly know nothing else of value, so there is no point in asking for anything else. If you need me, just call me as always.] The Soul Gem Orb then stopped shining while it kept floating in the middle of the room with Gem on top of it.

Gem couldn't help but sigh. "I feel like I lost a thousand years of life." Still, he was the one running out of time. "Anyway, do you have anything else you want to ask me? I can still stay awake for a while, but the sooner I go back to sleep, the sooner I can recover."

Rean looked at Roan and the others, but it didn't seem like they had anything else to ask. However, Celis suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right! Unlike Sister Orb, you didn't get your memories sealed. In that case, you should know quite a few secrets that we can make use of. You were the leader of the biggest organization in the Universe back then, after all."

Gem didn't agree with that, saying, "It will be useless. The reason is pretty simple: if there is anything that could be used now, my old companions and the Vruve organization have already taken it away. If it can't be taken, it is definitely well-guarded. Besides, it's like Sister Orb mentioned, it has been too long! Most of the things I knew before creating the system have long since ceased to exist."

Celis felt disappointed but didn't insist. Rean and Roan looked at each other and shook their heads. They had already asked what they wanted. "Well, then that's it. Is it possible to wake you up if we need you at least?"

"Yes," Soul Gem nodded. "However, try to refrain from doing so. The process of awakening my soul from its hibernating state costs too much. I would rather not have to do so. Still, if you truly need to ask for something at any cost, you can use the system to do that. I will leave an option in the system for you to select in that case."

"That's good to hear." The twins' group nodded.

Yet, there was still something else to discuss. "Alright, enough talk about the past. Gem, Sesame, can we get the Universe Foundation Fragment in this place?"

Sure enough, the main objective hadn't changed. They needed that fragment.