Death… And Me

Chapter 4356: Something Wrong

In the Arrays Guild, there were a few buildings that had remained closed for several decades, as no one had any use for them. Over time, they had become little more than forgotten structures occupying valuable space within the Guild’s grounds. Recently, however, one of those abandoned buildings had started receiving a surprising number of visitors.

Naturally, that attracted attention.

Many Array Masters passing by couldn’t help but wonder what was happening inside. Unfortunately for them, the entire area had been classified as restricted. Guards remained posted at all times, and only those directly involved with the project were allowed entry. As a result, the curious could only speculate while continuing on their way, their interest growing with each passing month.

Inside the building, the reason for all the secrecy became immediately apparent. Occupying the center of the enormous workshop was the skeletal frame of an airship. Its metal structure stretched across a large portion of the building, with countless runic pathways engraved throughout its body.

Groups of Array Masters and Blacksmiths continuously moved around it, installing components, adjusting formations, testing newly completed sections, and documenting every result.

Eight Level Two Array Masters and four Blacksmiths worked on the project every day. Despite the scale of the undertaking, the atmosphere inside remained surprisingly relaxed. Of course, there were periods when everyone worked through the night to finish particularly important sections.

However, those moments never lasted long. Their leader had made it clear from the very beginning that rest was mandatory. Overworked minds made mistakes, and mistakes involving arrays could easily result in catastrophic failures.

At first, many had found that mentality strange. Most high-level projects in the Celestial Plane demanded absolute dedication. Endless workdays and sleepless nights were often considered badges of honor. Yet after several months, everyone had to admit that those methods produced excellent results. Not only was progress steady, but the quality of the work remained consistently high.

As for who that leader was, there was really only one possibility.

Rean.

The project was progressing according to schedule, and the results had exceeded many expectations. The Array Masters who had joined the project later were skeptical about being led by someone at Rean’s cultivation level. Although they had heard rumors regarding his accomplishments, hearing stories and witnessing results were two entirely different things.

It didn’t take long for those doubts to disappear.

They were mostly Level Two Array Masters themselves, so questions of pride weren’t particularly significant yet. More importantly, every time Rean proposed a solution to a problem, the solution worked. Every time he redesigned a formation, efficiency improved. Every time a bottleneck appeared, he somehow found a way around it. After months of witnessing that repeatedly, nobody questioned his authority anymore.

Of course, Rean wasn’t flawless, nor a close-minded guy. He made use of ideas from the other masters and made plenty of mistakes himself. He was just more efficient at those.

The Blacksmiths experienced something similar. Rean had introduced several forging methods completely unfamiliar to them. On top of that, he often provided suggestions regarding their tools and equipment, improvements they had never considered before. The deeper they worked with him, the more obvious it became that Rean had once been a truly exceptional expert in his own Great Void.

At the moment, Rean was reviewing the blueprint for one of the airship’s protective formations together with Araujo and Dristan.

”Good,” Rean said after examining several calculations. ”Let’s go with three points and double-layered energy-compressing runes.”

Araujo nodded immediately while Dristan quickly made a few notes before agreeing as well.

”That should stabilize the outer layer without increasing the energy consumption too much.”

”Exactly,” Rean replied.

The two returned to their work while Rean finally took the opportunity to check his RC. Several new announcements had appeared on the network. Most of them weren’t particularly interesting, but one notification immediately caught his attention.

The Godly Subjugation Guild’s official release regarding the new settlement.

Initially, Rean only skimmed through the information. The settlement itself wasn’t especially important to him. However, when he reached the section explaining the corridor plan, he slowed down and started reading more carefully. By the time he finished, he was already frowning.

”That will require an absurd amount of resources,” he muttered. ”And a lot of people are going to die before they manage to make that corridor truly safe. Too bad teleportation arrays are just way too expensive...”

The moment those words left his mouth, Rean suddenly froze. His fingers tapped lightly against the table as his thoughts accelerated.

”Too expensive...” he murmured. ”That’s because the space in the Celestial Plane is ridiculously more stable than any place in my Great Void. Actually, it’s probably more stable than any Great Void, period. Bending space here requires an absurd amount of energy, and the farther the destination, the worse it gets.”

His gaze drifted toward the unfinished airship nearby.

At first glance, one might assume the airship itself was the perfect solution for transportation through Godly Creatures’ Territory. Unfortunately, that wasn’t true. The vessel disguised itself as a Godly Creature, but Godly Creatures attacked each other all the time. The disguise reduced danger significantly, yet it didn’t eliminate it completely.

There was also the economic issue. The disguise arrays consumed considerable amounts of energy when powered by Godly Crystals. For large-scale transportation, the costs would quickly become unreasonable.

Fortunately, that particular problem wasn’t a problem for the twins’ group, but only for them.

During the war, Rean had relied on Godly Crystals to fuel the disguise system. The arrays separated the Godly Energy inside the crystals into Celestial Energy and Godly Pressure. The Godly Pressure maintained the disguise while the Celestial Energy powered the airship itself.

This new version was completely different. Instead of relying on crystals, the disguise arrays would use the Godly Pressure generated by the twins’ group when they operated their cultivation technique in reverse. The only reason Rean hadn’t done so during the war was because Tobao and Arcis had been aboard the vessel. Revealing that they could generate Godly Pressure would have raised countless questions. At best, it would expose one of their greatest secrets. At worst, the twins’ group could end up treated no differently than the puppets.

For that reason, Rean had hidden the truth.

Now, however, there was no need.

As long as one member of the group remained aboard, the disguise system could operate indefinitely. The vessel itself already flew efficiently by absorbing Celestial Energy from the environment. Providing Godly Pressure was even easier. The project had turned out better than Rean originally expected, and thinking about it made him feel rather proud.

Still, the airship wasn’t what truly occupied his thoughts at the moment. His attention returned to the new array runes he had recently developed, the runes capable of directly utilizing Godly Pressure.

”Godly Energy is composed of Godly Pressure and Celestial Energy. Teleportation arrays consume enormous amounts of Godly Crystals to bend space...” Rean narrowed his eyes as a new possibility formed in his mind. ”What actually makes space so stable in the first place?”

His thoughts immediately moved toward Laws before rejecting the idea.

”No. That doesn’t make sense. Laws are simply rules governing reality. Cultivators learn how to manipulate those rules, but the Laws themselves shouldn’t be the source of spatial stability.”

Leaning back in his chair, Rean continued following that train of thought.

”If that’s true, then the only remaining possibility is Godly Pressure.”

The idea sounded increasingly reasonable. Godly Pressure existed throughout the entire Celestial Plane. Even the Besgol Region wasn’t truly separate from the outside world. The Sacred Relic merely prevented Godly Pressure from entering the region directly. The space itself remained part of the same greater structure, which meant the space inside the Besgol Region was just as stable as the space outside.

Without wasting any time, Rean connected his consciousness to the Arrays Guild Network through his RC. Countless articles immediately appeared before him. Teleportation arrays, spatial formations, long-distance transportation systems, theoretical studies, historical developments—everything remotely related to the subject became available. Since teleportation technology posed no threat to the Besgol Region itself, all related information was publicly accessible.

Hours passed as Rean devoured one article after another, comparing theories, studying blueprints, and reviewing the conclusions of countless Array Masters who had come before him.

Then suddenly, everything clicked.

His eyes shone with excitement as he finally understood the problem.

”No wonder teleportation arrays are so damn expensive.”

Every expert who had ever worked on teleportation technology shared the same limitation: none of them could control Godly Pressure. As a result, every teleportation array ever created had been forced to fight against space itself.

”They’re rowing against the current.”

The comparison perfectly captured the situation.

”They bend space while the Godly Pressure naturally tries to restore it. Every meter they force space to move is met by resistance. Every attempt to maintain a tunnel is opposed. The farther the destination, the stronger the cumulative resistance becomes. That’s why the costs explode.”

Every Array Master in Besgol and the known Regions around had approached the problem from the same direction. None of them had ever considered another option because they simply couldn’t. Well, they had, it’s just that none worked.

A smile slowly spread across Rean’s face.

”No one could control Godly Pressure before...”

Then his smile widened.

”...until now.”

Later that day, Flugel was busy working alongside several high-level Array Masters when his RC suddenly emitted a notification. At first, he paid little attention to it. Then he saw the sender.

Rean.

Immediately, Flugel opened the message. What appeared wasn’t a conversation request or a report. It was a blueprint.

The moment he started reading, his expression changed.

A few minutes later, sweat had already formed across his forehead.

”The implications of this...” he muttered. ”...are terrifying.”

The blueprint described an entirely new approach to teleportation technology. Not an improvement. Not an optimization. A complete change in foundation. If Rean’s theory proved correct, the cost of long-distance teleportation could decrease by an unimaginable amount. Entire transportation networks might need to be redesigned. Economic systems could change. Military logistics could change. The balance of power between regions could change.

For a long moment, Flugel simply stared at the blueprint.

Then his eyes narrowed.

Not because he had found a flaw. Not because he disagreed with the theory.

His problem was something far more serious... the name of the project!

-Ultra-High-Efficiency Godly Pressure Counter-Current Spatial Distortion, Stability Suppression, Long-Distance Transportation Cost Reduction, and Inter-regional Teleportation Support Grand Array Mark II-

Flugel stared at it for several seconds before rubbing his temples.

”There has to be something wrong in his head...”