The three of them were greeted by the familiar sight of the void between dimensions.
Salem stood there for a moment, before expirimenting with a few dials and measuring tools.
He created a thermomiter, wanting to see if there was a temperature constant, but it promptly shattered, telling him that this area had almost zero pressure.
He created a weight scale and held it, seeing how much gravity there was.
The scale oscillated wildly between its maximum value and its minimum value.
Recycling the scale, Salem made a flashlight to see how light behaves.
Shining the flashlight ahead of them and extending a wire with a light sensor in front of them, connected to him, he observed the readings he recieved.
Light ran unobstructed in this strange dimension, strangely enough.
He then created a watch and watched in shock as it ran backwards, stopped, ran forwards, and then reversed once more, showing that the mechanisms within the watch were affected by the twisted timeflow, even if he wasn't.
Making their headsets to communicate, Salem began chatting with them during their long trek towards the distant light.
Pausing halfway to the light, he pondered for a moment.
"Should we try and transfer while we're not next to the sun?" He wondered aloud. "Maybe the sun is an assigned coordinate for where we come out. Or perhaps the sun is merely a marker for us."
"Try it." Alina encouraged him.
Ruby nodded againat his chest, clearly enjoying being against him.
Creating his washing machine of interdimensional travel, Salem watched as a singularity failed to form. It acted as though the singularity was successfully created, but it didn't make any sort of interdimensional tear.
Reaching inside the washer, Salem was able to hold a singularity in his hand without being crushed by the gravity of it.
"Strange." He noted. "Apparently, the laws of physics are not applicable unlees we are in close proximity to the star."
Salem began his lengthy journey once more.
As he walked, Salem noticed another star. This star was dimmer and coloured an ominous red instead of the warm yellow of the star he was headed to initially.
"Should we check out the red star?" Salem asked them, pointing.
"Sure." Ruby said sarcastically. "That doesn't look scary at all."
"For science." Alina said.
"For science, I guess." Ruby said, hugging him tighter.
Chuckling, Salem changed his target to the red sun that had appeared in his line of sight.
....
It felt as though it took far longer them to reach the red star than the yellow star previously, but since he didn't have any way of keeping time, it was difficult to tell.
Upon arrival, this red star was found to provide very little warmth.
Reaching out to touch it, Salem actually felt it was cold upon his hand as it passed through the intangible sphere.
Creating the magical washing machine, Salem proceeded to step through the pitch-black crack that appeared around the washing machine.
The familiar shift in perception was followed by a magnificent view of a massive bay.
The blue waters reflected the gorgeous red sunset that slowly faded across the sky in a gradient from red to purple.
The lush green forest around the water slowly gathered mist around them as the sun set, giving them an ethereal beauty that captivated all three of them.
They had arrived halfway up a mountain, untouched in the beauty of its jagged, snow-capped peak and perfect grey stone.
"It's beautiful." Ruby breathed, star-struck.
"It's incredible." Alina agreed. "I wonder how many worlds are like this in this Universe."
"We won't know unless we find out, wont we?" Salem asked, smiling.
"I almost don't want to leave this place, it's so beautiful." Ruby said, bending down to trace her hand across the rough stone beneath their feet.
"Almost?" Alina asked glancing at her.
"We have to find Salem's brother, don't we?" She asked.
"I want to see more worlds more than anything else." Alina shrugged. "I wonder if your brother developed an ability."
"Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised." Salem laughed, remembering his kind and caring brother. "If I reincarnated, he must have developed an ability."
"I can't wait to know what it is." Alina said. "And I also want to meet him."
"Your curiosity surpasses your interest in people." Salem laughed.
Alina shrugged.
"Let's make ourselves a little hut and explore tomorrow." Salem said, making a spacious single-room hut.
"Nanomancy is so useful." Ruby said, grabbing Salem's hand, along with Alina, and they led him into the prepared hut to share a night with them once more.
Later, Salem played with the one-dimensional orb that had a small, black, semi-transluscent, spherical veil covering it, allowing him to interact with it.
Wondering at the apparent disregard for the laws of physics by the little orb, Salem put it aside and dropped into a deep slumber.
....
It felt like a second when Salem suddenly awoke to scratches upon their hut.
The scratches were persistent and ear-piercing, like nails upon a chalkboard, immediately awakening Alina and Ruby.
"What is that?" Alina asked, glancing at Salem.
"Oh yeah. Eyes of the Machinist." Salem said, activating the skill.
Upon the roof, Salem saw a pale, misty, ghostlike, figure with clearly defined fingers that curved and ended in points, much like a sickle. The rest of the figure was an undefined, constantly shifting mass.
"It looks like a...Wraith?" Salem said, making the roof clear so they could see it too.
"That's a spirit and now it will never let us go." Ruby sighed. "It's seen our faces."
"What do you mean, never let us go?" Salem asked curiously.
"It's going to pursue us until we die." Ruby said.
"How?" Salem asked. "For it to chase us, it must use energy, right? So for it to chase us it needs to be able to replenish its energy somehow. How does it eat?"
"Souls." Alina broke in.
"Souls can't provide energy." Salem rebutted. "They serve as a medium for a will to form."
"Wraiths can turn them into energy." Ruby said.
"How come it can't pass through walls?" Salem asked.
"It's a gas, it's not intangible." Ruby replied.
Salem trapped the thing inside a sealed box, turning the ceiling solid once more.
"By putting it in a box, it shouldn't escape, correct?" Salem asked nervously.
"I don't know." Ruby responded, hearing the scratching noises start once more.
"I guess we're not sleeping tonight."