Once the orb's growth had come to a stop the room fell silent. Suddenly the orb began to buzz like it was charging up, the sound getting louder and louder until the orb burst with purple light filling the entire room surrounding the altar.
Zane didn't have a chance to react as he felt the hot energy swallow him as streaks of violet filled his vision and he felt his body be swept away. A strange force covered his body for only a second before he opened his eyes and found himself in a completely different location.
'This must be some sort of spacial magic, that's the only explanation for this. Although I've never experienced it before, from what I've read that was a similar experience to how it feels when teleporting through space. However I've never witnessed nor heard of an altar like that one.
Normally the only way to use spacial magic without knowledge of such magic would be through a space portal, but they are only located in the big cities or guilds so how?' Zane began trying to piece together what he had just experienced but just ended up with even more questions.
'I think I'll have to rule out it being a space portal, no space portal requires a blood offering to activate and they usually run on mana crystals. But what was it?' Zane asked inwardly. 'Wait, first I need to figure out where I am.' Coming to a conclusion within his mind, Zane began to survey the area he had been transported to.
It was like a nightmare. The ground was a flat black stone that stretched as far as the eye could see and it was littered with small cracks that the purple energy was trickling out from. Looking out across the horizon, countless beams of violet energy shot up like geysers before falling back down into the cracks, illuminating the pitch black sky above.
Turning his attention the the sky, Zane was dumbfounded by the sky of nothingness. Not a single star nor sun could be seen in this sea of darkness. Almost like it was another world. 'Surely it can't be? Even space portals cannot travel between worlds! What is this place?' Zane was clouded with confusion. Not understanding how the sky could be so empty that the only source of light on this new planet was the same purple that oozed from the surface.
Suddenly a heart wrenching thought crossed his mind. 'Am I the only one on this planet?' Zane was used to being alone but to think that he'd be alone on an inhabitable planet for the rest of his life was enough to make him worry for his dull future.
[You are not alone mortal]
A deep yet smooth voice sounded in his head, like someone was right next to him. Zane looked around and to his shock there was no one there.
[HAHAHAHA]
The voice echoed with laughter in his head once again, not mockingly but as if the voice was in genuine hysterics.
[Do not be afraid mortal, I mean you no harm... In fact, I would like to meet you. Come to my palace...]
The voice stopped for a second before continuing.
[I will be waiting.]
Zane stood in place for a moment, contemplating what had just taken place. He had never heard of the telepathy being used with such ease as it was a rare skill back in the Fultra Realm, even for A ranks.
Yet this voice had managed to use it on Zane himself who hadn't established a mental link so it should be extremely difficult. All this did was confirm Zane's first and most prominent thought right now... Whoever this is, they are powerful.
'Wait how do I find you?' Zane thought as he looked around the flat plains until he spotted a large palace made of pure white marble. 'That wasn't there before...' Zane muttered inwardly before walking in the direction of the palace.
The closer Zane got to the palace the more details he could see and he couldn't help but appreciate the architecture of such an enormous palace. When he was standing in front of the two big white doors he could analyze the palace more accurately.
The white palace was easily 500,000 square feet and stood about 1 km tall, a truly breathtaking size that made the palaces and guild halls of the Fultra Realm pale in comparison. All over the walls and doors were thousands of different shaped runes of purple energy that pulsed with energy every few seconds.
Zane took another step forward and the palace doors began to open inwardly, revealing a long purple carpet that led inside. "An entrance fit for royalty" Zane chuckled as he watched the carpet roll out and stop just before his feet.
Proceeding forward Zane tried to take in the sights inside the palace. The walls were pure white marble the whole way along, which Zane found strange considering most palaces would be decorated, but Zane didn't care enough to ask. He kept walking along the purple carpet whilst preparing his questions for whoever he was about to meet.
Arriving at the end of the carpet and standing before a smaller set of white marble doors, Zane believed this was the right direction since he'd not been directed anywhere else. 'I wonder what this mysterious person will look like?' He thought to himself, reaching out a hand to push open the double white doors.
However before he could touch the doors, two knights made of purple energy materialized beside either door before bowing respectfully and then pushing the doors open, shuffling to the side so that Zane could walk through.
To say he was surprised was an understatement. Each of these knights was comparable to an S rank at least, which wasn't the main shocking thing. These knights were mere servants of whatever powerhouse was through these doors.
"Thank you" Zane nodded his head respectfully as to not act arrogant in the face of two S rank warriors. The knights just stared blankly at Zane, not moving from their position holding the doors open. Walking through the doors, Zane was in the throne room. Similar to the rest of the palace so far, there were no decorations on the walls.
However on either side of the hall stood hundreds of identical purple knights making the same pose. The knights left hands were making a closed fist that they pressed against their chests and in their right hands they held a marble white banner pole that sported a purple banner on top. The purple banner had an image of a rune that looked like a combination of the other runes Zane had seen. They formed a circle with four triangular spikes protruding from the center of the circle.
Turning his attention from the knights, Zane began to take in the man at the end of the hall. Sitting in his jade white throne the man rested both arms on the sides of the throne whilst staring directly at Zane, a gentle smile on his face as if he had reunited with a friend.
The man had completely white hair that matched perfectly with his throne and palace, defined facial features that gave him a dignified look and jade white skin that accompanied his overall aesthetic. He wore white robes with golden and purple embroidery that gave him an elegant appearance matched with the higher presence he radiated.
Wrapped around his throne was an enormous white dragon with two beaming purple eyes as a full set of razor sharp fangs, each big enough to crush a person. 'I thought dragons were all nearly extinct?' Zane began to ponder as he slowly moved closer toward the seated man.
"They almost are, Drakul is an exception." The man spoke gently but his voice was carried straight to Zane's ears and made him tense involuntarily.
*HHHHMMMPHH*
Drakul let out an unsatisfied snort before baring his white fangs in the form of a smile. "YES AN EXCEPTION I AM" Drakul growled proudly, flaunting his beautiful jade body while the grin on his face grew even bigger.
"Now now Drakul do not scare the guest, he is mortal and I doubt he would have seen a dragon in person before, let alone one as special as yourself." The mans tone was gentle but after he spoke Drakul bowed his head towards the man in response. "Apologies Master." This time Drakul had refrained from his deep growl and instead respectfully apologized to the man sitting on the throne.
Throughout this interaction Zane was left with his jaw wide open. The man was right, Zane had only read and heard stories of dragons but seeing one in person was never something he believed possible in his dull life. To make this even more unreal, this tyrannical beast with the power to topple kingdoms was bowing before this man, further cementing the power Zane believed this one man wields.
"It is an honour to meet you your Majesty, may I ask your name?" Zane felt like it would be best to start with finding how to address this man, so thought before asking the questions burning in his head, he would first acquaint himself.
"Well I already know your name, Zane. Dear boy, you need not address me so formally" the man chuckled, "I am King Aether, but please call me Aether." His face turned into an even bigger smile that shone with a perfect set of teeth, a smile that could hypnotize any woman who saw it.
"Aether?" Zane felt the name was extremely familiar but couldn't figure out where he had heard it before. 'This name why is it so familiar? Haven't read it somewhere?' Trying his hardest to piece together the information in his head, Zane searched his memory of the name Aether, until it clicked.
With wide eyes and an expression of utter shock, Zane asked Aether his new question that had just surfaced after piecing together where he had heard the name.
"Aether, the God of Space?" Zane's voice was weak, never had he imagined meeting a dragon and then a God in the same day let alone his entire lifespan. A real god and one of the most powerful at that.
Aether smirked before giving Zane a light nod to confirm his suspicions. "Yes that is correct." Aether's gentle voice confirmed Zane's suspicions, but answering one question and gaining a hundred more. "I know what you are thinking and how many questions you have, so do not fret mortal as I will tell you what you need to know and what I need you to know." Aether's warm smile turned into a serious face as he looked into Zane's soul with his purple eyes.
"To begin, yes I am Aether the God of Space, at least I was formally. Now I am just King Aether, no longer the God of Space. 10,000 years ago I was betrayed by my fellow Gods and banished to this place, the Void." Aether paused with a sullen face as if to let Zane briefly take in his words.
"After finding myself stuck in this strange world I began to feel like my divinity was being drained, but what I thought was my divinity was actually my vitality."
'So that explains the altar draining my blood to activate the purple energy, and why ever since being here I've felt such a strange pressure.' Zane already had some assumptions after his blood was drained by the altar but until now he had no way to confirm his theories.
"I've spent countless millennia studying the power of the Void, embracing its power and what one can do with it, I must say, it's truly magnificent!" Aether grinned with madness whilst telling his story. "Yet, I found for every step forward with this power, is one step away from my Space divinity, therefore I cannot call myself the God of Space any longer." Aether once again began frowning after speaking, obviously upset by this loss of divinity.
"Time in the Void is faster than anywhere else in the universe, I can say as a fact. What may be 1000 years in here, will only be equivalent to 1 year in your realm of Fultra." This piece of information left Zane speechless, to think that time flows thousands of times faster here than it does where he came from, something that the majority of the Fultra Realm would be in uproar to hear.