SL: Chapter 763 – Day 28,358 – Final Floating Lands

The monsters all died as I landed on a piece of floating bedrock. The Southwest corner had nothing like I had expected, but the Northwest corner had level 8 and level 9 zones. This was a change from the Southeast corner where the islands had level 7 and level 8 zones

All my skills were fully upgraded with super skill points. I didn’t pay attention as the point crystals fell away into the inky void below. The turbulence would have thrown another person wildly about, but I had no such fear.

I had been slowly exploring this corner, clearing the zones and the monsters, slowly making my way around. It was hard to keep track of exactly where I was sometimes. Without the Light Source I would have been completely lost.

But now I had found something intriguing and new. In the distance there was a bluish haze. It was mostly unclear, but there was something there. Air Burst.

I started flying in that direction over the void. As I got closer, it became more and more obvious. A large lake of water. The lake itself was forcibly pushed back from the wind and aerial currents of energy, creating a misty spray moving back up. Air Burst.

Around the edge of the lake were bedrock boulders jutting up. I landed on one after passing through the spray of water. I tasted a single drop, fresh. No taste or anything else to it.

I spent several minutes looking at it and waiting to see if there were any monsters or other threats that might show up. There was nothing. Even my danger sense was surprisingly quiet.

Looking at the water, I didn’t feel a sense of danger, but there was just a sense of concern. Air Burst. I flew around the edge of the zone, just inside the wall of mist spray that made up the edge of the zone. As I looped around the entire zone, I made out something in the distance, like a line. Air Burst.

It was a white stone bridge, leading to a large piece of bedrock that jutted out slightly beyond the misty spray. I landed on the piece of bedrock and looked at the white stone bridge. Wide enough to match one of the roads that could be built from a city. There was a small gray tint to the stone, but it was hard to make out due the brightness. It definitely stood out in contrast to the blackness of the void.

I walked over and gave the bridge a poke. The stone was incredibly solid, just like bedrock. No markings or other kind of decorations. Just curved arches with pillars heading into the water, and curved handrails. It all seemed human sized.

Looking about there were no monsters and no danger, which just kept setting something off. In the distance, everything turned to a blur. This was it, the Final Floating Land, and clearly some place incredibly important.

You don’t back a place like this floating over the void with flowing water like this unless it was an important location. The question was to approach on the bridge, through the air, or try to trigger a response.

Each of the options carried their own risks. I decided to approach on foot, taking my time to observe. If there were defensive mechanisms, I had no doubt they would be incredibly powerful. I preferred to avoid them if possible.

Taking my first step onto the bridge, nothing occurred. I had expected something, but there was no response. I slowly walked forward. The water of the zone was quite still away from the edge. Crystal clear and sparkling with reflective light.

The energy in the air was greater than a level 9 zone. Was this a level 10 zone? While I had faced level 10 monsters, they were more annoying than concerning. After all the skill upgrades, I wasn’t worried about them in the slightest. One thought and they would be instantly annihilated.

While the walk was slow, it gave me time to keep scanning and checking everything about me. I didn’t trust this place. I couldn’t help but constantly think that over and over. Pausing, I checked the railing and the water again. Nothing out of the ordinary.

I purchased a metal rod and tossed it off the side of the bridge, curious to see what would happen. It splashed on the water and sank right away. The ripples faded away quickly. There was no movement in the air.

That was what was unnerving me. There was no movement at all once I had gotten away from the edge of the zone. This entire place felt stifling and oppressive. I continued to walk forward.

There was a white blur in the distance. After walking along the bridge a bit more, there was a grand citadel that stretched out massively. It took up the footprint of a city. It was made of white stone, glass, and waterfalls. The water fell all around the building, creating a mist around it.

On Earth this would have been described as an amazing construction. A towering edifice of craftsmanship and art. But looking at the massive building as I approached, I couldn’t tell its function. It was as high as the largest towers and with a footprint as big as a city, it was the largest structure I had ever laid eyes on.

It was curved, slightly, like the city wall. There was no ornamentation besides the glass and falling water. The white stone sparkled under the light of the Light Source. I was waiting for some kind of monster or disaster to emerge, but nothing appeared.

The bridge led to a large opening in the side of the structure. It could be called a doorway if it was a doorway made for giants. The size of the entire structure was oppressive as I kept approaching.

Reaching the doorway, I paused to look inside. There were pillars of white stone, pools of water, waterfalls, and glass. No symbols, markings, statues or anything else. I stepped through the opening and continued to make my forward along the path.

While there were paths to the side, I didn’t want to wander off and get lost in this structure. It was obvious there were many rooms, walls, and a complex layout. Like a city that had grown for a long time and had been transformed into white stone, glass, and falling water.

The sound of water falling was perfectly balanced. The mist from the impact of the water, was well regulated. I could tell that there was something going on so everything wasn’t a dripping mess.

Also, the light of this place was coming from the white stone itself. The entire building was a beacon of light. I continued walking forward along the large path. There were no obstructions in my way and after entering the building the long range obstruction effect had gone away.

There was a massive set of gold and silver doors in the far distance at would could only be the center of this place. I also noted that almost everything had slightly curved angles at the corners. Not right angles, not perfect circles either. An aesthetic choice that the other structures of the Systemic Land didn’t share.

This place felt welcoming and inviting, but there was no one and nothing here. If there was something it would be at the center. I paused at one point and checked a side path and a few rooms. Nothing in the them. Just empty rooms with no doors, just doorways.

Everything felt human sized except the main walkway. I returned to the main walkway and continued towards the massive doorway in the distance.

“Hello,” I called out while steeling myself. There was no response. The fact there was no dust or signs of fighting was also concerning. Did the Almighty System reset this place as well, removing whatever had happened here in the past? Or was it some kind of abandoned structure?

The energy in the air grew thicker as I advanced. Whatever was in the center of this place had to be important. Even the top of the tower gave the voting system. The center of the city had the plaza and store.

Whatever was in the center of this place was bound to be important. I reached the large silver and gold doors and looked at them. It wasn’t silver and gold, but some other metals woven into geometric patterns.

While I didn’t have much experience with gold and silver, I knew that regular metals didn’t have that much energy moving through them.

“Hello,” I called out again. “This is Michael. I hope I am not disturbing anyone or anything?” I called out again. No sense of danger, no threat, no movement beyond the water flowing throughout this place.

The geometric patterns on the doors looked like fractals. I only called them doors, since they were two very large rectangles, different from the white stone that made up everything else. At least five times my height. I felt like an ant in comparison.

“Perhaps the control room?” I speculated as I looked at the doorway. I hesitated for a bit as I looked about for any kind of lever or other control. I was hoping for a better solution than just pushing on them. Unfortunately, that appeared to be the only option.

I didn’t want to use my skills until absolutely necessary if I could help it. While I might be unrestrained in many other areas, this was the unknown and I didn’t want to break anything that might be important.

If I started firing off annihilation slices, I might trigger a hostile response or damage something important that couldn’t be repaired. I had no way to put odds to these two scenarios so I was going to be overly cautious.

Walking forward I put my hands on the doorway. The break in the geometric patterns and their mirrored images made me think that this had to be a doorway. I pushed gently. No need to go all out at once if the this massive doorway had greased hinges.

There was no give. I adjusted my footing and pushed harder. Still no movement. I pushed with everything I had, still not movement. I took off my hands off the doorway and backed up.

The bridge and the path through this massive water citadel had all led to this point. It was clearly important. I wasn’t about to leave without finding what was here. I released a burst of energy from my body to see if there was a reaction.

My energy didn’t travel very far due to how much energy was in the air. But some of it hit the doorway. There was a metallic screech and it began to open inwards. I braced myself for a fight or whatever else may be behind it.

As the door opened, I saw a large pool of water and a bridge over that pool of water to a raised dais. There was a figure sitting on a throne on that dais. The chamber was massive with waterfalls falling down everywhere. But my attention focused on the figure in the distance.

My heart sped up. It was the Avatar. She was here and fully healed. How? Why? I would get the answers out of her and then kill her. While it was tempting to rush in blasting, who knew what power that throne had. Talking to get close and then striking was a viable solution. I wouldn’t trust anything she said.

I also had no doubt she would try to sow discord into my heart. In the past I might have hesitated about stepping through such a doorway. But now, with my strength, I had confidence I could handle myself.