Strings Of Domination

Watching as the carriage approached the vortex inside the opened gate meter by meter, Nash and the rest couldn't help but keep their breaths back, waiting to see how it will feel to cross the Ancient Path for the first time.

"Don't worry. Although crossing the Ancient Path will make you feel slightly dizzy whenever you cross it, especially for the first time, you will be able to get used to it pretty quickly." Flake said coolly as he closed his eyes in a manner as if he was ready to take a nap.

And just as Flake said those words, the carriage finally reached the edge of the Ancient Path, and in the very next second, the vision of the five turned all white while a strange sensation swept through them.

The sensation was strange and rather piercing which invaded each and every part of one's body, almost as if an invisible power overrun their bodies just to learn everything about them, including all of their secrets!

But luckily, while it was a sensation that everyone could feel and perceive let it be the weakest Infant Rank being or a peak Warmaster Rank existence, it only lasted for a single second before it vanished together with the engulfing whiteness, revealing a completely new sight outside the carriage!

"Argh... My head..." Miles groaned with slight pain as he held his head, but once he raised his gaze and subconsciously looked outside the window on his side, his movements froze abruptly and a shocked gasp escaped his mouth.

Colorful clouds as large as spaceships on the shining azure blue sky above while below a vast and emerald green scenery that extended into the far horizon was visible in a mesmerizing manner from the mountain peak where they currently were.

Yes, a mountain peak, because at this very moment Flake and the rest inside the carriage were standing on top of a huge mountain's top where the huge Ancient Path was located!

As a fact, the Ancient Path was so big that the already massive mountain in contrast looked miniature!

"Woah... So this is what the Ancient Dimension looks like? Then does this mean we are currently inside the Outer Layer?" Miles asked as he turned Flake, who as a reply nodded.

Amy seemed to be shocked too and wished to see what Nash's reaction was, but when she turned her head to the other side where Nash sat, her complexion froze and asked, "Nash... Where... is Nash?"

"Huh?" both Flake, Bane, and Miles turned toward Amy, and when they noticed she was looking at an empty spot where Nash should have been sitting their complexions changed too drastically.

-

-

-

Inside a huge and very long hall which had huge and thick pillars in an orderly fashion on both sides, Nash stood in the center and one place with his eyes closed.

He stood there for an entire minute before he finally opened his eyes, however, when he did his eyes widened extra large and snapped his head left and right from time to time hurriedly.

"Guys? Where did you go?" Nash asked loudly when he turned around for the third time in a short span of a few seconds, his complexion looking slightly tense below his mask.

"No, this is not right. Something is wrong here, this is not the Ancient Dimension." Nash quickly calmed himself down once he realized things became slightly different from the plan.

"What is this place? Where am I?" Nash mumbled as he began to walk around with slow and cautious steps, wondering if he was still in the Human Dimension or was teleported somewhere far away.

'Either way, I am pretty sure I am the only one who was taken to this place.' Nash thought in his heart as he proceeded to walk forward in the seemingly infinitely long hall.

Nash walked without stopping while also looking left and right in the hope to see if there was anything except the pillars, but alas, not even after half an hour was he able to find a single item much less a gate or door which could lead him to another location.

However, when he walked for another half an hour, walking a total of one hour, he finally spotted that the path was coming to an end, immediately causing his mood to elevate.

"Hm? A throne?" Nash mumbled once he was close enough to see what the thing on the small raised platform was, however, his expression changed abruptly when he saw how on the throne an individual was sitting with its eyes staring straight at him!

Nash's whole body stiffened when his eyes met with the pair of golden eyes and his body started to tremble unconsciously when he felt how an ancient presence similar if not slightly stronger than Aruer's was emitting from the individual's body in waves!

'He is an Alpha!' Nash immidieatly recognized the presence leaking out of the creature and cold sweat quickly soaked his body, but strangely, even after he stood in one place for one entire minute the Alpha didn't move nor blinked much less talked!

This made Nash feel slightly confused before a frown appeared on his face and decided to take a step to the side. And to his great surprise, when he did, the Alpha's eyes didn't move but remained fixed on the spot where he stood a single second ago!

'Is he dead?" Nash thought with deep puzzlement, but once he saw how the man's chest moved up and down ever so slightly while how the presence that leaked out of his body never ceased to stop he knew his thought was rather foolish.

'Then is he simply unconscious?" Nash mumbled and after collecting some courage approached the Alpha.

Golden eyes, golden long hair, flawless white skin, a seemingly perfect and handsome face that didn't lose at all charisma to Aruer, thin but seemingly solid golden armor, and a white longsword that rested silently against the throne's side. The Alpha in front of Nash was the real definition of a perfect and god-like entity, one that was born to rule and conquer domains with his presence alone!

As Nash examined the being in front of him as if he was in a museum looking at relics, suddenly the Alpha's eyes shifted in his direction and his mouth opened gently, "Did you finish looking, or do you wish me to give you a few more minutes, kin of the Ancient Second?"

"?!" Nash's eyes widened abruptly and he quickly jumped several meters behind, increasing his distance in a flash.

"Hm... Despite you being only at the initial stage in your growth, your reflexes and reaction are exceptional. Though, considering that you have already got the Ancient Second's approval, it is no wonder you possess strength greater than those at the same Rank." the man talked quietly, but even though his voice was calm and almost silent, Nash almost a hundred meters away was able to hear it as clearly as if they were the sound of thunder!

"You... Who are you?" Nash decided to ignore the man's words and ask the first question that bothered him quite a long time ago, despite already guessing the answer in his heart.

The man shifted his gaze at Nash once he heard his question, and after pondering for a while he straightened his posture on the throne before leaning back in a prevailing way and asking, "Are you telling me you don't know who am I even though you already have the answer in you?"

The eyes of Nash trembled slightly before they turned back to normal and asked, "Then are you perhaps... the Ancient One, the one that pushed everyone in my race into misery?"

This time, it was the Ancient One's turn to widen his eyes slightly before bursting into laughter, filling the whole place with the sound of his ringing laugh.

On the other hand, Nash just stood motionlessly with a dumbfounded complexion, looking at the moment rather lost. Was what he asked really that funny? No, was that even funny to begin with? That was just a simple question, one that was extremely serious without any hint of wisecracking!

"Misery?" the Ancient One continued to laugh, but soon he began to calm down and after letting out a deep sigh he leaned forward, and with a sharp glare that looked extremely serious and had the power to freeze anyone's blood, he said, "Tell me, oracle of the Cursed One, do you really think I did what I did just because I wished for it? If you truly think I put your race's life into seemingly eternal suffering just because I happened to decide so, then you can't be any further away from the truth than that."

"Oracle of the Cursed One? Because you had no choice? What are you talking about?" Nash frowned when he heard the words of the Ancient One, feeling completely lost, especially when he heard the obscure words of 'oracle' and 'Cursed One'!