Chapter 59 – Am I a Monster?

Five days passed slowly. Kieran had spent all his time training and sorting spatial gems during the day. When night came, he would use Kade's crystal essence stones to cultivate, increasing his cultivation speed which had already greatly improved when his Heavenly Sun Body had reached the second level.

He was currently standing on the ship's deck, his eyes fixed on an island in the distance.

"Si... Sir, this is Aldrines Island."

"Are you sure the rift on this island leads to the planet Ostrion?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Stop the ship."

"Y... Yes, sir!"

The last five members of the Thundershields guild expedition quickly obeyed his orders, the ship slowly slowing down before coming to a complete stop, the five closing in on him, awaiting his next orders.

A pair of claws appeared on his right hand, which he slowly raised, and the faces of the five turned white.

"Wait, Kieran! Please let us live!"

"Please, we will obey your every word!"

"We can help you!"

Their plea seemed to fall on deaf ears as he lowered his hand. Deep claw marks appeared on their bodies, and the next moment they fell lifeless to the ground.

"Why did you kill them?" Runihoril asked calmly.

"Do you disagree with my choice Master?"

"No, I just want to know why you do it."

"Once within the boundaries belonging to the Aegis Alliance, our laws prohibit any action towards another human being. I could not have done anything to them once we reached the refuge. Although I do not fear them, once they had crossed the rift and had access to the aurora net again, they could have informed their guild of what happened here. Our laws may forbid attacking anyone, but the Thundershields guild is one of the best guilds in the city of Ozryn. I have no idea how much influence they have, but I'm sure bypassing a law to kill a simple bronze rank like me won't be hard for them."

"To show mercy to your enemies is to be cruel to yourself. On this point, I have nothing to teach you after watching you all this time."

"Does Master think I'm becoming a monster?" asked Kieran in a faint voice watching his hand soaked in blood, a complicated expression on his face.

Although he had no regrets about killing the Thundershields guild members, he was surprised that he didn't feel anything after killing so many people, and that's what really worried him.

'I wasn't like this before the nightmares started...' he thought for a moment.

When his nightmares started, Kieran couldn't eat or sleep for more than a week, the horrible scenes reappearing every moment of the day, driving him practically insane.

"Humpf! What a monster?! You just killed people who tried to kill you. As long as you don't start killing every person you cross on your way, doing this will never make you a monster."

Kieran raised his head, looking Runihoril in the eye.

"Thank you, Master."

"Haha! You don't need to thank me. Even without me, you would have done just fine! Let's cross this rift so I can find out what your planet looks like!" Runihoril said with a hint of excitement in his voice.

Kieran nodded. He got closer to the edge of the ship before jumping. With a wave of his hand, a small boat appeared under him. Turning towards the ship, a light shone around it, disappearing without leaving any traces.

The boat began to advance, heading towards Aldrines Island.

He quickly arrived at the island quay, where he saw the refuge surrounded by large thick walls with a large door to the entrance. Many people walked in and out. As he used his crystal sense, he was surprised to find that almost everyone he came across was at least at the early stage Bronze rank, with only a few at the peak stage Iron rank.

He quickly stored his boat before entering the interior of the refuge. Many modern structures appeared before him, making his heart beat faster.

'I have finally returned to civilization.'

"It's like you said, Kieran. These refuges seem to be well organized. As long as a cultivator doesn't stray too far from them to hunt, he can even afford to rest inside every night," said Runihoril.

"This is one of the benefits of refuges. In addition to ensuring that the crystal beasts do not cross the rifts to attack our cities, they allow the cultivators to have access to many structures such as training rooms, inns, vendors, etc.."

While chatting with Runihoril, he came across the spatial rift.

"Finally... I'll be able to go home."

"What is that?!" said Runihoril in a surprised voice, startling Kieran.

"What do you mean? It's a spatial rift."

"It has nothing to do with a spatial rift! This thing... Can it even be called a spatial rift?"

"That tear in front of us is called a spatial rift. I thought you knew what it was," said Kieran, not understanding Runihoril's words.

"I know what a spatial rift is. I already told you that one of my elemental affinities is the element of space. A spatial rift is supposed to connect two points in space together by a stable control of the space element but this thing in front of us... The space element around it is in chaos. How can a lifeform even survive when crossing this thing?"

Runihoril's behavior surprised Kieran. It was the first time he had seen him act like that.

"I don't know exactly how it works, but billions of human cultivators use those spatial rifts constantly, and none have died from crossing one to this day."

Runihoril's eyebrows furrowed at Kieran's explanation.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I trust you."

He walked slowly towards the rift, his heart pounding with each step. Runihoril silently followed him, keeping his gaze fixed on the rift.

In an instant, he found himself in a new place, numerous notifications echoing from his aurora collar as the sight in front of him left him speechless.

A huge room full of spatial rifts spread out before him, each rift set far apart with uniformed guards stationed next to each of them.

"H... How?" said Runihoril in a trembling voice.

Compared to Kieran, who was amazed by the view in front of him, Runihoril was still trying to understand what he had just experienced.

"What's going on, Master?"

"No wonder the spatial elements were in chaos... How did such a thing happen? Even with 'that' I couldn't create such a spatial rift..."

"Master?"

"Kieran. Those things you call spatial rifts are not normal. It's not a dimension or another planet that you reach when you pass through them. You're traveling to another universe!" Runihoril's voice trembled with excitement as he said those words.

When he was still alive, he theorized that multiple universes might exist. He even tried several times to reach those other universes, but he never succeeded, even when he reached the peak of the cultivation.

'Who knew I would see such things when I became a wandering soul.'

His eyes sparkle as he gazes all around him.

"Another universe? How?" asked Kieran.

"I have no idea, but I'm sure we're not in the same universe as before. That also explains why I've never seen someone of your race before."

'Does the Aegis Alliance know about this?'

Kieran was confused by the information he had just learned when a voice suddenly woke him up.

"Excuse me, your authorization, please," asked a burly man approached him, a silver rank crystal essence emanating from him.

'A silver rank guard?'

"Here."

With a wave of his hand, his authorization was sent via the aurora collar to the guard, who frowned the next moment.

"Are you from another city?"

"Yes, I wandered a long time through the rift, and I got lost. I could only reach Ostrion using this rift."

"I see. You were lucky. You can stay as long as you want in Aldrines, but if you're going to get a property here, you'll need to get a B grade citizenship permission first."

"A B grade citizenship permission? I'm in a B grade city?!"

"Yes. Welcome to Aldrines."

The shock on Kieran's face deepened. The guard let him pass after checking that he had no criminal background and that everything was in order with his clearances through a rift.

"If you continue in this direction, you will find the exit from the spatial rift station," said the guard, pointing to a large door in the distance.

"Thank you."