Sovereign of the Ashes

After passing through the gray, illusory mist, Sein found himself inside a turbulent space-time corridor with no end in sight.

As an erudite Rank Three grand mage and someone who had studied spatial theory extensively, Sein quickly deduced that he had been thrown into a space-time corridor leading to a specific destination.

A space-time corridor was not the same as a teleportation passageway.

In past journeys through teleportation arrays or when traveling to a foreign plane, the sensation of crossing these passageways had always been instantaneous.

Even when spanning vast distances, his body would experience the crossing as if it lasted only a heartbeat.

Yet, crossing a turbulent space-time corridor was different.

The fact that he remained conscious—able to witness the countless streams of colorful light and meteor-like curtains streaking past him—proved two things.

First, this space-time corridor was highly unstable. A single misstep could spell death.

Sein was under no illusion that his abilities as a Rank Three mage were enough to overcome space-time turbulence or cross a space-time rift. Even a Rank Four powerhouse would face tremendous risk in such a place.

Second, the world connected to the gray stone slab was farther away than he had imagined.

This was, without a doubt, the longest space-time corridor he had ever experienced.

The crushing pressure of space-time fluctuations and raw energy made it impossible for Sein to even reach for his crystal ball or any other tool.

Thin bloody cuts appeared on his cheeks, and under the relentless force of space-time law, the wounds dried, scabbed over, and then ripped open again.

From his understanding of spatial theory, Sein knew that the longer he remained in this space-time corridor, the more he would lose both lifespan and vitality.

Time here was moving at a rate hundreds, perhaps even thousands of times faster than in the normal world.

Lacking advanced knowledge of space-time laws, he had no way to grasp the full extent of what was happening.

Yet he understood one thing with absolute certainty—if he stayed here much longer, he was doomed.

The violent space-time turbulence, while lacerating his skin, also accelerated his movement, hurling him deeper into the corridor at an even more terrifying speed.

The overwhelming force of impact and the suffocating pressure of space-time laws caused Sein’s consciousness to drift in and out.

The Spider Queen’s decision to throw him directly into the space-time corridor linked to the stone slab had been a reckless mistake.

Had it been any other ordinary Rank Three black mage, they would have been instantly torn apart by the terrifying force of space-time suppression.

Only Sein, whose constitution rivaled that of a knight due to countless body-tempering experiments, could withstand such a level of turbulence.

Despite his resilience, the real reason Sein had survived was not his own strength but the spider silk cocoon shielding his body.

Sein had internally grumbled before about how tightly the Spider Queen had bound him.

Yet, in reality, he would have been obliterated without the protective layer of silver spider silk absorbing much of the space-time turbulence’s devastating impact.

Even a demigod-level knight, if thrown into this space-time corridor, might not have emerged unscathed.

After all, the slab—a mere fragment of a world-class secret treasure—was far from complete.

And worse still, the Spider Queen had not even fully refined it.

Sein’s protection was crude at best, but he had no choice but to press on and endure.

A barely visible silver strand trailed from the back of Sein’s cocoon, following him throughout his passage through the endless space-time corridor.

This indestructible strand of spider silk was his lifeline, his ticket back home to the Magus World.

As long as it remained intact, the Spider Queen could reel him back when the time came.

Hopefully, his return journey would be far less brutal than this one.

After an unknowable span of time, Sein’s already-weakened consciousness finally gave way, and he succumbed to complete darkness.

Yet, just before his awareness slipped away, he noticed something glowing faintly in his peripheral vision.

It was his finger, the one wearing the Silver Spider Ring.

***

“Big Brother...”

“Big Brother...? Big Brother...?”

Soft murmurs echoed in his ears.

As if pulled from the abyss, Sein’s eyes snapped open.

The first thing he saw was a teenage girl.

Her skin was pale and cold, her thinning hair a dull gray.

He found himself in an old, shabby wooden cabin. The room was dim, and a heavy, uncomfortable moisture clung to the air.

A moldy, tattered quilt lay across his body, its stench mingling with the musty atmosphere.

For a fleeting moment, Sein felt utterly disoriented.

He had no idea where he was.

CRACK!

A bolt of lightning tore through the sky outside, followed by a deafening crash of thunder.

For an instant, the entire cabin was illuminated.

The ghostly pale skin of the teenage girl kneeling beside the bed appeared even whiter in the sudden burst of light.

The sight jolted Sein’s mind awake.

He remembered who he was, where he had come from, and what he was supposed to do.

“Is this the foreign world beyond the stone slab?”

A bitter, hoarse voice scraped from his throat.

He had not felt this weak in a long time.

Crossing a space-time corridor into a large-sized world in such a rough manner was beyond reckless.

A sinking dread settled in his chest as he became aware of the extent of his weakened state—his mental focus and stamina had declined significantly.

Right now, he was so weak that even a Rank One creature could easily crush him.

The adverse effect of the space-time turbulence on his mental focus and constitution could not be reversed overnight.

On top of that, he could sense that the laws of this world were vastly different from those of the Magus World.

Even at his full strength, the planar suppression would have greatly weakened his powers.

The thought of how much weaker he was now sent an unwelcome shudder through him.

So... this is a large-sized foreign world...?

This was not how he had imagined his first journey into a world of this scale.

Originally, the first large-sized plane he had planned to visit was the Beastmen World.

As an allied plane in the Magus Alliance, the overlord of the Beastmen World had long submitted to the Magus Civilization.

Hence, the planar suppression against Magus World mages was negligible.

But things were different here.

Sein attempted to move his arm, but a wave of searing pain ripped through his body.

His body felt so heavy to the point where he struggled to believe it was even his own.

The only reason he was even awake was because of the single strand of mental focus that kept him conscious.

His weak stirring caught the attention of the teenage girl by the bed.

A glimmer of warmth lit up her pale cheeks as her thin, bony hands reached out and gripped Sein’s arm.

Her grip was weak, but Sein could feel the desperation behind her touch.

Her black eyes locked onto his as she called out again.

“Big Brother...”