Myriad Heavens: Rise of the Rune God

Chapter 251: Chapter 252: Cracks in the Cage

Another Bonus Chapter

The cell was quiet.

Wukong sat cross-legged on the cold floor, golden eyes half-lidded as he stared at the layered formations covering the walls. The suppression field pressed down on his body like heavy chains, keeping his Rule of Boundless Metamorphosis locked at a fraction of its true strength. His staff was gone. His aura was sealed. To most Multiversal beings, this kind of cell would have been a long-term cage.

To him, it was just a puzzle that had taken longer than he liked.

He tapped one finger lightly against the floor, feeling the subtle vibrations of the runes. Each pulse carried a different frequency—some designed to suppress raw power, others tuned specifically to interfere with transformation principles. The main array was sophisticated. Whoever designed it had clearly studied Multiversal existences in detail.

*These formations are solid,* he thought. *Whoever designed this knew what they were doing. The main array is specifically tuned to suppress Multiversal existences. Most people at my level would be stuck here for a long time.*

A small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.

*But they still left gaps. Tiny ones. Easy to miss if you’re the type who only knows how to smash things. Last time someone tried locking me up, the cage was made of immortal steel and still lasted less than a day. This one at least put in some effort.*

He had spent the previous hours carefully mapping every energy circuit and rune sequence. Instead of trying to overpower the seal, he studied it the way a craftsman studies a lock. The suppression array was powerful, but its complexity created small inconsistencies in how it interacted with different types of principles. His Rule of Boundless Metamorphosis was especially good at exploiting those inconsistencies. Where other principles would simply clash against the seal and waste energy, his could shift, adapt, and slip through the narrowest openings.

Wukong placed both palms flat on the floor. His energy shifted in precise, layered patterns. Rather than forcing the formation, he matched its frequency, then began introducing tiny controlled changes. One critical node destabilized with a soft internal crack. Then another. A third followed almost immediately. A soft series of cracking sounds echoed through the cell as the internal structure of the array lost cohesion.

The heavy suppression field flickered.

Then it collapsed.

Power flooded back into Wukong’s body like water breaking through a dam. Golden light flared around him for a brief moment before he forced it back under control. The sudden return of his full strength made the air inside the cell feel lighter. He stood up slowly, rolling his shoulders and neck as the last traces of the seal faded from his system. Bones cracked. Muscles loosened. The familiar weight of his own power settled back into place.

*Finally. I’ve been polite up until now. Let’s see how long that lasts.*

He walked to the cell door and examined the locking formation. It was simpler than the main suppression array—still solid, but nowhere near as refined. With a single precise strike of his finger, the lock shattered. The door slid open without a sound.

The corridor outside was dimly lit and currently empty. Cold metal walls stretched in both directions, lined with faint residual formations that monitored movement. Wukong stepped out carefully, senses spread wide.

Further down the corridor, two guards in dark armor rounded the corner at a casual pace, still several dozen meters away. Their auras marked them as peak Universal-realm beings. At their level, conversation still happened at speeds far beyond ordinary perception, yet to them it felt completely normal.

”Man, I can’t wait to go home,” the first guard muttered, adjusting the grip on his weapon. ”We were supposed to be off rotation already. Then the mother ship suddenly recalled every pirate vessel in the sector. Something big must be happening.”

The second guard snorted. ”Yh, Also did you hear? I overheard the officers talking. That monkey they locked up earlier was a real pain. Only a Beginner Multiversal, but it still lasted a couple of rounds against our captain. And the captain’s already at the Adept Multiversal stage. Truly terrifying. Captain even said if they hadn’t prepared the specialized suppression cell in advance, the monkey might’ve actually escaped.”

”A Beginner lasting against an Adept?” the first guard sounded skeptical. ”That doesn’t sound right.”

”I’m just telling you what I heard. Captain looked pissed about it too. Said the monkey’s transformation principle was slippery as hell.”

They continued walking, still several meters from the open cell door, completely unaware that the subject of their conversation was already free and listening.

The moment their auras entered the edge of Wukong’s senses, everything accelerated.

To outside observers, what followed would have been nothing more than a blur of motion. At Multiversal and peak Universal speeds, the entire exchange lasted less than a fraction of a second.

Wukong appeared in front of the first guard before either of them could fully process the open cell door. His hand struck the side of the man’s neck in a clean, controlled motion. At the same time, a carefully measured portion of his principles flowed into the point of contact.

Universal beings were unified lifeforms. Their body, soul, and energy were tightly integrated into a single structure. Most of them existed primarily as energy-based entities. Because of that unity, knocking one unconscious was far more difficult than simply killing them. A lethal strike only needed to destroy a critical part of the structure. A non-lethal strike had to disrupt the entire system without shattering it completely—otherwise the being would either die or recover almost immediately.

*What a hassle,* Wukong thought as his hand made contact. *Knocking these energy-bodies out cleanly is more work than just turning them into paste. Annoying.*

The principle he injected into the guard’s body spread through the unified structure like a precise virus. It destabilized the connections between energy cells, interrupted the smooth circulation of power, and short-circuited the recovery mechanisms that would normally allow a Universal being to wake up within moments. The guard’s eyes rolled back. His body went limp and collapsed without a sound.

The second guard’s eyes had only just begun to widen. He hadn’t even finished the mental process of reaching for the alarm rune on his wrist when Wukong’s figure blurred again. Another strike landed on the side of the neck, carrying the same carefully controlled principle. The second guard dropped just as cleanly as the first.

Both had been knocked unconscious before either could form the intent to trigger an alarm or call for backup.

Wukong stood over the two unconscious bodies for a brief moment, then exhaled.

*Still more annoying than just killing them. But leaving corpses around would only make the alarms worse later.*

He reached out toward a sealed storage compartment embedded in the wall nearby. The locking formation on it was simpler than the cell’s. With a short burst of power, he broke it open. A familiar weight flew into his waiting hand.

His staff, Ruyi Jingu Bang, landed firmly in his grip.

The moment his fingers closed around it, a real grin spread across his face. He spun the staff once, feeling the old connection return—the familiar balance, the quiet readiness of an old companion. The staff hummed faintly in recognition.

”Missed you,” he muttered under his breath, then shortened it and hung it at his waist.

After dragging the two unconscious guards into the empty cell and resealing the door, Wukong continued down the corridor. He moved quickly but carefully, reading the residual energy traces in the walls to avoid the main patrol routes. The prison ship was larger than a standard holding vessel, but still within a size he could navigate without too much trouble. Every few steps he paused, checking for surveillance runes or hidden detection arrays. Most of them were standard. A few were clever. None of them were enough to stop him.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Then he reached a wide observation window.

Wukong stopped walking.

Outside the window was not open void.

The prison ship was docked tightly against the hull of a far larger vessel. The bigger ship stretched out of sight in both directions, its surface covered in heavy armor plating and dense defensive formations. Compared to the massive structure it was attached to, the prison ship looked like a small parasite clinging to a giant. Rows of weapon ports, reinforced docking clamps, and layered barrier arrays covered the larger hull. The scale alone made the prison ship feel suddenly insignificant.

Wukong stared through the window for a long moment, golden eyes narrowing.

*...You’ve got to be kidding me.*

He had assumed the prison ship was an independent vessel. Instead, it was only a holding section attached to a much larger base.

*So this whole time I was just sitting in a cage on the side of the real ship. Still don’t know which faction was desperate enough to try caging me. I’ll ask them when I find their commander.*

Before he could fully adjust his plans, red lights suddenly flared along the corridor. A sharp, piercing alarm began to wail through the vessel.

”Intruder detected in detention block!”

”Multiversal energy signature confirmed!”

”All units to battle positions!”

Heavy footsteps echoed from multiple directions. The larger ship’s detection systems had finally registered his escape and the surge of Multiversal power. Armored figures began appearing at the far end of the corridor, weapons already raised and auras flaring. Their numbers were increasing by the second.

Wukong exhaled slowly and tightened his grip on his staff. The irritation on his face slowly shifted into a sharp, interested smile.

*Looks like the real game is just starting.*

He turned toward the nearest junction as more armored figures poured into the corridor, their combined presence filling the space with aggressive energy.