Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100

Chapter 335: Max Taking the Lead

”How did this happen...?”

Harry rubbed his forehead with a shaking hand, his face slick with cold sweat. His fingers dug into his scalp, as if trying to force logic into a situation that had none.

”We were so careful… How did we end up this deep? In the 500-mile zone...?”

His voice was hoarse—equal parts confusion and dread.

”W-We can still go back… right?”

Crown Prince Aelric stepped forward, his face pale, brows furrowed. The weight of what he was seeing—of what they were all seeing—had finally begun to sink in.

”We just retrace our steps and return the way we came. It hasnʼt been long…”

But Harry slowly shook his head.

His gaze lifted—not to meet Aelricʼs, but to the darkened sky above them.

”You donʼt understand, Little Prince.”

His tone was hollow. Resigned.

”You can only witness the True Mourning Depths if you are already inside the 500-mile zone of the forbidden region. Thatʼs the rule. Thatʼs always been the rule. If you can see it—youʼve gone too far.”

He paused.

”Do you know what this region is called?” he asked, almost whispering.

Aelric didnʼt answer.

Harry looked around at the gathered geniuses and squad leaders, then back to the horizon where the towering black flame loomed like a spear piercing heaven itself.

”Itʼs called the Point of No Return.”

He lifted his hand and pointed upward, to the bleak, murky sky.

”Normally,” he said, ”when we guide people through the Mourning Depths, we use the stars and the terrain to navigate. We chart the shifting paths, we track constellations. Thatʼs how we survive.”

He lowered his hand slowly.

”But once you step into this cursed region—the stars fail you. The land deceives you. The very laws of space begin to unravel. Directions stop meaning anything. Time grows... strange.”

He turned back toward the group, his voice quieter now, heavy with something close to defeat.

”No one has ever left this place. Not alive. Not even the strongest of the Lower Domain. They vanish here—without a trace.”

He clenched his jaw.

”Once youʼre this deep… once you see the True Mourning Depths with your own eyes… your fate is sealed. You donʼt go back. No one goes back.”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Faces drained of color.

Eyes wide with creeping dread.

Even the most battle-hardened geniuses stood frozen, unable to speak.

Because this wasnʼt a battlefield they could win.

It wasnʼt a monster they could fight.

It was fate.

It was the Mourning Depths themselves turning against them.

And when even Harry—the most knowledgeable guide among them—looked so hopeless,

the reality hit harder than any blade ever could:

They were already dead.

The world just hadnʼt buried them yet.

Max stood silently, eyes fixed on the black flame in the distance, its distorted glow painting the world in eerie, flickering shadows.

He had heard every word Harry said—and though his expression remained calm, a storm churned behind his gaze.

Because everything Harry mentioned… Blob had confirmed.

Every. Single. Word.

ʼBlob… how did this happen?ʼ Max asked quietly in his mind. ʼHow did we end up so deep?ʼ

The response came after a brief pause, and it didnʼt offer comfort.

”I donʼt know,” Blob answered, his tone uncharacteristically serious. ”Iʼve followed my master in and out of the Mourning Depths for twenty years… and Iʼve never seen anything like this.”

”Itʼs strange… itʼs like—no matter which direction you walk, the Mourning Depths pulls you deeper. It guides your steps without you realizing. The further you go, the more lost you become… until youʼre swallowed completely.”

Maxʼs expression darkened.

If even Blob, who had survived the Mourning Depths for two decades, couldnʼt understand or navigate this phenomenon… then their situation was worse than dire.

It was death.

”Max.”

The voice broke his thoughts.

Crown Prince Aelric had stepped forward, his expression hard yet hopeful.

”You knew,” he said, eyes locked on Max. ”You knew we were deeper than we thought, when no one else could feel it. You must have… some idea, right? Some way out?”

All eyes turned to him.

Dozens of young cultivators, once proud and fearless, now silently praying for a reason not to collapse.

Max gave a small, bitter smile.

”I wish I could say I had some secret path mapped out,” he said softly. ”But the truth is, it was just a feeling. Thatʼs the only reason I realized we were far deeper than expected.”

He looked around at the anxious faces, his voice rising, steady now.

”But…” he said, ”weʼre still alive. That means the Mourning Depths hasnʼt taken us yet. And until it does, we fight. We move forward, step by step, and we survive.”

His words werenʼt magic—but they lit a spark.

Not of comfort.

But of resolve.

Harry stepped forward quickly, placing a firm hand on Maxʼs shoulder.

”Max,” he said, ”do you… do you really have a way out? Even the faintest idea?”

Max didnʼt answer immediately.

Instead, his mind returned to the impossible truth—

He had entered the Mourning Depths from the outside.

The others had entered through the official path, crossing the safe zone.

Yet somehow… they had all met here, in the same place, deep within the heart of the forbidden region.

His brows furrowed.

What did that mean?

It wasnʼt chance.

It wasnʼt luck.

It was something else.

The Mourning Depths had brought them together.

By force. By will. By some hidden mechanism buried in its very bones.

ʼBlob... I will keep everyone moving and you keep track of our movements. I want to test something.ʼ Max said to Blob.

”Alright.” Blob said in his mind.

Max then turned to all the people gathered around him and said. ”I donʼt know for certain if we can make it out of this place but we should try first. Follow me.”

He didnʼt explain anything else and head out towards the track he came from. Others looked at each others before they quietly followed behind Max. Only Max had the slightest idea what had been happening here so they didnʼt think much before following him.

Even the squad leaders including Harry followed quietly behind Max.

If Max wanted to understand the space they had been pulled into—the warped terrain of the 1,500-mile forbidden zone—he knew he had only one option: explore it.

Carefully.

Methodically.

And most importantly—intelligently.

But there was a catch.