Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 526: My Places

Chapter 526: My Places

"Incredible..."

Mehen’z castle was equal parts beauty and mysticism. The walls themselves pulsed with curated Egyptian hieroglyphics. Dr. Thornton walked along those walls, her fingers never breaking away. She could not see them. Rather, she felt them. In the walls, on the floor, in the ceiling—everywhere.

"How long has this Territory been maintained? Centuries?" Dr. Thornton did not wait for an answer. "You changed some of this, didn’t you? I can feel the freshness of the changed flow. For something of this scale though..."

"I had a good teacher."

"So...so you’re telling me a god made this Territory. A weakened who was forced to rely upon means outside raw power." Dr. Thornton breathed out. "It’s phenomenal."

"How did you do it? How did you transfer ownership of this Territory?" Aya asked suddenly. "For gods, a Territory...is more than just heapfuls of mana. It is an expression of the soul."

"This is not the Divine Territory that we’ve read in papers or in the Great Major Cities, Nakamura," Dr. Thornton said. "This was...this feels...desperate. Every second, this castle beats, like...like a heart. Like it is pumping someone with life."

Dasha gave a faint nod. "As sharp as always, Doctor." She was exactly right. This Territory was the only reason Mehen had lived for so long without worship.

"..."

"Mehen," Aya whispered. "The Coiled One."

"In its glory days, it joined the Sun God Ra when he journeyed through the night."

"And you killed it," Aya stated. "Nay, you took its essence for yourself."

"In a manner of speaking. Now then, I don’t have the time to do a full tour. Follow me."

The basement, the location where Dasha meditated in order to reach his breakthrough in Core Formation. This was where he was going to set-up the Teleportation Circle. A chamber of glorious, messy Qi.

"Brrr!" Dr. Thornton crossed her arms, suddenly feeling like she was in the Arctic. "C-c-c-cold! What is this—?"

Whoosh! Dasha put a jacket on her and Aya.

Aya, clinging to the jacket, thanked him.

Meanwhile, Dr. Thornton looked around and then openly said, "Professor, I will not lie and tell you that I have not studied Teleportation Circles or Teleportation Devices. But these are two distinct things. They will both be highly complex, highly time-consuming, and supremely dangerous. I cannot guarantee your safety or this Territory’s. We must abide by a strict procedure: either we establish a Teleportation Circle of the nobles or the Teleportation Device of the war era. Which is it?"

"Both."

"Both?"

"We will connect both concepts in order to create a hub. You see, this chamber," Dasha gestured around, "is a nexus of Qi. Originally, all excess mana generated from this Territory via sacrifices and worship were transferred directly to Mehen. Being a god, his very function is based on pure Qi so he had to take what he could get, the Yin, the Yang, the dirty—everything."

"Are you saying if Mehen was a Cultivator, he would have been able to return?"

"In a manner of speaking," Dasha said. "But his days are done and so the excess Qi he was to absorb for the next few months are now diverted here. You felt the cold. This is the result of the wasted Qi."

"Which we will use to power our new teleportation device. Somehow."

"It will. Using the base conduit, which I have already instructed to find more of, we will be able to teleport to any place that I select. Think of this as the Server Rooms in the Heavenly Tower, except rather than one portal, there are multiple."

"Ahh." Now the doctor grasped the concept. "Server Room! I see! Hmm, we might be able to make it work then."

"You are the Master of Runes. To establish our new teleportation method, to be able to select a location and be able go to and fro, there are only two conditions: one, the disc of the war-era Teleportation Device." Dasha pulled out said device. "Second, a specially curated magic circle."

"Only the nobles have those magic circles."

"We will create our own."

Dr. Thornton was still contemplating. "Combining both eras of teleportation into one...I see what you mean. In concept anyway. But to be able to pull it off and draw up a magic circle of that magnitude, many before us have tried."

"The nobility was able to do it with the aid of the gods and the people who served them," Dasha stated. "And now you have me. That will be enough. It will only take a single day. I promise you."

***

He was correct. It took only a single day of study and work.

In one of the two boxes Dasha had the children brought were books. When he didn’t understand something, he would read. These books were picked well in advance.

The design was often the most debated about. Aya desired a functional teleportation device. Dr. Thornton wanted style first. Dasha could afford to do both.

Their invention was a human-sized circular stone arch. Around its rim were Dr. Thornton’s runes, chiseled deep into the granite. It pulsed softly like the heartbeat of the earth itself. When activated, the runes ignited one after the other, tracing a path around the arch in a slow, deliberate cascade of cold light.

As the last rune lit, the air within the ring shimmered and tore open, weaving a portal — not a perfect circle, but a living, rippling surface of liquid-blue and violet mist. The space beyond the threshold was a yawning fold in reality.

The runes of Raido, Ehwaz, Dagaz, and Algiz were most common and most powerful. Each end of the rim was capped off by the rune of Gebo (ᚷ) — the rune of exchange, balancing the energies of departure and arrival.

So far, this teleportation circled connected to the shack outside this Territory’s space time.

Walking through it...

Aya and Dasha. Dr. Thornton, a parchment in her hand, scribed down some notes.

"Activation times needs work. Approximately two minutes and a large burst of mana too. More than I or Aya can supply," Dr. Thornton murmured. The moment Dasha’s foot left the portal, the space-time energy wobbled. Slowly, it withered away. "Stable for two minutes as well."

"It works," Aya stated. "Even with objects."

"Even with objects." Dasha confirmed as he opened up the box. "Everything inside is in tact too."

"What is inside?" Dr. Thornton asked, curious. Dasha tilted the box over to show her. "Huh? Teddy bears? Cars? Why are there toys?"

Dasha looked to Aya. "You did good work, Aya. Thank you for teaching me how to make the Space-Time Stone."

Aya gave a nod while Dr. Thornton asked, "You’re leaving?"

"I will be in the castle. There is a reason I told you to stay clear of the upstairs area. I have business there."

The doctor gave a shrug. "If you say so."

The runes of Dr. Thornton and the uniquely transmuted stone made by Aya Nakamura. Dasha was involved in every step, giving advice and analyzing and learning. Now, as long as he had the war-era white disc, he could create a portal anywhere he liked. The basement of Sea Scribe would be his first location.

Carrying the box of children’s toys, he walked up the castle to the rooms. For his most dutiful followers, Mehen created fancy, comfy chambers and furniture. It was the least a god could do for his worshippers.

Dasha opened the door.

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