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Chapter 16: Chapter 16- Dimension Wars (Part 1)

Talon listened quietly to her explanation with attentive ears. As absurd as it sounded, he knew that everything she was saying was the truth.

"That was the case till something known as the \'Core Dimension\' appeared out of nowhere."

"Out of nowhere? You don\'t know how it manifested?" Talon raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"No one does. It wasn\'t there and then suddenly it was. Whether it was created by someone or simply formed by pure coincidence, I do not know. The Core Dimension was the beginning of everything, including what this planet is going through. It completely changed the equation." Acrypha added.

"What do you mean?"

"The reason for that is that the Core Dimension broke the sole rule that all these Dimensions had in common and that rule is that you can\'t really go from one Dimension to another, it was simply impossible. Yet, because of the Core Dimension, gates started appearing everywhere that linked all back to the core dimension. Everyone was able to access those gates and enter the Core Dimension through those gates, and from there, they can go to other Dimensions."

"Wait, gates?" Talon picked on that part as realization suddenly hit him and he quickly looked outside.

"You mean that gate..."

Acrypha nodded her head. "It links back to the Core Dimension as every other one does."

Talon blinked in surprise as his view of that gate changed completely. At first, he thought that it was simply some kind of entity that made Dimension Walkers appear on Earth. However, now, he understood that it goes far deeper than merely a monster gate.

\'That means if I enter that gate... I will go to another dimension?\' He thought to himself.

Acrypha noticed that subtle thought in his expression and spoke. "Don\'t even think about it. You are far too weak to enter that gate now. Perhaps in a hundred years, you will be strong enough to enter it."

"A hundred years? I will be dead by then."

"Your lifespan will increase as you get stronger. You can live for thousands of years if you reach a certain power level."

"Thousands of years?! Damn... That\'s a lot of years." Talon rubbed the back of his head as he tried to comprehend how that was even possible. A human only lived 70 years and yet he could live hundreds of times that number. It sounded like a cool concept in his head.

"You can daydream about living a long life later. Focus on what I\'m saying now." Acrypha snapped her fingers to catch his attention again.

"Ok, continue, I\'m all ears." Talon nodded his head and looked at her again.

"Ehem, as I was saying before your intrusive thoughts got to you, the Core Dimension started linking Dimensions back to it. Coincidentally, each Dimension it connects with, it gives every single living creature in it a special power... The power to get stronger by killing other creatures." Acrypha explained.

Talon\'s eyes widened as his gorgeous companion reached that point. He signaled for her to stop for a second as he rubbed his temple.

"Wait... Let me get this straight. The Core Dimension gave every single creature the ability to get stronger. So, every creature has this holographic panel?"

"In some capacity, yes. Although It differs from creatures that have awareness and those that don\'t."

"... But why?"

"We don\'t know too. The Core Dimension seems to have some kind of sentience that we can\'t comprehend."

"Sentience, huh?" Talon looked down as his eyes closed for a second. "Yeah, of course. How to make an unknown Dimension that appeared out of nowhere and created havoc... Give it sentience. This almost sounds like a bad joke." Laughing without the urge to laugh, Talon finally looked up again. "So, what happened after that?"

"Naturally, existences from all Dimensions started fighting brutally for domination. Blood was shed everywhere and things quickly spiraled out of control. With a tool that strong, the greed for power blinded most people, and those who weren\'t blinded by it were either completely stomped or killed."

Taking a moment to think of what she was about to say next, she continued. "Years passed and the population in most Dimensions decreased drastically. Death became something so common no one even cared anymore. Even the most advanced of civilizations were rendered into barbaric, survival-of-the-fittest worlds. Eventually, when things stagnated and people couldn\'t find ways to get even stronger, their eyes were finally directed to the gates."

The coldness in Acrypha\'s voice intensified as a dark shadow loomed over her face. "The earliest Dimensions to get connected quickly rushed into the Core Dimension to explore it and get stronger. What they found there, however, completely changed everything."

"What did they find?" Talon unconsciously adjusted his sitting position as he listened closely to what Acrypha would say next.

"That\'s the thing, most of them didn\'t even reach the Core Dimension. The gates swallowed many and trapped them in between Dimensions only to be deformed and twisted, turned into mindless monsters that can\'t think before being spat out in a random place... They\'re called \'Dimension Walkers\'."

Like a bombshell, Acrypha dropped that piece of information on Talon. He froze for a second before he looked up again.

"So... they were sentient beings at some point?"

Acrypha nodded her head.

Just the mere thought that every single one of those nasty things was alive before made him feel weird. Something about it annoyed him a lot and Acrypha noticed that.

"If you\'re thinking that you killed innocent lives, then you\'re wrong. Those aren\'t people anymore, their souls perished and whatever was left of them was covered by that darkness. They are nothing but empty puppets with no one to control."

Talon ran his hand through his hair as he nodded quietly before he looked up again. "It\'s fine... I know what you mean."

"Good, you better not hesitate to kill them when you can. They won\'t hesitate to do that if they were you, keep that in mind." Acrypha added with a hint of sternness in her voice. The last thing she wanted was for Talon to stop fighting Dimension Walkers because of what they were.

"Got it. I won\'t hesitate to kill them. I\'m not dumb enough to let this stop me."

\'To reach my parents, I have to do it. I have to get stronger faster than anyone else.\' Looking at his hand, he tightened it into a fist as he steeled his will. He can\'t falter now or anytime else if he wants to survive and save his family.

"So, from what you said, most were turned into Dimension Walkers. What about the rest?" He asked.

"The rest were able to reach the Core Dimension. However, most of those were killed instantly because of the crushing gravity of that place. Their bodies were crushed into paste almost instantaneously."

Talon shuddered for a moment as he imagined those images. They weren\'t pleasant to think of.

"What about the remaining ones?"

"They were the strongest of the strongest and they were able to survive the gravity of that world. However, they were met with an even bigger problem... Everything in the Core Dimension is either dangerous, powerful, or outright deadly. Even the smallest things were capable of killing them."

"Oh man, what the hell is that place?! Why is it this dangerous?!"

"Because it\'s the highest Dimension possible. It\'s above and beyond anything else. The living conditions were unimaginably cruel, so only the strongest and deadliest creatures survived and thrived there." Then, Acrypha slowly tapped her fingers on her beautiful thighs before she added. "But, miraculously, even that didn\'t eradicate all the invaders. A good amount of them were able to survive."

"I don\'t want to even know how..." Talon laughed with a nervous look. "And what happened next?"

"They slowly killed their way through that unknown land, getting stronger way faster than ever before and slowly establishing their presence. Many years passed and many more Dimensions got connected with the Core Dimension. Slowly, people were able to expand their control and establish their territories... Then those territories turned into empires and kingdoms. They were also able to turn that dangerous and hostile environment into a treasure trove far beyond your imagination. They were able to find herbs that can cure every illness, rivers that can elongate your lifespan, and food so delicious it would make you go crazy."

Then, Acrypha slowly floated in the air before she descended to Talon\'s level. "In other words, they turned that hell into a heaven... A twisted and terrifying heaven."