Strongest Among the Heavens-Chapter 537: Vault of Singulars

Guided by the dwarf, Dasha walked a narrow, dark corridor. This corridor was beneath the Auctioneers’ Guildhall—his guildhall now. This was the Vault of Singulars, a sealed inventory space that only Alþjófr was supposed to access. The staircase journey alone was five minutes long.

’I was correct in my guess once again. The Receiving Chamber was a prelude to his true inventory space.’

The runes on the walls, he recalled seeing some of them in Dr. Thornton’s book. Neither time, dust, corrosion, or theft could affect this vault.

To get here, the dwarf opened up the golden window encasing that showcased the master thieves of his past. He went behind one of them to then draw up a rune and manually created a door. Through this door was a staircase and then this corridor. Cages like the ones above were to the left and right. They were slightly smaller than the cages in the Receiving Chamber. Rather than bars or a door, a small barrier protected the item and the corridor.

"How long did it take you to construct this?"

"A decade. Almost two decades."

This little corridor was small because it was intended only for the dwarf. The width, the length, everything was compact. Dasha was two inches from touching the ceiling. His eyes wandered over the rows of gleaming weapons secured in levitating display cases to his left and right. Each case hovered with a low hum, bound in stasis.

"Who taught you all this?" Dasha asked.

After all, these were not ordinary items the dwarf had stolen. Almost everything here was the result of decades of theft, smuggling, trade, and silent war. When the Auctioneers wanted something, they took it. And overtime they had hoarded swords meant for emperors, generals, and gods.

Dasha passed one blade with a bone hilt that had the symbols of the sacred Dwarf language. All silver and glowing too intensely, it emitted Qi in a strange way. Like...like it was all liquid. Always flowing. He paused, turning his torso left to study the Dwarf language beneath.

"Sword of Liquid Mercury. Location: Realm of Dungeons. I see, I see. Another sacrifice, I presume?"

"You can read the ancient Dwarf language?" Alþjófr was in shock. "How can you possibly...?"

"I shall bestow upon him a fragment of my energy, enabling him to engage with the sacred texts. I shall also endow him with the sacred texts, thereby nurturing his ability to speak with eloquence."

Alþjófr didn’t understand. Oh, yes, he understood the words but not the meaning that Dasha was hinting at.

"It’s a boon from Martanda," Dasha explained. "I can understand any and all sacred texts, no matter their origin. It is a conceptual blessing. Now, I answered your question. You answer mine."

"I...I was taught by Brokkr and Sindri, the brothers who crafted Draupnir, Gullinbursti, and Mjölnir for the gods."

"You must be quite old. Either that or..." Dasha cocked his head. "Are you an entity that escaped from the Heavenly Tower?"

"Do not be ridiculous. Grngh, t-those from the Heavenly Tower cannot leave the Heavenly Tower. It is a law. You can try and pour your own soul into another vessel, y-you still cannot escape. It is omnipotent."

"How do you know that?"

"....!"

"You sound like you’ve ventured in the Heavenly Tower. If that is the case, then you must be from before the Severance. So it is true. The Nebulous Bazaar was known as the Nebulous Road back then. The road that connected all the realms."

[ Nebulous Bazaar: A bustling marketplace where otherworldly merchants trade in wares from distant realms. It is managed by renowned merchants, as well as retired champions and notable players of the past Heavenly Games. There are stores, restaurants, merchant stands, etc. It is 15 kilometres long and contains over 4,000 stores and structures. ]

This description was given to him at the very start of his journey. Azrael herself repeated it.

Distant realms.

Which realms? The Seven Realms were not distant. They were pocket dimensions. Massive territorial balloons that warped space and time and ultimately were attached to the Nebulous Bazaar.

So where were these distant realms? There was only one explanation, there used to be distant realms. There used to be a time where the Nebulous Bazaar was more like a Nebulous "Road" that bridged distant realms.

In the history books, this event was known as the Severance. It was quiet, it was not announced or spoken of. It just happened. Gods from other realms were not allowed to visit the Nebulous Bazaar. Gods could not walk amongst the great warriors. Gods could not bring players and natives from the Nebulous Bazaar to their own Territories.

No explanation was given to anyone. No, there was only one theory—and that had to do with the Kingslayer.

Everything had to do with the Kingslayer.

"Why do you think the Severance happened? It cut off a vital bond between gods and humans. Seems like a waste, don’t you think?"

"There..." Alþjófr grit his teeth. "There are two primary Great Universes. One is the Great Universe containing the Earth and the solar system and the Milky Way. The other...is known as the Current of Darkness. It is where heaven and hell and Valhalla exist, riding upon the waves of an incomprehensible darkness. It is where imagination and human thought exist."

"Hence why traversing it is impossible."

"P-precisely. The ’Ocean of Darkness’ is made of every thought that could ever be conceived and ever will be conceived. It holds monsters t-that the Heavenly Tower seizes from. It is where gates are placed after they are finished. T-they continue on, like bobbing islands. The Current of Darkness is an endless everything that leads to nothing. Except...for one region."

Dasha squinted. "Hm?"

"The White Abyss. Nyx’s White Abyss."

Dasha stopped. "You mean to tell me that ridiculous theory is actually true?"

"Yes. The Nebulous Bazaar, the Hall of Players, the House of Wisdom, the Underground, the Seven Realms, and the Heavenly Tower—all of it is within the Territory of the one woman even Zeus feared, Nyx."