I, Matou Sakura, Third of the Flame-Chasers! Chapter 29

As one of The Ancient One's most loyal sorcerers, Wong naturally obeyed her instructions well.

"Thank you."

Taking the token Wong handed her, Matou Sakura nodded to her before walking toward the first row of bookshelves.

Although her previous conversation with The Ancient One had allowed her to absorb quite a bit of knowledge, magic was an exceedingly profound subject. She had originally planned to start from the very beginning, lest she overlook anything.

The Basics of Magic.

The book in her hands was quite new, and energy fluctuations—or rather, what was called magic—rippled across it.

Every book here was reinforced with magic, not only to protect the books themselves, but also to protect those reading them.

Matou Sakura did not think much of it and simply stood where she was as she opened the book.

The relatively hefty book began to rustle rapidly in her hands as pages flipped. The terrifying processing speed granted by her repeatedly evolved brain came into play once more.

Matou Sakura read quickly, and the quiet library became somewhat noisy because of her rapid reading.

The first book, the second book...

Wong, who was sitting there, had already opened her mouth in astonishment. If not for The Ancient One's instructions, she would have stepped forward to stop her by now.

And this was not even Matou Sakura's full speed. She continued accelerating. The third book, the fourth book—her pace through every book steadily increased.

The eighth book. As the book closed, Matou Sakura stopped.

She had already gained an extremely clear understanding of this world's magic.

It was like opening the source—or perhaps opening one's eyes—allowing the soul to leave the body and enter the multiverse in a physical form, experiencing its mysteries and absorbing its power.

This was something every sorcerer had to face.

The reason for doing so was merely to break through one's existing understanding and establish an entirely new, vast framework of knowledge, thereby accepting the wonders of magic.

She could completely skip this step. Her understanding had always differed from that of ordinary people, and with the AllSpark, she had no need to absorb any multiversal energy.

Though it was called multiversal energy, it was actually ordinary cosmic energy. It was merely a step used to expand the body so that it could contain Magic Power.

But she wanted to see what kind of scenery this world's multiverse held.

After putting the books away, Matou Sakura directly sat cross-legged on the floor.

Seeing this, Wong, who had gone through it before, immediately understood what she intended to do.

An anxious look appeared on her face.

Having experienced it herself, Wong knew all too well how dangerous it was for a soul to travel through the multiverse. Without someone watching over it, the soul could easily lose its way in the multiverse and be unable to return to the body!

Even she had nearly run into trouble back then, despite being watched over by the Sorcerer Supreme!

Thus, having one's soul travel through the multiverse was undoubtedly extremely dangerous!

"Don't worry."

A hand gently pressed down on Wong's shoulder, stopping her from moving forward. Turning around, Wong saw that The Ancient One had appeared there at some point.

"Sorcerer Supreme."

Wong's face was full of concern as she hurriedly said, "Traveling through the multiverse alone is far too dangerous."

"Don't worry."

The Ancient One smiled gently. Her mild tone soothed Wong, calming her anxious heart.

"She will be fine. You and I only need to wait here quietly."

Forty, The Terror of the Multiverse

So this was what it felt like to be in a soul state?

Looking at herself and the vast starry sky around her, Matou Sakura felt somewhat conflicted.

Back when she was with the Flame-Chasers, she had once managed to separate her consciousness from her body with the help of mental perception-type Fusion Warriors such as Su and Aponia.

Whether consciousness was the soul was an interesting question, but according to Su and Aponia, it was not.

Consciousness could be regarded as another form of the soul, but even if it was damaged in that state, it would not have much effect on the soul's existence.

When Su used the Second Divine Key to observe other worlds, he did so in the form of consciousness.

But now, she truly existed in the vast starry sky of this multiverse in the form of a soul.

Her sense of self in soul form was utterly incomparable to the state of consciousness. It was an exceptionally strange feeling.

Interestingly enough, however, she found that she could still use the power of her physical body.

She clenched her fist. The surging strength had not changed in the slightest, and even the starry sky around her appeared almost completely still.

I need to move forward, right?

Focusing slightly, she drifted forward by instinct. The seemingly motionless starry sky began to flow, and the vast universe revealed an incomparably beautiful sight before her!

Matou Sakura could sense the energy surging around her. Nearby cosmic energy entered her soul, and she could feel her existence becoming stronger and more resilient.

Something seemed off.

Cosmic energy should not have such an effect.

Could it be that the energy around me wasn't simply cosmic energy?

Then where was this place?

Calling it a journey through the multiverse by soul might have been an exaggeration. After leaving the body and entering the universe, the soul could only exist within a corner of the cosmos centered around the physical body. It was impossible to truly enter the multiversal level.

Without sufficient strength, entering the multiverse in soul form would only result in being crushed to death by the multiverse itself!

But now...

Looking around, she saw star-sea-like expanses everywhere. Those seas of stars flowed into the distance, then suddenly accelerated. An incomparably enormous star swept past Matou Sakura.

No!

I'm being pulled along!

She had not moved, yet the space around her had. Space was retreating, delivering her before the one causing it to retreat without directly pulling her along!

Buzz!

The retreating space abruptly stopped, and she saw countless stars perish.

Not just stars, but planets teeming with life as well!

They were all destroyed within the rapidly retreating space!

Who was it?!

"Welcome, outsider."

The familiar line made Matou Sakura instinctively picture a certain Heavenly Sustainer.

But it was not that.

The voice rang like a great bell, impossible to identify as male or female, yet it was right before her.

What stood before her was not the Heavenly Sustainer who resembled the Herrscher of the Void. It was a colossal giant whose grandeur surpassed the scale of the universe itself!

Matou Sakura suddenly felt something beneath her feet, the sensation of standing on something.

Looking down, she discovered that at some point, she had already come to stand upon that enormous palm.

At first glance, the five slightly raised fingers resembled vast mountain ranges!

"Who are you?"

Matou Sakura did her best to remain calm. The being before her was absolutely not something she could contend with!

"I have many names."

The faceless being chuckled softly. Then Matou Sakura discovered that the surrounding space had shattered outright, revealing pitch-black fault lines!

And within those fractures, she seemed to glimpse the existence of other universes!

This thing was at least a Single-Universe Level existence!

Perhaps even stronger!

But why had she encountered it?!

"This seems rather inconvenient."

The giant suddenly spoke. Then the entire universe instantly collapsed. A terrifying torrent swallowed everything, and Matou Sakura's soul was engulfed in an instant.

I...

...died?

She abruptly opened her eyes, staring blankly at the bookshelf before her as it gradually came into focus.

I'm still alive?

"It seems you encountered a terrifying existence."

A familiar voice slowly sounded. It was The Ancient One!

Matou Sakura looked beside her. The Ancient One stood at her side, her expression incomparably grave.

Only then did Matou Sakura notice that a golden barrier had enveloped both her and The Ancient One.

"What happened?"

"Energy leaked out after a universe collapsed."

The Ancient One said solemnly, "Fortunately, the destroyed universe was extremely far from here. Otherwise, this place—not just this place, but the entire world—would have been destroyed by the aftermath of that universe's collapse! What exactly did you encounter?"

Matou Sakura tried to recall it. She knew she had encountered some terrifying existence, but she simply could not remember what it was. She only knew that she had encountered something terrifying.

Unable to remember?

Could that thing have been more than a Single-Universe Level existence?

And it had destroyed a universe!

A Single-Universe Level existence could accomplish that too, but absolutely not so effortlessly.

Unless it was a Multiversal Level existence!

Although something had gone wrong with her memories, she still remembered her conversation with that unknown being. The memories she had lost were only those related to that being's influence.

When the laughter rang out, cracks appeared in the universe, followed by its outright destruction, though the reason remained unknown.

Could it be that the being she had encountered truly was a Multiversal Level entity?

"I can't remember that being's existence."

Matou Sakura took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"But I remember that a single laugh from it caused cracks to appear in the universe, followed by the universe's destruction. I didn't see clearly what it did. I suspect that being was a Multiversal Level entity!"

"What!"

The Ancient One's expression turned even uglier.

How could a soul that had left its body possibly encounter such a terrifying existence? By all rights, it should only have been wandering through the outer reaches of the universe. It was absolutely impossible for it to encounter something so horrifying.

If such a terrifying existence merely appeared in this universe, did nothing at all, and did not even release the slightest trace of its aura, this universe would instantly shatter.

Because a universe could not bear the weight represented by a Multiversal Level powerhouse.

But she had encountered it. That meant the being had not descended into this universe—it had pulled Matou Sakura into another universe capable of sustaining its existence!

The destroyed universe!

But it... Wait!

What am I doing?

The Ancient One's gaze briefly became unfocused. Wong, who had been watching from not far away, was the same.

"What's wrong with you?"

Matou Sakura sensed something strange and watched the Ancient One before her warily.

Something was very wrong with the Ancient One now!

Suddenly, the Ancient One gave her a bizarre smile.