Tension and Preparation

Chapter 467: Tension and Preparation

After steadying himself, Benjamin stared at the distant sky.

The enormous spatial rift stretching across the heavens hung silently at the edge of the ship Plane like a pitch-black maw tearing open the firmament.

Unstable streams of violet-blue energy flowed along the rift's edges, occasionally bursting with annihilating sparks of lightning—the high-energy particle currents created by the friction of two high-dimensional spaces being forcibly joined.

His breathing unconsciously quickened.

His lungs expanded, contracted, then expanded again.

The sound of air moving through his windpipe was magnified within his eardrums, heavy and harsh as a battered old bellows.

Only when the sound abruptly intruded upon his awareness did Benjamin suddenly snap awake.

I just... lost focus?

He lowered his head and looked at his hands.

An unnatural pale red sheen spread across his skin, as though lava were slowly flowing beneath it.

The breath he exhaled condensed into white mist before him. No—the temperature was far too high. It was a heatwave that warped the air, enough to scald an ordinary human's flesh and blood in an instant.

"I... am nervous."

Benjamin murmured as he let out a breath, his tone carrying a trace of unfamiliar realization.

Yes, this was nervousness.

His muscles were faintly tensed, his blood circulation accelerated, his mind intensely focused while still unable to completely control his attention...

All these physical reactions pointed to an emotion that was practically an antique to him now.

How long had it been?

When was the last time he had felt this way?

It had been when he had first crossed into this world, standing before the towering gates of Noren Academy and waiting for the moment that would decide his fate.

Back then, his hands had been ice-cold, and his heart had pounded like a