Preparation for Retreat

That core was not energy, nor was it matter.

It was something more fundamental and more primitive—rules themselves.

It was the physical laws of the Outer Universe that man came from, compressed, condensed, and shaped into a sphere at that moment.

"Interesting."

Ian sensed the power of those rules. They were trying to cover him, trying to envelop him, trying to pull him into the rules of that Outer Universe. Under those rules, his power would be suppressed, his abilities would be weakened, and his very existence would be redefined.

Even so, even after sensing that, Ian did not dodge.

He stood there and allowed the gray flower to envelop him. Its petals closed one by one, trapping him inside. The gray barrier was thick, dense, impervious to light, sound, or any energy. He stood within it, surrounded by endless gray, as if he had been locked in a cage with no time, no space, and no reference points at all.

"Heh."

Ian raised a hand and pressed it against the barrier. It was hard, harder than any known substance.

His hand pressed against it, but the barrier did not budge. He exerted force, the muscles in his arm bulging, veins standing out, yet the barrier still did not move in the slightest.

"Pretty creative."

He murmured.

Ian did not use divine power. It was not that he could not, but that he did not want to. He wanted to test the limits of this fleshly body, wanted to know whether, without borrowing any supernatural power, he could break through a barrier formed from the rules of another universe.

He took a deep breath.

Even though there was no air here—then clenched his fist and smashed it into the barrier.

Boom!

The gray barrier shook violently, cracks spreading from the