I alone am the Honoured One!

He clasped his fist in frustration "The place is still interfering with my space energy and I can\'t enter the artifact and can\'t use my storage ring..."

Letting out a soft breath, he glanced around "First... I need to get away from this place."

"I can still use astral energy..."

*swoosh* He dashed through the air and floated close to the sleek ark.

The ark gleamed faintly, its dark metal exterior shining under the fractured sky.

Up close, Zhao Tian noticed some minor cracks along the surface... nothing major, but it can be seen that it had endured severe strain.

"Seems like the defense mechanism did its job... I really have to thank Artoria for this ark."

As he muttered, he pressed his thumb on the slot near the door for the biometrics scan.

*sleesh* The door opened and as Zhao Tian entered inside, he glanced at the table, couch, and chairs that had been fumbled around in chaos.

He quickly walked to the control room and there was also chaos as the whole room was still blinking red lights with some small malfunctioning error warnings.

He scanned the room, then quickly swiped his hand over the control panel as a holographic display appeared, showing the ark\'s status... interior and exterior conditions, system health, and more.

"As I thought…" Zhao Tian said under his breath, glancing the status report. "There are no major problems with the ark itself."

He flicked his finger, pulling up the hologram showing the fuel system and his gaze narrowed as the display zoomed in on the fuel reserves.

The Divine Astral Stone, the source of the ark\'s power, was almost completely depleted. Only a tiny fragment remained, glowing faintly.

"The real problem is this… I\'ve got no way to replenish the fuel." He let out a sigh of frustration.

"All of my Divine Astral Stones are in my storage ring." He lifted his hand, glancing again at the ring that now seemed more like a useless decoration.

"And I can\'t access it."

He couldn\'t fly the ark indefinitely, not without fuel. He needed to conserve what little power was left.

\'First, I\'ll try to leave this distorted space. If I can\'t… I\'ll have to stop with the first attempt and think of another plan.\'

Tidying up the control room as best as he could, he settled into the chair at the main console, fingers hovering over the controls.

*Woooshh* With a click of a button, the ark\'s engines rumbled to life.

The red lights dimmed and were replaced by a soft blue glow as the ship powered up.

*fwiiisshhh* The ark rose smoothly from the ocean\'s surface, pushing away the water below, as he lifted the ark high in the air.

Zhao Tian turned to look at the map where they are right now and as expected, it is not showing anything.

*swooosh* The ark dashed towards the sky, and just as it gained altitude, the fractured space above them shimmered, and suddenly, the ark hit something solid. *thoom*

The whole ark shuddered as if it hit a sudden invisible wall and Zhao Tian was confused.

"I can\'t move any further..."

It is like in games you try to enter the locked areas or walk too long out of the map, it is blocked by an invisible wall.

He glanced down at the fuel display, watching as the remaining Divine Astral Stone slowly disintegrated. "I can\'t afford to waste any more fuel on this."

His voice was heavy with resignation as he brought the ark back down to the sand, landing it gently on the shore.

Stepping out of the ark, he looked around. This world—if it could even be called that—was like a cage, trapping him in an isolated fragment of space.

"I shall look it for myself."

*slick* He dashed through the air and tried to cross the skies but just like before, he was again blocked.

He tried to leave through another part of the sky but he still couldn\'t leave, it\'s as if he was locked into a small box of this crumbling world.

After several attempts, he concluded that it was impossible to leave this place.

Taking a deep breath, Zhao Tian landed beside the ark on the beach and was frustrated that he couldn\'t even store the ark back in his ring.

Sighing in exasperation, he turned to look at the rich green forest near the sea shore "I should just check the forest... I might be able to find something."

With that thought in his mind, he walked to the forest leaving the ark back in the shore.

...

Pushing away the small plants and branches, he walked through the forest and the whole forest was eerily silent except for his footsteps.

There are no insects, birds, or animals in the forest; only a low wind current from the sea playing with the trees.

As he ventured deeper into the center of the forest, the sunlight filtering through the canopy grew darker.

In the distance, through gaps in the trees, Zhao Tian\'s sharp eyes caught sight of something towering above the forest.

His gaze narrowed as he realized it was a mountain, its peak disappearing into the distorted sky above.

*flick* He sprinted through the air, dashing between the trees at incredible speed. The ground below him blurred as he raced through the forest, reaching the base of the mountain in moments.

Landing softly at the foot of the mountain, he stopped for a moment to survey his surroundings.

Amidst the dense foliage, the trees were twisted in such a way that they looked like they are forming a path.

The branches curved unnaturally, arching over what seemed like a man-made trail.

A slight frown crept over his lips and he followed this path through the greenery.

Eventually, the path led him to a clearing, and there, was an enormous door set into the side of the mountain.

Zhao Tian stopped in his tracks, staring up at the door which looked ancient, carved from dark stone, and easily over ten meters in height, its surface etched with intricate patterns that glowed faintly with a soft, ethereal light.

------------------------------------------------

I hope you guys liked this chapter!