In this world, you may find that every effect has a cause, and we refer by that to a world ruled under the Law of Causality according to the size of this world; complicated, but follow along.
Mostly, the 9th layer is considered one of the furthest layers from the center of the universe, which makes borrowing or even controlling these forces impossible.
In the end, many beings die and are born without knowing anything about reality, the vastness of this universe, and the challenges it faces every day.
On the other hand, the higher you ascend, the more layers you find—from the strangest worlds to the strangest energy systems and laws that can be controlled.
On, Mana, Soul, Licon, Marine, Chi, and Ki energies are considered divisions of spiritual, physical, and magical energy.
There might be more than that.
Some worlds are more private.
Away from causality, a world fights itself to escape that region.
The World of Towers, for example.
A blue planet gave birth to countless conscious creatures that expanded to control everything around them, while each creature hides within it a key to a lost world.
Tower Master, a title given to humans a thousand years ago after the end of the world, where every person began to carry within them a key to a private tower under their will.
The tower granted power and information and revealed many secrets, but the most important thing the tower grants after finishing it is a gateway toward an infinite continent; in short, entry into a higher layer.
After the first discovery, a world opened up to vast horizons, and now there is a conflict between powers to obtain the largest piece of that continent.
But only a few people know that place is merely the first destination.
"This is definitely one of my novel's backgrounds."
Ray held his head while sitting at a desk in front of a virtual screen.
Confused, but still trying to maintain his calm.
"What is happening and what will happen? I truly know this."
And that is the worst thing.
I have always found a strange attraction in novels where the main character is the author, but what happens after that?
"He sees the bad events, tries not to interfere in the story, then interferes, then fixes, then organizes, etc. He becomes stronger, and the ending is predictable, varying only by genre."
Beautiful, right? Just think: you are the author, so go and take the hero's treasures, liberate the continent, prevent the end of the world, then get the moon flower, a beautiful wife, and a happy ending with two children.
"If it was my destiny to enter a novel, at least send me to one of those novels that end with a romantic conclusion."
Did I really have to fall inside my own novel?
The problem is not here; what happened has happened, so there is no use crying. Maybe two hours have passed, I don't know how I ended up here, but after realizing the situation, the most important thing I had to do was stop myself from thinking about certain mysterious things.
Because the biggest problem with my novel is that it is not just one novel.
It is not for the public, it does not follow a traditional path; in fact, it doesn't follow anything—just diverse events and stories built according to my mood.
Meaning, I didn't write this novel to share it; I only wrote it to watch it and see the limits of my imagination.
"That is why when I say there are entities above dimensions, I mean it."
The problem is that some heroes are regressors (returnees in time), some are transmigrators from a modern world, some are authors like me supposed to be writers, and only a few main characters were born and grew within the world.
The reason is truly simple.
There is an infinite amount of information, and stuffing all that information was harder than talking to a girl about logic; I ended up trying to make the hero possess some prior knowledge.
"So, how am I doing?"
Well, I didn't expect to end up like this.
"Question and answer is the best way to calm down."
Ray took a notebook and a pen from nearby and started writing.
"First thing: who am I really?"
I now have two memories; one in a peaceful world, living like anyone else and waiting for death like anyone else, and the other in a turbulent world, living with the goal of climbing to the top and hunting stars.
The problem is that there is no conflict between the two personalities, which causes confusion.
When I think this way, I feel that I am a person who migrated into his novel, but if I stop thinking, I feel like a character who obtained an author's memories.
Apparently, my memories from the previous world are clearer, but still, I don't know how I ended up here. I remember the last thing was that I returned tired from work, and after playing a bit on the phone, I went to sleep.
The same thing here; yesterday I also returned from work tired and watched some clips of Tower Masters before I slept.
Then, a strange new day.
"Anyway, I will figure this out later. Second question: is this really my novel or just a world with the same background as my novel?"
I hope it's the latter. In fact, I would consider moving to another world like changing a house, and I have gotten used to that due to the many problems I went through. But if it were truly my novel, it would be better to find a shield to maintain my personal safety, because death is a luxury that cannot be obtained in this place.
But it's hard to ignore all the evidence.
First, the Tower. Every newborn creature gets a tattoo which is the Tower Key, and when they reach the age of 16, their special skill as a Tower Master awakens, and at 20, they can enter the Tower.
The same information as in my novel, and...
When a Tower Master dies inside the tower, the white key turns red, which means the destruction of the tower—or more accurately, the Tower Master losing their qualifications—and it's possible for another Tower Master to hire them to finish their own tower floors.
Which means not everyone is capable of finishing their own tower, and those who fail can still reach the infinite continent under the authority of another Tower Master. Because of that, slavery is legal, especially with the variety of beings and creatures that can be used to finish the Tower.
"The same information as in my novel."
Third, the Tower has no physical entity in the outside world, but there is a tower specific to the world itself which connects all Tower Masters and is considered like a massive network of information restructured by the government.
"This virtual screen is the Tower screen, or a TV appearing through the tower, thanks to which communication is possible between the occupied planets in this world, and even communication between the world and the Tower Master when they are inside the tower. That helps in getting help through live broadcasts and the like. It's the same information I wrote in the background."
Finally, the real danger in this world is not just the tower, but the Abyss, which came and brought the end of the world with it and is still expanding and spreading monsters. Because of that, fighting is ongoing in an attempt to regain control of the planet, but humans have begun to lose hope of saving the planet, and most have started migrating even though the Abyss has gates on every nearby discovered planet.
"Everything so far is like my novel."
Did you read all the information? Then forget it, it's useless. The problem is not in this world, but what lies behind it...
Here comes the real test.
"Do I really have to do this?"
Ray stopped writing and held his head, hesitating.
"But think about it; if that thing appears, it means achieving an accomplishment, and maybe I will get that title which will help me survive and even help this world. On the other hand, if it doesn't appear, that would be better, and I won't need to think about what will stab my back after death."
So the question is: can I bear that?
"The answer is no."
The world in my novel has a space limit, which means the world could be a planet and what's inside it, or a star system, or even a galaxy, or even the field containing the galaxy.
But beyond that, or closer, there are Dimensions.
This physical dimension is considered the main dimension, and away from the sub-dimensions, there are Special Dimensions, which are worlds standing on their own, feeding on emotions or other types of energy to grow according to the definition of that energy.
For example, Special Dimension No. 53, Name:
(Abyss of Fear)
One can imagine this place like a prison that keeps a copy of every horror that entered the heart of a creature in the main dimension. As for its extent, even I failed to imagine and describe what exists in the depths despite trying to exaggerate.
Regardless, the idea is based on the fact that everything has a soul, from humans to stones, and everyone who has a soul can feel, and before feeling fear, that person's fear will be reflected in the Abyss.
I think I liked the idea at that time because the hero was a candidate for the title of Guardian, so he would enslave creatures inside the rift and bring horror with them to his world after building the Inverted Pyramid organization.
"There are distinctive special dimensions I mentioned, but their number doesn't reach 20 among 100 special dimensions."
What I am trying to do now is communicate with special dimensions to achieve an accomplishment...
"Speaking of the devil."
Ray recoiled, his body trembling, but a faint smile was drawn on his face. This feeling is not strange to any living being; it is Fear.
Ray looked around the room, but there was nothing, just him between the room's walls. Yet he felt fear, as if he were standing on the hand of death. Nevertheless, he smiled and spoke:
"I want a chance."
[Notice: A unique achievement has been achieved, communicating with ####]
Is this the voice of the world? No, this might be the voice of the universe itself? Or something beyond that... I hope it's not just that thing...
[Please claim the prize]
"Damn it, Breath of Fear"... It disappeared.
Ray breathed deeply, and the suffocating feeling around him vanished as if it hadn't existed. Only the voice of the world rang in his mind with a screen like the Tower panel, black with letters of blood floating before him.
Just for one moment, Ray knelt on the ground trying to calm himself and his soul, which was trembling because of this passing breath. Then he smiled and returned to sitting.
"This proves that this is truly my novel."
I am not saying I created this world, but I am saying I am the one who knows most about this world, or among the characters who know most about this world.
"Well, I endured that one way or another, but if my body and soul froze just because of a breath of fear from the Abyss, what could happen to me if I entered there?"
In fact, I don't even want to imagine that.
Fortunately, the Abyss of Fear has the simplest conditions for communicating with it. On the contrary, the Abyss of Fear is considered one of the most generous special dimensions, trying to pull creatures into it due to the nature of its special energy; bringing any element out of the Abyss of Fear into the world requires a medium—meaning an entity that possesses a soul.
Through the entity or creature, there will be a result for every action they take; if they bring out an element and that element causes fear to spread, that fear returns to the Abyss, so it grows more.
Therefore, the condition for entering the Abyss of Fear is simply to think and believe that it exists, and that is all.
"I remember I wrote that the Black Hole is a gateway to the Abyss of Fear, and also at the deepest point in the Abyss of Hell, there is another gateway."
Ray sighed and sat wiping the sweat from his body.
"Well, that doesn't matter. What I want now is not just an element from the Abyss, but more."
If I am going to do something, I must do it until the end.
I still have knowledge with which I can become one of the Guardians of the Abyss, entities that worlds would not dare to disrespect, especially one of the Guardians of the Abyss of Fear, who are considered among the most dangerous Dimension Guardians.
"But, I don't want to be tied even to the story of this world."
I refuse that. I am not stupid. There are many wonderful and dangerous characters in this world, and even if I hate humans, I love humans. Therefore, I know myself well; even if I say all I want is survival, what then?
Should I leave this sanctuary to seek entry into the city, then join the Star Academy, and after that work on gaining power under the excuse that I want to survive? And when the story deviates, I start looking for a way to raise the level of this world to save it, then save the world, get married, have a happy ending, and wait for death after that?
No thanks. While I don't mind the idea of marriage, everything after that is annoying to the extreme. I am a reader, and I have always loved the style of the reader—someone who doesn't intervene but knows everything. Now, because I have become unable not to intervene, there is only one way, which is to get a clear path and work on not falling into any desperate situation.
"I prefer death over being unable to do anything."
Ray frowned as he remembered disturbing memories.
In front of a house burning with flames of fire, he stood desperate, trying to rush in while many people held him back. Unable to do anything, he found himself burying the body of his elder sister and her family the next day.
"I remembered something truly annoying."
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End of Chapter
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[Side Note: The Abyss has no relation to the Abyss of Fear. While the Abyss of Fear is considered a Special Dimension, the Abyss known in this world is a gap between the physical world and the underworld. It is a world standing on its own and a ladder for descending and reaching the underworld; each layer is considered more dangerous than the other, and no one knows what lies at the end.]