Divine Essence

Chapter 7: Spirit Dimension

WHOOSH.

The universe hadn't just shifted; it had folded. One moment, Mo Seven was still standing on a metallic pad in a crowded, and noisy station on Planet Hig17. The next, the high-pitched ringing in his ears had snapped into a heavy, and pressurized silence that felt like being underwater. The blinding blue light of the portal slowly faded, replaced by the dim, and cool glow of a small, square room.

Seven stood perfectly still, with his heart drumming against his ribs. With a strong thump-thump, thump-thump. He didn't move a muscle, he was waiting for the "wall" to hit him, or waiting for the portal to realize it had made a mistake and spit him back out into the human overworld. But the rejection never came.

"I'm... I'm actually here," he whispered to himself. His voice sounded thin and raspy in the small space. Huff. Puff. He slowly looked around. The room was a basic room with nothing in it. about ten feet wide with smooth, and seamless walls that looked like polished obsidian. There were no windows, neither were there any furniture, and no decorations. This was his Personal Sanctuary. He could still clearly remember the lectures from the Academy: the Spirit Dimension was an infinite, treacherous realm, (similar to a Minecraft world in his past life) but the "Global System" provided every new cultivator with a safe zone within a human settlement.

Suddenly, a translucent screen flickered into life before his eyes. It wasn't the blue status screen from the overworld; it was gold and ancient-looking.

[WELCOME, NEW CULTIVATOR, TO THE FIRST SPIRIT DIMENSION]

[LOCATION: FROST-IRON SHELTER — HUMAN SETTLEMENT #402]

[NOTICE: THIS ROOM IS YOUR PRIVATE SANCTUARY. NO ENTITY MAY ENTER WITHOUT YOUR EXPRESS PERMISSION. SAFETY IS GUARANTEED WITHIN THESE WALLS.]

[PLEASE DESIGNATE ROOM NAME...]

Seven stared at the blinking cursor for a while. He thought of his old world, then his new one. He tried typing John.

[NAME TAKEN]

Then he tried the figure 7.

[NAME TAKEN]

He smirked, his sharp tongue forming the words even as he typed. "Of course. Everyone wants to be a number." He typed in Null 7.

[NAME ACCEPTED: ROOM 'NULL 7' REGISTERED]

“Null 7,” he thought, while reaching into his pocket and pulling out the heavy black coin from his late grandpa, which had a black rose imprinted on it and the other side has something like opened fangs. Flip. Catch. Flip. The weight of the metal was comforting. “Those damn hateful Gods thought they could keep me out of this dimension. But look at me now. I’ve stepped through the portals that they said were locked.”

The fact that he was now standing here was the ultimate proof. You couldn't enter the Spirit Dimension without a Divine Essence. It was the "key" to the lock. This means [NO GOD] is actually real. It wasn't a glitch or a prank. It was a power waiting to be awakened.

Seven suddenly pushed open his heavy door.

Creeeeeak.

He stepped into a long, and brightly lit corridor. The walls were made of a strange, self-illuminating stone that felt cool to the touch. Ttap. Ttap. Ttap. His shoes clicked the floor as he walked. He wasn't alone. People of all skin colors, wearing everything from non tech combat suits to spirit Armament armor, the people all moved through the corridor back and fourth. These were people from across the human overworld. From different planets, and different sectors all thrown together in this random human settlement in the first dimension.

The corridor that his room was in is labeled S. He looked back at his door, realizing that these hallways were incredibly long, and stretching for miles to accommodate the thousands of humans that were teleporting in. If a settlement got too full, the system would simply move new arrivals to another one.

He followed the signs toward the Central Plaza. As he walked, he noticed the shops.

"Hey if you're a first timer then come buy my normal class Spirit creature Meat! Freshly carved Snow-Wolf! Increase your increases your normal spirit points!" a man shouted from a stall.

"Trading mutant spirit Armament for Hybrid class creature flesh! No low-ballers!" a nearby girl yelled.

The smell was very overwhelming. It was a mix of roasted meat, ozone, and a strange, floral scent that didn't exist in the overworld or on Hope city. At the end of the square Central Plaza stood a massive iron gate that led to the outside world of the first dimension.

Seven walked toward it, while his eyes were wide open. He wanted to see the world that his idol, Kaelen Vance, had once hunted to get stronger. He wanted to prove that he belonged here.

As he stepped through the gate, and a blast of frigid air hit him like a physical blow.

"GAH!" Seven gasped, his instantly breath turning into a thick cloud of white mist. Shiver. Chatter.

The world outside was a nightmare of ice. Massive, and jagged mountains made of translucent blue frost reached into a dark sky. Snow was falling in heavy, and silent clumps. This was the Ice Lands. It looked like the North Pole from earth, but deadlier. Not because of the cold. But because of the spirit creatures.

Seven looked down at his worn-out hoodie and sneakers. “I’m an idiot,” he monologued, while hugging himself to keep warm as the wind whipped through his thin clothes. “I came to a frozen hell-scape while dressed for a summer jog. If I walk out there now, I’ll be a human popsicle before I find a single creature."

He noticed something else. He had reached for his Com-brace to check the local hunting maps on the Galactic web, but the screen was dead. It didn't even glow.

“Right. Tech doesn't work here.” Overworld tech like guns, missiles, and the internet were useless here. Only melee weapons and the power of one’s own body and Divine Essence mattered. This was why humans hadn't just conquered the dimension with robots. they had to fight for it with blood and muscles.

"I need a weapon," Seven muttered himself, his teeth chattering. "And I need a coat. But mostly... I need to learn how to activate this." He looked at his hands, but the [NO GOD] divine essence remained silent.

Realizing he was completely unprepared, he decided to turn back toward the settlement. He couldn't hunt yet. Even a spirit-rabbit of the mutant rank could probably kill him in this state. He had to go back and prepare.

WHOOSH.

The return trip was even faster. Seven stepped back onto the pad in his room null 7, the warmth of the portal station feeling like a blessing. He hurried home, slipping through the back entrance of the Mo Estate to avoid his mother and Ren.

The house was silent. They were likely out celebrating Ren’s "genius" performance at the assessment.

Seven reached his basement room. He kicked off his shoes and peeled off his sweaty, and soot-stained hoodie. He stood there in just his pants, while his lean, and athletic body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Despite being called "trash," Seven’s body was well-defined. He had been training since he was five, while being obsessed with the idea that if the Gods wouldn't give him power, he would build it himself.

Splash. Splash.

Seven took a quick, and cold shower to wash off the grime of the day. Afterward, he sat on his sheet and reached under a loose floorboard near his pile of clothes. He pulled out a small, metal box. his secret safe.

Clink.

Inside were stacks of physical credits. He had earned them by writing novels on the "Galactic web". His parents didn't know; they thought he was just staring at a screen. If they knew he had money, they’d take it for Ren’s tuition in a heartbeat.

He sat back and opened his chat app to find Nova-girl.

[Chat app: Galactic incasts]

Seven: You wouldn't believe the day I had. I actually made it into the dimension for the first. Frost-Iron Shelter.

Nova-girl: LOL! Sure you did, Seven. And I’m the Queen of the Rakshasa. Stop lying. Didn't You say that you're a Null,

Seven: I'm serious. It was freezing. I almost turned into an ice cube because I was wearing a hoodie.

Nova-girl: If you’re really there, then you’re a miracle. But hey, even if you’re making all this null stuff up, it’s a good story. Just stay safe, okay? I don’t want my favorite 'null' and 'practice dummy' to disappear.

Seven chuckled, a dry, tired sound. “Practice dummy.” He thought about Kaito and the beating in the cafeteria.

“They think they’re hurting me,” he monologued, while looking at the bruises on his ribs. “But every punch Kaito throws is a lesson. He’s fast, but he’s sloppy. Ryu is strong, but he’s kinda slow. I’m learning their rhythms. I’m using them to perfect my grandpa Tiger-Crane style on their own time. They’re not bullies to me... they’re free tutors. Or practice Dummies”

He lay back, his mind spinning. He had the Zenith's power. And He now had a room in the Spirit Dimension. He had a body forged in five years of secret training.

“The Zenith said I deserved this,” Seven whispered into the dark. “He didn't give this to any Tom John or Henry. He gave it to the Null. To the stain.”

Seven gripped the black coin tight in his hand. “I’m going back to the dimension tomorrow. And I’m not coming back until I’ve spilled spirit creature blood and see the reaction of my No God divine essence .”

"If The Gods are watching. I'll give them a show they'll never forget."