The Witch Hunter System

Chapter 1199: Stranded in Dead Space

"I’m fine," Vaan replied, but his heart was heavy, indicating he wasn’t actually.

Of course, anyone could see this, let alone Seraphina and Empyrean Oceanheart. Vaan’s abnormal reaction naturally attracted their curiosity and attention.

As a bona fide Soul Master, Vaan could sense things that they might not be able to. Perhaps there were truly problems with the passing shadow that they had failed to notice. In this case, it was best for Vaan to share his problems rather than keep them to himself.

"You know that’s not true. Speak. What is the matter? Were there issues with the shadow cloud that passed?" Empyrean Oceanheart inquired with a slightly demanding tone.

Vaan softly sighed.

His Omni-Sense had surprisingly failed to gauge information from the passing shadow, or rather, he couldn’t perceive any clear information from it. Everything had been obscured by rows of question marks.

Nevertheless, he instinctively felt like he had been marked when the shadow passed through his body. That in and of itself foretold a potentially great danger, deserving of alarm and concern.

"I feel like I’ve been marked by that passing shadow. I suspect it was some sort of sensory skill or law of a Beyond True Divinity-level Outerworlder," Vaan speculated with a frown.

"An Outerworlder’s ability?" Empyrean Oceanheart’s expression quickly turned grim, then she said with acknowledgment, "Indeed, if it were the ability of a Beyond True Divinity-level Outerworlder, it would explain why none of my spells and abilities worked on it."

"Doesn’t that mean we should turn around? If we continue this route, won’t we run into that thing?" Seraphina wondered with astonishment and terror.

"Most likely!"

Empyrean Oceanheart acknowledged with a heavy heart. She immediately prompted the Azure Wanderer to exit hyperspace and halt its forward journey.

Since the passing shadow had disappeared in the direction of the Umbral Edge, it wouldn’t be wise for them to continue their journey to the Southern Pass. Even if they had to take a longer detour to the other passes, it was still better than continuing to charge into uncertainty.

As long as Vaan suspected something amiss, they would avoid it, even if he felt unsure about his instincts. It was better to heed it than to ignore it.

"We’re turning back. We’ll ride the Water Rift Network to the adjacent pass, the Eastern Pass, and cross the void passage from there to reach the Grand Unity Human Clan."

Hearing Empyrean Oceanheart’s decision, Vaan nodded in agreement.

However, just as the Azure Wanderer turned around, preparing to accelerate back into hyperspace and return to the Star River Realm, its hyperdrive unexpectedly malfunctioned.

Swoosh!

The Azure Wanderer failed to enter hyperspace acceleration, yet the scenery rapidly changed, or rather, it was warped and twisted, until it became an entirely foreign space.

Originally, facing back toward the Star River Realm, one would find countless stars blanketing the distant void, their brilliance varying in relative to their distance. Yet now, such stars were all gone.

What!

Empyrean Oceanheart was immediately alarmed when she discovered that they had entered a foreign space, contrary to their intended destination. Moreover, it had all happened too quickly.

It was as if everything they had previously seen was an illusion. Once the illusion was shattered, the reality of their situation was also unveiled.

Dense clouds of dark matter and gaseous substances stretched as far as they could see, like a vast and boundless realm of dark nebulae, festering countless forces and elements of darkness.

Undoubtedly, the current region was a dangerous place; it wasn’t the place they belonged, nor was it the place they had intended to enter. Yet, here they were, trapped in infinite darkness, full of the unknown.

"Where is this place? Weren’t we supposed to head back to the Star River Realm?" Seraphina uttered, eyes widened with astonishment.

The current environment was even more spooky and chilling than their previous encounter with the pursuing shadow.

"Could this be an illusion?" Empyrean Oceanheart quickly suspected.

According to the data feedback from the Azure Wanderer, they were still in hyperdrive, heading toward the Star River Realm. Yet, visually, the scene outside showed they weren’t moving at all, just drifting in a vast realm of darkness. ℝ𝘈ɴŏΒƐ𝒮

"Dispel!"

Empyrean Oceanheart immediately cast a high-level dispel magic, hoping to break the suspected illusion. Unfortunately, nothing happened, indicating its lack of effect, though it was unclear whether it was too weak to make an effect or there was simply nothing to dispel.

"Purify!"

Immediately after, Empyrean Oceanheart cast another high-level spell on everyone to treat any potential poisoning, hallucinogen, or bewitchment effects.

However, the scenery outside the Azure Wanderer remained unchanged.

Empyrean Oceanheart had no choice but to accept the fact that they were indeed inside a realm of darkness.

"If I’m not wrong, this is probably Umbral Edge..." Vaan commented after a period of silence.

"Impossible...!"

Empyrean Oceanheart truthfully wanted to deny, but the environment truly resembled that of Umbral Edge. The Dark Horizon was also like this. Their distinctive traits were easily recognizable.

"Sigh... You’re most likely right," Empyrean Oceanheart sighed helplessly short after, before frowning in wonder, "But how did this happen?"

Simultaneously, Empyrean Oceanheart urgently tried to restore the Azure Wanderer’s normal functions. If she couldn’t succeed, they would be forced to abandon it, and that would be far more dangerous for Vaan and Seraphina.

After all, her personal protection was not as secure as the Azure Wanderer.

More importantly, the Azure Wanderer was also equipped with an advanced navigation system. Thus, it was crucial to restore its working functions. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to figure out which particular region of Umbral Edge they were situated in.

"I suspect an extraordinary change has occurred within Umbral Edge. The Star River Realm’s abandoned state might also be related to it," Vaan frowned in thought.

In fact, there was even a possibility that all of the nearby star realms closest to Umbral Edge were in the same state as the Star River Realm. Whatever was going on inside Umbral Edge was possibility dragging all life.

In that case, it would be very difficult to escape.

"Could we have entered a massive Beyond True Divinity-level Spacetime Formation the moment we arrived in the Star River Realm?" Empyrean Oceanheart suspected.

"A Spacetime Formation?" Vaan narrowed his eyes.

Whether it was naturally forming or artificially constructed, a Spacetime Formation at the level of Beyond True Divinity certainly didn’t spell good news for them.

Given its massive coverage, it was like casting a web-like gravity well that manipulated the spacetime of the entire region. Entering it would be easy, but getting out would be extremely difficult.

In fact, it seemed that the harder one tried to escape, the deeper they would be pulled into its depths.

With spacetime distorted and twisted, scrambling navigation bearings, no one would be able to find the right direction out. Even if they did, they would still be pulled deeper into the depths of Umbral Edge by the mysterious force of the Spacetime Formation.

However, this kind of Spacetime Formation was only a suspicion and not a confirmed case.

"Can you restore the starship’s flight abilities, Empyrean Oceanheart?"

"I’m doing my best, but some mysterious force seems to be interfering with various systems throughout the ship. I’m getting various errors across several sections. Right now, we are practically stranded in dead space."

Vaan fell silent after hearing Empyrean Oceanheart’s reply.

If they couldn’t get the Azure Wanderer moving, they wouldn’t even be able to test their theories and confirm their suspicions.

"Do we have no means of moving the starship at all?" Vaan asked.

"Actually, we do," Empyrean Oceanheart surprisingly stated before adding, "I can personally drive the Azure Wanderer with my magic power. However, this is akin to me pushing the ship and not it flying on its own."

"As such, it is very inefficient in terms of flight capabilities and energy consumption. If I use too much magic power, it’ll become particularly dangerous if we encounter any real danger."

"Considering we are inside Umbral Edge, the chances of encounter dangers are actually high too," Empyrean Oceanheart seriously said.

"As long as we can move the ship, that’s good enough." Vaan nodded with relief and said, "We don’t need a constant output; just several nudges will do."

"Indeed." Empyrean Oceanheart’s eyes lit up in realization.

In that instant, the Azure Wanderer was completely still. It only needed a nudge in any direction to start drifting through space. If it were pulled in a particular direction, they only need to attempt to escape in the opposite direction.

In the event that they were pulled even deeper into the depths of the Umbral Edge, it would prove their suspicion regarding the Spacetime Formation.

Indeed, after a couple of nudges, their suspicions were truly confirmed.

The Azure Wanderer was pulled leftward when they moved forward, and even deeper left when they forcefully steered right.

"If it’s like this, how are we supposed to leave this region?" Seraphina questioned their predicament.

"It seems the only choice we have left is to keep diving into the depths of Umbral Edge," Empyrean Oceanheart seriously said.

What!

Seraphina was immediately shocked. Even Vaan was startled by Empyrean Oceanheart’s decision. But upon further consideration, it was the most viable option they had.

Rather than staying stranded in dead space, waiting for danger to arrive, it was better to proactively dive headfirst into death while seeking an opportunity at life.

If the beings from the Star River Realm were caught in the Spacetime Formation earlier than them, then they would undoubtedly be deeper inside the depths of Umbral Edge. Thus, they would also have a higher chance of running into someone if they were still alive.

That would also be their chance to find out more information about the local situation.