Lord of Annihilation

Making their way past the first layer formed of microscopic rock dust and small stones, the trio fell for another few hundred meters before seeing 'land'.

This 'land' was formed of much larger rocks and was rather too close to the boundary separating the planet and space. In actuality, this 'land' was a solid clouds layer formed of larger, fragmented rock and was held together by the special electromagnetic field emitted by the glowing planet.

In fact, this entire 'planet' was formed of hundreds of such rock layers, each progressively getting closer to the center. As for the specifics of each layer…it had to be explored.

Having noticed the first later, Lucius slowed down his speed of descent and gently landed upon the 'ground'. The moment Lucius touched down, the rock underneath his feet sunk for a few centimeters before rising back up.

"We are here." Lucius announced and destroyed the bubble of soul power surrounding the trio.

The instant this bubble- a negation barrier of sorts- was removed, the external properties of the environment rushed in. Lack of oxygen, lowered gravity, a weird buzzing sound within one's ears, were some of the more noticeable properties of the environment.

However, having already undergone a few lessons of Survival and Tracking, Olivia was prepared. The instant Lucius removed the bubble barrier, she used her own soul power to surround her body and protect it from the extremities. 

Most of the issued directly threatening the body was solved, with only the lessened gravity and constant buzzing sound remaining. 

Ka'lor'ah, being the non-living entity she was, did not even require these measures. The instant Lucius removed the barrier she jumped off of his head and started to fly around in this new environment.

The presence of the dust layer, a few hundred meters above, served to block the majority of light coming into this planet. However, the surroundings weren't entirely dark as eerie green light pulsed from the cracks beneath their feet and dimly lit up the surroundings.

"Wow, this place is beautiful." Olivia, who was still clinging onto Lucius, remarked.

"Indeed. This is my first time seeing something like this!" Ka'lor'ah, who was a few dozen meters away, was the first to reply. 

Being a slave to the Lords, meant little in terms of freedom for Ka'lor'ah. While her knowledge was the most complete and abundant in the entire Universe, her actual experience was pitifully low. 

Seeing cosmic wonders, such as this planet, filled her with boundless excitement and ecstasy.

"We seem to have arrived during the planet's night cycle." Observing his surroundings, Lucius premised.

"How can you tell that?" Ka'lor'ah questioned, her eyes burning with the intense desire to know.

Pointing towards the cracks routinely pulsing with green light, Lucius explained.

"The intensity and frequency of the green light are tamer and lower. If this was during the day cycle, the intensity of the green light would be blinding. Even for Stage 3 existences." 

"How do you know that?"

This time, it was Olivia with the question.

"I lived here for some time." Lucius vaguely replied, before turning his head and staring into Olivia's mesmerizing violet eyes. Staring for a few seconds, he then spoke.

"Get off."

Understanding that she had held on for as long as possible, Olivia took one last, sneaky whiff of Lucius' natural scent, before jumping off. Her feet gracefully landed on the ground when suddenly, Olivia's pupils shrunk.

The 'ground' beneath her feet was nowhere as solid as she had thought it to be and immediately started to sink under Olivia's weight. Her footing had destabilized and Olivia started to fall down. 

The lowered gravity also made it hard for her to accurately move her body, further affecting her attempts at recovery.

'Shit!!' Realizing that she had messed up, Olivia instinctively closed her eyes.

Just as Olivia was about to completely sink into the ground, she felt a pair of strong arms hold her on the waist and lift her up. 

Opening her eyes, she found Lucius' cold eyes differentially staring at her.

"What was the first lesson in Survival?" Lucius' low tone had a tinge of reprimand within.

Being held up in the air like a small, stuffed doll, Olivia felt embarrassment flood her entire being. Lowering her head, she quietly answered.

"Always be aware of everything within a 5m radius."

Clearly, she had forgotten to do that. Seeing Lucius safely stand on the ground had resulted in Olivia subconsciously lowering her sense of caution. 

Recognizing her fault, Olivia lowered her head further from shame and wordlessly spread her soul power to scan the surrounding. The result from the scan was soon apparent.

The fragments of rock serving as their foothold were unusually thin and incredibly light. Almost weightless!

What was even more astonishing was that there seemed to be no solid ground underneath this layer of rock! This rock fragment, or well, this entire layer seemed to be magically held in the air by a special force/energy.

As a result of her soul power not being potent enough, Olivia was unable to understand or even detect this special force/energy.

"Do you see it now?" Lucius asked, to which Olivia nodded her head.

"Questions?" he continued.

Suppressing her shame and embarrassment, Olivia raised her head, pointed at Lucius' feet with her fingers, and asked. 

"How are you standing? The rocks seem to sink at the slightest addition of weight."

Nodding his head at her question, Lucius lifted his left leg and showed the bottom of his boot to Olivia. 

At the bottom of his boot, a few strands of soul power gathered to form a complex pattern that glowed with soft white light. These strands seemed to be radiating a repulsive force, which served to greatly decrease Lucius' weight, allowing him to stand atop these floating rocks.

"Understood?" Lucius asked and Olivia nodded her head.

"I'll give you thirty seconds before dropping you. If you fall, I won't be catching you." Lucius warned and started the count.

"Thirty…twenty-nine…twenty-eight—"

The instant Lucius started counting, Olivia drew out her soul power and started to form that complex pattern. Having just shown the pattern, it wasn't difficult for her to form the shape with her newfound control skills. 

However, the difficult part followed next. Forming the pattern on her palm was simple but moving it underneath her feet was…difficult.

"…seventeen…sixteen..." Lucius did not care for her difficulties and continued with the merciless countdown.

"You can do it, Lil' Olli! If you're worried, don't be! Believe in the me that believes in you!!"

Ka'lor'ah, who was watching the proceedings with the greatest of interest, cheered Olivia on. To say the truth, watching others suffer filled Ka'lor'ah with sadistic pleasure.

"ten…what's that supposed to mean?...eight…seven—" Lucius interrupted his counting for a moment, to question her.

"It from—"Shaking her head, Ka'lor'ah replied.—never mind, you wouldn't get it."

"..three…two…one…Time's up." Lucius instantly released his hold on Olivia. 

The latter, who was still in the process of moving the patterns to her feet, almost lost control over her strands, due to the sudden drop. 

Feeling her feet hit the ground and subsequently sink, Olivia's heart panicked but her mind cooled. Her survival instinct kicked in, and the final portions of the pattern were instinctively transferred onto her feet. 

Kicking off the sinking rock and jumping up, Olivia moved towards another fragment and landed atop with maximum grace manageable. The pattern beneath her feet operated with full power, and the rock beneath her feet sunk for a few centimeters before rising back up.

"Haha! I did it!!" Olivia shouted with joy, as the adrenaline from her survival trigger continued to rush through her body. 

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Ka'lor'ah, in classic fashion, proudly clapped at her achievement and praised.

"Nice going! It was my wise words that fueled your success." 

Lucius, for his part, simply shook his head at the antics of the female duo. Turning around, he casually spoke a sentence before setting off.

"Keep up. We have a lot of ground to cover."

Lucius' speed was astonishing as ever as he quickly disappeared into the horizon. Ka'lor'ah and Olivia also started to chase after him, not wanting to be left behind.

Of course, not before the former voiced a challenge in typical fashion.

"The last one to reach the finish line will have their month's ration of snacks eaten by the other!" Ka'lor'ah yelled and accelerated with her wings.

"Not fair!!" Olivia yelled back and hurriedly chased after the cheater.

The constant focus required to control the strands and keep the pattern functioning impacted Olivia's speed. Still, the friendly completion proposed by Ka'lor'ah served as motivation for the latter, as her control over the strands became smoother and more natural.

Unknowingly, Olivia's control over her soul power started to improve. She was slowly but surely getting closer to creating a Field.