Space travel was always a fun thing for Damien.

Not only did it present plenty of time to focus on training and relaxation, it gave Damien an opportunity to traverse the starry sky and bind as many stars and worlds as possible.

The Celestial Class was always one that involved conquering, something Damien didn’t do often. He never even utilized the World Force he received from these actions, for no reason other than the fact that the other skills in his arsenal were more efficient in many situations.

However, World Force was still an incredibly important power. Part of Damien’s great comprehensive ability that only improved over time was the result of World Force passively boosting him.

After all, World Force was quite literally a product of world laws and the ability to move them. When he was comprehending the laws of the universe, the presence of this strength in his body gave him a deeper connectivity to reality itself, bringing him closer to those truths at an inherent level.

Therefore, despite his outward neglect of it, he never forgot about the power or ceased attempting to improve it.

The journey to the Severed World in the Giant Domain from Prismatic Sun Holy Land was a 6-month trip without the use of teleportation arrays, but with Damien’s power combined with the use of these arrays, this time was cut drastically.

The starship carrying Damien’s group arrived at a plane floating in the starry sky after 3 weeks of flight. It was a continent that looked like it had been torn out of its original world, and at the very center of its underside, the rounded bottom of a shining World Core could be seen jutting out of the rock.

“Whew, it really is something special,” Damien commented as he first laid his eyes on it.

If the entrance was already on such a strange plane, the sub-universe itself definitely wouldn’t disappoint.

The starship descended onto the edge of the continent, in what was clearly a well-built docking area.

“Ready?” Damien said, turning back to Rose, Elena, and Ruyue.

“Ready and excited,” Rose replied happily, speaking for the trio.

Damien nodded and turned back, watching through the glass as the starship touched ground.

A portion of its side became holographic, opening the way for Damien’s group to finally land on the continent.

But…

‘Why does this feel more like a vacation spot than a death zone?’

Damien was a bit baffled by the jovial atmosphere. The docking area was truly built up, filled with various facilities and shops for the adventurous practitioners who were coming and going from the Severed World.

‘It’s a little funny how trivially these people treat their lives.’ Damien thought to himself as he led his group through the area, following signage and maps to make his way to the entrance.

His hypocrisy was something to note, considering how he was planning to do something far more dangerous than these regular experts, but that was beside the point.

As those of Stone Giant Holy Land mentioned, the Severed World wasn’t monopolized by any one force. This docking area, or rather, this entire facility that extended for several tens of kilometers, was a method of checks and balances the great influences of the Giant Domain jointly built to add a sense of order to the wild land, making sure that nobody would act out of line.

And the entrance to the Severed World was located at the very center of it all, guarded by several layers of security.

Of course, none were prohibited or restricted in any way. These measures were merely to guarantee civility outside the entrance and account for those entering so their fates could be reported back to the influences they belonged to.

Damien and the girls went through these procedures, noting their names and affiliations on a sheet of mana-laced paper that documented their mana signature.

Afterward, they finally made it where they wanted to be.

Was it surprising how many people there were, or was it just a testament to the number of experts in the universe?

Past the hallways that hid it was a huge open area. It was circular in shape and filled with nature, as if everything in the expansive facility was built around it.

And in fact, it was!

The same shimmering curtain of space Damien saw in his vision was now presented in front of his eyes. It was roughly 500 meters long and extended into the air as far as the eye could see.

Though the entire atrium was filled with experts, this portion of space was empty, every single person intent on avoiding it.

Because it was well-known that entering that area before one was ready was a death wish.

Damien and the girls spent a few minutes walking around and listening in on the conversations around them for information.

The Severed World’s 4 layers. Each had its own name and represented unique ecosystems with its own dangers.

From the mouths of these experts who had either been inside already or had been planning for months to do exactly that, only the first and second layers were really explored.

They were called Ghost King’s Valley and the Perilous Sanctuary.

The two remaining layers also had names, but other than these names, they were largely unknown.

Nobody dared to explore them thoroughly, after all.

Nevertheless, before they could even focus on these, they had to get through the easy part!

Damien already knew most of what was being said from Iris’ information, but he wanted to hear it from people who had seen it as well. They were far more trustworthy than some words of unknown origin.

But after listening to them, he had no choice but to be impressed with Iris’ abilities once again.

Whoever she got information from knew far more than most of these practitioners!

There was no point dragging it any longer.

‘Let’s try to be done with this before the ceasefire ends. I want to visit Mom and ask her some things…’

He shook his head and threw away the thought. After checking with the girls one more time, he moved towards the shimmering space.

It was time to enter the Severed World!

***

The entrance to the sub-universe was definitely not normal.

It was a spatial transportation, that much was certain, but several processes took place the second one stepped into its influence.

Damien felt it, the girls felt it, and anyone else who entered the crack likely felt it even more.

The feeling of being constricted and restrained.

Ethereal shackles gripped one’s soul and suppressed one’s legend.

It was said that one’s strength would be capped at 2nd class when they were in the Severed World, but that wasn’t the entire truth.

No, rather than being capped, it was better to say their strength was reverted!

Damien gritted his teeth in pain as his Legend left him.

World Force, Void Breathing, and any other skills he gained through the influence of his classes were locked behind countless walls of restriction.

Now, Damien was no more than a small Vector Controller, nearly the same state he was in when he entered Apeiron for the first time!