Blood Assimilation

Chapter 346: Solitary Colossal Starry Gate in the Void, Meeting the Grand Librarian

After witnessing many wondrous sights for an unknown duration, Randy concluded that his consciousness was not being transported to his home world. Instead, his consciousness was somehow being guided somewhere through countless stars, galaxies, and destroyed planets floating in the weightless space of the universe.

Additionally, he determined that he was headed toward a predetermined destination under the guidance of the force exerted on him. Although he had no idea where he was headed, he decided to enjoy the journey until he reached his destination.

During his previous passage through the void of space after passing through the dimensional rift, he didn't see any planets, let alone stars. Instead, he felt like he was passing through a sticky wall membrane to cross over to the world behind it.

However, through this unexpected journey, he was able to see things like stars and even galaxies in the distance. Although he was moving at an extremely fast speed, unlike the turtle-like speed of his first experience traveling through space, with his improved visual acuity, he could make out the objects he passed by for a brief moment before overtaking them.

After much deliberation, Randy attempted to call out to his system to confirm his destination, but he found himself unable to contact it. This momentary inability filled him with anxiety before he managed to settle his emotions down.

Turning to the Acruxia world system, he tried once more, only to realize he had completely lost touch with it, causing his bottled-up worry to resurface and intensify for another moment.

Pondering briefly, he recalled the words of his home world's system mentioned before his consciousness was yanked out of his body, choosing to put his faith in it. Calming down, he waited in anticipation of where his current journey would lead him. As Randy settled into this mindset, his consciousness felt a surge of strange memories and experiences entering his spiritual mind.

These memories and experiences belonged to his incarnations. After processing the memories and experiences from his three incarnations, Randy comprehended the root cause of the current situation.

With this discovery, Randy settled his emotions completely, now curious about what activating two compatible skills might entail, as this wasn't the first time a phenomenon occurred during his dual skill or ability activation.

A while back, when he activated his Blood Retain skill, he found himself transported inside the mysterious Blood Space located somewhere within his body. At that time too, he was in his spiritual form, leading him to wonder if the current phenomenon would play out similarly, just like how he discovered a correlation between the different colored balls of light and his bloodline inheritances.

Another instance of a spiritual journey occurred when he combined the two Synergy skills into one, witnessing the entire process in a dark space, which he assumed was within his imaginary mind space created by his subconscious self to visualize the fusion process.

While he made various connections and possible conclusions regarding his current experience, he passed through an invisible force field, causing him to become disoriented, his vision darkening once again.

Upon regaining his senses and opening his eyes, Randy saw a starry wall stretching endlessly in the void, expanding in all directions. He couldn't discern its height or length, but the wall shimmered with the glow of kaleidoscopic starlight. Before he could assess it further, the wall suddenly split apart, revealing an interior devoid of light and filled with pitch-black darkness.

While floating safely inside the protective membrane, Randy was propelled by the irresistible force into the opening of the wall. At this point, he deduced that the starry wall wasn't an actual wall but a giant gate. It was an otherworldly, colossal gate with no discernible length or width, causing one to lose their sense of distance due to its incomprehensible measurements.

Upon entering the opened colossal starry gate, it closed behind him. Moving onward in the darkness for an unknown duration, Randy discovered a singular light in the distance, seemingly approaching it, or rather, teleporting intermittently in its direction as he felt space distort every once in a while. The entire experience was mystifying, leaving him lost in wonder and anticipation.

Despite the lack of discernible surroundings, Randy still observed his location diligently, reaffirming that most of the area was enveloped in darkness save for the distant glowing speck of light he appeared to be heading toward.

Soon, Randy's protective membrane came to a halt before a mysterious golden door, standing solitary amid the void. Upon closer inspection, the golden door looked weathered, beaten, and broken, as if corroded by the ravages of time. Below the stationary golden door was a winding golden stairway that led to its doorstep.

As soon as he arrived at the first step of the golden stairway, Randy felt himself entering an imperceptible bubble, the membrane protecting him no longer visible around his spiritual body. With the loss of the protective membrane, Randy regained the sense of a living human being under the pressure of gravity.

He felt as though he had regained his body, although that was merely his imagination as he remained in his spiritual form.

Without delay, Randy ascended the stairs one by one, feeling the firmness of the stairs beneath his spiritual body's feet. After climbing for about an hour, by his estimation, Randy stood before the ravaged golden door.

With a sense of trepidation, Randy approached and cautiously attempted to push it open. Before stretching out his arm, he pondered the possibility of being incapable of touching the solid object due to his spiritual state. However, he disregarded the thought and took a deep breath before pushing it with all his strength.

Surprisingly, it yielded contrary to his belief that he wouldn't be able to touch the golden door in his spiritual form.

Inside the slightly open door, he saw what could only be described as chaos. Many objects were floating around in the background, yet mysteriously missing each other. This phenomenon caused him to hesitate before taking a step inside.

However, he didn't have a choice in the matter. Moments after he opened the door, he was sucked into it. Inside, he found himself standing on a platform, or more precisely, a lounge with a counter not far from him. The chaotic environment he witnessed from outside the golden door felt like an illusion.

The size of the lounge was incomprehensible, as the distance felt like an eternity. At the same time, it gave the illusion of being closer than it appeared from one's perspective. The counter, on the other hand, felt closer to Randy. With that discovery, he decided to head in the direction of the counter.

As Randy thought about walking to the counter, before he could move his legs, he appeared before the counter, startling him. However, there was no one behind the counter, prompting him to look around. He found multiple human-sized doors on the expansive walls of the lounge. He decided to walk around and pick a random door, snapping it open by pulling on its doorknob.

Randy stepped through the threshold and found himself in a vast circular chamber lined with towering shelves, each laden with countless scrolls, books, storage artifacts, and other recording items like jade stones and mystic pearls.

The air in the chamber hummed with a palpable energy, showcasing various mystical illusions, as if every piece of wisdom contained within the shelves yearned to be unearthed.

"Incredible…" Randy's eyes widened in awe as he took in his surroundings.

Among the partitioned shelves in the expansive chamber were texts that looked like titles. They were written in bold fonts in an unknown language but could still be interpreted by Randy. The discernible names below the shelves were [Ancient Civilizations Compendium], [Akashic Records of the Infinite Worlds], [Lost Histories], [Universal Secrets], [The Gnosis], and many others that were illegible.

At the center of the chamber stood the figure of a mysterious man cloaked in starry robes, his luminous eyes twinkling with ancient wisdom. Randy couldn't discern the appearance of the mysterious man as they wore a hood over their head, shrouding their face.

As soon as Randy noticed the mysterious man, the latter smiled in a friendly manner, showcasing his amiable demeanor. This made Randy, who had been apprehensive of the being before him, almost lower his guard. However, he maintained his vigilance because he could only see the man's teeth when he smiled. His actual appearance was shrouded with dark, smog of smoke, making it hard to discern.

"Welcome, young aspirant. You have arrived at the Universal Library, a repository of the universe's most profound secrets." The mysterious man with a voice resonating with eons of wisdom introduced himself.

After recovering from his shock at the mysterious man's words, Randy tentatively asked: "Who are you?"

Hearing Randy's query, the mysterious man smiled, not bothered by the question. Instead, he appeared surprised by Randy's capability to retain his calmness despite the shock he had just received.

"I am the Grand Librarian, guardian of the cosmic archives. My eternal duty is to safeguard the wisdom of the cosmos and bestow it upon those deemed worthy or chosen by the elusive fate." The mysterious man replied, bowing with one arm across his chest.

Randy was taken aback by the gesture. He scrutinized the mysterious man, discovering his youthful demeanor despite having visible gray hair. From his voice, Randy discovered that the self-proclaimed Grand Librarian sounded like a middle-aged man, but his barely discernible countenance couldn't hide the countless eons he had lived through.

Randy's tiny spiritual body stood before the towering Grand Librarian, who emanated an aura of ancient wisdom that seemed to span the entirety of existence, making him feel quite insignificant.

The towering Grand Librarian, cloaked in the essence of endless epochs, beckoned him forward.

"Step forward, young aspirant, and prepare to receive the wisdom of the cosmos." The Grand Librarian commanded, his presence billowing with the profound essence of antiquity.