[Vol. 7] Chapter 195: The Heart of Creation
After passing through the [Dragon Gate], the snowy and icy world behind her disappeared in an instant, as if it had been cut off completely. In front of Violet now was a blank, white world of nothingness.
The girl slowly opened her palm, deep in thought. For some reason, the diamond-shaped crystal known as the [Heart of the Red Dragon] appeared again, even though it had already been set into the [Dragon Gate] and turned into a large dragon-shaped carving. The crystal floated into the air, glowing with a bright red light.
That light seemed to drive away the silence of this empty world. As the light shone brighter, the whole world began to change.
The white nothingness split into two parts. The lighter part rose up first, turning into a clear, blue sky. The heavier part slowly sank down and became solid ground. The once-white world was now like a giant painting being slowly unrolled, and the idea of distance began to exist.
Time and space started to move. Their paths created something called meaning.
The red crystal looked like the core of this new world. As its light grew stronger, more changes followed.
Colorful lights and glowing clouds rose up from the crystal’s light and filled the sky, turning into stars. On the ground, beautiful plants burst out of their shells and began to grow. In just moments, they became huge trees. Elements and tiny particles appeared like playful spirits, spreading and dancing in every corner of the world. Then…
Living beings appeared.
She saw giant dragons flying through the sky, green whales leaping and singing from beneath the sea, birds soaring above, and beasts roaming across the land.
But it wasn’t over, it shouldn’t end here.
Violet suddenly felt that very strongly in her heart. And yet, at that exact moment, everything stopped. The scene of creation reversed itself, as if being played backwards. Everything faded like a dream and returned to the beginning again.
When Violet looked closely again, she saw that the empty, white world was still there. The only thing floating in the middle of it all was a giant, strangely shaped Source Crystal. The [Heart of the Red Dragon] that had been in her hand was now completely gone.
This Source Crystal was completely different from any other ones she had seen before, yet Violet could still tell it was a Source Crystal at its core. It was truly unusual.
The Source Crystals in the [Morst Underground Labyrinth] were all white. No matter their quality, purity, or size, their main color had never changed. But the one in front of her now was glowing gold from top to bottom. Pure, flawless, and beautiful, like the rising sun.
Its size was shocking, several kilometers across. It looked like a large meteor, floating in the air.
Countless threads of magical energy came from all directions and connected to the surface of this enormous Source Crystal. One even larger than ten dragons put together. Shimmering with colorful light, the crystal pulsed gently, as if it were a beating heart.
No... not “as if.”
Violet quickly realized something important.
This Source Crystal, as big as a meteor and seemingly shapeless at first glance... was a heart.
A golden [Heart].
And then something even more strange happened, at the same time this [Heart] appeared, a calm and powerful woman’s voice echoed through the sky, like a divine whisper, resonating across the world.
[Did you just see something?]
“...?”
The priest girl looked up at the floating [Heart] and answered the question with a question.
“Are you the one talking to me?”
The golden [Heart] glowed a few times, as if replying to her. Then the calm and godlike voice spoke again.
[In this space, there is no third soul besides you and me.]
“Uh… so does that mean different creatures see different things when they come here?”
[Please don’t answer my question with another question.]
Whoa… She seems like someone who’s not very good at having a conversation...
After thinking for a moment, the priestess decided it was best to be honest first and see if that would help her get any useful information.
She gave a simple explanation of the strange vision she had seen earlier, which was probably just an illusion, and then continued:
“My name is Violet. I’m a priestess who travels around the world. I came to the [Morst Underground Labyrinth] because a friend of mine kept hearing cries for help coming from deep inside it. So I thought I’d come explore and see what’s going on. I kept going deeper and deeper, and after I passed through the [Dragon Gate] on the 39th floor, I somehow ended up here.”
“So, are you the one who was calling for help? Can you tell me who you are and what this place is? As you can see, I actually get along pretty well with dragons, so I’m probably not your enemy.”
For some reason, the calm and mysterious woman’s voice stayed quiet for a long time. Maybe she was thinking about something Violet had said… or maybe she was checking something in secret. But in the end, she gave the reply Violet had been hoping for.
[I am the [Heart of Creation], the center and guardian of this trial ground. In your words, you could call this the 50th floor of the labyrinth, the final floor, which has been sealed away.]
“Heart of Creation?”
Violet was a little surprised by the grand-sounding name, it definitely felt important, but she quickly regained her calm and asked again in a careful tone.
“I guess this probably isn’t part of the normal path through the labyrinth... So, did you open a back door because you were in trouble? Or was it because of the [Heart of the Red Dragon]?”
Even though this was their first meeting, the being who called herself the [Heart of Creation] answered all of Violet’s questions one by one, in a calm and steady voice.
[I have not sent a distress signal to any individual. The rules of the trial field cannot be changed so easily. That wide-area signal, meant to warn of outside dangers, should only be detectable by the administrator race or those deeply related by blood, but...]
The mysterious, echoing female voice paused for a moment. Violet understood what she meant.
It was obvious that when the voice said “administrator race,” she was talking about the dragons. But Violet was clearly not a dragon, nor someone related to them by blood. She had arrived here by a more special method.
She turned to look at the fiery red crystal floating nearby, which had reappeared for some reason, as if responding to her thoughts.
“This [Heart of the Red Dragon] came from a powerful flame dragon that died in battle in the outside world. It’s like a core, formed after its magic core changed. I just happened to get it by chance. Could there be something more hidden inside it?”
[……]
The one calling herself the [Heart of Creation] stayed quiet for a moment, as if deep in thought.
[According to the rules of this trial ground, anyone who is not a manager, even if they manage to break through all 50 floors, can only receive the highest-level reward. They’re not allowed to enter the core space.]
[To be honest, I don’t know why you came straight here through the Gate of the 39th Floor. This flame dragon core may have helped unlock the [Dragon Gate], but under the rules, it should have only let you skip a trial and jump to the final level to get a reward.]
“You’re the manager, aren’t you? You don’t know why?”
The [Heart of Creation] didn’t confirm or deny it directly.
[I am a manager, yes. But only a manager. I did not create this trial ground, so of course, there are some hidden rules that I may not understand. That’s not unusual.]
The black-haired girl looked at the "Heart Core Lady" who was surprisingly easy to talk to, and couldn’t help but ask curiously.
“So... who made this whole trial ground then? The dragons?”
"That is a restricted matter. I cannot reveal it."
“Ehh… come on…”