A laboratory lay cloaked in silence.
On the blood-slick dissection table, Ling’s mutilated body had been thoroughly taken apart by Seraphine.
Among the scattered organs, it was the stomach that drew her deepest interest—and it had already been carefully removed.
With surgical precision, she dissected and peeled away all irrelevant tissues.
Until, at last, she extracted the core of the 【Gluttonous Space】—
A radiant, translucent, polyhedral crystal.
Without hesitation, Seraphine used her telekinetic force to activate every piece of diagnostic equipment in the lab.
She began an exhaustive round of testing on the crystal.
“Atomic intensity spectrophotometer online.”
“High-energy ultrasound field generated.”
“Fluorescent particle trajectory recording initiated.”
“Ion chromatograph, gas chromatograph—activated.”
“High-energy thermoelectric beam initiated.”
“Electromagnetic field meter, XY radiation detector, conductivity meter—engaged.”
For a moment, the vast lab echoed with the constant low hum of activated machinery.
Simultaneously, Seraphine extended her Psychokinesis—gracefully enveloping the floating, polyhedral crystal in a shimmering field of force.
Moments passed…
And the detailed results were delivered directly into her hands.
Through the testing, Seraphine determined that the crystal was a stellar isometric structure, formed from ultra-pure carbon layers.
Structurally, it resembled a natural diamond.
But more intriguingly—
Upon further analysis, she discovered that this pigeon egg–sized crystal housed a folded space… with a volume of 5000 cubic meters.
Cling cling ~
She gently tapped the hovering crystal, watching it gleam under the lab lights.
Seraphine tilted her head, smiling playfully.
“I assumed it would be something like a Dimensional Pocket,” she mused aloud. “But it turns out to be nothing of the sort.”
The Box of Hephaestus, commonly referred to as the Dimensional Pocket.
In her view—
Its more precise designation should be 【Mental Energy Simulation Space】.
Through long-term, rigorous study, Seraphine had uncovered the deeper reality behind the phenomenon:
Dimensional Pocket is not grounded in classical physics.
Instead, it existed within an ethereal, quasi-idealistic domain.
In essence, it was illusory space-time constructs, generated and sustained by focused mental power.
At it core, it used Ether and spatial distortions to anchor a seemingly tangible space within the soul itself.
A simulated realm, existing on the boundary between thought and matter, capable of holding both energy and physical objects.
But truthfully…
That space had no real physical substance.
It wasn’t something that truly existed in the material world.
Or perhaps—Seraphine simply had yet to discover the proof of its existence.
But that was a digression.
The Gluttonous Space, however, was something else entirely.
Though it could also store matter and energy—
Its very nature was fundamentally different.
It was a space that, according to known physics, could only exist in theory—
An Imaginary Space.
Seraphine stood with her hands clasped, her mind racing at impossible speed.
“First, let’s define a Cartesian coordinate system for space.”
A divine aura shimmered to life around her, flowing outward in radiant waves.
Like the stroke of a cosmic paintbrush, it traced glowing mathematical structures in the air—
Formulas, parameters, Cartesian axes, and layered geometric shapes unfolded before her like blooming flowers of logic.
“Three-dimensional space in the real world can be described using three sets of real numbers.”
As her thoughts shifted, the structures floating before her transformed.
Two-dimensional graphs stacked atop each other suddenly expanded, inflating into intricate networks of complex three-dimensional solids.
For a moment, the data stream surged, growing exponentially more complex, more layered, more profound.
“By definition, imaginary numbers can be represented as points on a number line.”
The shimmering 3D coordinate grid before Seraphine pulsed with light.
Dotted along the number line, new points began to glow—symbols of imaginary numbers coming to life.
“Unlike real numbers, imaginary numbers don’t follow magnitude-based comparisons.”
“But that doesn’t hinder the construction of imaginary space.”
As she spoke, the luminous points were saturated with data and formulas, swelling with potential.
“The mathematical bridge between real space and imaginary space… is the Fourier Transform.”
“Which is why we can also refer to imaginary space as Fourier Space.”
Still murmuring, Seraphine raised a single, slender finger and slowly pointed toward one glowing imaginary-number coordinate in the grid.
“If we treat real space as a reference frame for constructing imaginary space…”
“Then one point in real space should correspond to an infinitely large three-dimensional volume in imaginary space.”
“Conversely, an infinite three-dimensional space in the real world would reduce to a single point in imaginary space.”
Boom ~~
It was like the Big Bang had been recreated.
The imaginary-number point flared—then detonated, expanding in every direction like the origin of a new universe.
The space around Seraphine twisted and unraveled.
In an instant, she stood within a boundless, silent void.
This was her simulated model of imaginary space.
“Hmph. I’ve found a way to construct imaginary space.”
Her eyes glinted with radiant, divine clarity.
And in the blink of an eye—
The void fractured like glass and vanished.
Seraphine stood once again in the lab.
“Furthermore… if we accept that all things in the universe are composed of fundamental particles—
Then the universe cannot be described by mathematics alone.”
With that realization, Seraphine’s pupils sparkled.
A sudden clarity bloomed in her mind—a state akin to revelation.
The Eye of True Revelation stirred once more.
Endless inspiration surged forth like a tidal wave, detonating in her mind.
“On the smallest scale—at atomic and even subatomic levels—the number and types of particles in the universe are finite.”
“And the existence of irrational numbers… means that infinite, non-repeating decimal values can’t directly map to physical reality.”
Her gaze sharpened. Thoughts turned inward. Logic condensed.
A whisper escaped her lips:
“But the rise of quantum mechanics seems to bridge that divide.”
“The uncertainty of the quantum world—with its infinite-seeming nuance—can be tied to irrational numbers.”
“And from there, we arrive at a conclusion.”
“Imaginary space corresponds to the imaginary numbers of mathematics.”
“Thus: Real-number solutions represent real space in the cosmos.”
“Imaginary-number solutions define imaginary space.”
It felt like her thoughts had broken through a colossal, ancient barrier.
Touching upon a sliver of ultimate truth—one long buried beneath the vastness of the cosmos—
Seraphine’s gaze deepened.
Where once she saw emptiness, now streaks and filaments emerged, flowing like celestial tides…
Waves, fields, networks, vibrations—
She slowly looked around.
The world she had once perceived now felt completely unfamiliar.
And unspeakably magnificent.
“I see… so this is how it is.”
She gently raised her index finger and pointed into the air.
In response, a large swath of atmosphere before her began to rotate on its own.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh ~
A vortex took shape at the center of the lab.
Invisible moisture in the air condensed rapidly into a dense, swirling mass.
Crack crack crack ~
With a focused burst of telekinetic force, Seraphine compressed the moisture further—
And in moments, it solidified into a crystalline block of ice.
What emerged was a translucent crystal, roughly the size of a fist.
Visually, it was nearly identical to the core essence of 【Gluttonous Space】—that brilliant diamond-like structure.
Using only ambient water vapor from the surrounding air, Seraphine had condensed gas into water, water into ice…
And through that pure medium, constructed a complex internal material lattice capable of hosting the real-world manifestation of an imaginary space entity.
Inside the translucent crystal, nestled deep within, was a cluster of imaginary space, no larger than half a cubic meter in volume.
In a matter of minutes, Seraphine had unraveled the core principle of constructing imaginary space,
a technology that, in the《Dragonblood》, required the combined efforts of humanity’s most elite scientists to understand even partially.
“Now that I’ve conquered this tech,” she said calmly, “It won’t be long before Selene is upgraded to version 2.0.”
A gleam danced in her eyes.
“The limits of physical capacity… are meaningless now. I can go all-in and overhaul her without restriction.”
“It’s thrilling, truly—”
The sheer majesty of the universe and the elegance of spacetime made her mind feel drunk on beauty.
Within her consciousness, the surging Ocean of Knowledge surged ever higher, absorbing vast troves of precious data gleaned from her spatial research.
And somewhere within that—
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The 【Space】 fish, ever darting and swirling, became visibly more vibrant and full of life.
Yet her discoveries extended beyond imaginary space alone.
Something even more miraculous had revealed itself.
In the cosmos—
“If I can calculate the precise real solution for a given spatial region… then I should be able to…”
Suddenly, an eruption of raw information burst through Seraphine’s mind.
Through the deep link between her clone and her main body—
She simultaneously computed the real solution for both:
-
The cosmic location of her main body, and
-
The spatial coordinates of the lab housing her clone.
Then—
Buzz ~
Space inside the lab warped violently.
Without a sound, Seraphine’s clone vanished on the spot.
And in the very same instant—
She reappeared directly before her main body.
...
Seraphine’s true form slowly opened her eyes, meeting the gaze of her clone.
She smiled softly.
“So that’s it… This, too, is a form of spatial jump.”
Then, without breaking her calm, Seraphine extended her palm downward—reaching toward Earth.
At that moment, inside the Sapphire Research Institute in Cloud City—
An alarm blared across a laboratory.
“Beep… Alert! Subject riot detected in Laboratory 16!”
“Beep… Alert! Subject riot detected in Laboratory 16!”
“Beep… Alert! Subject riot detected in Laboratory 16!”
Tap tap tap tap!
Dozens of heavily armed guards stormed into the corridor, boots thundering against the floor.
Bursting into Lab 16, they chambered rounds and raised their rifles—
Aiming at the massive, grotesque biochemical monster thrashing within.
With a deafening roar, they opened fire.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
But the mutated monstrosity—warped by layer upon layer of human experimentation—shrugged off the bullets like raindrops.
Rounds that could rip apart human limbs only fueled its pain.
And its fury.
“ROAR!!!”
The creature's head jerked back, hundreds of dim, scattered eyes glaring with pure hatred.
It lunged, slavering jaws wide open, ready to slaughter the squad.
But just then—
Buzz ~
Space inside Lab 16 shuddered.
The creature’s body locked up mid-charge.
Thud.
It crashed to the ground.
Blood trickled steadily from its ears, eyes, nostrils, and gaping mouth.
It lay there, convulsing once… then fell still.
Dead on the spot.
The guards froze in place—speechless.
They looked at one another, utterly confused.
“Did… that thing just drop dead?”
“What happened?”
“Is… the emergency over?”
In the universe.
Seraphine admired the swirling mass of abnormal gray-white brain matter hovering above her palm, a soft smile curving her lips.
“Once I compute the real solution of a spatial region,” she mused, “Not only can I jump to that location, I can also reach into it... and retrieve objects from afar.”
Whoosh ~
With a casual flick of her wrist, she disintegrated the floating brain into fine particulate dust.
Then, Seraphine fell once more into deep contemplation.
“The nature of space… is truly wondrous.”
But—
A slight frown touched her brow.
“What exactly is the fundamental operating mechanism behind spatial jumping?”
Indeed.
While information transmission doesn’t always require a physical medium, there must still exist a shortcut that allows that information to leap vast distances, from one point in space to another… in an instant.
Her clone, and even the brain of that biochemical monstrosity, had been transmitted through some kind of unknown pathway.
But what was it?
“Where exactly is that shortcut located?”
Seraphine activated her Eye of True Revelation, which flared violently.
Within her mind, flashes of insight and logic sparked like lightning in a dark storm.
Data spiraled through her divine gaze, forming—then dissolving—streams of cascading knowledge.
Vague truths, once hidden, began to crystallize.
This was the awakening of a new ability:
【Chaos Calculation】.
A secondary evolutionary branch birthed from the Eye of True Revelation itself.
Though technically a branch, its effectiveness rivaled the Eye of True Revelation—
And in certain domains, even surpassed it.
Effect of Chaos Calculation:
Through a method akin to quantum computing, It applies holistic, parallelized logic to extract answers directly.
It bypasses classical step-by-step deduction.
Even under conditions of severely limited or nonexistent known data, it can infer the correct Answer to a complex Problem in extraordinarily short time.
This ability does not allow Seraphine to witness the entire computational pathway, the journey from problem to solution remains concealed.
Yet it pierces the fog of uncertainty, cutting through knowledge’s illusions and pointing straight to fundamental truth.
-
Chaos Calculation captures the 【Answer】.
-
Eye of True Revelation deduces the 【Process】.
Together—
They form a twin system of near-omniscience.
Even the emergence of the 【Martial Saint】 realm model had followed this pattern:
First, Chaos Calculation captured the answer itself—
Suspending it like a glowing truth above her Ocean of Knowledge.
Then, over time, Seraphine collected the relevant information, and used the Eye of True Revelation to deduce the entire logical framework behind that answer.
Once the structure was complete, The Martial Saint cultivation method emerged naturally—fully formed.
Yet at this moment—
As Chaos Calculation continued its silent operation, a strange thought surfaced.
“In the original work… Even after enduring three Ether tides on Earth, the Eye of True Revelation never evolved into any branch ability.”
“Its depth and breadth improved—but it remained a singular form.”
She paused, brow furrowed in thought.
“So then… why did I awaken Chaos Calculation?”
No answer came.
Her contemplation circled, yielded nothing.
She set the question aside—for now.
And returned to her deductions on the essence of space jumping.
Until finally—
The answer flashed clearly into her consciousness.
“High-dimensional space,” she whispered, eyes gleaming. “That’s it—it’s high-dimensional space!”
Rapidly, she recalled the dense mass of high-dimensional knowledge buried in her memory.
Leaving aside the time axis—
Pure spatial dimensions could be understood as a kind of multi-dimensional quantized field.
This field encompasses micro-, macro-, and cosmic-level quantization.
From fundamental particles—Fermions, Leptons, Bosons, Higgs bosons, and beyond—
All, according to string theory, are manifestations of vibrating one-dimensional strings.
These strings—depending on their mode of vibration, appear to us as different fundamental particles.
A string may have two endpoints—known as an open string.
Or it may loop into itself, forming a closed string.
And among various string theory hypotheses—
One posits that gravitons, the hypothetical force carriers of gravity, are closed-loop strings.
Only as closed strings can they propagate freely through high-dimensional membrane spaces.
Thereby generating the gravitational force that connects all things in the vast universe.
Of course—
These were still just theories.
Seraphine had yet to uncover any definitive physical evidence to support them.
But buried deep in her memory was a particular branch of superstring theory— M-theory, which suggested something even more radical.
To fully describe the universe, using just X, Y, Z (three spatial dimensions) and T (one time dimension) was hopelessly inadequate.
According to a series of deeply complex equations, a total of at least eleven parameters (dimensions) must be introduced to even begin approximating an explanation for the universe’s many mysteries and structural anomalies—
Things like black holes, white holes, wormholes, gravity anomalies, and spacetime tunnels.
M-theory proposed that the universe is composed of at least eleven dimensions, and possibly even more.
Furthermore—
Each of these dimensions isn’t made of simple linear axes, but rather vibrating branes—higher-dimensional surfaces.
Among these dimensions:
-
Four can be directly perceived and interacted with by humans.
-
The others lie far beyond human perception, akin to ultrasonic waves or infrared radiation:
real, but floating beyond the narrow bandwidth of the senses.
But just because humans cannot feel them—
Doesn’t mean they do not exist.
At the same time, Seraphine had identified a profound spatial-temporal discontinuity between the flat, familiar spacetime that humans occupy and the macro-quantized space beyond.
And hidden within this chaotic relationship—
Was very likely the origin of her spatial jump ability.
“In that case,” she murmured, “What I’m doing shouldn’t be called space jumping at all, It should be called high-dimensional transmission.”
She sat upright amid the boundless universe.
Stars glittered like static scattered across a black canvas.
Her eyes traced the far-off reaches of reality.
“If I were to visualize the entire transmission process…”
“It would be like placing two dots on the surface of an immense, solid sphere. The sphere represents the real universe, interconnected by unseen dimensions. Its surface—what we call three-dimensional space and its interior—the imperceptible higher-dimensional core, what we call extra dimensions.”
“In normal three-dimensional logic, the shortest path between two points is a straight line along the surface.”
“But when I calculate the real solution and execute a jump, I bypass the surface— Instead, I enter a spacetime configuration similar to an Einstein-Rosen Bridge, but one far stranger.”
“Like a termite burrowing directly into the sphere—slipping through hidden inner folds of the cosmos
via what could only be called... ascending dimensions.”
She paused.
Frowning, deep in thought.
Then shook her head.
“No… that’s not quite right.”
“I don’t think I’m ascending dimensions.”
“That section of spacetime isn’t true high-dimensional space. It’s more like a narrow channel piercing through high and low dimensions— Or perhaps… a region completely detached from standard definitions of space, time, or dimensionality altogether.”
“A superdimensional corridor— One that can’t be grasped by material senses, or even by spiritual or mental perception.”
“Inside that mysterious path, all three-dimensional distances are collapsed—maybe even eliminated entirely.”
“And according to both the Eye of True Revelation’s simulation and the answer retrieved by Chaos Calculation…”
“The time axis within that corridor has also disintegrated— perhaps even ceased to exist.”
That was why Seraphine could never truly see the transition.
Why she couldn’t recall the journey itself.
“Because in that corridor… time no longer means anything.”
“And so I fall, like a stone slipping through cracks in fabric— from lower dimensions to higher, reappearing somewhere else entirely.”
“In effect, I complete a near-instantaneous repositioning.”
She let that final thought linger in the void—
Then whispered to herself, thoughtful and resolute:
“That segment of collapsed spacetime… That tunnel which ignores distance and abolishes time…”
“Let’s give it a name.”
【Real Number Channel】.
Thinking this far, a subtle shift occurred in her mind.
Buzz ~
Tens of thousands of miles away, a sudden eruption of searing, solar-like divine aura ignited out of nowhere.
It rippled, then detonated with a thunderous boom.
In that instant— everything within its radius was reduced to ash.
Gas, dust, even floating cosmic debris— All of it was annihilated, atomized on the spot by the sheer force of divine heat.
“In the same way,” Seraphine murmured, “As long as my mental or spiritual power can reach a given location— And the real solution of that spatial region is fully resolved by the Eye of True Revelation working in tandem with Chaos Calculation…”
Her voice echoed with conviction:
“Then no matter if it’s matter, information, or energy— I can instantaneously send it to the other side
through the 【Real Number Channel】.”
She lifted her chin, smiling in triumph.
“From now on, my interaction with this universe will no longer be bound by distance.”
“Whether it’s tens of thousands of light-years, or hundreds of millions— Even across boundaries far beyond the observable universe…”
“As long as I possess the real solution to that spatial region— I can reach it instantly!”
With a sweep of her sleeve—
“The path is open. But what about the fuel required to sustain such superdimensional transmission?
And what is high-dimensional space, exactly?”
And so began a new phase of experimentation.
Floating at the center of the cosmos, Seraphine launched a barrage of high-precision, long-range attacks.
Every few seconds—
White-hot clusters of divine aura flared into existence across distant corners of space,
detonating like scattered novas in all directions.
But after a time—
She stopped.
Despite conducting hundreds—even thousands—of teleportation tests, she felt nothing out of the ordinary.
There was no sensation of high-dimensional transition.
Not even the faintest ripple.
Each and every burst of divine aura reached its target at the exact same instant it was released.
No lag. No delay. Not even a perceptible interval.
“So… the Real Number Channel really does ignore time,” she thought. “The Chaos Calculation was correct— the time dimension within that pathway is in a collapsed state.”
She exhaled slowly.
“Well, I am still a three-dimensional being. It’s not surprising that I can’t feel the passage through higher dimensions.”
But just as she was about to end the inquiry—
Buzz —
Deep within the endless Ocean of Knowledge in her mind—
The long-silent 【Space】 fish, suddenly surged upward, its body glowing with insight.
It had finally absorbed enough related knowledge.
With a jubilant flick of its tail, it shot toward the heavens— penetrating straight into the suspended model of the 【Martial Saint】 system.
And from that moment—
The once-fragile crescent of the 【Martial Saint】 construct, which had only been a faint scaffolding of theory, now began to solidify— more than half of it becoming clear, materialized, and structured.
Only one remained.
The 【Mind】 fish.
Still young. Still vague. Still adrift.
Once Mind matured, Seraphine would finally possess the full blueprint of the Martial Saint cultivation system.
Cross-legged in the void, Seraphine allowed herself a subtle smile.
“Excellent. 【Ether】, 【Acupuncture Points】, 【Space】— All have been condensed and realized.”
“Only the final one remains—【Mind】. And then… I can finally forge the complete Martial Saint realm.”
She glanced upward, eyes shimmering with holy light.
The Martial Saint model hung above her consciousness, a half-formed divine crescent.
She took a deep breath—exhaling soft motes of iridescent light.
“But... Mind might be the trickiest. More obscure. More elusive.”
Her pupils glinted as her thoughts shifted again.
She turned to the next subject of study:
The energy cost of using the Real Number Channel.
Curiously, during all of her previous space-jumping experiments—
Seraphine felt no internal energy loss.
None at all.
It had been utterly effortless— as natural and casual as breathing.
Yet something else was happening.
Each time she executed a spatial superposition…
The 【Infinite Attributes】 deep within her soul would undergo an extremely large energy transmission.
The scale of the energy being consumed—
Was astronomical.
So vast, so boundless, that even Seraphine, at her current level of overwhelming power, found herself momentarily startled.
If she were forced to describe it—
The energy cost of just one Real Number Channel transmission could likely exceed the total sum of all energy humanity had ever burned since the dawn of civilization.
“So the transmission’s ‘fuel’…” she murmured with a soft smile, “is entirely covered by the system.
Completely outside of my concern.”
She allowed herself a rare expression of satisfaction.
“That’s… actually quite reassuring.”
Up until now, the most visible function of the system had been its daily attribute doubling.
But now—
She was beginning to understand its true nature.
A far more hidden function had always existed alongside it:
An unlimited energy supply.
Something Seraphine had, until now, overlooked.
Yet upon closer inspection—
That feature might be even more critical than the attribute growth itself.
Because at her current level of physical and soul refinement—
Even if her power were reduced ten-thousandfold, the external world still wouldn’t have enough Ether to sustain her.
Power this immense—
Demands fuel of equal magnitude.
And the system’s absolute energy support?
That was the real foundation of her strength.
“Looks like I haven’t even begun to uncover the true capabilities of this system.”
“In terms of energy,” she mused, eyes glowing faintly, “I might not need to rely on anything from the outside world at all. 【Infinite Attributes】 feels more like a sealed domain... a self-contained universe.”
Of course—
There were exceptions.
Ether itself—this otherworldly, metaphysical phenomenon—
Was not energy in the traditional sense. And that, the system still couldn’t replicate.
“Otherwise, after the Martial Saint method is complete, I could leap straight into a breakthrough… no need to wait for the second Ether Great Tide to descend.”
Her thoughts drifted back to the system.
Far below her, the curve of Earth’s surface shimmered with radiant arcs of dawn.
“It’s time again.”
The system activated.
【Host: Seraphine】
【Physical Strength: 2.4 trillion】
【Soul: 2.4 trillion】
She glanced over the panel—satisfied.
But then paused.
Another thought surfaced.
“Is it truly so simple… to exceed the speed of light?”
By now, Seraphine had amassed vast knowledge through study, theory, and direct experimentation.
And according to that knowledge—
There were, in fact, multiple phenomena in the universe that could exceed the speed of light.
-
Vibrational coherence speeds
-
Group wave velocities
-
Quantum tunneling
-
Quantum entanglement between particles
-
Even photon motion in a Casimir vacuum— under certain conditions—could slightly exceed c, the speed of light in vacuum.
But there was a problem:
Though these phenomena could surpass light-speed, none of them could transmit effective information.
In other words—
The universe did not permit any medium to carry meaningful data or intentional matter transfer
faster than light.
“Why?”
Because that would violate the one principle the cosmos fiercely guards—
The Chronology Protection Conjecture.
What does it protect?
The integrity of causality.
The sacred thread between cause and effect.
In truth—
Even causality has a speed.
From cause to effect, the speed at which outcomes unfold—
Is the speed of light.
A ray of light is not just illumination—
It’s the messenger of destiny.
And if physical matter or actionable data were allowed to freely travel faster than that—
The very fabric of cause and effect would unravel.
The universe—
Would collapse into paradox.
“If the causal chain breaks,” Seraphine whispered, “the universe will inevitably evolve some counterbalancing mechanism.”
So the Real Number Channel—
Which very clearly can transmit effective information and physical substance at superluminal speeds—
Must pose a threat to that balance.
“Then... is there some kind of universal countermeasure designed to suppress or restrict Real Number Channel use?”
“If it exists... what form would it take?”
Just then—
A tremor rippled through the mother seal buried deep in her soul.
A mental ping.
An emergency alert.
A strand of consciousness rose unbidden— as a message from the mark’s tether emerged in her mind:
“Master, save me!!!”
Seraphine's eyes flared, and she said in surprise: "Abram has been captured."
With a thought, she separated an extremely tiny strand of spiritual power.
This spiritual power, carrying Seraphine's will, followed the invisible chain between master and slave mark, instantly traversing the vast distance and heading straight towards the Beaconreach Free Federation.