"Has she lost it?..."

  Confused, Skylar glanced back at Raftelia, who was acting completely out of character.

  "So, Lady Cat, tell me about it," he asked, after realizing there might be a lot more to the chamber and the serpent’s thoughts than he had conjectured.

  "Do you know what black gold is?" Lady Cat meowed.

  "What is black gold?" he replied with a question of his own.

  Raftelia squeaked, "Black gold—a notorious substance in the cosmos. It has the appearance of a black reflective crystal. For some unknown reason, it is always found in large quantities alongside etherium deposits. And its characteristic properties—the source of its notoriety which is commonly known in all corners of the cosmos..."

  While answering in a robotic manner, her eyes looking lifeless, she paused.

  After she turned her head slightly to the side—specifically toward Skylar, who was diagonally in front of her—her eyes slowly regained life and clarity before she resumed.

  She squeaked, "Black gold has zero tolerance for all forms of energy. It does not conduct energy in the slightest. So how? How..."

  She paused again, her voice lowering gradually at the end. Suddenly, she began pulling and tugging at Skylar’s hand, which she had sneakily grabbed.

  Squeaking at a high pitch, she yelled, "How did you do that? Tell me, how? Tell me, how did you? How?.."

  She continued her frantic rant, which the driver, Mr. Rabbit, found especially scary, as deduced from the funny expression on his face and the swaying of the car.

  "Raftelia, calm down already," Lady Cat ordered with an air of authority. The atmosphere in the car suddenly turned tranquil and quiet.

  Subsequently, the little guy reappeared. His appearance was composed and his look was expressionless, as usual.

  "If black gold can't be manipulated with energy, can't someone just use force on it? Like a hammer, or even try cutting it with something sharp?" Skylar shrugged. He really couldn’t understand their fuss.

  "It’s not that easy," Lady Cat replied. "It is a perfect crystal. Even its melting point is comparable to that of solar diamond; in a sense, you can say it is practically impossible to handle mechanically. Don't forget, it is also incredibly bulky."

  "Yes," Raftelia agreed. "Its handling alone is a cosmic-level industry that consumes the most resources, energy, and time in the entire cosmos." But there is someone here who can dig a hole of about ten kilometers through it easily, with meager energy, she added solemnly in her mind, her eyes lingering on Skylar’s side profile.

  "Is it really totally impossible to handle it with energy?" Skylar inquired. He tried to understand the magnitude of his actions.

  "Absolutely impossible. Why do you think Raftelia almost went mad?" Lady Cat answered. Her words made Raftelia lower her head. Lady Cat turned to look him in the face and asked, "Where are you from, exactly? All of this is common knowledge."

  Why is she asking now? There is no way she would understand even if I told her, Skylar thought. He briefly looked back at Raftelia before turning away with an obvious expression of relief.

  "Has there ever been a creature that has been able to manipulate it?" Skylar asked. He deflected Lady Cat’s question with his own, ignoring the questioning look in her eyes.

  He clearly doesn't want to answer... His origin might be related to those species of the past the old fogies talked about, Lady Cat concluded internally.

  "There is this being in myth; a primordial being they call the Allfather," she narrated. "They say the mortal vessel he shed when he transcended mortality became all the black gold found in the cosmos today. From the principles of divinity, the sages concluded he might have been the only one capable of doing that in all of history. They concluded there is no way someone as powerful as him wouldn't be able to manipulate his body to some extent."

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Is he related to the Allfather? Lady Cat thought. She readjusted her position on his lap before her skeptical eyes locked with his.

  Skylar ignored her gaze. The Allfather guy must be insanely big for his body to become a material commonly known in this world, he thought. Maybe this is related to the simulation lore and historical program?

  "I have heard the story before," Raftelia chimed in, staring blankly into space with an expression of recollection. "It’s the creation story of how the Allfather—the first sentient being—created other creatures like him after he created the heavens and the nine continents he laid over the endless ocean..."

  Skylar stopped looking back at her and faced forward. So it really is part of the simulation lore. But am I the only one who can do it, or can others do the same? Well, I will find out when I reach a safe zone, he concluded.

  Meanwhile, Lady Cat, who had returned to a sleeping position on his lap, raised her head, yawned, and brushed one of her fluffy ears with her paw.

  A creature that can easily manipulate black gold... the cast-away flesh of a mythical almighty being... an unusual thought pattern... a strange spirit... that burning will... She sighed deeply before returning to sleep.

  About seven hours later;

  Lady Cat opened her eyes, which were a bit misty from being closed for so long.

  "Are we close to the bridge? I sense a large space ahead," she meowed.

  Instead of a reply, Skylar instructed their driver, "Mr. Rabbit, slow down." The car began to decelerate. "Yes, that will do," he acknowledged.

  No one is worried about the serpent, Lady Cat thought. She spied on everyone’s expression with one eye and sighed.

  Not long after, the walls of the tunnel—which had been continuously collapsing ahead to give way for their car—opened into a larger space. The tunnel connected to a vast cavern which was illuminated brightly by a white light.

  As the car approached the opening, the floor of the tunnel leveled into a modest slope that connected to the floor of the large space below.

  We are finally here, Skylar thought. He watched with a bright smile as the car descended the slope.

  This space alone is as large as my town... I wonder how big this lair really is. Maybe it's as big as the Pacific, or bigger, he thought. He looked keenly at the brightly lit area, which seemed to have no boundary at the sides; it simply continued into the distance.

  "What is that group of things shining brightly over there?" he asked. He looked up at a group of gigantic, luminous crystals shaped like stalactites—the source of the illumination. They were artistically arranged to form several units, each hanging from the marble ceiling kilometers above.

  Raftelia squeaked, "It’s a chandelier. There should be millions of them here alone. The crystals they used are white chromium dystol. Very expensive." As she finished, she became a bit wistful.

  I get it now... same concept, same name, Skylar concluded.

  Lady Cat shifted on his lap and meowed, "The floor is made from gold enchanted with rank-seven glyphs. The fellows who owned this place in the past must have been insanely rich."

  Skylar looked through the windshield at the glittering, designed floor. So, gold is also an expensive commodity in this simulation, he concluded. I thought there was going to be a twist, given how unconventional everything has been... and if I had to guess, the lore of how this place was built involves leaders getting funds from their followers...

  Less than an hour later;

  Their car approached a colossal white wall blocking their path in the distance.

  "So that's the bridge!" Skylar blurted out. Through the screen, he could see glyphs inscribed on the imposing wall, which stood several kilometers high and stretched out of sight on both sides.

  "Yes, that's the bridge," Lady Cat meowed, her eyes closed. "Its length is about four-fifths the size of this underground space, and attached to its sides is some kind of lever."

  "So above this wall is the surface of the bridge people use when it rises above the clouds... and that lever might be the mechanism that lifts it?" Skylar concluded.

  Before Lady Cat could reply, Raftelia squeaked with her head lowered, "Sky, what if the serpent is waiting ahead?"

  "We are not taking the surface," Skylar replied, glancing back at her. "We are tunneling through the bridge. We won't be easily caught, even if she has a million earth-digging snakes. As long as she herself doesn't come after us while we are moving through the earth, there is nothing to worry about."

  He looked briefly at Mr. Rabbit, who gave a firm nod.

  I wonder what that bitch will do about the hole I left on that black gold floor... if only that could stun her long enough to buy us some time, he chuckled, his expression a little melancholic.

  What will that serpent's reaction be when she sees the hole in the chamber she trusted? Lady Cat thought. If we can escape her, that is one rival gone. And the last one—the annoying vanishing beast—shouldn't strike anytime soon. Her pupils briefly reflected the image of the little guy sitting quietly beside Raftelia.

  A few minutes later;

  The car stopped a few meters from the white wall. Skylar stepped out and approached it, admiring the colorful glyphs.

  He placed his palms on the wall, and they began glowing with a green spiritual light. After a couple of minutes, a round hole large enough for their car appeared, blending seamlessly with the floor.

  Skylar returned to the car and instructed Mr. Rabbit. The car gained speed and disappeared into the wall. Just as they had done before, they continued their journey, a new tunnel forming through the heart of the white stone bridge.