Chapter 44: This is what a space belt looks like

Chapter 44: This is what a space belt looks like He chose a minibus, and they all boarded. Stone threw the keys for Ethan to drive, but he passed them to Julian and entered the bus before Julian could react. He sat beside Eva, under Stone’s stunned gaze. ’When did his nephew start getting close to others?’ The child had always been asocial and cold-faced—if not for Julian, he wouldn’t have friends. Stone’s eyes widened when Ethan took Eva’s hands. He almost thought he was hallucinating from stress. He rubbed his eyes, but the image remained the same. The car started, reminding him that he was in the midst of something important. He suppressed his curiosity for later and shut his eyes to rest. After some time passed, they reached closer to the city entrance. Parking the bus, they got down. Stone passed the oxygen mask to everyone to put on. The space power users went to work, one of them with hands wrapped in grey light. He sliced his hands through the air, opening the fabric of space, glowing like a mini warp gate. "Enter quickly, I can’t hold it for long." His face paled as he held the gate open. They quickly walked through, and as soon as the man passed, the space repaired itself. The man heaved as he held the wall for support. Eva gave him some energy, and he nodded in thanks as his strength returned. Eva was familiar with where they were; this was where they chose which dungeon to enter and cities to return to. But they fell into a dilemma; now the warp gate was down, and they didn’t know the entrance to the medium dungeon or any other dungeons. They are surrounded by cave walls, "Can you remember the specific direction of the high-level dungeon?" Stone asked behind his oxygen mask. Julian looked around, trying to grasp a familiarity with the rocks to remember the position of the warp gate. Then his eyes settled on the cracked red edges of a rock. He moved towards it and stared at the rock; his intuition told him it was there. "Try here." He called out to them. Ethan and Eva didn’t feel any form of familiarity, they stayed in the background as the other space power user repeated the same actions of tearing space open. They quickly passed through without his reminder. Eva’s world spun, the familiar sensation of nausea hit her, and she held the wall for support. Ethan took out a piece of candy and fed it to her in the unbelievable stare of his uncle. Eva got herself together and noticed the vein-like walls and knew instantly this was the dungeon. ’I hope I won’t have to fight those ants again.’ "Is this the dungeon?" Stone asked and received their positive nods. They removed their oxygen mask, settling into silence as they walked in deeper. Fortunately but unusual, they didn’t encounter any monsters along the way. Getting closer to the place where they fought the ants, Eva and the rest became cautious, but instead of a gold key, they saw a warp gate glowing in the middle of the dungeon. Eva tilted her head in confusion as she moved around the warp gate. Eva pointed at the warp gate, "(⁠・⁠o⁠・⁠), this wasn’t here." Ethan and Julian were shocked as well, they found no trace of the key, instead a suspicious-looking warp gate. Stone’s eyes lit up, and he moved around the warp gate, putting a finger through it. "Hmm....it’s a normal warp gate. What secrets does it hold." His tone held naked curiosity, Ethan and Julian had a bad feeling when they saw him like this. They moved back instinctively, Stone clapped his fingers together. "We’re going through. Ethan, Julian I’m counting on your powers." Stone’s words made Eva’s eyes widen in disbelief. "W-we are going through?!" Her tone raised in shock. What normal person would pass through a warp gate that appeared from no freaking where? ’Insane! I didn’t sign up for this.’ Stone nodded with a smile, as he pulled her fleeing figure to a stop. Before anyone could react, he dragged Eva into the warp gate. Ethan and Julian’s eyes widened, and they dashed after them. The two space users exchanged fearful, shocked glances, witnessing Mr. Stone’s suicidal curiosity firsthand. They passed through—they didn’t have the power to fend off monsters and it was better to go with the crowd. The dungeon crystal glowed beside the warp gate, exuding an ominous, mystifying air. ’’Ah! Wait!’’ Eva’s screams were stuck in her throat as her body spun through a galaxy-like tunnel. ’’Hmm...interesting. This is what a space belt looks like,’’ Stone mused, observing the crumbled rocks flying past him, his body weightless as a force pulled him along. His gaze held Interest to decipher what he was witnessing, he floated in a swimming motion, touching debris of rocks. Whipping out a book from his space bag, Stone scribbled furiously under Eva’s bewildered gaze, unbothered by his floating hair or force pulling them. She felt awe for the man, trying to imitate his actions, but she clumsily floated face down, her hair blowing painfully against her face, some strands entering her mouth. This was the sight Ethan and Julian encountered as they floated towards them. Seeing Eva was intact—they sighed in relief. They had forgotten their uncle’s death-seeking behaviour, but witnessing Eva’s current state, Julian’s lips twitched; he had to bite his lips to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out. Ethan was in the same situation, but he could control his expression—they glided toward her, ignoring Stone to his inner world. Ethan pulled her hair from her face, and Eva smiled. ’’Hy!’’ she tried to mask her embarrassment with confidence, but it was the last straw for Julian. ’’Ahaha...cough! Sorry, I can’t help it,’’ his tears floated in the air as he clutched his stomach. It was so hilarious. Ethan coughed hiding his expression as he helped her upright, his shoulders trembling slightly. Eva’s face flushed red and she quickly changed the subject. ’’Where do you think we are heading towards?’’ her questions hung in the air as they quietly took in their surroundings. They hoped it was what they could manage or escape safely from. ’Worse case I’ll use the forbidden part of my powers.’ Julian’s gaze held firm determination, aware of the consequences.