Floor Fifty-One, Inside the Labyrinth
"Ryo, hurry up!"
Ryo: "Alright, alright... it's you, Yui... We'll talk later, system."
System: "As you wish."
Yui (impatiently): "Come on, Ryo! We'll leave without you if you don't move!"
Ryo (rushing toward them): "Wait for me!"
Zalarosa: "Alright, alright. Are you ready, Ryo? This stupid labyrinth journey is about to begin."
---
A week passed inside the labyrinth.
Ryo, Yui, and Zalarosa fought through countless monsters. Ryo had just removed the skill he cast that slowed time around them.
Yui (shocked): "Wait, WHAT?! That whole century felt like a few moments?! Are you joking?!"
Zalarosa: "I get it now... then how many years have passed outside?"
Ryo: "Honestly... I don't know how to say this... but it's been around ten years."
Zalarosa (screaming): "TEN YEARS OF MY LIFE???! GONE??!!!"
Ryo (nervously): "Don't worry. I've removed the skill now—you'll feel time normally again."
Yui (sighing): "Ugh, I can't believe a whole century around us passed like brief moments... My mom probably thinks I died years ago."
Ryo: "I don't blame her. After all, ten years did pass."
Yui (angrily punches Ryo in the face): "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Ryo: "Why does everyone keep hitting me?! When will I return to my adult form?"
System: "You can return to your adult form anytime."
Ryo (suspiciously staring at the system screen, walking to the corner): "Wait, are you sure? If you're lying, I'll rip your eyes out."
System: "I don't have eyes... and yes, you can. It's not a transformation—your body will mature physically. You'll just grow."
Ryo: "You're my best friend from today onward. Seriously."
Ryo finished speaking, and his body began to mature. His small frame became that of a 17-year-old. His golden hair grew long like a curtain behind him, his sharp light brown eyes gleamed, his fair skin glowed, and he now stood about 180 cm tall.
Yui (mouth wide open in shock, frozen in place): "What... is happening?"
Zalarosa (eyes turning into hearts, clearly in love): "Oh my god, who is that handsome guy?! I want to marry him!"
Yui: "Wait, Zalarosa! What's wrong with you?! I mean, yes, he's gorgeous, but—"
Zalarosa (grinning): "But what? Look at your blushing face."
Yui (embarrassed, shouting): "Shut up!!!"
Ryo (confused): "What just happened to me? Did I grow up?"
System: "Yes."
Ryo (jumping excitedly): "Finally! I can use my full power now!"
Ryo (smiling, clenching his fist): "Alright, let's give this a try."
He closed his eyes, a wave of calm washing over him. But then—
Time stopped for four seconds.
When it resumed, Yui and Zalarosa collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted as if they had been climbing a mountain.
Suddenly, darkness spread across the space, and the overwhelming pressure radiating from Ryo shook the entire labyrinth, making it scream in agony.
Ryo focused harder and released an even greater surge of energy—so immense, time itself couldn't comprehend it, halting the entire universe for a full minute.
Then—BOOM.
A colossal explosion erupted from Ryo, as if 500 trillion stars detonated at once.
Yui and Zalarosa were thrown far away by the force of his overwhelming aura.
But that wasn't the end.
The entire universe trembled, seemingly on the verge of collapse, screaming in unimaginable pain.
The pressure from Ryo's presence bent everything in existence, as if a being from a higher dimension had descended.
---
In the Ice Kingdom.
Rin: "What is that pressure?! I can't breathe!"
Queen Illyria could barely move her eyes.
---
In the Fire Kingdom.
Aniveron (suddenly collapses, eyes wide): "My god... What's happening?!"
---
Back in the Labyrinth.
Ryo reabsorbed all the energy he released, but the aftermath was catastrophic—forty floors of the labyrinth were completely destroyed, as if they had never existed.
---
Inside Ryo's Consciousness.
Ryo: "What the...? Is this inside me? Himiko, did you call me?"
Himiko: "Yes. I wanted to warn you—never release your energy on that scale again! You almost destroyed the entire universe!"
Ryo: "So what? The universe is just a small thing."
Himiko (furious): "You fool! The universe contains dimensions and timelines without end, and each one holds 500 trillion worlds! Each world represents a separate dimension with its own laws, story, space, and time. And every single world has its own dimension, universe, and timeline—this process repeats 50 billion times per second. In one minute, three trillion universes are born—and you almost erased all of that!"
Ryo (shocked): "Are you kidding me?! That's impossible!"
Himiko: "Shut up! Don't ever unleash your full energy again. Also, the universe is constantly expanding, giving birth to new realms. You almost wiped all of them out with your dumb outburst! I guarantee beings from the Upper Dimension felt your presence—they'll be after you now!"
Ryo: "I don't understand anything right now..."
System: "Let me simplify. A world is like a seed within the universe, completely independent and different from others. There are 500 trillion such seeds. The universe holds them all and expands endlessly, creating more. The rest Himiko explained—I won't repeat it."
Ryo: "I see now... Wait... WHAT?!?! Are you serious?!"
Himiko: "Now do you understand how dangerous what you did was?!"
Ryo: "Yes..."
Himiko (calming down with a sigh): "Ugh... now we need to find a solution for the problem with the beings from the Upper Dimension."
Ryo: "Upper Dimension?"
Himiko: "Yes... Wait, don't tell me you don't even know what it is?!"
Himiko: "System, did you not explain any of this to him?!"
System: "I gave him partial info about the Lower Dimension, where he currently lives. There was no need to explain the rest."
Himiko: "You're both hopeless... Listen carefully, Ryo. The Upper Dimension is where the gods and divine beings dwell. It's a realm higher than the lower one, beyond life and death. The deities rule over it, managing and controlling all existence. Legends say that even the weakest among them could obliterate the lower universes like mere paper."
Himiko: "Their power isn't bound by anything from the lower realms—they transcend it all. They always say the lower reality is just a dream, not real. No one knows what they truly mean by that."
Himiko: "It's a place beyond existence itself. A realm where things are born, not destroyed. A place that lies outside of reality. There's no life, no death, no meaning—just pure power. The strongest one among them once took a single step and nearly erased the entire lower dimension."
Himiko: "They're beings beyond comprehension, space, and time."
Ryo: "...Oh, I see. So, one of them is probably going to come and try to kill me?"
System: "Probably? No—definitely."
Himiko (sighing again): "Ugh... he's really hopeless. Never mind. We need to prepare—because what's coming next... will be beyond anything you can imagine."
To be continued...