Gara walked alone through the wormhole corridor—an endless tunnel of drifting gold, filled with soft starlight and dreamlike shimmer. Each step echoed in weightless silence, his red kimono fluttering faintly behind him. His hair, now the familiar crimson instead of icy blue, fell lazily over his brow as he stared ahead.
The end of the tunnel shimmered in the distance—beyond it lay the Golden Space, the floating hub above the Sea of Fragments. But in here, time moved like syrup, just slow enough to let thoughts catch up.
'Four months,' Gara thought, his eyes narrowing a bit.
Four months spent immersed in the [Ice Ninja] Fragment. Four months of climbing snowy cliffs, getting burned, frozen, humbled, and rethinking his entire approach—only to walk away before even achieving the one thing he set out to do.
He sighed through his nose. Then gave a dry chuckle.
'Didn't even learn fire techniques in the end. Not really. Sure, Marcus promised to teach me in two months at the Town of No Return… but that's future me's win. Current me? Still zero fire moves. Just a stronger frostbite tolerance and mild emotional trauma.'
The golden stars in the wormhole drifted lazily past as if mocking his slow pace.
'And what do I even have to show for it? No rank up. I didn't even get the Fragment Completion Reward since I skipped the boss fight. The System probably thinks I chickened out.'
Another chuckle escaped, though this one was more amused than bitter.
"Four months wasted," he muttered aloud.
But even as he said it, he paused—because despite the words, something didn't quite feel right.
He shook his head and took another step forward, the soft glow of the wormhole floor rippling gently beneath his sandals.
'No… not all wasted.'
A small smile tugged at his lips.
'My Core Production rate did go up—from 8 to 10 a day. That's huge. That's basically two extra Green Cores for free every single day. The System probably cried a little calculating that boost.'
He let that thought settle as the stars lazily swirled by.
'And more importantly… that means [Root of All Things] is getting closer to E Rank. Not quite at the peak of F yet… but close. So close I can feel it humming inside me.'
His smile grew into a quiet grin.
'My first rank up since arriving in the Story World. My first real step forward. No sponsor, no inheritance—just me dragging my weird, mess of a story through the dirt until it started to shine.'
Another step. The end of the wormhole grew just a little nearer.
'And I made a friend. A crazy one. Marcus. The Calamity Dragon. Who would've thought?'
He chuckled in his head, the sound silent and warm.
'Stronger than me. And older, definitely older than me. And yet… somehow, we just clicked. No idea how. Maybe because we're both trying to chase impossible dreams. Maybe because he's even more of a lunatic than I am.'
His gaze drifted upward to the shifting golden light above.
'When we meet again, he'll be D Rank. We'll board the Final Express together. That's going to be… something.'
'I still don't know much about him, but now that I have his name... I could try to look up info on him in the Blue Trade Records... Is what I'd say if it mattered at all. I mean, if it was available he wouldn't try to hide it in the first. And besides... I don't want to look it up, I want to hear it from him.'
His eyes softened.
'We'll become even closer then. Real friends. Not just temporary allies. A dragon and a human chasing dreams that make people laugh. I like the sound of that.'
Then he laughed again inside his head.
'Even I don't have friends. Not really. Aside from Jack, I guess. Jack counts. He definitely counts. But still.'
The end of the wormhole loomed closer now, the shimmering exit into the Golden Space within reach. And for the first time in a while, Gara felt genuinely excited to step forward.
He shook his head once more and took the final step—right into the golden portal.
There was a flash of light, and then…
He stood on a golden floor, in the middle of space.
Behind him, almost invisible in the distance, twinkled faint stars—small specks in the endless black. That was where the Sea of Fragments began.
And in front of him? Nothing but an ocean of void. No stars. No light. No sound. Just the edge of everything.
And beneath his feet stretched the Golden Space.
A platform of gold so vast it extended beyond the horizon.
'This place… it could fit every Player in the Story World. Actually, probably every Player in existence—billions, maybe even trillions—and still have room to spare.'
The sheer scale made him feel like a speck. But also… weirdly inspired.
For most Players inside the Story World, the Golden Space was their gateway into Fragments.
It was clean, structured, and safe—everything the rest of the universe wasn't.
The black space that surrounded it? That was something else entirely. The region between the Story World, the Golden Space, and the Sea of Fragments was notorious. Flying through it was almost unheard of.
First off, you needed flight abilities. Real flight—not the floaty hops low-rankers sometimes got in weird elemental stories. And most stories didn't unlock proper flight until A Rank at the earliest. That alone filtered out the vast majority of Players.
Second? It was absurdly dangerous. Monsters that weren't part of any storyline like the CEMs. Dead Fragments floating like broken planets. Chaotic storms of narrative energy that could erase entire arcs—and people—with them. Even seasoned A Rankers thought twice before attempting it.
Only S Rankers and above dared to fly through that space directly. And even then, they didn't do it casually.
For the rest—Players like Gara—you needed to rely on some kind of transport to reach the Golden Space. Buses crafted from living wood, flying ships powered by wind, massive space whales, rusty mechs, sleek sci-fi shuttles, old-school trains with magical smoke—anything and everything you could imagine. The Story World didn't care about consistency, only creativity.
Once you arrived in the Golden Space, that's when the real choosing began.
You browsed the Fragments like picking a dungeon in a game or an episode in an anthology—only here, each choice could take weeks or months of your life. You'd find the Fragment that called to you, contact its Reciter, and—if they approved—you'd be allowed to enter.
The portals in the Golden Space weren't mere doorways—they were stabilized wormholes carved into reality. Each one connected the Golden Space to a specific Registered Fragment, and the journey through it could take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours depending on the Fragment's distance across the vast Sea of Fragments.
This was also why so many dreamed of one day boarding the Final Express.
Unlike other transports, the Final Express didn't rely on portals or wormholes. It didn't care how far a Fragment was or how dangerous the path was, it moved freely through the chaotic dark space and the Sea of Fragments—untouchable, unstoppable.
Why? Because it was forged from Z Rank materials—the rarest, strongest known in the entire Story World. There was nothing in existence that could damage it.
For most Players, the Golden Space was a transit hub. For dreamers, it was something they used until they could get on the Final Express, like Gara.
He sighed, hands tucked into the sleeves of his red kimono, and glanced around at the shimmering golden floor of the Golden Space.
It was always busy here.
Players arrived through glowing trains, shimmering portals, enchanted elevators, magical whale rides—you name it. Some were gathering with party members, others were striking deals or arguing over Fragment access, and a few stood quietly by themselves, eyes fixed on the floating menus that listed available Fragments like some cosmic video game queue.
Too many. Way too many.
And right now, a small crowd was gathering right in front of him.
These were the Players interested in entering the [Ice Ninja] Fragment—the same Fragment Gara had just left behind. Funny how that worked. Life moved on quick in the Story World.
Among the group, one Player stood out like a firework in a library.
He had bright spiked blue hair like he'd gelled lightning into it and matching sharp blue eyes. His kimono was pale blue with delicate white flower patterns woven into the fabric, a stark contrast to the long broad sword slung over his back—blue hilt, white blade, way too fancy for someone playing an F Rank Fragment.
And yet, he smiled at Gara. A casual, confident kind of smile. Then he raised a hand and waved.
Gara blinked, surprised, before offering a small grin back and stepping aside. Clearly, this guy was next in line.
Still… something didn't add up.
'E Rank,' Gara thought, eyes narrowing slightly. He could sense it—the subtle pressure, the weight of Story that came with climbing a Rank. This guy wasn't trying to hide it.
So what was an E Ranker doing walking into an F Rank Fragment like [Ice Ninja]?
Most Players only challenged Fragments at their Rank or above. Either he was overconfident, bored, or had something very specific in mind.
Gara watched him step forward toward the portal, a curious look settling on his face.
'Well,' he mused, 'Hopefully he won't cause any problems for my new friend in there.'
With that, Gara turned and walked away.
He strolled across the golden platform, the buzz of activity slowly thinning as he made his way toward a quieter edge of the Golden Space—the Transport Means Parking Station.
It was tucked to the side of the sprawling platform, a more orderly and peaceful section reserved for two specific groups: Players who had just arrived via various transport methods, and those like Gara—on their way out of the Fragments and back to the normal Story World.
Bright signs hung above rows of vehicles, each marked with destinations ranging from common regions to rare, high-ranking territories. Some were sleek black trains that pulsed with energy, others were floating whales that blinked lazily with bioluminescent eyes.
Gara ignored them all.
He headed toward a small line of white buses, each painted with soft, whimsical clouds across their sides. They looked gentle—almost too gentle—but Gara knew they were anything but. These were the White Cloudline Buses, meant specifically for transport to the region known as White Clouds—one of the 13 grand Territories of the Story World.
Thirteen domains ruled by titans.
And White Clouds?
It belonged to one of the greatest Z Rankers of all: the elusive [Grey Rose].
Gara stepped onto the polished steps of the white bus, handing over two glowing Green Cores to the bored-looking attendant. The Cores vanished in a flicker of light, and with a nod, the attendant gestured him in.
The interior was soft and warm, filled with the quiet hum of ambient energy. Players sat scattered across the seats, most of them staring out the windows, lost in thought, or flicking through menus.
Gara made his way to a window seat near the middle, dropping into it with a small sigh. The seat was comfortable—not luxury-tier, but more than enough for a tired Player coming off a four-month-long Fragment run. The bus was mostly full, so he knew it wouldn't be long before they departed.
Out the window, he could still see the Golden Space stretching infinitely, dotted with strange transports and glowing wormholes.
The trip to White Clouds would take about an hour, fairly short by transport standards. Still, it would bring him not just to the Territory itself, but to the specific region he called home—a peaceful province nestled within one of the White Clouds' floating continents, Third Town.
Because yes—White Clouds was massive.
So massive it could house entire ecosystems, kingdoms, even civilizations on floating continents that never saw one another unless they wanted to.
And somewhere in that endless skybound domain… was the little place Gara called his.
He leaned back and closed his eyes.
'One hour of peace. I've earned that much, right?'
"Trying to relax, are we?" a teasing voice asked from beside him.
Gara didn't open his eyes. He just grinned.
"That you, Jack?"
There was the sound of someone settling into the seat next to him, followed by a warm chuckle.
"Yup. Didn't think we'd run into each other on the way back home, but hey—pleasant surprises and all."
Gara opened his eyes, smiling genuinely now. The two clasped hands in a firm, familiar shake, like it was a habit forged over a thousand such reunions.
"I'm glad too," Gara said.
Jack leaned back into his seat, brushing some imaginary dust off his shoulder. "So? Did you do it?"
Gara raised a brow. "Do what?"
Jack snorted. "Don't play dumb with me. You know, that whole 'I'm going to master fire techniques and rise in rank' speech you gave before diving into the [Ice Ninja] Fragment?"
Gara scratched his cheek, a sheepish look spreading across his face. "...Kinda?"
Jack turned to look at him, interest piqued. "Kinda?"
"Well," Gara began, shrugging, "I didn't actually learn any fire techniques. But I did get promised to be taught fire techniques."
Jack blinked. "Promised?"
"Yeah. By the Calamity Dragon. Marcus."
Jack stared for a second, then leaned back with a whistle. "You made friends with the boss fight?"
"Yup," Gara said with a small laugh. "Didn't exactly plan on it. Just sorta… happened. Dude's crazy strong. Peak E Rank and about to hit D. But we got along. Somehow."
Jack gave him a knowing look. "Only you would walk into a Fragment for power and walk out with a dragon buddy and a rain check on the actual training."
Gara groaned. "You're not wrong. Four months and I walk away with potential fire skills and a new friend. Not exactly efficient."
Jack clapped him on the back. "Could've been worse. Could've died again."
"Three times were enough, thanks."
"So, what's the plan now?" Jack asked, stretching his arms.
Gara looked out the window, the stars of the Golden Space glinting in the distance.
"Wait for Marcus. Meet up in two months at the Town of No Return. Board the Final Express with him. Learn fire. Get stronger. Then… I don't know. Maybe finally hit E Rank."
Jack grinned. "Now that sounds like a plan."
Gara smirked. "Yeah. For once."
Jack then slapped Gara on the shoulder with a loud smack, laughing so hard the passengers in the nearby seats briefly glanced their way.
"So tell me, genius," he said between chuckles, "how exactly do you plan on getting a ticket to the Final Express?"
Gara let out a long, tortured sigh and slumped deeper into his seat. "I was hoping you'd talk to Dante and convince him to get me one."
Jack immediately threw his hands up like the seat was on fire. "Oh no! I already tried once before and almost got fired. You remember that, right? He gave me the 'Disappointed Boss Who Wears Red Sunglasses Indoors' stare for like an hour straight. I had nightmares."
"But he likes you more!" Gara pleaded. "You've known him longer!"
Jack gave him a deadpan look. "He likes you more. You're like his weird little charity case. I'm just the intern who hasn't died yet."
Gara groaned and leaned his forehead against the window. "I asked him. He said, and I quote: 'Sure, just give me a White Core and I'll throw in a snack bar on the ride.'"
Jack burst into laughter again. "A White Core?!"
"Yes! A full White Core! That's like a billion Green Cores!" Gara snapped. "What does he think I am?! A billionaire in Green Cores?! Do I look like I own a Sponsor-grade Artifact?!"
Jack wiped tears from his eyes. "Maybe he will like you even more if you tell him you hit it big bonding with a dragon."
"Oh yeah," Gara muttered. "I'll just walk into a pawn shop and be like, 'Hey, I made a friend. Can I trade him for interdimensional train fare?'"
Jack grinned. "Honestly? Might work in the Blue Trade Market."
Gara let out another long sigh and turned his head slightly. "Alright, enough roasting me—what about you, Jack? What were you doing this whole time? If I'm not wrong, you were gonna escort a Player through some D Ranked Fragment, right?"
Jack nodded with a smug grin. "Yup. Escorted a fresh-faced E Ranker through the [Fantastical World of Arts]. The kind with flair and color explosions and every third character screaming about the purity of technique. Real dramatic stuff."
"Ah, that one," Gara said with a knowing nod. "The Fragment where everyone cries when you paint a sunset the wrong way."
"That's the one," Jack said proudly. "Full of moody Artists and explosive sword choreography. I had a blast. The Player was green but eager. Kid actually pulled off an amazing brushstroke on the final trial. Almost cried. The Reciter gave him a shiny badge like it was kindergarten."
Gara chuckled. "Well, you're a D Ranker now. I'm not surprised. How's [Two Swords] treating you?"
Jack casually rested his hand on the hilt of one of his blades. "Still sharp, still boring when I don't get to use both at once. But the Reciter upgraded my Aspect cause I helped improve his audience rating or something along the lines, so now I can split myself for ten minutes instead of five."
Gara gave him a sidelong look. "You get cool sword clones. I get burned alive. Life is fair."
Jack winked. "Life is fair, you just suck at negotiations."
Gara snorted, giving Jack a sidelong glare. "That's only 'cause you've been a Story Guide way longer than me. Dante actually taught you things. When I joined the Story Guides Workshop, the man tossed me a welcome badge, mumbled the definition of a Story Guide, and sent me out like I was some delivery boy."
Jack burst out laughing. "Okay, true, true. Dante basically raised me like some sword-swinging intern. But let's not pretend it's all on him. You've been a Guide for, what, years now? And you've guided, what… three people?"
Gara groaned and slumped against the bus window. "Three and a half if you count that time I almost guided a guy through [Plums and Hounds] before he bailed."
Jack gave him a smug grin. "Three and a half. Bravo. No wonder Dante said you've got 'potential energy.'"
Gara waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fixing it, alright? I plan to guide someone in the next two months, before I meet up with Marcus at the Town of No Return."
Jack raised a brow. "Oh? Actually planning ahead for once?"
Gara leaned back and stretched. "I'm a changed man. Made friends with a giant dragon and raised my Core Production. What's next? Paying taxes?"
Jack smirked. "I'll believe it when I see it. You guiding someone and being on time to meet Marcus? Now that's a fantasy Fragment I'd pay to watch."
Time passed in a blur as the bus hummed along the golden roads of the Story World. The two continued talking, sharing snide remarks and poking at each other's shortcomings like only true friends could.
Eventually, Gara leaned his head back and asked, "So… how's Elena doing?"
Elena was Jack's wife and the older sister of Gara, not through blood. Just like how Jack acted like his older brother sometimes.
Jack blinked, then gave a small, knowing smile. "You're only asking now?"
"She's scary," Gara muttered. "I need time to mentally prepare."
Jack chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "She's fine. Busy with her new assignment. But, uh…" He gave Gara a sideways glance. "She's kind of annoyed you never visit."
Gara winced. "Oof."
"Yeah. Says you're avoiding her. Claims you're scared."
"I am scared!" Gara said quickly, then waved a hand. "But I'll visit. For sure this time. Probably. Maybe. Depending on how close I am to dying."
Jack burst out laughing. "Don't worry. I'll try to convince her not to kill you on sight. Emphasis on try."
Gara snorted and laughed along. "Tell her I'm braver now. I befriended a dragon. That counts for something, right?"
"Tell her yourself," Jack said with a sly grin. "If you survive the visit, maybe she'll bake you something."
Gara sighed, dramatically resting his head against the seat. "Risking death for cookies… Classic Story World."
He then tilted his head with a sly grin. "So… is Elena home, or did she go out to guide someone too?"
Jack leaned back in his seat, exhaling through his nose. "Nah, she's home. No many girls come asking for Story Guides, so she hasn't had much work lately."
Gara blinked. "Huh. Weird. Why doesn't she just challenge a Fragment then? She's strong enough."
Jack cleared his throat, eyes looking anywhere but at Gara. "Well… she actually did want to challenge one. Asked me to go with her, y'know, husband and wife run. Real romantic."
"Oh?" Gara raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Jack winced. "But I had to take on that escort mission through [Fantastical World of Arts]. So… I told her I couldn't."
There was a long pause.
"…She's kinda mad, isn't she?" Gara asked, a smirk creeping onto his face.
Jack gave him a withering look. "You have no idea. I'm pretty sure she's been sharpening her Arts. In the living room."
Gara burst out laughing. "Oh man, I have to see this. You're walking into your own boss fight."
"You're laughing now," Jack muttered. "But if she asks you to spar to 'catch up,' just know you will lose, and she will say she's holding back when she's not."
Gara wiped a tear from his eye. "Bro, I'm scared and I'm not even married to her."
"Welcome to my life," Jack said with a dramatic sigh, shaking his head. "Love is war."
"Love is a high-tier Z Ranked Fragment," Gara replied solemnly. "One no Player has ever cleared."
As their laughter faded into a more comfortable silence, a voice a few seats ahead broke through the low hum of the bus: "Whoa… is that the White Clouds?"
The awe in the tone pulled both Gara and Jack's attention. Gara gave a small chuckle. "Probably their first time seeing it."
Jack, still gazing ahead, smiled faintly. "Even if it wasn't… I get it. Every time I come back, I feel the same."
The two turned their heads to look out the wide window beside them.
The view was breathtaking.
Far below the bus, nestled in the vast open skies, lay a sprawling town built on and out of clouds—an entire floating landscape that looked as though it had been painted by a dreamer. Wisps of white, fluffy clouds formed the very foundation of roads, plazas, and rooftops. Soft, glowing vapor curled around buildings like lazy fog, never dissipating, never rushing.
Houses of all kinds dotted the landscape. Some were made entirely from smooth wood, shaped into cozy domes or towering pagodas. Others had walls of stone, structured and solid, with chimneys that puffed out harmless glittering steam. A few gleamed with modern steel frames, sleek and angular, like transplanted buildings from a sci-fi Fragment. Others were living hybrids—wood and cloud, steel and mist, stone and dreams—each one unique.
The streets were alive with movement. The vast majority of people were human, wearing everything from fantasy cloaks to modern jackets, some in armor, others in casual clothes. Yet among them walked all manner of strange beings—Beastkin with fur and tails, tall elves with glowing eyes, short goblins pulling carts of odd gadgets, and even a few ethereal-looking creatures with semi-transparent forms drifting quietly.
Vendors called out from floating market stalls, some perched on cloud platforms that hovered gently through the sky, selling everything from shimmering fruits to glowing scrolls to devices that hummed with Story energy. Children—human and otherwise—ran across walkways of light strung between clouds, laughing.
And all of it—all of it—was suspended high in the sky, floating far above the normal world, an impossible civilization drifting on nothing but the will of stories and the laws of the Story World.
The bus hummed quietly as it cruised downward in a smooth arc, gliding ever closer to one of the massive docking platforms shaped like a white lily pad with gold trim.
They'd be landing in less than a minute.
"You never get used to it," Jack murmured, still watching.
"Nope," Gara agreed quietly, his expression unreadable but full of something like wonder. "Home sweet home."
—End of Chapter.
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[Blue Trade Records – Live Comment Exchange Log] Story: [Root of All Things] Player: Gara
Reader_2331: Bro, you really spent four months trying to learn fire techniques in a place called [Ice Ninja]?
Gara: I had a plan, okay??
Reader_2331: Was the plan "get frostbite and regret every life choice"?
Gara: ...It was a flexible plan.
Reader_2331: You made one (1) dragon friend and called it a win!
Gara: That dragon friend can blow up a mountain. What do you have?
Reader_2331: Student loans and anxiety.
Gara: See? I'm doing great.
Reader_2331: Touche. Carry on, Cloud Boy!