The quill vanished with a ripple.
Eryn stared at the empty air where it had been, her chest rising and falling in quick, shallow breaths. Six months. Six months of endless failures, rewrites, sleepless nights, and near-collapse of her mana—all leading to this single, fragile moment.
Her lips curled into a small, exhausted smile.
Finally… Dimensional Storage.
Ding.
"Dimensional Storage created. Capacity: 3 cubic meters. Mana cost: negligible. Stability: 91%."
It worked. It was neat. It was stable. But satisfaction didn't come. Her chest felt hollow. This was only a tool—a convenient extension of herself. It wasn't enough. Not yet.
Her silver eyes glimmered with quiet determination. No… this was step one. The real goal began now.
Mana surged inside her like a river breaking free from a dam. Six months ago, she had struggled to cast a hundred waterballs. Now, she wasn't sure where her limits lay. She had surpassed even dragons, legendary beings whose reserves of energy dwarfed even the most skilled mages.
Ding.
"Host Mana: 12,000% of initial baseline. Regeneration: 310% faster than standard high-mage threshold. Soul synchronization: stable."
Perfect. Every condition met.
System: Initiate Personal Dimension.
The stone beneath her feet groaned and cracked, faint lines glowing red as runes etched themselves automatically into the floor. The air around her warped, heavy and unreal. Her body felt tugged in a dozen directions at once, as if threads of existence themselves were unravelling.
Ding.
"Warning: process irreversible. Personal Dimension will permanently bind to Host's soul. Proceed?"
Eryn exhaled, steady despite the pounding of her heart.
"Yes."
The world shattered.
Her body dissolved, her senses scattered, and for a heartbeat she thought she had ceased to exist. Then… silence. Not the familiar silence of night, but a deeper, eternal quiet.
When she opened her eyes, there was nothing.
No ground. No sky. No air. No sound.
Only void.
Weightless. Timeless. Endless.
The abyss stretched infinitely in all directions—black yet not black, a blank canvas. She floated at its center, her silver hair drifting gently as though in water. A faint glow radiated from her soul, the only spark in this infinite emptiness.
Ding.
"Personal Dimension Created. Type: Void Space. Size: 500m stabilized radius. Properties: timeless, weightless, infinite expansion possible. Status: bound to Host's soul."
A shiver ran down her spine. Awe, fear, and excitement tangled in her chest. This wasn't a spell. This wasn't a technique. This was her world—born from her will.
Yet it was empty, fragile.
System: Run WorldInit().
Ding.
"Command accepted. Elements available: Earth, Water, Wind, Fire. Recommendation: sequential shaping for stability."
Eryn clenched her fists. Her pulse quickened. Let's begin.
She focused on the void beneath her.
Function: EarthShape(radius = 10km, depth = 2km, soilLayer = true).
Mana surged through her, pulsing in rhythmic waves. The void twisted, shuddering. Cracks of light tore through nothing, and stone began to form—but chaotic, unstable. Massive slabs collided, breaking apart, fragments floating aimlessly, some folding back into the void.
Error.
"EarthShape() unstable. Landmass disjointed. Risk of collapse: 72%."
Eryn gritted her teeth. She had initialized mass too quickly, without anchoring it.
She visualized the function again in her mind: Loop: bind fragments → fuse → flatten. Condition: cancel if instability > 90%.
Streams of mana lanced outward like invisible hands, weaving through the stone fragments. The slabs fused, cracks smoothed, density stabilized. Valleys carved themselves naturally; soil layered like carefully poured sand.
Ding.
"EarthShape() complete. Landmass created. Radius: 10km. Stability: 92%."
She sank to one knee, sweat sliding down her cheek. First error patched. One step closer.
"Let's do next step—water," Eryn muttered, and started to cast.
Function: HydroFlow(rivers = true, lakes = true, moat = true).
Water condensed from the air—or rather, from mana itself—falling in droplets that carved channels into the newly formed land. Rivers spread, lakes filled, a circular moat carved a protective boundary around the terrain.
But she had rushed. Pressure built too quickly. Water overflowed, flooding valleys. One river tore its path violently, leaving a scar across the land.
Error.
"HydroFlow() unstable. Flow rate unsynced with terrain gradient. Risk of erosion: high."
Damn it. Too much initialization speed. She needed throttle control.
Loop: generate flow → check gradient → stabilize pressure. Repeat until equilibrium.
Her mana rethreaded the currents like stitching, guiding the rivers gently, filling the lakes evenly. The moat glimmered faintly, perfectly circular.
Ding.
"HydroFlow() complete. Hydrosphere established. Flow stable."
Eryn let out a shaky laugh, brushing hair from her face. System log: no errors.
The silence pressed upon her.
"Without air, none of this feels alive. Let's make it similar to the planet where I live," she muttered, focusing.
Function: AtmosInit(oxygen = 21%, nitrogen = 78%, traceGases = true, circulation = loop).
Air erupted into existence, rushing across valleys, whirling around rivers. But imbalance struck immediately. Oxygen condensed in pockets, sparking tiny fires. Miniature storms tore across plains, yanking rivers sideways and pulling soil upward.
Error.
"AtmosInit() unstable. Composition imbalance detected. Fire hazard: 83%."
Her chest tightened. Too raw. Too violent. Smaller, controlled packets were needed.
Loop: initialize in fragments → merge slowly → check ratios each cycle.
The storms weakened, sparks died out, and the air smoothed into gentle currents. She breathed deeply, feeling it wrap around her face. Her silver hair swayed slightly in the non-existent wind.
Ding.
"AtmosInit() complete. Composition: habitable. Circulation loop stable."
She exhaled slowly, letting tension leave her shoulders. No runtime errors.
The world was alive now—earth beneath her, water flowing, wind brushing softly—but still shrouded in infinite void.
"I need light. Let's make some stars," Eryn muttered, focusing again.
Function: LightMap(source = Fire, type = Starfield, count = 1000).
Mana scattered upward, igniting sparks that floated into the void like glowing seeds. But her first attempt was chaotic: clusters formed unevenly, some burning too bright, others collapsing into shadows, vanishing as if swallowed by the void.
Error.
"LightMap() unstable. Luminosity variance extreme. Balance error detected."
She bit her lip, slowing her process. Loop: generate → check brightness range (limit 100–120 lumens) → distribute evenly.
Golden motes hung suspended across the darkness, softly glowing, mirrored in rivers and lakes below. Each star felt deliberate, a heartbeat of light in the void.
Ding.
"LightMap() complete. Void illumination stable. Mana drain: negligible."
She gazed upward, heart trembling slightly. A starfield of her own design—a sky born from nothing.
Something still felt… wrong.
Rivers flowed. Wind moved. Stars glimmered. But none of it changed. Time didn't pass. Without time, the world was only a frozen painting, alive in form but dead in function.
System: Initiate TimeFlow().
Ding.
"Warning: Temporal framework unstable. High risk of domain collapse. Proceed?"
"Yes," she whispered, chest tightening.
Mana surged violently, heavier than ever before. Her ribs ached, pulse racing. Diagrams unfolded in her mind—nested loops, branching structures, infinite cycles. This was the heartbeat of reality itself.
Function: TimeFlow(ratio = 1:7, outsideDay = 1, insideDay = 7, loop = continuous).
The void convulsed. Rivers reversed, stars flickered, some freezing, some skipping frames like broken animation. Her body trembled violently.
Error.
"TimeFlow() unstable. Loop desync detected. Domain crash risk: 94%."
Panic clawed at her throat. Not here—not now. She forced her focus. Anchor point: her soul. Mana synchronized with the rhythm of her heartbeat, dragging chaotic loops into alignment.
The rivers smoothed. Stars cycled gently.
Ding.
"TimeFlow() successful. Ratio: 1:7. Stability: 56%."
Eryn collapsed onto the void ground, drenched in sweat. Hands shaking, vision blurred—but she laughed quietly. Debug complete. Time flowed. The world was alive.
Yet her world lacked a heart.
"Let's build something… Castle. If I'll be using this place more, it makes sense," she muttered.
Function: BuildCastle(location = center, style = fortress, material = voidstone + crystal, hall = council).
The ground trembled beneath her. Black stone rose, fused with crystal that caught faint glimmers of mana. Towers climbed like fingers reaching toward infinity.
Instability struck. A spire cracked, collapsing inward. Corridors twisted impossibly, halls warped like melting glass.
Error.
"BuildCastle() unstable. Structure fracturing. Symmetry error detected."
Eryn gritted her teeth. Too fast. She rewrote the loop: generate floor → anchor → raise wall → stabilize → repeat.
Stone rose steadily, towers straightened, walls locked. Gates carved themselves open. Inside, flames danced along polished corridors. A massive council table etched with glowing runes took center stage. Chairs aligned perfectly.
Ding.
"BuildCastle() complete. Structure established: Castle of Void. Central Hall designated as Domain Anchor. Stability: 99%."
She laid her hand on the cold, rune-etched table. This is where everything begins. Finally, she allowed herself to sit upon the throne at the head of the hall. Stars shone through windows. Rivers flowed outside. Air stirred gently. A smile spread across her face.
This was her Dominion. And it was only the beginning.
Silence filled the hall. The system hummed.
Ding.
"Host, safe environment detected. Evolution to dragon form is recommended. Your human body is far surpassed; mana overflow could destroy the outside world if released."
Her suspicion confirmed. Even contained, her human vessel could not handle this magnitude.
Ding.
"Within Void Domain, excess mana may be safely released. Outside, Host cannot suppress beyond safe threshold. Danger: extreme."
Eryn exhaled, gripping the throne. Dragon evolution wasn't optional—it was required.
System: Prepare dragon evolution sequence.
Ding.
"Evolution pathway: Dragon Form. Estimated stabilization time: 7 days. Host body will undergo reconstruction. Warning: high pain tolerance required. Host cannot exit Void Domain during process."
Seven days within. One day outside. Manageable.
But first—her family.
System: Create MessageNote().
A glowing panel appeared. She focused, carefully writing:
> "Don't worry if you don't see me around. I am safe. I've gone to complete some important research and need a quiet place. I'll return once it's finished. Take care until then."
The text pulsed once, sealing itself into rune-scripted paper. She sent it through the system's link to the family table.
Ding.
"MessageNote successfully delivered. Visibility: immediate. Tamper-proof seal active."
Eryn exhaled, relief washing over her briefly. At least they wouldn't panic.
No more excuses. No delays.
Time to begin.