Into the darkness

Vesuvius fell forward through the gravity-warped space, his sense of time and distance distorting without anything to indicate it. The starry background of the universe twisted into unrecognizable patterns as if the very fabric of the universe had been pulled taut and distorted.

Traveling through this blurry mess of shapes and colors was not only tiring but also disorienting, yet he persisted, driven by the knowledge that he was approaching the culmination of his journey.

Suddenly, something tugged at the very essence of the warped space, and the dragon immediately went to alert, a barrier forming around him as he braced for another attack.

But as the warped space unfolded, drawing him back to the material world, more and more of his mana flowed into the barrier, its darkness becoming deeper and mirroring the absolute darkness around him.