The heavenly stairs

Inside a dense forest in an unknown location, a man draped in a mage cape abruptly appeared out of nowhere.

The man, Rangyl, scanned his surroundings with his intense black eyes, seemingly surprised.

A split second after recognizing the location, Rangyl bolted, sprinting as fast as he could towards the exit of the forest.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, it's not the time for that!" Rangyl cursed as his figure weaved through the forest in a blur.

His god had summoned him just as he was on the verge of capturing the girl with the golden power, leaving him no room for argument since his god's commands were absolute. The problem this time was that this order came at the worst possible time.

As if things weren't complicated enough, his god had forbidden him from teleporting directly into the temple and instead forced him to reappear far away from it. It was likely a punishment for his blunder of almost transforming into his true form. But this was definitely the worst time for such a punishment, especially since time moved ten times faster here compared to the outside!

For each second that he wasted here, the likelihood of the woman with the golden power slipping away increased.

Since he wasn't on Imperion anymore, Rangyl didn't hesitate and transformed to his true form, well, partially transformed to his true form. His whole body got covered in scales that were as black as carbon and as lusterless as obsidian. While his legs bulged, the muscles growing more firm and potent. After the transformation was complete, Rangyl's speed exploded.

His body moved with ten times its previous speed, and Rangyl swiftly exited from the forest. Even then, he didn't stop and kept running at his full speed.

At some points, a long, diagonal and white line appeared in his sight. This line stretched from the ground and extended to the sky, dividing the world in two. This line looked like a celestial scar, as if the very fabric of reality had been sliced by a cosmic blade.

Without pausing, Rangyl continued to sprint in that direction, never deviating from his path.

Minutes later, which would have equated to over an hour outside, Rangyl finally discerned the outlines of a city.

From the heart of this city, a grand staircase, crafted from pristine white stone, stretched upwards towards the distant clouds. These stairs formed the line that Rangyl had previously spotted, seemingly extending into the sky.

As for the city, compared to places like the capital of the Fiore Empire, for example, this city looked very small. One might even call this place a village. Yet, despite its small size, the architecture of the city could only be called sublime.

The city, crafted entirely from pristine white stone shone with a soft light as it reflected the sun rays. Its buildings, adorned with intricate carvings and delicate details, evoke a sense of grandeur and elegance. Narrow cobblestone streets wind through the city, flanked by rows of towering structures that reach towards the sky. Despite its modest size, the city's charm and beauty was undeniable.

However, Rangyl completely ignored the beauty and grace of the city, running straight for the gates of the city.

As he neared the gates, Rangyl spotted two men, who looked like humans, as opposed to Rangyl, who looked like a monster pulled straight out of a kid's nightmare, lounging in chairs, engaged in a game of cards, and made his way toward them.

As he approached, the two men's gaze shifted from their game to look at Rangyl.

"Oi, Rangyl, long time no see," one of the two men exclaimed with a grin on his face.

This man had a light brown skin, black hair, and deep black eyes, but the thing that stood out the most about him was the robustness of his body. He was so large and muscular that there were chances you couldn't even perceive his chair unless you approached him.

"Still down there in the human world, conducting your experiments?" wondered the second man with a chuckle.

This man had the same features as the other one, but as opposed to the bulky man, he had a rather lean and toned body.

"Of course!" Rangyl replied with a big smile playing on his lips as he stopped in front of the two men, "Tori, Dori, how are you guys doing?" He inquired after a moment.

"Well, besides being bored to death, I guess we can be said to be going well," the lean man, Tori, answered.

"What do we owe us the visit of the talented and always busy Rangyl?" Dori questioned with a teasing smile on his face.

Rangyl scratched his head and said in an embarrassed tone, "I have been summoned by God."

"Let me guess, you let your emotions run and did something stupid, right?" Tori said.

Rangyl didn't respond, but the subtle flinch of his body was all Tori needed to know that he was right.

"So, what happened this time?" He inquired a moment later.

Rangyl was about to answer when he suddenly caught himself.

'Telling them would be a bad idea,' he thought.

Although he had been friends for years with those two, Rangyl knew that if he told them about his discovery of the golden power, they wouldn't hesitate to relay the news to his god before he could do so, and they would be the ones getting the rewards of his discovery! There was no way he would allow that to happen.

"I will tell you later," Rangyl replied, "instead, can you tell me where God is?"

"Ah, the boss, he is-"

"God! Not boss," Rangyl interrupted with a somber expression.

"Whatever," Tori waved his hand, not the least interested in arguing with this fanatic, "he is up there."

As he said this, Tori pointed to the endlessly stretching stairs.

Rangyl observed the stairs with a frown on his face before sighing.

"I will go, see you guys later."

Without waiting for their responses, Rangyl entered the city and ran towards its center, ignoring the curious glances the inhabitants of the city were giving him.

Soon, he stood before the endless stairs, his head looking up as if trying to see the end of the stairs.

Unfortunately, he couldn't see the end of the stairs, at least from his current position.

After a moment, Rangyl released a defeated sigh and began climbing the stairs.

The reason he looked defeated was that he knew it would be difficult, perhaps even impossible, to catch Alex's group now that he had to climb those stairs.

The reason for that was obviously because of the fact that it would take him too much time to climb those stairs.

Named the heavenly stairs, they ascended to the temple where Rangyl's god resided.

The staircase was divided into four sections, each consisting of precisely 9999 steps.

The fourth and final section, on the other hand, boasted the smallest number of stairs, consisting of only three steps.

Just as not everyone could ascend to heaven, not everyone could climb those stairs to reach the temple above. In fact, within this entire dimension, only two people were able to make the ascent.

Rangyl was actually one of those two persons able to climb these stairs.

Taking one last deep breath, Rangyl began climbing the stairs.

Not wanting to waste time, he raced through the first section, his body moving like a lightning bolt.

However, the further Rangyl climbed, the slower he became. While he managed to pass through the first section relatively quickly, the moment he stepped onto the first stair of the second section, his speed diminished.

Rangyl persevered and traversed the second section with minimal delay, but upon entering the third section, his pace plummeted.

"Damn!" Rangyl cursed, feeling as though he were carrying a mountain on his shoulders.

This sensation only intensified with each step he took.

The pressure he faced was precisely why most people couldn't climb those stairs. Each section exerted increasing pressure on climbers, making the ascent progressively more challenging.

While Rangyl might have been one of only two people capable of reaching the top via those stairs, it didn't mean the journey was easy for him.

Beads of sweat quickly formed on his forehead, his shoulders sagging under the weight of the pressure he was subjected to.

The higher he climbed, the more deformed his posture became, transitioning from an upright stance to a hunched-over position.

The worst thing yet was the lack of oxygen. It caused Rangyl to feel a burning sensation in his chest.

Nevertheless, Rangyl persevered, and after what felt like an eternity, he reached the end of the third section.

By that point, his body was entirely obscured from those below, concealed by the billowing white clouds of the sky.

Looking at the last three stairs separating him from the temple where his god resided, Rangyl took a deep breath and steeled his resolve.

With a determined expression, Rangyl took a step forward.