Chapter 213: Seeking the Fourth Dimension

Earth was on their last desperate attack. The Unlocked soldiers did not expect that there would be a return trip.

But the most immediate problem was the terrifying fleet of space-capable jets that the rest of the world made to hinder the United Nations Army's last gambit.

Seeker was trembling. Even with his power as a Ranked Hero, he would surely die if their ships would blow up as they would be lost in space forever.

And as the launch began, the pitiful amount of ships headed for space could only number one-tenth of their enemies.

As the distance between the two armies grew closer and closer, a figure zoomed faster than the space-capable jets to meet the outstanding enemies before him.

The lone figure was one of Earth's greatest Champions. He was one of the Seventh Trumpets and the wielder of the Peals of Thunder that could be heard on the very throne of God.

Seeker's tremendous vision tailed the zooming figure and focused on it.

"It's all on you, Richie." Seeker whispered.

Richie stopped at a certain distance. The enemy fleets began to launch their attacks as the sky rained with beams and rockets.

Eagle's voice continued to be transmitted to all members as he continued to preach and grant moral support to the armies.

"Fear not the enemies that surround you! For it is written! He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings, you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler!"

The skies lit up as the armies that surrounded the atmosphere continued to attack. The pilots were trembling at the scene as they continued to fly towards the torrential attacks.

"You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday! A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you! You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked!"

Richie drew his breath and readied a mighty roar. The sound of the terrifying and brave shout of Richie echoed out. Though they were all in their shuttles, the piercing cry still echoed out. Every Unlocked on those ships shouted in courage as they heard the mighty roar.

"Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent! The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts! Come hear the mighty cry of the Lord! Though our enemies be a devouring lion, the Lion of Judah shall roar!"

The shout of Richie created a miraculous transformation. The sound vibrations made the area around it as compact and hard as metal. Sound became Steel and pushed forth. A mighty shockwave erupted like a gigantic invisible staff that shot towards the enemy fleet.

Explosions after explosions rang out and covered the sky as the enemy attacks made contact with the invisible sound waves. But like an invincible wall, it remained undaunted and unhindered. The rushing continued to push fort. Various ships and orbiting objects began to rush and panic as they scattered to escape the pushing force, but it was too late. The Roar of Judah reached them. 

The Unlocked faced a daunting group that composed of all nations that had allied itself to the Aragarian. But this fleet that vowed to hinder the ascension and the entire fleet all began to explode as the Roar reached them.

The line of defense was quickly broken. And the stellar-capable jets left the atmosphere and pushed towards the final battle.

Seeker kept that memory deep in his heart. And now, he shared this fantastic tale towards the few people who remained. In this meeting, only the Overcomers, Arthur, and Lowengren were present. Everyone else was not invited to this secret meeting.

"Roar of Judah, huh? I don't think I can do that massive force yet. My powers are slightly limited, as the sound I can make is also limited. I cannot create such a massive amount of sounds yet."

"Roar of Judah is the culmination of your Path. You create sounds that create even more sounds. It's like a chain reaction once you create it. Of course, you already know this, right?" Seeker asked Richie.

"Easier said than done. Currently, I can only create another layer of sound during the attack. But overall, my sounds should follow a ratio of more than eighty-percent mine, and the remaining sounds are created from the original eighty percent that I make. But future me is capable of multiplying his sounds. He could double or triple it." 

"Might I ask why we are focusing on Richie's Path?" An impatient Meng asked. 

"No. It's not Richie's Path. It's Seeker's. You have something planned, don't you?"

"Yes. Richie has a Path that is easy to create. In my previous life, I could never copy another Path. That was Lynd's thing. But now, I want to do it. Because I am someone who does not walk a Path, it means that I can tread on all of them. And not just the Path's that require mindset or faith. Those that Lynd can copy. It is even possible for me to copy things like Lowengren's Path or even Lennox!"

"I get it. Since we have the time, you want to focus on accomplishing that?" Lowengren concluded.

"Right. Hence I need to start with Richie. I can't possibly copy Lennox with my current capacities. The Empress is out of the question. All that remains is Meng and Richie. But Meng will be doubly as hard to copy as I would need to be exposed to Meng's cells. So all that's left is Richie. Richie can start with the basics. He can tune me and show me all the frequencies of sounds. Even those that we can't hear. Perhaps in that, I can understand it and find a way to create sounds like his."

"Is this possible? What are the odds of that?" Lowengren asked Arthur.

"Almost zero. But that's why he has to do it. Seeker, Cliff, and Lynd have a unique ability to grow stronger as they meet more people. We already know Lynd's case, and we have yet to prove if Seeker's theory about Cliff is true. As for Seeker himself, he can copy the base foundations of everything."

"Let's see… He managed to understand the cells and create that cancerous body of his. He managed to acquire the Empress's abilities to reflect emotions. Too bad he's not as vain as the Empress. But what did he manage to understand about me?" Richie wondered.

"It improved my Realm. But I already had it. So while there is an improvement, it isn't something that can greatly aid me during battle. But even if my chances of treading on another Path is zero, I have confidence in myself that I can soon reach it." Seeker smirked.

And so it was that Seeker would practice and attempt to control Richie's sounds. Lennox designed an echo chamber wherein the sound could be contained and harvested. But by bit Seeker trained using the sounds in that. But the sounds had already run out, and Seeker earned nothing.

But then he met Nogard Meng. And in their short meeting, Seeker found the answer to the mystery that he was trying to achieve.

"What exactly is your Path?" Seeker asked.

"The soul. The Science that Progenitor gave me is a science that is not done on this dimension. And if I were to fight, the battle wouldn't be on this dimension as well."

Seeker sighed.

"I felt a strange familiarity when you attempted to attack me. In my Adult self's memories, he witnessed things that I cannot remember."

"You can't remember it because you no longer have that dimensional capacity to see and recall it. If you try to remember it, your brain, which thinks and translates things in the three-dimensions, cannot process it. It's like charging electrical equipment using gas. Unless you have something that can convert that gas to electricity, pouring gas on that electrical device is practically useless."

"And yet… it was that experience, the seeing through dimensions that made me aware of what you did."

"Yes. My power is a soul attack. By attacking one's soul, I can diminish your vitality, cause mental and emotional damage, change your personality, and kill you. But with my ability, my enemy has to stand at least one meter from me. I do not know how to move on to those other dimensions. So I need to be very near to another person."

"That's how you conquered China in your prime."

"Yes. I could make enemies into loyal allies. And even make the most loyal soldiers of my enemy go insane. I could even kill a person despite how heavily guarded they are or no matter how thick their shields were. My attack does not move in the three dimensions."

"You said that you taught your son some meditation skill?"

"Yes. You see, his power is derived not from our own dimensions. I made him focus on another aspect of his meditation. It was to make him achieve complete control with his body. And in doing that, he managed to alter his DNA. Of course, his own potential, comprehension, and faith made him cultivate that immense Desolation."

"I want to have that meditation skill."

"It would take years to master that. We don't have the luxury of time. However, because you had passed through all dimensions when you died, I believe there is a simpler way. And that is for me to attack your soul. Maybe through our clash, you will learn to tread my Path." The empowering force of Nogard's soul immediately clashed with Seeker without warning.

Seeker's two souls maintained a balance of existing and appearing together and clashed with the powerful soul of Nogard. The physical manifestation of that battle caused Seeker's expression to undergo immense pain. His brain and heart immediately experienced enormous pressure. His entire body became paralyzed.

His brain immediately gave way to various chemical reactions creating migraines, and he began to hallucinate.

He saw in his vision a terrifying dragon who was trying to devour his body. Both Seeker gave a pained cry in the strange realm where this dragon was attacking.

His body suffered from a strange paralysis. Seeker was in a peculiar state of being half-asleep and half-awake. The dragon's maw fell on both Seeker's, and painful cramps and piercing sensations could be felt all around Seeker's body.

Suddenly, the strange vision stopped. Seeker immediately collapsed. His face was deathly white as if he lost a lot of blood.

On the other side, Nogard also had a frail expression.

"That body of yours is quite tough. Aside from having an unusually large soul, you have two of them! I tried to possess you but couldn't defeat the owner of the house!" Nogard laughed as he fell into a deep slumber.

Through being attacked, Seeker felt it and actually saw the strange realm that surpassed the three dimensions.

It was then that he could hear a strange thought enter his head. Seeker knew that it wasn't his, but a thought began to speak in Seeker's head.

"That was the best that I can do."

"Nogard?!" Seeker reacted.

"You've heard about it and probably seen it. The talks about demonic possessions, the strange sleep paralysis that is followed by these horrifying nightmares. People claiming to have heard the voice of God or the voice of insanity. This is where it all happens."

"The fourth dimension!" Seeker then realized it and immediately closed his eyes and tried to return to the dreamscape land he and Nogard fought. Both Seeker's fell into a trance and saw it. But what they saw was something strange.

"So that's my Realm Somatotopy!" Seeker realized. Right next to him was the adult.

"So our Realm Somatotopy in itself is already a breaching of dimensions."

Nogard stood not far from them.

"You really can tread it." Nogard smiled.

"This is the unseen world. We are on a parallel plane. It is here that those cultic fellows go to for their astral projection activities. You must have heard of these paranormal encounters." Nogard explained.

"Why does this world look strange? I can see the three dimensions, but… I know that it isn't the three dimensions."

"You've heard of the tesseract?"

"That strange cube is the scientific attempt to project the fourth dimension into a three-dimensional plane." The adult answered.

"So is this it? We are standing in the fourth dimension? Then why do the three dimensions look weird here?"

"It's similar to those who draw 3D art by drawing height, depth, and length. If you view their paintings at a specific angle, you would think that it's real 3D. This world is the opposite. What we see now is the three dimensions being projected into the fourth-dimensional plane. But depending on the angle of where we are standing, some of the three dimensions would look distorted here."

"This is the dream world, right?"

"Not just dreams. This is where thought occurs. This is where imagination occurs. We are in the depths of your brain. But saying that you are in the depths of my brain is also true. Such is the fourth dimension. We cannot explain it because we are used to thinking in three dimensions. How can an object be in two places at the same time? Yet here, you are both in your brain and in mine."

"I can see my Realm… I can even see my emotions here." Seeker could understand the strange colors, ripples, and mist that enveloped the area around him.

"That is your advantage. You who have treaded beyond the fourth dimension on your rebirth as you passed through time and space and managed to acquire the Overcomers' various foundations. I can't see it, to be honest. But it makes sense. I can't project emotions like you or the Empress." Nogard laughed.

Seeker spent his time in meditation even as he was traveling back to the Pangean regions. Richie rendezvoused with Seeker along the way. And when they met, Seeker once more asked Richie to give him a tuning.

It was there that the miracle first happened.

Going back to the present, the twin beams that surpassed the destructive powers of Pangean Solarium blasted out and raced towards Seeker.

The three Thunders exploded, and Seeker called out the name of the attack.

"Let's do this." The Adult Seeker immediately moved.

"Roar of Judah." Seeker smiled as the Balls of Thunder started to explode. 

In the fourth dimension, the ripple of Richie's attack appeared. 

The whisper he made commanded the sound explosion, and it did not expand out like a normal explosion, but it blasted out like a large column of steel.

The sound created a strange distortion that made the Origin around them shift and move erratically.

BOOM!

The blast could not penetrate the vibrations that Seeker sent out. No stalemates were made as the powerful pushing vibrations broke through the solarium beams.

The explosions caused by the solarium beams counited to ring out. Despite the explosions, the mysterious sound wave kept moving on and on and crashed into the Empress.

BANG!

The impact threw the Empress upwards. Upon impact, the Empress's armors gave a bright green glow the flashed out. It was the Origin Energy that acted to defend and preserve her life. The forceful sound cannon carried the Empress to the high sky until finally, she managed to fall and roll the invisible wall that brought her up. Though her armor endured it, the impact caused various dents and even caused the Empress to bleed, and she also lost her consciousness. Her body then plummeted down towards another part of the Kraken.