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Chapter 199: You Are Irrelevant VII

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The fifth dimension was... marvelous. It was an exquisite work of art, and it would make anyone marvel at its miraculous nature.

It's a bright space, seeming small yet endless at the same time, mainly because as you move within it, it expands based on your existence.

Or one might say that light works very differently in this dimension, thus making you believe that it has limits when in reality, light has limits.

If not for the forever force, death would've visited Ian the moment he stepped inside because a planet-like object passed by at that exact moment, and it was moving at the speed of light.

Ian was easily able to teleport away from it, then teleport again and again because many of such 'planets' kept appearing out of nowhere.

So Ian became intangible. He transformed into something akin to a ghost using the energy of life, giving him plenty of time to scan the 'planets' appearing and disappearing, seeming to be targeting him.

The said objects were no planets. They were in fact one of the smallest particles in existence. They looked like bright dots moving in light, sometimes distorting it.

Ian's cosmic awareness allowed him to see right through the objects, 'Gravitons?'

graviton, postulated quantum that is thought to be the carrier of the gravitational field. It is analogous to the well-established photon of the electromagnetic field. Gravitons, like photons, would be massless, electrically uncharged particles traveling at the speed of light.

Now one might wonder, why does something as microscopic as Gravitons seem as massive as planets to Ian? Well, the fifth dimension is that much of an odd place.

The fifth dimension is a micro-dimension which is actually accepted in physics and mathematics or at least theorized. 

It’s here to have a nice and seamless tie between gravity and electromagnetism, or the main fundamental forces, which seem unrelated in the regular four-dimensional spacetime.

The Graviton Ian was observing at the moment comes from the idea that collisions of subatomic particles result in the production of additional particles, one of which could be the theoretical graviton. In this scenario, the graviton leaves the fourth dimension, and “leaks” into a fifth-dimensional bulk. 

And now Ian can see it for himself. It doesn't seem to be a theory anymore though it's a bit more complicated, especially as he observed the Gravitons trying to destroy him.

Like, colossal planet-like Gravitons were moving towards him at the speed of light, but they never collide with each other. He phases through them, and they vanish a second later as if they have consciousness.

"You lied?" Mister Mxyzptlk asked, seeming bewildered as if he didn't see it coming at all. Honestly was all the reality-warping imps knew, and they never saw a need for lies.

"They don't move towards you if you don't see them. Everyone knows that, so why don't you?" Mister Mxyzptlk further added.

"Why of course it's because I lost my memory." Ian shrugged, not seeming too disturbed.

"So you are lying," Mister Mxyzptlk spoke, appearing indignant, and spurted some fifth dimension bullshit Ian has yet to understand, "We don't see them because we don't see them not because we don't want to see them."

His words indicated that he doesn't see them, yet he seems aware of them. It made Ian a bit confused even with his cosmic awareness. The fifth dimension was truly an odd place with different rules.

"Hmm, I suddenly want to kill you," Ian stated as a staring contest started with the Imp.

Mister Mxyzptlk remained silent, both just staring at each other for a while. Everything changed in an instant as every Graviton changed direction, making their way towards the Imp.

'Rose Of Redirection.' Ian redirected every Graviton's trajectory at the same moment without making a move.

The same was for mister Mxyzptlk. He didn't move at all, yet several black holes emerged around him, attracting the Gravitons into them without affecting him.

What followed was three clowns manifesting out of nowhere, giant clowns. Each with a big hammer which they brought down upon Ian. 

The first two didn't hit him at all due to his intangibility, in fact, the hammers phased through each other as if they were also intangible. The congruence with the third hammer somehow sent Ian flying.

It ignored his intangibility much to his surprise, and the clowns didn't stop there. They were faster than light speed, and they would instantly annihilate most beings with their power.

However, they barely left a scratch on Ian with the Rose of Kryptonian always active. 

Ian started redirecting the clowns' attacks away from him while still attacking him with the Gravitons. He tried to teleport the Gravitons directly into Mister Mxyzptlk, but the latter ended up teleporting away.

Still, no one really moved a finger. More and more clowns continued to appear, followed by red boxes whose opening signaled the eruption of a torrent of energy, seeking to annihilate Ian.

They were fireworks, exploding red balloons, and massive freshly cooked pieces of meat thrown at Ian by doll-like chefs. 

They were even waiters appearing far above Ian and pouring a flood of juice on him. That juice might be poison or lava though, and it moves at the speed of light.

White shields, blue barriers, black holes, black lightning, and white cannons, everything was used, but neither of the two was interested in dirtying their hands.

It was a stalemate between two reality-altering monsters, granted, Ian's reality alteration is a bit weaker than the Imp. That's why he was here in the first place.

And their feats only continued to climb by the second, all while Ian's staff was hovering behind him, seeming to be devouring something in space. 

"I am losing, am I not?" Mister Mxyzptlk wondered out loud, aware of the game being played by Ian. He can see it, what Ian was devouring. He can also see the magic in the air, Ian was casting a spell.

Alas, he had no choice but to continue because the faster he gives up, the quicker he dies. He can only hope his kind can notice the battle before it's too late.

Unfortunately, the fifth dimension was too wild even for the Imps. Even they were restricted within it.

If they were in the primary universe, then it would've been erased long ago because that's how grand their battle was. Then again, Ian could end the battle very quickly if he wished to, but No...

"The Collective Unconcious, huh?" That's what Ian was devouring, or its residue at least. It surprised him greatly that one of the Seven forces of the universe actually resides here.

The Collective Unconscious is the cosmic force that gives others knowledge and wisdom and is part of the Seven Harmonious Forces. 

It is responsible for granting telepaths their power and is also wielded by the greatest of minds.

The force residing here was a welcome surprise for Ian because it might just be the only thing that can elevate his psychic powers even higher, perhaps to a Multiversal level.

"Anything to say?" Ian asked as he stopped his attacks. Mercy was his second name after all.

Mister Mxyzptlk stopped, his mouth opened and closed, seeming unsure, "I didn't get to play games... I'm sad." He wasn't begging for his life, but he was simply letting out his emotions.

Time stopped for him. He was frozen in time. Both Ian and Mister Mxyzpltk saw this coming because Ian used the Forever force on him before, and it worked... It was a losing battle from the start.

"Aghh...hah..." Mister Mxyzpltk let out his last breath, life slowly slipping out of him, getting devoured by the staff that almost split his short body in half.

In the end, all that was left were ashes, scattering around under Ian's watchful eyes, "Humanity is truly slipping away from me, or perhaps I'm just becoming who I always was..."

That seemed like such an evil thing to do. He at least still had the common sense to realize that, but that didn't stop him from going through with it.

And he wasn't done just yet as he turned around, his gaze traversing for long to see a bunch of Imps making their way to him. 

It would've taken just about 0.1 seconds to reach him, but that was more than enough for Ian as he activated the spell he started casting since a while ago.

"I'm curious. If something as infinitesimal as a Graviton appears to be as massive as planets here, then what would a real planet look like here? What about the sun? A black hole?"

It was all out of curiosity. The temporary destruction of the fifth dimension didn't need to happen, but Ian was curious.

The Imps were no contender. Hell, he could just leave, but he wanted to see it, and he did. Ian saw the fifth dimension crumble upon itself in an infinitely tiny timespan that he was barely able to comprehend what took place.