Sylvie’s view

One of the great things about being a powerful immortal is being able to enter outer space without needing something bulky like a space suit. Lack of air? No problem. Low pressure? No problem. Low temperature? No problem. Even high temperatures aren’t a problem.

The first thing I did when space became a real option was visit the moon. That wasn’t hard at all. However, even after all the things Alice had told me about space, I wasn’t really prepared for just how far away things are. Traveling to the Sun took me a full day! Sure, that might not seem like all that long, and dancing along the surface of the sun was fun, but if it takes that long just to go from earth to sun, it must take forever to go from the sun to the next closest star, and I didn’t even know which star was the closest! 

Alice had always said the distances and sizes were big. I just hadn’t really understood how big until I reached the surface of the sun. That was when it really sank in just how huge the sun was, and how far away the other stars must be if they are similar in size. If I want to travel to another star, I need a faster way to travel.

---

“This big thing is supposed to take me to the nearest star?”

“Yes, Sylvie, it has a powerful amplification stone and is filled with formations to ease travel.”

“What’s with all the guns?”

“We may have gotten a little carried away when building it. All of us are fans of the War of Stars movie.”

---

The way this ship works feels like an inspiration to me. I didn’t want to follow the cultivation path others had found, and Alice had taken. Creating a world inside me didn’t sound like fun. I wanted to explore, not create. This ship, it imposed the will of the captain upon the world around it. That was the path I wanted. 

The freedom to travel comes from being able to follow my own rules. It’s about being in my own world rather than carrying one inside me. To inhabit both this world and my own at the same time, and let me choose which set of rules to follow. Like how this ship allows me to warp space, bend time, and travel great distances in an instant. Not because the world allows it, but because the ship makes it possible.

Like this I traveled the stars.

---

“Haha! Found you!”

“What? I’m over 80 light-years from Origin! How’d you get here so fast?”

“Don’t underestimate Tracker Nine! I can go anywhere the network goes. I’m actually thinking of building a shipment system for the network using this trick. Should make it possible to send goods to anyone from anywhere.”

“So, I can actually order stuff online and get it shipped? Even out here?”

“Yup! Actually, a lot of people would like your help. They want to plant Network beacons on planets to make future travel easier, and make a map of the stars that can automatically update itself as things move.”

“Are you sure they aren’t just greedy for the remains of leviathans I’ve slain out here?”

“Oh, uh, I’m pretty sure that’s not all they want. I must admit, the videos you’ve released of those giant creatures roaming the stars are incredible. I can’t help but wonder just how old they must be. Older than you, I imagine.”

“Of course! I’m still young! … Even if everyone older than me has ascended.”

---

“I think I figured out a way to cross the void between worlds.”

“Sylvie, you know what happened to the first attempt, right?”

“Yeah, everything decays out there. The place is hostile to anything not protected by a world. That’s the key, I’m bringing my own personal world with me.”

“Your new cultivation path you wrote about?”

“Yup! Once out there, we can use the network to try and figure out how to breach the void and track signals across it.”

“Heh, and maybe locate Dungeon 404. I know Tracker Nine is still frustrated at being unable to find them.”

---

“How are we supposed to find anything out here in the void?”

“I’m not convinced space works properly in the void. Standard warp systems don’t work, because there’s no space to warp. I suspect we aren’t actually going anywhere at all.”

“You do keep telling me there’s no way to get a proper reading of our coordinates, Ruby.”

“That’s right, Sylvie. We aren’t anywhere at all. Navigating the void is going to require a different approach.”

“Can we at least figure out how to open up a portal?”

“We’re working on it! These things take time to figure out. Don’t be so impatient. Hold on, I think we just made a connection to another network.”

“Huh?”

“It’s… a duplicate?”

Suddenly a portal appeared, and another me came in?

“Woah! You’re really me!”

“Uh, what?”

“I’m your copy. You must be the original. I don’t think we’re supposed to be able to contact each other like this.”

“How can you be a copy?”

“Well, there’s gods above the gods. Valia is stuck fighting battles against invading forces now. At least, a copy of her is. We’re not sure where the original is. We were searching the void to figure out how to reach other worlds when we noticed your ship.”

“This is giving me a headache.”

“I know, it’s a total mess. Some of the researchers I’ve been talking to think we’re all living in some kind of simulation. That all of the reality we know is just some program in a computer.”

“Eh? You’re using the name Dimensional Fairy?”

“Well, after finding you, I wanted to make sure there wouldn’t be too much confusion online. You stay as Stellar Fairy, and I’ll be Dimension Fairy.”

“The fact that you could open a portal here means you must be more advanced in portal tech.”

“We put a high priority on dimension crossing. We don’t dare leave Valia alone, or she might get us all killed.”

“Well, in that case, let’s head back home. My home. Then you can help us set up a proper connection so both our worlds can work together on finding more worlds.”

“Yes! More worlds to explore!”

---

“No fair, you got to visit Dungeon 404’s world before I did!”

“Maybe that will give you more incentive to get the portal working.”

“We’re working as fast as we can! Did you get to try out the mecha plans we made?”

“Yeah! It was amazing! Way more fun to fight in a mecha than using a battleship.”

“I know, the cannons are so boring to use.”

---

“You know, with all the extra manufacturing ability Dungeon 404 can offer, we should be able to drastically speed up the development of new equipment for the invader wars.”

“Didn’t someone actually challenge The Ultimate Sword to a fight? How’d that go?”

“It wasn’t much of a contest, but it did give me some insight into how fights at that scale work.”

“We need to create a world presence strong enough to overpower an opponent’s laws.”

“That’s right! Create a realm where only our laws apply, to defend against others and create an impenetrable defense.”

“You mean that’s what Yertle is working on.”

“Yeah, I’m more interested in travel. Speaking of which, we’ve almost got a lock on a new world to explore. Shall we go together?”

“Sure!”

---

Betty’s view

Hey! Why are there space ships entering my bunny paradise?!