Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! Chapter 88: 88-I’ll Be Here For All Eternity At This Rate

Read chapter 88 of Reader Mage-Stubbing August 10! by A_Random_Turtle on NovelPedia.

It was lukewarm and dark. Sometimes an occasional flash of light would streak through the space, but nothing that completely dispelled the darkness surrounding Merlin. But he remained calm regardless. He was well aware of how delicate one had to be with handling the whole mana dissecting process, and he was not willing to be lost in the void because he let himself lose his head. He controlled his breathing (if what he was doing could even be called that) and thought of what was happening and what he could do. The shining stars he had seen surrounding the nucleus were nowhere to be found, but Merlin was certain they had not just up and disappeared. Maybe if he was able to find them, then he would be able to decipher something about this place that he was. Another flash of light streaked through the space then and Merlin’s eyes narrowed. What could those lights probably be? It would have been easier for him if Kieran had partook in something like this in Singularity Mage, but he couldn’t keep hoping for handouts now, could he? Merlin took a deep breath and exhaled. If there was nothing in this space, and the only clue of something besides a black void existing was the light streaking through the sky, then maybe… A thought wandered into his head. He nodded in alignment with the thought and waited. He watched the black space in anticipation for the reappearance of the streak of light, and when another appeared, he followed it. Merlin didn’t believe that he was faster than or on par with the speed of light, but his mana was within his body and aligned with his subconscious; in other words, where he was was his world, and he had full control of the occurrences within it. Willing himself to move faster than he was, Merlin’s body turned ethereally light. He flashed through the dark space, chasing after the light, and without much trouble, he caught up to it. The problem was that it had no particular direction. The light kept going, not stopping for once or just vanishing out of sight. Merlin arched his brows as he realized what was going on. He had not been seeing different lights streaking to the sky. It had been one singular light that had kept going round, like an orbit. Am I to just keep following it then? he asked himself. I’ll be here for all eternity at this rate. Merlin’s mind became a whirlpool of thoughts, but he didn’t let it bleed into his emotions and throw him into disarray. He calmed his heart and thought of what he could do. Which was truly only one thing. Every time he’d wandered into his subconscious to interact with his mana, the way he had been able to do that was by directly coming in contact with it. Obviously, now it shouldn't be any different. Merlin had been keeping an arm’s length from the streak of bright light, but now he closed that gap and reached for it. As soon as his fingers connected with it, though, a scorching heat burnt them and pain flared in his head. In an instant, the void shook and veins of cracks appeared all over it. He quickly pulled himself back, realizing that he had lost control of himself there. But reining himself in didn’t repair the cracks that had appeared. Merlin pinched his lips. Was his thought flawed, or was this the part where he got through the whole process without letting himself succumb to pain? Was that even humanly possible? Just touching the light had given him a glimpse of what happened when one was caught in a fire. It was like every single tissue in his fingers had been snapped out of existence by a blazing force in mere seconds. There was no way he could withstand that. Maybe I should just get out of here… Merlin shook his head. No. That was not the right train of thought. Taking the easy way out was no longer on the cards for him. He had a lot to take care of now, and he couldn’t let himself be weak. Merlin grit his teeth, held his breath, and reached for the light again. The pain was enormous. It burnt through his fingers, up to his hands, and to his forearms, befo