They were traveling billions of kilometers per second, yet Kayden didn’t seem affected in the slightest. Previously, Kayden had taken decades to reach the level he was at now, but this time they utilized several portals scattered throughout the zone, capable of crossing thousands of light-years in a single leap. This saved an absurd amount of travel time.
Every time Kayden crossed the universe, he realized how pathetic his strength truly was. Traveling at 20 billion kilometers per second was insane, but at the same time, it was insignificant compared to the universe. It still took years to cross some galaxies at maximum speed.
"We’ve arrived," Jormund said, stopping on a completely immense planet. Kayden had never seen anything of this size, not even in his previous universe. It easily spanned hundreds of billions of kilometers, entirely covered in snow.
The planet was a silent spectacle of power and isolation. Its vast snowy expanse shimmered under the stars like a frozen ocean stretching infinitely. Colossal mountains pierced the horizon, their bases buried in forgotten eras and their peaks cutting through the rarefied atmosphere. The winds carried echoes of secrets buried beneath layers of eternal ice. The surface, inhospitable and challenging, harbored only those strong enough to endure an environment deliberately hostile to life. And yet, amidst this desolation, there were signs of grand civilizations, with structures so immense and complex that they defied the logic of the ages.
At the heart of the planet, protected by impenetrable layers of ice and energy, stood Nivalis Zenith, a city of elites beyond imagination. Each building was a masterpiece forged of crystal and arcane metal, radiating a golden light that pierced the constant darkness. Towers rose into the sky as monuments to ambition, each adorned with sigils and runes shimmering with the energy of a thousand mages. The streets, made of a translucent, luminous substance, pulsed with life as though the planet itself sustained the city. Here, trade was not in mortal riches but in ancient knowledge, unmatched artifacts of power, and favors capable of reshaping universes. Only those with strength, influence, or rare lineages could pass through the city gates, and even then, many were crushed by the weight of its relentless splendor.
The weakest mage in this city possessed eight rays, and not even the children fell below that standard. The talent of entire regions was entirely concentrated here. Kayden even sensed some presences at the level of demigods. Nine-ray mages were scattered in the hundreds throughout the city, as common as sand in a desert. Additionally, there were a few mages exuding the same aura as Jormund.
Kayden and Jormund flew throughout the city. Their arrival was noticed by most of the powerful mages, but as soon as they recognized Jormund’s aura, they withdrew, unwilling to satisfy their curiosity about Kayden. New mages were rare in this place, and they were usually introduced by someone from within. However, Kayden was a mage with a unique aura—or rather, a mage without any perceptible aura.
The two flew for a few minutes at low speed until they reached one end of the city. There, they found a vast garden of blue and white flowers, most of them frozen or showing signs of ice among their stems. Kayden immediately felt the aura of this place. The laws here were completely frozen. Balance could not establish itself anywhere, as every attempt was undone by the extreme cold. However, the fundamental law of balance still existed and was fully present, though Kayden was unable to articulate anything about it.
The garden stretched only one kilometer from the outside, but when they entered, it extended for dozens of kilometers. The spatial runes were perfect; Kayden could understand them because of his law and his mastery, but he was unable to alter or easily break them.
For several minutes—or perhaps hours—Kayden stood still, studying the environment. His eyes were closed as he absorbed everything he could. Without realizing it, he fell into a trance. The details and new elements in this environment were overwhelming, and the aura of the place was mythical—something Kayden had never experienced in his entire life.
"A true genius doesn’t even take an hour to escape the illusions of the frozen garden. Who have you brought here, Jormund?" A man barely one meter tall appeared, walking through the garden. His characteristics were unique.
The man, barely one meter tall, walked slowly through the frozen garden, but his presence was anything but insignificant. His spiky blue hair seemed made of pure magical ice, radiating an ethereal light that flickered in harmony with the frozen laws around him. His short blue beard complemented his cold and calculating expression, while his thick eyebrows projected an aura of unquestionable authority. He wore a heavy cloak of wool and leather, reinforced with crystalline ice details that glowed faintly, capturing the essence of winter itself.
"Hello, Father. This is Kayden Heart," Jormund began, explaining how he had found Kayden and the opportunity that had arisen for both of them. After learning that spies could be created perfectly, the emperor also became interested.
"Let’s wait. He should be able to get out. His talent can’t be that remarkable," the emperor commented, assuming Kayden had simply experienced many fortuitous encounters in his life. After all, his garden was both a test and a defense.
Time slowly began to pass, and there was no sign of progress from Kayden. In the blink of an eye, several years went by. Neither Jormund nor the emperor gave up on Kayden for the simple reason that those who became lost in the garden turned into frozen flowers. They merely left a rune to alert them when Kayden awakened from his stupor. Like it or not, he wasn’t an urgent priority.
As the two went on with their lives, Kayden fought an internal struggle, he was not in the perfect place to learn about the law of balance, here he was so unbalanced and at the same time balanced by a higher law that he felt lost, but little by little he was able to understand the whole scheme of things, little by little the fundamental law began to take shape in his mind.