There was no problem reaching space, but beyond, even the distance between the planet and the massive gate outside the orbit proved to be a massive slow-down.

It was a large ring built of metal parts. It had many shining fragments. Some were blue, others straight-up white. The middle - the portal itself - was completely black. At first, my thought was that it was just inactive, but then I realized that I should be able to see at least a few stars beyond, but there weren't any.

It looked like it was right there, in front of us, in hand's reach, but the truth was more brutal. It was so big, that for minds, like ours, that weren't used to such large objects, it was really hard to understand the real distance. Which, a little side track, was still not nearly, in any shape or form, impressive the space itself, since the damn thing was just outside of the orbit.historical

I put a lot of effort into accelerating us to a speed that would allow us to go on the other side as fast as possible, so my mind was focused solely on that. This meant I wasn't really talking, but the others weren't as well.

I guess what I told them made an impression. Not the good one, definitely.

They clearly needed some time to process the least. At least some of them. Others seemed to be encapsulated in their rock-solid resolve to push only forward. For those, only the obstacles ahead mattered at the moment, so there was nothing to speak about since that would lead to making them lose focus.

To describe it in one world, the atmosphere inside the bubble was grim.

Eventually, we made it past the portal, which was kinda nerve-wracking, even for me, since this was my first time and I actually had no idea what was going to happen. Fortunately, it didn't feel like anything. Beyond the darkness was just the other side. Maybe a different world, or location very far away.

I couldn't tell, because I couldn't really understand the map The Great One showed us before. It was nice visually, but grasping the flat representation of a multidimensional model of complex reality was an entirely different beast.

What awaited us on the other side was very pleasant for the eyes. It was a system of six planets. Each was not that far away from one other, and, judging by how they looked, all could be habitable even without the saplings.

Obviously, I had no idea if they were somehow terraformed, or if it was their natural state.

All had atmosphere partially obscuring the view of what was on the surface, but in the places, one could actually look at - which, by the way, was very hard with the local star in the center of the picture, shining with the blinding amount of light - one could spot domes.

Those were everywhere, all put at regular distances from one another in a hexagonal grid. Well... Mostly. Because there were exceptions to this rule, as some of the domes were bigger than the other.

The red 3D arrow on my wrist was clearly pointing at the biggest one, definitely the capital of the whole fragment of this fifth district. That's where I directed us.

I should also mention the other ring-shaped portal on the other side. Identical to the one behind us, and the one I described before.

The distance, despite seemingly not being that big, was actually a challenge. Thankfully the speed at which we crossed the portal gave us a headstart. I only increased it, eventually making us reach the orbit, then dive even lower - but not much - straight at the target beneath the dome which was actually reaching almost to the orbit itself.

We blasted through it. I immediately hit the brakes not wanting us to splash on the surface of the planet.

What awaited us was magnificent. A breathtaking view of a metropolis. It seemingly was built around those sharp, cut flat at the top, steep mountains, where you could see the streets spiraling all over, and the bridges connecting each on multiple levels, creating this net spread between each on the peaks.

Placed directly between them, and surrounded by a bunch of more 'regular' buildings, was the plaza with the tree.

The moment we got a visual on it, peaking through the net of the bridges, we got blasted by a laser beam. A first of many which started zooming all around us, trying to take us down.

- Fucking hell! - I cursed, gritting my teeth, as I immediately brought us down.

Before we even landed, a large lump of metal, which kinda looked like an axe, slammed into the top part of my bubble, blasting us to the side, where we crashed into the local architecture.

- You all know what to do! - Druoag said, then whiled with a deafening battle cry, before charging right through the building ahead of us, right to the plaza.

The architectural piece burst as if it was made of glass.

Not wasting any time, we all went after him, spreading a bit into a formation. I decided to leave my friend, and fly even further away, before creating a bridge for myself with the plates made out of void essence, so I could run at full speed.

The assault we just went through meant clearly that the guardians protecting the device meant business. Even this early in our mission we had to take everything deadly seriously because otherwise, people could die.

Using 'Harmonization' I aligned myself with the environment around me, no longer going against it, which allowed me to ignore all the usual forces which would slow me down. With this, I blasted through the whole area in no time, reaching the target.

The tree was magnificent. Almost as big as the one in Aaraam'soturi. Not wasting any time, I placed my hand on the surface,e pushing deeper.

Meanwhile, my friends didn't have such an easy time...