He accelerated his inertia and continued to rise upwards, through the stratosphere.
He saw bright, dreamlike noctilucent clouds blooming at the highest altitudes, like a veil scattered by a goddess.
He paused briefly to admire the beautiful scene, then continued to ascend.
Then he entered an even more dreamlike place, where the aurora danced silently in the near-vacuum environment, breathtakingly beautiful.
At this moment, Karl felt that the resistance was inexplicably growing stronger, and each increase required a significant amount of energy.
But he suspected that if he pushed himself, he might be able to continue climbing.
Perhaps... could he break through this diffuse layer and truly touch the void beyond the planet?
The moment this thought arose, a wave of heart palpitations suddenly washed over him, so intense it made him tremble.
This feeling was not physical stress or lack of energy, but a life instinct, warning of unknown dangers.
It seemed that if he climbed higher, he would touch some existence with which he was currently completely unable to contend.
Karl's expression changed slightly, and he resolutely decided to follow his inner guidance.
He immediately stopped his upward momentum and hovered on the edge of the aurora's dance.
He raised his head, and the clairvoyance in his eyes fully activated.
His gaze pierced through the extremely thin gas and looked at the dark void beyond the planet.
In his vision, there was nothing besides the planet.
He saw an imperceptible layer of a massive energy shield, which appeared faint orange.
It resembled a transparent shell, enveloping the entire planet.
On the shield, countless complex and incomprehensible energy lines slowly flowed, born and dying.
It radiated a vast, ancient, and life-filled power.
Karl slightly raised his brows; he felt that the nature of this energy... was very familiar.
In his imagination, the image of being drawn into Melitele's divine realm when he was at the Ellander temple instantly surfaced.
His eyes widened slightly, and it suddenly dawned on him that this seemed to be Melitele's divine power.
Was it He... or They who created this protective magic circle for the planet?
For a god to need to use such immense power to create a planetary-level protective magic circle,
it meant that there must be some unknown danger outside the planet that could threaten the entire world.
"This burden... I can't bear it right now, so I won't delve into the details." A wry smile appeared on the corner of Karl's mouth.
He resolutely let go of the question and didn't try to understand the lines on those shields.
When you are weak, knowing too much is sometimes not a good thing.
He buried this discovery deep in his heart, relaxed his body, lay down directly in the near-vacuum environment, and closed his eyes.
He needed rest, and he needed... to eat. The cells of his entire body joyfully absorbed the majestic energy of the sun, almost without attenuation.
He was suspended beneath the aurora and fell asleep... in other words, he entered a state of deep energy absorption.
...
A few hours later, Karl slowly opened his eyes, and a flash of awareness flickered from beneath them.
He felt the fullness in his body's cells; the energy expended on flying and fighting gravity had not only been fully replenished but had also increased.
He cast a final glance at the massive orange shield beyond the planet, no longer feeling nostalgic.
His body flexibly turned in the air, his head lowered, and then he fell at great speed.
No longer needing to fight the planet's gravity, the descent was not only several times faster than the ascent.
He was like a true meteor, tearing through the thin atmosphere and plummeting towards the planet's surface.
After a while, the outlines of the land below quickly became clear and enlarged.
He saw the neatly divided farmlands, the residents of Terra who had finished their work and were heading back to the village,
and the young guards like Vernon diligently training under Phillip and Dalton's guidance on the manor's training ground.
Just as he was about to correct his posture and land smoothly, a wave of faint whispers came from an extremely distant place.
But it seemed like a murmur that sounded directly in the depths of his consciousness, intermittent and vague.
Karl shuddered, froze in the air, and frowned: What was happening? He hadn't actively activated his super hearing?
Was it... a nature spirit like the nymph?
Or was it some other entity trying to contact him telepathically?
He concentrated, trying to catch and amplify these faint sounds.
However, the effect was minimal; the sound only became slightly more complete, less fragmented.
But the volume was still low and indistinct, and the content was even more vague, making it impossible to discern the specific meaning.
Karl hovered in the air, trying to orient himself to find a reception point with a stronger signal.
He traveled over ten kilometers in all directions—east, west, north—but the whisper remained faint and vague, without noticeable change.
Until he moved south to try.
The originally barely perceptible whisper was perceived by Karl very subtly, but indeed, it strengthened slightly.
Although it was still vague, this clear direction lifted Karl's spirits.
He hovered over the southern border of Terra, looking into the distance at the vast southern lands he had yet to set foot on.
A thoughtful look was in Karl's eyes, and he muttered suspiciously to himself: "South? In that direction... I haven't been there yet. Is this voice guiding me?"
"It just so happens that my strength has improved, so let's see what this voice is trying to tell me."
Having said that, he hesitated no longer, his figure tracing an afterimage in the air as he began to accelerate southward.
His speed was much higher than before, and the mountains, rivers, and cities beneath his feet quickly receded.
Soon, he crossed the southern border of Temeria and entered uncharted territories.
After a few hours of flight, the landforms and architectural styles below gradually changed.
They were more regular, uniform, and even possessed a faint sense of oppression and discipline.
When his gaze swept over the square of a large city below,
and he saw the flag flying high and dark against the dark background, embroidered with a golden sun emblem with a majestic human face,
Karl suddenly stopped in the air, his eyes widening.
Looking at the very familiar flag, the one he had just mentioned changing the other party's coat of arms, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Wait... this is... the Imperial Banner of Nilfgaard?"
"I... I have flown into the territory of the Nilfgaardian Empire?!"
Hovering over the Nilfgaardian realm, Karl focused his mind, carefully distinguishing the whispers that remained on the edge of his consciousness and gradually became clearer.
These sounds did not come from a single source, but were like countless tiny streams.
They rose from the boundless lands below, merging into a vague chorus.
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