Year 247. The Uncharted Wilderness. Akumu's Personal Base.
The Uncharted Wilderness. A luxuriant and savage place, a domain where only the toughest survived. Throughout the years, humans had conquered all regions of the Terre Continent. Be it barren deserts or ravaging coastlines. Meandering rivers or highest peaks in the land. Humans had always found methods to conquer their environment. However, there was one area that completely befuddled the human race. There was one place that no government dares to expand into, even if they had a dozen Spirit Saints… And that was the Uncharted Wilderness.
A place where Spirit Beasts roamed and followed the law of the jungle. Prey became predators and predators become prey. A place where Tier 9 Spirit Beasts were common and Primordial Beasts were the overlords of their region. Mystical places, such as Illusory Canyon, deterred any mortals from entering while unrelenting Spirit Beast hordes would annihilate any human settlement nearby. It was, by far, the most dangerous region in the world.
But oddly enough, a small brick building stood untouched amidst the danger. Small ploughed fields, measuring roughly thirty-metres in length, lay behind the building. Juicy fruits and crunchy vegetables were hanging from the metre-long crops which could easily sustain a large family. At the side, there were chicken coops and a few cattle grazing on nutritious grass. It looked boringly simple.
There was nothing odd about this small farmer's house… other than the fact that it was located just a few kilometres away from the Uncharted Wilderness. Typically, Spirit Beasts should have charged out of the forest and ravaged everything in sight. However, that didn't happen this time. The small house wasn't well-protected or anything. There weren't any towering fortifications blocking the Spirit Beasts' path. It was just… plain.
However, the interior of the house was far from ordinary. Underneath the house, there were at least three basement levels, each one filled to the brim with countless reports and scientific findings. Expensive equipment, each one easily costing ten gold ingots, were littered all over the floor as if they were waste paper. Shelves upon shelves of parchment paper, holding vast amounts of information, decorated the walls of the chambers. In fact, it wasn't just the quality of the papers that was staggering. If any lead researchers of their field were to stumble upon the base, they would likely drop their jaw in awe. How much effort had been put into the papers here? What maniacal genius had holed himself away in the world's most dangerous place?
"Kuro, where are you?" A rough voice thundered out from the residence. That booming voice led to a weak whimper within the forest. A black wolf leapt like an impala, taking great strides in running to the source of the voice. The door of the brick hut bolted open, and an average framed man walked out. He boasted black, curly hair that wasn't combed in the slightest and his beard was likewise dishevelled. If there were a descriptive model of a caveman, this average-height man would be it.
His face was toned and bronzed while arid smells seemed to form brown squiggly lines above his head. If not for the white, clean robe, one couldn't be faulted for thinking that the man came from a primitive time. "Hah, you shouldn't wander too far from the house, Kuro. Next time you do that, I'll send you back to Yume Metropolis and let Dream deal with you!"
That's right… The unkempt man was the second-in-charge for Dream Labs, Akumu.
"Grrrrr!!!" The wolf growled, baring its teeth for its owner to see. However, as it thought back on the ghastly woman who always tried to touch its privates, the wolf gently slammed its head on Akumu's thigh.
"Hmph! That's better!" Akumu bent down and stroked his loyal pet's fur, calming the beast down in the process.
Twenty-seven years had passed since Akumu was deployed to the Uncharted Wilderness. Although Akumu was already in his fifties, he looked no older than forty. Yes, the curly beard and bedraggled hair added a few years to his appearance, but the moist and wrinkle-less skin of his stood out tremendously. In fact, if Akumu bothered to shave or tidy his appearance, the man would look no older than thirty.
Akumu flashed a radiant smile before asking the beast: "So… What did you find during your trip?"
"Awwooooo! Awwowoooo! Wooooo!" Kuro howled continuously while hopping about in excitement. It looked no different than that of a human child trying to tell its mother of their accomplishments.
"Hmmm? There's a giant serpent living two hundred kilometres deep? That sounds intriguing..." The researcher stroked his beard, clearly amused by the news that Kuro had brought back. Over the years, Akumu had practised his spiritual abilities on a myriad of Spirit Beasts. Most of them were weaker than Kuro and himself. Though there would be some instances where he would infuse his mana into more powerful Spirit Beasts, those were few and far between.
Faithfully dedicating his soul to the Eternal Plan, Akumu had entered the Rank 60 Spirit King realm just a few years back. Although it was a far cry's distance from Dream's cultivation, Akumu's cultivation was going swimmingly well. A Spirit King at fifty years old… If all goes well, Akumu might break into the Spirit Venerate realm before his two hundred year lifespan waned. And it was all thanks to Dream's arrangements.
"Maybe we could attempt taming that serpent… No, it's still far too dangerous to be wandering two hundred kilometres… Hah, if only I were a little stronger..."
"Rrrrrrr!!!"
"Yeah, yeah. I know that I'm strong enough!" Akumu chuckled at Kuro's poor attempt to cheer him up. For him, it didn't matter if he was a Spirit Venerate or not. As long as he could help Dream achieve her goals, Akumu would feel content.
"I wonder how Dream is doing now…" The man looked to the sky, thinking about the beautiful face that sent him here.
Twenty-seven years. Unknowingly, Akumu had spent twenty-seven years in the Uncharted Wilderness. Every winter, Akumu would travel back to Yume Metropolis to hide from the cold and more importantly, show his findings to Dream. So it wasn't that Akumu hadn't seen Dream in a long time. However, Akumu would have loved to be standing eternally by Dream's side, helping her accomplish whatever desires she had. Of course, if their relationship were to progress one step further, Akumu wouldn't mind in the slightest. Unfortunately, even after all these years, Dream showed no signs of romantic interest.
In fact, the past ten years had been quite strange. Dream was usually upbeat and bubbly, but her personality had turned colder. On the surface, Dream would put on the same mask she did with others, but those close to her could tell that something was off. Akumu had confronted her about that sad and murky face she would make from time to time; however, Dream would always rub those claims off. In the end, the ethereal beauty would still smile when being spoken at and answer whatever questions that Akumu posed. Particularly those relating to their research.
Dream was peculiar, but Akumu couldn't tell what's up. However, the black-haired man had unquestionable faith in Dream and whatever she wished to do.
Little did he know that…
"Hmmm? Do you sense something?" Akumu asked Kuro, who was his only source of companionship in this humanless land.
"..." The wolf raised its snout in the air while all four of its paws rested comfortably on the grassy floor. It was attempting to spread its Tier 7 senses throughout the forest, hoping to check if anything was amiss. However, it didn't need to be that concentrated… Why?
RUMBLE… RUMBLE… RUMBLE…
The ground… No, the entire Earth was trembling. Howls of cold winds pierced through the whole land and the spiritual energies of the world were running amok. The elements went wild, possibly fearing the energy that was pulsating throughout the heavens. Skywater rained down as if the Gods themselves were weeping. And this was just the beginning...
Thousands of cracks broke the ground, causing heaps upon heaps of natural disasters. Landslides, avalanches, volcanic eruptions, seaquakes that triggered tsunamis… The whole world was under siege, and the Uncharted Wilderness was no exception. Deathly winds uprooted millions of trees as deadly hurricanes crashed upon the woods. Fearing their lives, Spirit Beasts ran deep underground, where they believed it would be safe. Unfortunately, molten lava from the planet's core had been spilt out, completely incinerating the land that stood above it.
"HOLY SHIT!!!" Akumu cursed, and he slammed the doors to his lab shut with Kuro already yelping inside. Wasting no time, Akumu ran to the basement and immediately deployed his emergency protection system. A few months before he'd left, Dream had invented a method to create an energy barrier, one that could protect Akumu's lab from attacks by a Primordial Beast.
Akumu had no clue about how effective the barrier was against natural disasters, but it was worth a shot. Akumu couldn't afford to let the precious resources and research he'd spent nearly three decades accumulating to go to waste. He masterfully deployed defensive barrier after defensive barrier, protecting his entire lab in one go. Although Akumu didn't know the cause of the catastrophe, he needed to survive it. Otherwise, he would have let Dream, the person he loved most in the world, down.
Once all of the defences were deployed, Akumu grabbed onto Kuro, and they both cowered in one corner. Kuro used its superior build to protect the fragile scientist should things go south, while Akumu projected even more of his mana into the Spirit Beast.
BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!
The brick house continued to shake, and the natural disasters showed no signs of slowing down. Akumu didn't have any windows, so he couldn't observe the changes of the outside world. However, based on the force of the collisions, Akumu could tell that the natural disasters were getting more dangerous by the second.
In the end, the man and the wolf had to wait out a full three hours before the constant collisions subsided. Still shaken, the pair slowly got to their feet. Many books had fallen off their shelves, and glass beakers were shattered all over the lab. However, for the most part, the documents were all in pristine shape. Furthermore, the most valuable of papers had been locked up at the lowest level, in unbreakable chests designed by the Blacksmith's League. Unless the entire structure caved in and killed Akumu, the documents will see the light of day once again.
"A-Are we safe now?" The fifty-six-year-old's voice faltered. He had no clue if the natural disasters had stopped or if there was a short break before the world was attacked again. Therefore, to be safe, Akumu remained settled in the house for a full three hours more. Only then, did he emerge from his protective hut to...
"T-T-This..."
Only drop his jaw… The farm that he'd created had been wiped clean. All of the crops he'd prepared were now wiped clean, and the animals he'd raised had disappeared entirely. The building that he'd called home was now flattened by the winds and nothing, but debris remained. It was a disaster. However, the true thing that struck fear to Akumu's soul… Was the boundless sky that dominated the upper realm.
It was… torn.
One massive grey tear broke the fabric of space, creating a soul-gutting catastrophe, one of the likes the world has never seen. Akumu had never heard of such a scene, even with his long years as a researcher. Since time immemorial, there has never been a case where the sky rips in two… No, there has never been a case where the world trembles… ever.
Unless…
Akumu stared at the tear, one that seemed highly reminiscent to that of a portal to the heavens. There was only one entity on Earth that could possibly produce such a sight. There was only one human that had the ingenuity to tear the skies...
"Dream… What have you done?"
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