Akumu sped through the empty streets of Yume Metropolis, ignoring any sight in his path. If a Spirit Saint screamed at him, he would only turn a deaf's ear. If a Primordial Beast attacked him, Akumu would still crawl forward was a single-minded determination. There was nothing that could stop Akumu's drive to push onwards.
In Yume Metropolis, there was only one place that could provide him with answers. Kuro continued to speed down the streets, past the government offices, past the towering buildings… all the way to the familiar place. Kuro was connected to Akumu through their mana. It could be said that they were closer than blood brothers now. The Spirit Beast could feel Akumu's anxiety and his desire to find the truth. Therefore, Kuro never stopped… He didn't stop until they reached their destination. Which was…
"Thank god it's still intact!" Akumu breathed a sigh of relief. Before them, was a vast mansion donned in a creamy beige colour. Dream had only killed her subjects 'minds,' and thus there was little destruction and bloodshed. The laboratory was wholly intact, as clean as a bone. It was left just the way Akumu had remembered it.
Dream and Akumu had spent thousands of days burning the midnight oil in this facility. All of Dream's discoveries and research were accomplished within this mansion. A beautiful facility that stood as a beacon of light for all researchers all around the world. How many wanted to land a job within these walls? How many had benefited from the discoveries that came out from Dream Labs? It was a majestic place, one that would unquestionably go down as a holy land in the future…
But now? It was reduced to an empty ghost mansion.
Akumu rushed frantically into the building, meandering through the poor obstructions that first responders had placed down. The fifty-year-old had spent most of his adult life walking through these halls. He knew every corner, every shortcut and every defence mechanism that was placed within. Skipping them all to reach his destination was child's play to him. Akumu continued his descent, all the way to the place where Dream's office would be. He knew… He knew if Dream were to leave, she would leave some clues in the place she worked.
It took Akumu less than five minutes to descend, but once he reached the bottom… He was wholly disappointed. Bookshelves that were usually filled to the brim had turned up empty. The usual mountain of papers were nowhere to be seen. The office, the place where Akumu thought he would find the most answers. Was completely cleaned out.
"Damn it! The government must have cleared out Dream's office before she ascended!" Akumu inferred. Dream would never throw away precious documents of her own accord. If anything, she was a hoarder of files and would always keep backups in her office.
"There must be something left behind! There. Must. Be!" Akumu turned frantic. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face scrunched up. From what he knew of Dream, she wasn't the type to leave no trace behind. There had to be something!
The man searched high and low. He rummaged through cabinets and entered secret locations that were only known to Dream and himself. Kuro helped as well. The Spirit Beast had cultivated an intelligence, not inferior to that of an average human. It was more than capable of sniffing out some residue documents.
Alas, how could Yume Metropolis' government be so sloppy? If they had decided to confiscate all of Dream's research, they would have been thorough in their seizure. Dream Labs was completely emptied…
"There must be something! There must be something!" Like a broken man, Akumu repeated the same words over and over, praying that he could find something… anything. And when it seemed that all hope was lost… Akumu saw it.
"T-This… This is?!"
The man stumbled into the final chambers, the place where Dream most frequented. It was her restroom, the place where Dream took naps during breaks and the room where she laughed the most. Akumu had entered this room many a time, just to visit Dream and discuss anything under the sun with her. Dream had a firm policy... To never disturb this sacred room of peace. No vandalism, no food or drink and even no documents were allowed in the room! And yet, on the wall behind the bed, there were two deeply imprinted words, seemingly carved with chisels.
[Dexsoit Teinost!!!]
They were two strange words. Was it a foreign language? Akumu had a cursory understanding of every language in the human race, so he could cross that conjecture out. Was it a code? Akumu knew all the codes that Dream liked to use, so he eliminated that possibility as well. So what was it? What were those two words that were carved into the stone?
Akumu didn't know. However, he could feel the pain the carver had when she put those words into the wall. Dream wasn't at master swordswoman, and neither was she a stonemason. Thus, the only way she could carve those magnificent words was to use pure spiritual energy condensed into her fingers. Not to mention, the Mind-Elements that she was adept in had no physical properties. She couldn't cut through stone like the sharp Wind-Elements could and neither could she turn softness into hardness like Water-Elements could. One could only imagine the amount of mana she poured into her fingers to carve the words into the enhanced walls.
"Dexsoit Teinost? What does that mean?" Akumu continued to ponder out loud. It was the only clue that Dream had left behind, so it had to mean something. It could very well be the answer he'd been looking for. Perhaps the reason why Dream left for the Immortal Realm prematurely, was because of these two words.
The Spirit King continued to stare at the two words, hoping to decipher whatever meaning Dream had left behind. However, as Akumu continued to stare at the wall, he felt his eyes hurt as if a thousand daggers were piercing into his sockets. Unable to bear it any longer, Akumu was forced to look down, even though he'd only stared at the words for a mere ten seconds.
A face full of sweat, Akumu felt his entire world spin, and his consciousness was bending into weird shapes. "Dream must have used all of her power to carve out these two words… How terrifying!"
How powerful was a Spirit Immortal? Throughout history, their power was unparalleled, and the mortal world had always forced them to ascend. Dream must have written those words just moments before she ascended into godhood. Akumu's Rank 60 cultivation could never hope to compare against Dream's prodigal power.
"Dexsoit Teinost… Yume Metropolis confiscating Dream's research… Dream massacring the entire town… Dream ascending into Heaven without solving the mystery of Heaven's Gate… All of these must be linked! Think, Akumu think!"
Dream was the love of Akumu's life, the beacon of light that guided him throughout. Akumu had promised Dream that he'd help her create Heaven's Gate. He'd promised her that he would ascend to the Immortal Realm to accompany her.
"Dexsoit Teinost… The path to the Immortal Realm… Dream, what did you find?" Akumu continued to ponder and ponder, hoping to make some sort of breakthrough. However, just like the woman who always transcend mortal understanding, her last words were just as enigmatic. Akumu was smart, there was no question about it. Otherwise, how could he have kept up with Dream's outstanding pace of research? But Dream's actions were far too sudden. No, Yume Metropolis' actions were far too abrupt.
"Dream must have found the method to enter the Immortal Realm, but those bastards didn't want her to publish it… That must be it!" The bearded man made his own inference about the events that transpired. "They had forced Dream to ascend without warning… Dream must have been forced to kill Yume Metropolis' population to protect the secret. That must be it!"
Seething with rage, Akumu slammed his fist onto a table, breaking it with his enhanced Spirit King's mana. Kuro, who had been accompanying the man for the longest time, went over and licked his boots. In his memory, Akumu had always been calm and collected. He was never one to throw tantrums or blow off steam. Alas, when it came to Dream… Akumu would change into a whole other person.
The raging man smiled, his anger subsiding somewhat. "Don't worry about me, Kuro… I'm just a little angry, that's all..." The man shook his head. In his life, Akumu had only cared about two beings. Dream, the woman that saved him and Kuro, the Spirit Beasts that he took in. Although Dream was gone, at least Kuro was still by his side. "Right now, I'm far too ignorant to understand Dream's actions. I probably won't decipher these two words as well… However, I will… No, I must do it! Even if the world turns its back on Dream, I never would!"
Swearing on his life, Akumu took one final look at those two words on the wall. He couldn't stare at it long, but he could feel Dream's intent when she wrote those words. So what if Dream wasn't around? So what if she had ascended into the Immortal Realm? Akumu was still here! He had all the resources he needed in the Uncharted Wilderness. He knew all of Dream's blueprints and plans as well! Akumu had everything he needed to build Heaven's Gate!
Taking one final look at the two mystical words, Akumu sighed: "I will definitely solve this mystery, Dream… I will definitely reunite with you in the Immortal Realm!"
❖❖❖
"That's how my destiny with Dream ended five hundred years ago..." The Allfather ended his story, his gaze still plastered on the beautiful statue that he'd personally built. The hall was silent as a church. Ao watched the almighty being he faithfully followed sigh constantly with longing.
The Allfather had spent centuries trying to build Heaven's Gate. He'd gathered some of the Uncharted Wilderness strongest beasts… Spent millions of Aether Crystals on building his army. Created an unending supply of Umbras… All so he could open the path to Heaven's Gate and meet the one he missed the most. For the Nine Coloured Noble Beasts, opening Heaven's Gate was a way to escape their own lifespan, a method to obtain everlasting life. However, for the Allfather, Heaven's Gate was his only way to meet his most beloved.
"Am I a fool, Ao? To do so much for one person?"
"No, Akumu..." Ao laughed. If it were ten years ago, the World Serpent would have scoffed at the Allfather's foolishness. However, after being acquainted with Junius, the youngling that Ao sought to nurture, the World Serpent somehow understood the Allfather's actions. "You're being true to yourself."
"True to myself..." The hooded figure chuckled. "Yeah, you're right. I am true to myself." Placing his hand on Dream's statue, the Allfather continued: "I want to meet Dream again… But my talent is lacking. No matter how hard I tried, the Rank 99 barrier is impossible to breach. So all these years, I have relied on building Heaven's Gate to enter the Immortal Realm. But I failed time and time again..."
The Allfather thought of the Obsidian Gate he painstakingly built. Till this day, the Allfather hadn't figured out the method to open Heaven's Gate. Therefore, he created the Black Masks to spread conflict all throughout the world, hoping to simulate a period of chaos reminiscent to the ancient world that gave birth to three Spirit Immortals. The Allfather wanted to turn geniuses into legends and hopefully… Legends into Immortals.
And the Allfather had succeeded. Through his actions, he'd created Shin Iofiel, the world's greatest Legend since Dream. Now, once he'd matured, Shin would be strong enough to fight toe-to-toe with the Allfather and possibly giving him a chance to break into the Immortal Realm. Then, with his connection to the Nine Coloured Noble Beasts, the Allfather could bring them all into his ascension.
But first… Shin had to grow stronger… And to do that…
"I must execute the next phase..."
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