The war between Human cultivators and the Demirs, also known as the Incursion impacted humanity negatively in several ways, one of which was the planet that underwent drastic changes.
Due to the awesome power displayed by both parties, Earth with its vast amount of Qi couldn't withstand the destruction, slowly becoming a wasteland.
Forests became deserts, oceans flooded the lands and mountains turned into valleys.
The climate changed to a constant flux between too hot and too cold.
In truth, it was a nightmare to live on the Earth's surface but humanity had no choice but to endure.
They were separated into 36 districts, encompassing the remaining land that was still somewhat useful.
The Demirs weren't keen on living in such an environment and also couldn't abandon Earth, so they decided to create a conducive environment.
This resulted in the 'Sky City project'
Twelve structures, built using human slaves and Demir tech, were created and made to float in the sky, a deliberate attempt to remind humans that they would forever be beneath them.
These structures were protected by a special dome that filtered out everything wrong with the planet and kept the good stuff.
Thus, the Demirs that remained on the planet lived in these structures alongside the Awakened and their relatives, even though there was also a stark segregation between the area for the Demirs and the Awakened.
In any case, it had been 6 years since Felix was forcibly taken away from the surface for the Awakening project.
Six years since he last saw his mother.
Six years of constant pain and agony… Now he had a chance to return.
"Are you serious?" he doubted his ears as he sat up in bed.
Nathan smiled. "Mn, Madam has given her permission for us to leave."
"…Why?" Felix asked.
"Hmm."
"Why is she doing all this?" As long as he couldn't understand Dyara's actions, Felix felt like he was a puppet dancing to her tunes.
He hated the feeling of being led by the nose.
"I told you," Nathan remarked. "Madam is different from the rest."
"Don't patronize me." Felix was having none of it. "What is her endgame?"
Suddenly, the roof opened up and a drone floated in.
Felix furrowed his brows as a screen appeared on the drone with Dyara's likeness shown.
"Get stronger and I will answer any question you might have."
Simple and concise.
Sure enough, she had an endgame.
Felix tried to question her further but the screen disappeared and the drone returned to its position with the roof closing back.
"Focus on yourself for now," Nathan advised. "Madam is a woman of her word."
Felix sighed, annoyed at his helplessness. "So what are we going to do on the surface?"
"Clearing dungeons." Nathan casually answered, leaving Felix speechless once again.
He knew a thing or two about dungeons though he had never experienced one.
He could recall when he was 8, a dungeon break was the reason why District 12 was reduced to rubble, with not a single person making it out alive.
"From the expression on your face, I presume you don't know much about dungeons?" Nathan said.
Felix pursed his lips before slowly nodding.
"Thought as much. Information about dungeons is exclusively for Demirs and Awakened." Nathan divulged before proceeding to explain with Felix listening attentively.
"In layman's terms, you can consider a dungeon as a portal to another world. In that world, mindless monstrosities exist with only two desires; death and destruction.
"It's the job of either Awakened or Enforcers to enter the dungeons to wipe out the monsters and close the portal before a dungeon break occurs.
"A dungeon break…"
"I already know what it is," Felix said, cutting Nathan off.
Nodding satisfactorily, Nathan continued. "Dungeons are ranked according to danger levels. A red dungeon is beginner level, a dark red dungeon is medium, purple is expert, and black is peak. Most dungeons after being cleared would drop unique items and materials."
Aya recorded the information before pulling subsequent data concerning dungeons.
In truth, dungeons started appearing on Earth after the Demirs won the war causing Felix to wonder if the two had anything in common.
"Since it's going to be your first dungeon, I picked a few easy ones that popped up recently. Thankfully, we managed to get the rights to it before any other person." Nathan remarked smilingly.
He seemed happy that he was lucky to get a good catch.
Felix didn't share his sentiment as he remained silent, staring at the interface he had called up at some point.
"The Demirs possess technology that can detect when a dungeon is about to appear?" Felix asked after several seconds of silence.
Nathan nodded. "Yes."
"When do we leave?"
"Once I've made sufficient preparations." Nathan pointed out. "Even though it's a Red dungeon, we can't be lax in our preparations, or else we end up dead before we know it."
"Alright then." Felix nodded as he closed the interface, turning his attention back to Nathan. "But before we do that, I have a request."
"Hmm, what is it?"
"My mom," Felix mentioned before adding. "I want to see her."
Nathan was momentarily taken aback by the request, especially since it was Felix making the said request.
"I thought…"
"I was an orphan?"
"…Yeah."
"Maybe I am," Felix said with his head down. "Who knows what state she's in after spending 6 years alone on the surface?"
Nathan understood Felix's predicament but then again, granting his request was easier said than done.
Suddenly, the drone from earlier revealed itself again.
"You may do as you wish once you reach the surface," Dyara ordered before adding. "But do not let it exceed a month."
Felix looked up at the projection, meeting eyes with Dyara.
The silence that followed caused Nathan to tense up as he immediately spoke to break the ice.
"Thank you, Madam. I promise to adhere to your instructions."
Dyara glanced at Nathan briefly before nodding after which the projection disappeared and the drone returned.
"That was close." Nathan heaved a sigh of relief while patting his chest.
Meanwhile, Felix dropped his head back down before muttering softly. "Please be safe... Mom."