[You're here.]
"Hm…?"
Caelus and Akihiko stopped on their tracks. Both of them had a confused look on their faces.
"What? Did Sanctuary learn how to joke already?"
Akihiko looked at him oddly, like he had gone crazy.
"I mean, look at where we are. There's nothing here. What do you mean we are here? Where's your core, Sanctuary?"
[It's here. Below you.]
He frowned and looked at the floor. "You're kidding… ah."
[Yes. I've hidden it below and no one can enter the place unless I permit it. Hold on for a second, I'll secure the perimeter before I teleport both of you below.]
He nodded in understanding. Akihiko kept on looking at Caelus, his frown didn't leave his face. His lips kept twitching as if irritated before he let out a sigh.
"W-what?"
"Ah?"
"What did you get?"
"Ah! You want to know… why didn't you just ask? I am not a mindreader. If you don't ask, I won't know. Sheesh, and I was wondering why you are getting irritated again."
"Hmph! You're just a noob. Gouki-nii would surely know what I'm thinking!"
His eye twitched with the provocation.
"Brat… haaah," he let out a sigh, calming himself down. "Below us is a hidden ancient rune carving. You won't know it if you have not mastered sensing the Natural Essence around us. It's not Energy perse, but it's Mana Rune Carving.
"I've noticed it because of the unnaturalness of Natural Energy. There's more Purified Mana around here than Unpurified ones. And after hearing what Sanctuary said, everything clicked together.
"There's a Teleport Circle below us that would take us towards the core."
"T-teleport Circle?! Is that even possible?!"
"Of course it is. Ah… Sanctuary didn't tell you? I guess we really need to arrange that Library as soon as possible. We can actually put the Teleport Circle towards the Safe Zone that we conquered if we successfully linked both cores together. This way, we can safely travel around even for non-combatant Users.
"Ah, take note of that too, Sanctuary. We would need a lot of Mana to proceed with that project so we can't move forward recklessly. We still have food shortages so I'm not sure if it's a good idea to expand already."
"S-so… we can actually connect all Yamato together…"
"Huh… technically speaking, yes. But we also have to think about the Dragon Riders. From what Sanctuary said as she had updated me, they have a Shaman on their side. And our Prophet is actually in a peculiar state that I'm not sure how he would wake up."
"W-we have a prophet?"
"Ah, I wasn't able to mention earlier since we are too busy. Yes, we do. But he somehow got insane because of the Super Phenomena. Then he stopped moving. Hikari should be able to look into him later," Caelus glanced at Akihiko and nodded in understanding. "I know, right? I've said too much. Information overload is never a good thing."
"W-what information overload! I'm not experiencing that! Hmph!"
*Kids these days… They are not honest at all.* He could only shake his head.
[Perimeter is now secured.]
[Teleport Circle is ready to use.]
[Please brace yourself. I'll teleport you in ten seconds.]
[10]
[9]
…
…
…
[0!]
[Teleporting successful. Users could experience a sense of discomfort.]
[Nausea is common. Vomiting is also common.]
[If you collapse and start to hyperventilate, you would need immediate attention.]
[Please inform me of any of your symptoms.]
"Just dizzy… give me a second." Caelus cupped his head with both his hands as he felt the surroundings turned upside down, sideways and circling around him. Yep, he was experiencing severe dizziness.
"I-I'm fine…"
This brat… "Don't pretend to be strong. Sanctuary is not your enemy. You should tell her your symptoms so she would be ready to support us," He said amidst his tongue feeling like they were numb. "Ah… is it normal to feel numb? My dizziness is subsiding bit by bit."
[Yes, it's normal. Master, you should lay down for a while. We are already at the core and you are safe from here on out.]
"Haaah… t-thank you." he didn't hesitate and slump down on the cold floor.
He inhaled and exhaled as he started regulating Qi on his body to calm himself down. He was amazed to discover that the reason for his dizziness and numbness was because of the sudden Mana injection in his cell that created disharmony inside him.
*Is this the principle of Teleportation? No… it's not that simple. But injecting Mana to my cell was a form of protection from the Teleportation.*
It was just plain ingenious.
*Wait… this…*
Caelus sucked in breath as his gaze froze in front of him.
"The core…"
He was speechless.
His jaw dropped and his brain stopped functioning as he looked at the golden circle.
It was hot.
It was bright.
It was a damned small sun.
It looked just like the core of Earth that the books had illustrated.
The hazy air that dances along the core was evidence of its intense temperature. The only reason they were completely fine was because of Sanctuary protecting them.
The core was hidden deep below was not just to hide it from possible invasion. It was to protect the residence from the heat. Because it was a mini sun that was the size of a three story building, it was not safe to just put it outside. And it would be unwise to place it at the edge of the barrier because it would make their shelter vulnerable.
That aside…
"Is this really the core?"
[Yes, it is.]
"What's wrong, Sho-niichan?"
He glanced at Akihiko before turning back his gaze at the mini sun. "It feels the same as the illustrations from books… It looks closely like the core of Earth."
[It is. They are the same.]
[The core of the Safe Zones and Shelter Zones are the same as the core of your planet.]
[You get it, right? Even without me explaining.]
"You mean to say that all Safe Zones and Shelter Zones were living planets?"
He had guessed it when he had compared the two. But hearing from Sanctuary and saying it himself, he felt his hair stood up to its ends.
*If those were the truth, then, how many fallen living planets…. No, I must not think about that. What's important is that all those planets are connected with Earth now. And all those cores can be used to be a new place of living free from harm from the Dragon Riders.*
He let out a frustrated sigh.
"Sho-niichan…"
It seems Akihiko didn't know why Caelus was frustrated.
*It's good to be young. He doesn't understand yet what it means to know that there are many fallen planets. It means all those living beings who were supposed to be staying on that planet are all dead. It's the only reason why a Safe Zone would be empty for grabs.*
"I think this would take a while to expand Sanctuary. Sanctuary, you can send back Akihiko now. Since this place is safe and no one could reach me, I don't think I'll be needing any more bodyguards."
"But–"
"It's better if you report to Gouki what you discovered here. Add all those I've spout out earlier. I'm sure he would be able to create law for precaution. It's highly essential."
"Okay! I'll do my mission!" Akihiko even proudly stuck his chest out.
*This brat is so easy to please. Hehe…*
"I'm counting on you. Sanctuary, send him out."
[Understood.]
Sanctuary immediately sent out Akihiko.
[Master, why did you have to send him out? I can inform Gouki faster than him.]
"This place is not suitable for kids. It's so hot here and there's toxicity in the air. Even if you shield us up, prolonged staying here without using Qi Protection would ruin his potential."
[I understand. I'm still lacking in Purification of toxins and I still couldn't protect you properly.]
"You are more than enough. Thank you for helping us."
*Thank you for welcoming strangers into your world. Even when you don't know if we would be good or bad, you still accepted us. Is it the desire of the core? To be a living world once more?*
He was feeling complicated. How lonely was it to be the only one who remembered their world?
He knew he could ask Sanctuary and she would answer directly. But he chose not to.
Even though she is an AI, he felt that she was more of a baby than anything. Someone who was still growing. And from the information that was given to him, if Sanctuary's core was indeed another world's core. That means she was not just an AI. She was also a remnant of a fallen world.