Chereads / Toneri in DC / Chapter 70 - Chapter 68: Blissfully unaware

Chapter 70 - Chapter 68: Blissfully unaware

The throne room of Toneri's moon base gleamed with an ethereal elegance, a fusion of ancient craftsmanship and futuristic design. The floor was a smooth expanse of polished white and brown marble, gleaming under the soft, ambient light that streamed from floating crystal orbs embedded within the vaulted ceiling. The walls were adorned with intricate patterns of chakra-infused seals, humming with a low energy that resonated throughout the room. Massive stone columns supported the ceiling, giving the room a feeling of immense power and stability. Outside the throne room, a series of puppet guards stood vigilant. Despite being puppets, they were almost human in nature—crafted so meticulously that they moved, breathed, and even blinked like living beings. These were Toneri's puppet reincarnations, infused with chakra and bound to his will, stationed to protect his sanctum from any intruders.

Inside the room, a few of Toneri's servants moved silently, attending to various tasks. They too were crafted from his puppet reincarnation technique, yet their humanoid behavior and soft, lifelike movements made them seem almost human. Each servant was finely attuned to his needs, waiting in quiet reverence for any command he might issue.

At the center of the room, on a raised platform, sat Toneri. His posture was relaxed, with his cheek resting against his fist, his milky-white eyes glowing softly. He stared down at the two floating boxes before him, identical in design—golden and black, their pulsating red cores surrounded by organic green veins that seemed to pulse rhythmically, like a heartbeat. The boxes hovered in place, their ominous presence filling the air with a sense of foreboding.

'Is planting these boxes the only goal those things have?' Toneri mused, recalling the demons he had faced in South Africa and Tanzania. They had fought viciously, then self-destructed after completing what they thought was their mission. Both times, these mysterious boxes had been left behind. Both times, the creatures had spoken the same name—Darkseid—before their violent demise.

'So they're soldiers,' Toneri thought, his expression hardening slightly. 'And I would assume he is their general… or something more.'

He shifted in his throne, his gaze narrowing at the boxes. 'But what are these boxes for exactly? And who exactly is this… Darkseid?'

His thoughts circled back to the same questions over and over. Were the boxes weapons? Signals? Or perhaps they were conduits—gateways to something far worse than he had yet seen? He sighed, knowing that speculation alone would get him nowhere. 'Well, might as well try something,' he decided, his gaze moving to one of the boxes as it drifted closer to him, its green veins pulsating in the dim light.

Toneri extended his hand toward the nearest box, his Tenseigan activated, glowing as he reached for it. The energy around the box vibrated in response to his presence, the rhythmic pulse growing more pronounced. His fingers hovered just above its surface, and he could feel its energy—a subtle, almost lifelike rhythm beneath the surface.

"Hmm... it's… alive?" Toneri muttered softly, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. The energy pulsing from the box was unmistakable now, almost like a heartbeat. It wasn't entirely mechanical, nor entirely organic—it was something in between, an eerie fusion of the two.

Curiosity piqued, Toneri furrowed his brow and focused harder. The green veins along the box glowed brighter, reacting to his Tenseigan. Slowly, he allowed his consciousness to connect with the box, probing its depths in an attempt to understand its purpose.

As he connected deeper, his glowing eyes reflected off the surface of the box, and the veins pulsed in response, growing brighter as if they were alive. Then, without warning, Toneri felt his mind being pulled—projected into the box itself.

The world around him dissolved, and everything went dark.

When his senses returned, Toneri found himself standing in an endless expanse of darkness. It wasn't empty, though. Strange, geometric shapes flickered in the distance, like stars or fragments of forgotten worlds. But what immediately caught his attention was the cascade of green symbols all around him—like an ancient, alien language flashing in the air.

'If I didn't know better, I'd say this looks like the codes Robin used when hacking,' Toneri thought, amused despite the situation. He watched the symbols flicker and shift, wondering what sort of encryption they represented. As he projected himself deeper into the box's dimension, the symbols faded away, replaced by the distant geometric shapes, and an energy thickened in the air, dense and heavy.

'This place…' Toneri thought, glancing around. 'What is it? A prison? A pocket dimension? Or something more…?'

The material of this space seemed part-organic, part-synthetic, as though the box itself was a living entity bound within an artificial shell. The green veins within the space shifted and writhed, almost alive, reacting to his presence.

Toneri reached out with his mind, trying to grasp the essence of this place. The material was unlike anything from Earth—alien and complex, ancient yet strangely new. It felt like both a container and a conduit, holding immense energy but connected to something far larger than itself.

As he probed further, Toneri began to sense whispers—faint, indistinct murmurs like fragments of thought or memory left behind by whatever had created this box.

'A weapon… no, a tool… no, a key…' Toneri thought, his understanding slowly expanding. But what could these boxes be unlocking?

As he delved deeper, he suddenly felt a pulse from the box. It was subtle but unmistakable, a signal being broadcasted outward.

'It's broadcasting a signal? But to where?' Toneri wondered. He tried to dig deeper, seeking more information, but he felt resistance from the box, a force pushing back against him.

The pulse of the box grew erratic, its rhythm turning frantic as if it were fighting his intrusion. Toneri's Tenseigan flared with power. "Be obedient," he commanded softly, releasing a wave of chakra into the pocket dimension. The force of his chakra suppressed the box's resistance, bending it to his will.

Deeper he went, and suddenly, he saw a vision—like a recording playing before him. A world on fire, structures broken, and countless bodies scattered across the ground—alien beings, dead or dying. He looked around and saw hundreds of the same creatures he had fought in Africa and Tanzania flying through the air, taking hostages to towering pillars that shot beams of energy into the sky.

'An invasion,' Toneri thought grimly, glancing down at a broken body beneath his feet.

The scene flickered, shifting abruptly. Now, he found himself standing on another world, one vastly different from the last. It was a world consumed by flames, an industrial wasteland of twisted metal, massive factories, and volcanic fire. He floated above the hellish landscape, taking it all in—the grim architecture, the rivers of molten lava, and the endless armies of demons below.

'So, this is where they come from…' Toneri thought. The sight was overwhelming: armadas of ships, millions of demons, and the grim, towering structures of a world built for war.

The scene shifted again. This time, Toneri found himself in a massive lab, where he saw a lion-like alien being dragged into a pod. Moments later, the creature emerged—transformed into one of the monsters he had fought.

A voice echoed in the background, cold and commanding. "Bring more specimens for conversion. The Lord wants more Parademons."

'So that's their name… Parademons,' Toneri thought.

He looked outside the lab and saw a grand, imposing structure, clearly of great importance. As his mind attempted to probe further, he felt a powerful repelling force pushing him out of the vision.

'Hmm… for a mere tool, you are persistent,' Toneri thought with a smirk. The scene around him began to crumble as he released his chakra, attempting to hold it together. But the pulse of the box grew stronger, more erratic, until everything collapsed.

In the next instant, Toneri found himself back in his throne room, staring at the box before him. It shuddered violently, then crumbled into dust, disintegrating after his probing.

As the dust fell to the floor, Toneri's mind raced. 'They're preparing for an invasion,' he thought, watching the particles scatter. His gaze drifted to the remaining box, still floating in place. 'And that is their gateway to this planet. Whoever they are, their goal seems to be the subjugation of worlds—building armies for conquest. A conqueror, then?'

His thoughts turned grim as he leaned back in his throne. 'Why Earth? Are they planning to use the mortals here as ingredients to build their army? And if so, to what end?'

Without warning, a red barrier suddenly enveloped the remaining box—a circular force field of the Shisekiyoujin, the Crimson Ray Formation. It would block any signal the box might attempt to send.

Toneri leaned back into his throne, his glowing eyes penetrating the structure of his moon base, extending far beyond to the blue marble below—Earth. 'Well then… now what to do about this upcoming mess?' he thought, his gaze lingering on the planet. The humans below were blissfully unaware of the danger that loomed over them.