Boom~ Rumble ~
Everyone was shocked as a massive thunder-like sound reverberated through the entire space. What followed was a pulse of aether from Cerebrum itself.
The rumbling and aether spread throughout the entirety of Xythris, every race and monster species felt it, from deep within the dry forest, to the very center of the lush forest, past the deepest corners of the swamp bog where the deadliest of beasts lay and far beyond that.
Down to the lotus itself, where the enemy's base was located. These race of centaur-like aliens rushed out of their tents, gazing at the lotus that was humming with a gentle glow.
Their eyes narrowed as they turned their attention to the massive cube in the sky,
"A progenitor is about to be born." The gruff voice of one of the centaur echoes in the space as a younger alien revealed himself. From the silence of the others and their look of reverence, it was obvious that this young horse-man was their leader.
"What do we do sir?" one of the older ones asked.
"What else? We must find them and steal their fate." A cruel smile blossomed on the face of the young centaur.
A similar scene was taking place all around, except most were only thinking of stealing the quest for themselves by killing its previous originator.
Even if they didn't know what it signified, they all knew that this was a sign, an omen who's meaning and purpose would remain unknown.
Unknown to all except one person.
[Special quest activated]
[Title Quest]
[Liberate Xythris]
[Reward—Progenitor title]
[Failure—Death of ninety percent of Xythris, Including you]
Alderic stared blankly into space, oblivious to the tremors and shifts going through the entirety of Xythris. Even those around him didn't seem to notice that anything was wrong with him, they were too distracted by the pulse from the Cerebrum and the tremors of planet Xythris.
All but one person.
Noemie stared at Alderic, his black beady eyes glowing with a peculiar light.
'I knew he was special!'
"Ferelith, what's happening?" Nerissa asked. Ferelith furrowed her brows before replying in an unsure voice,
"I also don't know, but a massive shift is coming. One that will either make Xythris or break it."
Nerissa suddenly noticed something and glanced beside her at Alderic. Her eyes widened as she saw his vacant stare.
"Commander?... Commander?..."
Faris also only noticed that Alderic, who always took the forefront, was surprisingly silent.
Ferelith's eyes narrowed as she saw the scene before her. She couldn't help but take a glance at the Cerebrum before looking back at Alderic.
'It can't be a coincidence, can it?'
After what seemed like eternity to everyone else but a second to Alderic, he snapped out of his thoughts and looked around with a puzzled expression.
Although the tremors and the pulse had stopped, a slight tension lingered in the air and all eyes were on him.
"What happened, commander?" Nerissa asked.
Alderic raised a brow, he immediately put two and two together, realising that something must have occurred.
"I received a quest." Alderic replied simply. He turned to look at Ferelith before sighing,
"We should better get to work. A guillotine is hanging over all of our heads, and we need to survive."
Ferelith wanted to question him more about the quest, but she ultimately decided not to.
"What do we need to do?" She asked instead.
"First, we need to become more efficient in catching more monsters. Vaku and Noemie already told me that genes work by increasing your limits and placing your body in a state of accelerated growth."
"Yes. The closer you are to your limit, the more stagnated your growth is. But if said limit is nowhere in sight, then growth is extremely fast." Ferelith acknowledged.
"Nerissa and Vaku, I want you to take a team with you. You have to retrieve that Larvae's corpse."
Noticing that Alderic had gone into commander mode, Faris and Nerissa realised that the situation was more dire than they thought.
"The body will attract monsters, especially during nighttime." Vaku replied,
"I'm counting on that."
Vaku looked at Ferelith and the latter nodded her head. Seeing that their leader was giving him the go ahead, Vaku gestured for Nerissa to follow him and they both headed out.
"Faris, come with us. We need weapons and we need them fast." Alderic and Ferelith began to head towards the outer regions of the abode.
"After tonight, your race will undergo a huge change. Are you prepared?" Alderic asked Ferelith.
"Yes."
All eyes landed on Noemie who was following behind. He had answered the question in Ferelith place.
"You brat!"
Ferelith wanted to reprimand him but seeing how determined Noemie was, she held her tongue and nodded her head.
"Fine. Let's go all out. I've been tired of this stagnation after all."
"How quickly can your people gather materials? We'll need as much as we can. They should also start digging, each of their clearing should be made into a deep hole."
"If they do that, where would we stay?" Ferelith asked. Those clearing might look bland, but they served as homes for the Medusaes. Asking them to demolish their homes was a little bit far-fetched.
"Those aren't homes. I'll teach you how to make better abodes from nothing."
'The next few days are going to be hectic, but we need it. We have to get strong enough to not just take but protect. I have a feeling that the greatest threat isn't these beasts,...'
"What exactly is your goal?" Ferelith asked. She wanted to ask him about the quest but she controlled herself.
"Conquering the pillar is just the first step, I plan on uniting the whole of Xythris. I have a feeling that the threats of this planet aren't natives of it…"
Alderic didn't know at the time how right he was. Soon, he will come into contact with the first primitive race and he will soon realize how terrifying this world really is.
But for now, ignorance truly was a bliss.