Chapter 715: Ripples (1/2)
A ripple spread through the web, and a small smile spread across Alvod’s face. It looked Va Tapek’s little disciple really did deliver. He had been worried there for a bit since he felt the node condensing. Luckily, the node was broken apart before the change was irrevocable.
Not that Catheya Sharva’Zi’s role was critical to his designs. It was not like his path toward Eternity was so fragile that it couldn’t take a few mishaps. It was only one conduit out of hundreds, most of which had been in place for eons. But the more lines that were added, the closer to perfection his tapestry would get. The fallout of this particular node wasn’t as good as the constructed route, but it was good enough.
If anything, things were going above expectation. He should have guessed. Destruction always came easier than conservation, and change was part of the heavenly law. The real question was what the local natives had planned for the final step. They wouldn't roll over at the core of their foundation being extracted and stolen, especially not by an outsider.
Alvod waited with anticipation, and a shimmering drop suddenly appeared in front of him. It was dark green in color, though it sometimes felt it was golden or black. It hovered in the air, its very existence impacting reality around it. Death was not death. Life was not life. It was the cyclic harmony of twilight and daybreak, the eternal evening tides.
A small bead of Primal Dao. Truth condensed into the purest form the base dimensions could take without unraveling. Something that only formed naturally in the exalted domains, the cultivation havens that someone like him would never gain access to.
The Heavens had been gated off, and the ancient factions held the keys. You would either have to pursue the broken peaks or bend the knee for a chance to drink at the fountain of truth. But Alvod wasn’t willing. His Path was within the purview of the Heavens, but he would never surrender his freedom.
Even his old friends thought his actions in the Havarok Empire were a matter of vengeance. They thought he had fled here and entered the Twilight Ocean like a rat scurrying for safety. It couldn’t be further from the truth.
Reociv Havarok was a full-bodied bastard who deserved to die for what he did to Tola, but would Alvod really have risked everything if not for the item that had fallen into the princeling's possession? The item which now formed the core of the tapestry of life and death. Alvod had found half of the core before coming to power back in Zecia, and he had spent four hundred thousand years looking for its other half.
Yet that bastard had swooped in and accidentally got his hands on it just as Alvod was on the precipice of success. It was Alvod who brought that Immemorial Realm to the surface at the cost of most of his fortune. Yet that man had gotten his hands on the item without even understanding what he was dealing with?
He had no choice. If Reociv was allowed to bring that item back to his ancestors, they’d soon realize its true nature.
Tens of thousands of runes emerged from the tapestry and they formed layers after layers of seals and protections around the bead of truth. This realm was too lowly for it to contain a bead of pure Primal Dao for long. It would get tainted in no time, reduced to its baser components.
The sealed bead was soon interred into the tapestry, which caused shuddering waves to spread out through the patterns. The bead eventually joined the others in the core, and Alvod’s eyes gleamed with anticipation as he saw that the beacon was three-quarters full. His cells screamed with desire as he looked at the Primal Dao, but he forced himself to look away. He knew that his chances were slim even if he managed to fill the chalice to the brim.
He needed to be patient. Just two more years.
“Hear ye, hear ye,” the ever-suffering grand marshal of the Kingdom of Billy sighed, still not fully understanding the nomenclature of his new overlords. “King Billy, Lord of Bonk Mountain has in his infinite wisdom sent out a divine decree, so listen well! The Divine Kingdom of Bonk Mountain requires more Dao Stones to be sourced for the conflict with the others! Every household will need to contribute 3 Dao Stones.”
The gathered Smallboys, or rather Gnivelings as they were called before King Billy’s grand impartment, listened on as their large ears shook with worry.
“We have been fishing for stones every week for the past four months,” one of the Smallboys said as he stepped forward. “We appreciate what King Billy has done to protect us in this new environment… but the stones are becoming scarce. We lost Lorom just two weeks ago.”
A few voices of agreement rippled through the crowd, causing Hanos’ brows to scrunch up. The Marshall nervously glanced toward the mountain, but he steeled his heart as he felt a tendril poke him between the shoulder blades. Hanos somewhat liked his new master, but he liked living even more.
“What do you know!” Hanos roared. “King Billy is who keeps us safe through his communion with the holy spirit. King Billy is the one who protects us from the badlands, tirelessly swinging the holy scepter for our salvation! But do you think such a sacrifice comes cheap? Do you think King Billy’s miracles can be created out of thin air? He needs more resources! No more complaints, set out right this instant!”
Some of the Gnivelings muttered and waved their oversized ears at the towering mountain, but most simply went to prepare their gear for excavating the Dao Rocks from beneath the ocean bed.
‘Good, just three more villages,’ a gleeful voice echoed in his mind.
‘What about King Billy? What if he finds out?’ Hanos cried in his mind ‘I don’t want to be bonked.’
‘I’ll deal with that. Besides, the great king has other things to worry about right now.’
Two weeks of fervent collection, but it was finally time. Ogras looked at the pile of Dao Stones with anticipation shimmering in his eyes. Over two years of arduous cultivation, and one year of planning. He was finally ready to leave that insufferable giant’s shadow.
Who would have expected a netherblasted Dimensional Seed to gain sapience? And who would have expected it to form such an intimate connection with that brute, when there were far more dashing candidates so close by? Was it because Billy saved these big-eared bastards while Ogras secured the treasures of the newly incorporated realm? Or was it simply because simpletons flocked together?
Things hadn’t been too bad in the beginning. Those Th’Zaroth Hivebeasts weren’t joking around, but they provided ample opportunities to hone one’s combat skills. With the air being teeming with the Dao, each day was a revelation. Be it skills, Daos, or even levels, everything came smoothly in this place. Even evolving skills was accomplished as naturally as breathing since you were in a constant state of inspiration.
Two months of slaughter, and the two of them had finally managed to kill the Hive queen and seize the enormous meteor that contained her hive. It had not only provided them with a Nexus Node, but also a large amount of food as the warrior ants were actually quite delicious.
But from there, things started to go awry.
It turned out that the Earth’s Nexus Nodes weren’t the only ones Ogras was locked out of. He was even unable to become the master of a desolate rock in a hidden realm. Instead, he was forced to once more don the mantle of the helpful advisor, steering Billy in the right direction. But he couldn’t understand why such a simple mind was so hard to control.
If anything, his experiences over the past three years had ingrained him with a deep respect for that bespectacled human that usually followed Billy’s side. Nigel was his name? How did he manage to get anything done with this bastard holding the reins?
It was time to change his approach. He had tried so hard to get the brute to do the heavy lifting, but he was adamant about holding the fort rather than sending the troops to the depths of this ever-growing realm. And if he couldn’t get others to pave the way, he would simply have to do the job himself. He could feel it. It was beckoning to him deep in the darkness. Something related to his path.
Something with the ability to reforge his fate.
Besides, it was now or never. It was clear that the pocket realm they lived inside was stabilizing. For over two years it had frantically moved about and swallowed one realm after another, but the sky seldom changed color any longer. Eventually, the Dimensional Seed would find some spot it liked and settle down.
And when that happened, it was just a matter of time before this place was discovered, before an entrance was drilled open and greedy bastards came swarming in. All these Hidden Realms collected, each of them most likely never touched by other men. Each of them full of unique treasures and opportunities.
He needed to snatch them all before the outsiders arrived.
“Behind you!” Bubbur roared, and Galau whirled around as his large two-hand sword drew a ruthless arc.