701 The Land, the Sky, this World (1/2)

The sky was dark. Grim black clouds gathered together to form an iron curtain that spanned across the sky, covering the land and ocean of Asgard. The foul smell of sulfur filled the air, leaving the people with bloodshot eyes and pain their chests.

”Detonation formation is in place.”

”Final inspection has been completed.”

”Communications are clear for all teams.”

”Preparation for process number six has been completed. Lucas, report your status.”

With all sorts of mixed signals blaring at his ear, the tall and muscular musician finally managed to climb to the top of the mountain. He leaned against the sharply protruding rocks and relied purely on the locks and shackles on his waist to be hung by the rope. When he lowered his head, he could see the huge hole, never seemed to end, underneath his feet.

That was the cracked opening of the tip of the mountaintop. It was like a scar that ran across the terrain, as the gigantic hole resided quietly in darkness. Within the darkness, there seemed to be voice that was singing and it was of such a high pitch that he could not help but be distracted. If he was to fall, how long would it take before he would finally hit the ground and become smashed into pieces?

”Lucas? Lucas?” The commander of communications continued to ask, ”Do you hear me? Report your status.”

The musician suddenly broke out of his daze. With a thick and heavy mask on his face, his voice sounded blurry and deep, ”Lucas, in position. Awaiting order.”

”Very good. Proceed with the final inspection process.”

The communications and signals were mixed and chaotic but in the end, there was only one last command after a period of silence, ”Detonate.”

”Received.”

Lucas removed a black box on his waist and began to carry out the alchemist's instructions. He verified the direction of the music notes and as the black box slowly cracked open, red fluorescence came pouring out.

Beep!

Beep!

Beep!

There was an ear-piercing sound from within that accompanied the counting down of every second. Remove the safety catch, activate the timer, then… release. The box, that was shining with red fluorescence, fell out of his hands and into the darkness. That sharp beeping sound fell through the cracked opening of the mountaintop and sank into the depths of darkness.

But Lucas had no time to observe everything carefully. In the instant that the box was released from his hand, he removed the safety rope on his waist and an incredible force dragged his body outwards in an arc. In this chaotic zone of aether, his body slid quickly towards the safety zone.

Just as he was in mid-air, the beeping sound seemed to be catching up with him. It was almost like a living thing as it climbed out of the cracked opening and revolved around everyone's ears. Shortly after, the ground shook and there was a terrible roar from the cracked opening of the mountaintop.

The ground trembled like waves as dust and crushed rocks began to pour out of the cracked opening. Soon after, there was a flaming-red light. The light flowed like water and it was also boiling as it rose from the depths of the darkness. It roared and puffed before gathering at a single point and shooting up into the sky. It was as if the entire metal-grey sky was being ignited.

Lucas fell onto the ground and only managed to stabilize himself with the help of his comrades. He turned back and his black mask was completely lit up by the flaming red light.

”Oh God…” He no longer dared to look and could only look down. He prayed softly, ”Please forgive me.”

That was a volcano. The volcano had erupted. After lying dormant for a century, the volcano finally erupted once again, thanks to the prompting of the musician.

Boundless heat poured out of the depths of the ground and burst through the cracked opening, widening the surrounding rocks in the process. Shortly after, the alchemy formations lit up repeatedly around the volcano so that the latter was completely surrounded. The hot flaming lava were guided by the formations, such that hundreds of tributary flows merged into a single mainstream. They would be converted to new sources of energy even as they flowed towards a faraway city.

Very soon, the volcano quietened down once again. Lava was no longer being shot out. Only the top of the volcano resembled a huge bowl of boiling magma that was being held by a furious God. The glow of the lava lit up the sky. Thick black smoke rose like a huge pillar and merged with the clouds that covered the entire sky.

If one was to look down at this world, it would seem so cruel, almost resembling hell. The silence was broken by another huge explosion that had occurred far away in the north. The ground trembled and the mountains shook.

”It's in the direction of the Asmo mountain ranges.” Someone looked in that direction before cross-referencing with the list of names in his hand, ”The second phase is about to be completed. We will be able to relax for a while. One full month of overtime has been really tough.”

Beside him, a group of musicians, that were covered in black soot from head to toe, leaned back against the chair and started to smoke. They were laughing unabashedly as they talked about taking a good bath once they were home, before discussing about what kind of beer would be best to drink.

Lucas said nothing. He was praying.

---

Within only half a month's time, Asgard has completely changed. With the powers of the musicians, volcanoes have been ignited one after another. Flames appeared on land once again, becoming an endless supply of energy, pushing thousands of soldiers into producing war resources at an insane rate. Countless workers along the assembly line have been working non-stop without sleep.

The foul-smelling sulfur filled the air. The ocean was no longer blue and had turned into a thick greyish-black due to all the ashes. Thick smoke rose and covered the entire sky. Stars could no longer be seen and the sight of sunlight was as rare of seeing gold. The only source of light came from the burning lava of the volcanoes.

140 wounds have appeared on the land. These wounds flowed with red blood and once the blood had been consumed by the humans, they became a source of power. Now, humans possessed power. But how could they possibly survive in this hell?

---

The Golden Palace of Asgard. Under the protection of the volcanoes and hidden on the mountaintop that was eternally freezing, the gigantic palace, that had been constructed from gold and metal, reflected light so much that it looked like it was being consumed by light. Beneath the Golden Palace, countless roars could be heard.

Those were the sounds of countless gigantic machines in operation. Tens of tributaries of lava came together to merge into a river, evaporating the sea water that had filled the harbor, and turning it into a sea of boiling lava. Within the ocean, there was a pitch-black giant that was silently bathing in the flames.

The metallic giant was motionless as it silently absorbed the energy of the lava. Amidst the six pairs of dim eyes, there were flickers of flames that suggested intelligence and thought. On the huge and wide chest, there were layers of gigantic metallic boards, resembling bones and flesh and blood, that bloomed like flowers due to the tugging of wires. They revealed countless complicated-looking wires and metallic internal organs. And the heart of lightning that was constantly beating.

Amidst the dull beating of the heart, tens of musicians carefully descended along the wires. They bypassed the alchemy formations that protected the heart and carefully guided this incredible power into this non-human body. This was the proof of God's existence, the power that flowed out of the nature of God – Odin.

But now, the Golden Palace was wide open and the God has been removed from the altar to be disintegrated. The meaning of its existence has been denied by the new Emperor and its godly nature has been split up into 16 portions to be gifted to each clan. Its power has been molded into a heart to be inserted into the chest of the giant. The puppet would be given a soul and metal would be given life.

And now, in the cold and chilly Golden Palace, the new Emperor leaned against his crutch as he stared quietly at the metal giant that was bathing in lava. The expression on his face was one of indifference.

A month ago, when this cripple was undergoing his coronation, he had declared to all his loyal clans, ”Asgard does not need catastrophes. We only need the northern wind.”

Now, the northern wind was blowing across the sea. It lingered between heaven and earth, bringing with it the aura of war. Clouds rose from Asgard and covered its surroundings. At the very top of the Golden Palace, the layer of clouds broke open like a wound, revealing the universe and constellations of stars behind them.

Shortly after, the stars were covered up by a darkness that seemed to be of physical quantity. The darkness wriggled like living things gathering together. One could briefly see countless stars, as if they were opening their eyes, only to close again one by one as they were extinguished.

”That's the abyss.” The shrunken old musician stood behind the Emperor. His face was pale, ”The abyss is being rewritten.”

”Have you completed the remodeling of your will” The Emperor turned back and looked at him, ”Looks like you are recovering well.”