Chapter 384: Dealing with the Aftermath
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The First Born's innumerable tentacles moved in a frenzy. It could sense that the surge of lethal energy converging in space was aimed at it. This energy had the power to completely obliterate anything and in that very moment, it deployed layers upon layers of defensive matrices towards the sky. Energy beams started forming on each and every tentacle as twisted beams of light were fired wildly into the sky. As the energies converged, the sky started warping. The sun faded away as night suddenly descended upon the area.
In the dark of night, a speeding silver ray lanced towards the First Born. It expanded rapidly before turning into a beam that shattered both heaven and Earth.
The defensive barriers and forcefields were instantly undone by the beam with nary a whimper. A defense built on the natural laws of the land was pointless against a weapon beyond the comprehension of this universe. As the light descended, the First Born's final struggle was a violent, defiant roar that shook the land. The monstrous creature started levitating as it was dragged by the force of the attack. It went beyond the peaks of Dragonspine Ridge before it was totally engulfed by the light.
As the First Born was incinerated by the blinding light, the shockwave soon came crashing as the First Born's core exploded. Under the searing light, the land quickly turned into molten lava, and the blast sent the molten rocks up into the air. The west side of Dragonspine Ridge was immediately turned into a basin and the whole mountain range shook as if it was about to shatter. As the earth shook violently, a surge of violent, super-heated steam and rocks burst out of the cracks.
Y'zaks was ready for this, and as the rocks and steam rose, he deployed a dark energy barrier with flickering green runes. The scorching heat and the pungent smell of sulfur had everyone crouching and coughing profusely. Hao Ren had recalled his spirit back from space, and he was stunned by the devastation wrought by the bombardment. "F*ck! Now I understand why they forbade us from firing this against planets... That was the lowest power output..."
He then turned to Ophra and noticed the marshal rubbing her eyes. The flash earlier was so blinding that it exceeded a normal human's ability to process it. Even someone of Ophra's stature was dazed by it.
Hao Ren waved towards Ophra. "Marshal, we have little time. Please, ask me anything you wish to."
He noticed that their bodies were slowly fading. It seemed like the connection between The Plane of Dreams and the Surface World had weakened. It would just be a matter of minutes before they were forcefully disconnected. He decided to take whatever time he had left to settle any outstanding matters.
Ophra recovered from her daze and saw that the First Born had disappeared. In addition, the Blood Tide was nowhere to be found. The whole Beinz Diocese was now a sea of molten rocks and she could only gawk in horror. After recalling the terrifying pillar of light and the subsequent explosion, she viewed Hao Ren no differently than the First Born, no... even more than that, this group possessed strength that way surpassed it!
"That..."—Ophra pointed at the western side of the mountain— "...was your doing?"
"Yes, but I hope you won't tell anyone about it." Hao Ren waved his hand. "This is a calamity. The First Born sought to destroy the ecosystem and went against the goddess' will. Thus, divine judgement was brought upon it. Let this be the explanation, at least on the surface, the only explanation."
"Why do you want to hide the truth?" Ophra stared straight at Hao Ren. "What are you planning?"
"Because there is a limit to how much I can interfere with a civilisation. The less impact I can have on one, the better." Hao Ren shrugged. "But of course, there's another reason as well. I have yet to understand all the intricacies behind this occurence, and I need to return to investigate. It seems that our time here is running out, so during our time away, the lesser the change, the better. This is also good news for you. Having stability after such a catastrophe is probably the best possible outcome—using this incident to reinforce the might of the goddess will also help."
Only then did Ophra notice that Hao Ren and his gang were fading away. She remembered the light that streaked through the sky, and seemed to realise something. "Are you the 'allies from the other galaxies' that the first pope spoke off in his will?!"
"To be frank, I don't think so." Hao Ren pondered about it, but felt the narrative could be useful. "...However, everything should be based on a truth. If you wish to believe that, so be it. Can you accept my request on that?"
Ophra demurred for a moment before nodding. "I understand. I will declare this a divine miracle, but news will definitely spread one way or another. And, I will have to report this matter to the pope and the king himself. I hope you understand."
Hao Ren considered the implications before agreeing. There was no point in refusing and he just waited for them to be disconnected. Ophra suddenly recalled something very important, "Wait a minute! What about the other two First Borns?
"Oh f*ck, I almost forgot." Hao Ren slapped his forehead and his reaction had Ophra shaking her head. "I suppose you know the location of the other two?"
Big Beardy, who was seated beside them answered, "The two other First Borns are probably located in the other two sacred caverns. The pope and some of the high level ascetics will know the location. Marshal, please relay what happened here today to the pope. The Holy See will send men to verify the situation on the other two sacred grounds."
"Based on your records, the other two failsafes will probably be undone in a year or two." Hao Ren looked at Ophra. "As long as you keep the things inside the sarcophagi safe, you should at least have a year. I will try to find other ways to settle this, at least to minimise the damage. If there is really no other way, I might just have to blast them from orbit again..."
Ophra then gave a sigh of relief and noticed that the four ascetics were fading away as well. The scene surprised the marshal. "The four masters... Can it be that you need to leave too? Aren't you..."
"This is the goddess' path." Big Beardy nodded solemnly and he sat cross-legged on the ground. "We have gone through a special path of tribulation and by her will, we need to head to the outlander's world."
As he finished, Big Beardy apparently remembered something and he quickly pulled out a cloth bag from his robes and placed it in Ophra's hands. The sack was originally fading away like him but, the moment it was put into Ophra's hands, the item was restored back to normal. "It seems like we will not be able to deliver the Sacred Orb ourselves. Marshal, please complete this divine calling for us."
Ophra was deep in thought as she received the Orb, and she started frowning. Hao Ren and the rest concurred that there was nothing else to be done. They sat together with Big Beardy and the rest of the ascetics, awaiting the disconnection.
As they were about to fade into nothingness and stir in the Surface World, Becky was suddenly reminded of something very important to her. She started shouting, "Lady Ophra! Lady Ophra! I have something..."
Ophra's face tightened as she thought it was something important. "What is it?"
"Please don't forget my mansion and titles..."
The datalink was completely severed by then and Becky's last words faded away. Ophra simply stood there as the mysterious band of "visitors from the stars" disappeared heroically (in her point of view) from the world, before having a delayed reaction to Becky's request. "Huh?"
Kuiper Station, Conversion Chamber Sub-Section.
The sleeping pods opened one by one and Hao Ren rose up with a big yawn from one of the pods. He started shaking his head to rid himself from the disorientating sensation of returning back to the real world.
After a moment, all of them woke up from their pods. When they gathered, it was nothing but silence. The events that transpired exceeded everyone's expectations and the data that they managed to gather in The Plane of Dreams needed extensive research.
Vivian noticed that Hao Ren was rubbing his chin, pondering about something. She asked him out of curiosity, "What are you thinking about?"
Hao Ren pressed his chin as he mumbled, "I suddenly recalled the way we left the place. It was as if all of us had died at the same time!"
Vivian rolled her eyes as she punched Hao Ren in the shoulder. "...You were seriously pondering about that?"
Lily's voice then came from the back. "Not me! I was squatting then! After changing into my beast form, I can't seat cross-legged..."
Hao Ren turned back to look at the werehusky and noticed that her clothes were intact and she had changed back to her human form. "So, the clothes that were destroyed in The Plane of Dreams did not affect the real world?" He said in amazement.
"I don't know," Lily said as she twirled about, checking herself. "I thought I'd come back in the shape of a giant wolf. After I woke up, I was wondering how I would even get out of the conversion chamber... That thingamajig's only about three metres in height..."
Hao Ren patted the MDT, "Wikipedia, do your job."
The MDT was immediately flustered. "Is there no one with common sense here? Can't we talk about something more pertinent?"
Hao Ren laughed as he walked towards the exit. "Well then, let's go home!"