We rushed back to Vaythos after spending some extra time on Peanu. A few of the grandmasters were left behind as Vaythos’ representatives, while the Emperor and his council were still figuring out how to administer Peanu. Even though the strongest were dead, the criminal underworld there was largely intact.
The Emperor returned to Vaythos as well. I brought Steve, Primus and his daughter, Anjee, and North with me.
I explained my plan to all of them. Primus immediately suggested leaving his daughter behind, and the Emperor agreed.
Steve hurried back home to see his parents, while North returned to her place. It was decided that I would visit her family for breakfast the next day, since she was coming with me, a request Arkas had made.
Dante took Anjee with him to the realm and began creating secret portals around the world. These could be used to access the realm in an emergency if needed.
Finally, I flew back home. As I soared above the cities, I watched people going about their daily lives. Most were unawakened, yet they worked in various departments to protect our world. I passed over military outposts where training was in progress, and even some actual fights.
I debated whether to send out my summons to clear all the zones. Doing so would make things easier, but it would also prevent others from leveling up quickly. After a moment of thought, I decided to summon them anyway.
"All right, guys. Go out and deal with any abomination above level 250, or anything that could become dangerous over time. If there are too many, thin them out, but try not to cause too much damage."
"No issues. Anything for you, baby," Lyrate said with a wink, and her form vanished instantly.
Ragnar grunted and shot off without another word.
Silver looked at me and smiled. "I’ll take some time. I just want to fly around a bit."
I blinked, surprised, but nodded. "Sure, take your time." He screeched into the sky and disappeared.
Knight’s red eyes locked onto me.
"What’s up?" I asked.
"I need a vacation," he said calmly.
I laughed. "Whoa, where did that come from? You’re always on vacation. I hardly summon you."
"Not in the core," he replied, "but out in the world."
I shrugged. "Hmmm... alright. Deal."
"Good," he said, and his body dissolved into shadows.
I shook my head and chuckled to myself. "Just wow." Then I flew straight home.
When I arrived, I sent a quick message to Grandma to let her know I was safe, took a long refreshing bath, and settled down in the living room. The silence was comforting.
Both Peanu’s and Sukra’s world cores had already been added to the Dawn Core, but Vaythos’s core was still separate. It was finally time to merge it too.
I had already warned Lucien earlier not to be alarmed by anything strange happening tonight. He didn’t ask questions, he knew better by now.
Closing my eyes, I shifted my consciousness into the Dawn Core.
The familiar landscape appeared, the central island, shrouded in black smoke and pulsing with blacklight. I reached out and called for the chain that lay hidden deep within the island.
It answered immediately. A black chain burst out of my chest, releasing a ripple that spread outward through the entire world.
I followed that ripple with my senses as it raced across the land, through oceans, and finally reached the place where the world core of Vaythos was hidden.
Without hesitation, I stood up, pulled on my hoodie and jeans, and flew out of my house into the open sky.
The evening air was cold, and soon I found myself above the endless stretch of ocean. Beneath the waves, the faint pulse of the world core called to me. I dove down, broke through the water, and slipped into the pocket space that concealed it.
What followed was the usual struggle, a clash of will between the world core and myself. Its resistance was strong, but I had done this before. My Essence surged through every part of me, clashing against the core’s energy until finally, it bent.
With a deep breath, I pushed the core’s blue particles into the Dawn Core. The fusion began instantly.
Inside the Dawn Core, everything started changing again. More landmass grew, volcanoes flared brighter, and rivers of energy began to glow beneath the surface. The air felt heavier, denser with power.
I pulled up the status panel to check the result:
Function 3: Awaken Dawn Core [Incomplete]
– Core Quality: Low+
– Generates Energy from Law Conflicts
– Laws: 9
– Energy: Blue
The text didn’t change, but I could feel it. The improvement was real, the energy flow was much stronger now. I dismissed the panel and completed the final step: branding the Vaythos world core with my mark.
It floated quietly within the pocket space, surrounded by faint violet essence and wrapped with the black chain mark.
"All right, second infusion of Essence today," I muttered, placing my hand over it.
Essence began flooding from me into the core. I wanted Vaythos to have a stronger defense, something that could protect it from cosmic-level threats.
The Essence churned through my body before rushing into the world core. My senses expanded, first to the pocket space, then the ocean, then the entire planet. I saw it all at once, like my consciousness was orbiting above the world itself.
As more Essence poured in, I saw the first ripple appear at the planet’s core, a faint violet shimmer that spread outward like a translucent film. It expanded slowly at first, then faster as I increased the flow.
Excitement stirred inside me. I poured in even more Essence. The violet light brightened, spreading across the sky, wrapping around the entire world.
Moments later, the whole of Vaythos was enclosed in a new shield. It was invisible most of the time, but occasionally, a ripple of violet energy flashed across the atmosphere, visible even to the people on the ground.
Through my connection, the world core shared its information. The new shield was layered on top of the existing one created by the Rayleigh family, reinforcing it several times over.
I nodded in satisfaction and sat down beside the floating core.
"All right," I whispered. "Let’s evolve you a little."
I closed my eyes, drew in a deep breath, and began the process.