The sky was drowned in endless darkness as night dawned upon the City of Light, the scenery of beautiful stars filling the whole night sky, twinkling here and there, enough to make even a muddled mind calm as the silence of the night settled gently over everything.
-Thud!!
Ash placed the mug of coffee on the counter of his shop, ’Stiches & Riches’.
He was leaning back on the chair, resting his body against the backrest while letting it tilt slightly, his legs stretched out and placed on the counter in front of him.
One hand idly spun a pen between his fingers in a slow, steady motion, while the other, after setting the coffee mug down, moved gently toward the little girl sleeping on his chest, his touch soft as it came to rest on her head in a quiet, careful pat.
Snow’s chubby cheeks, pressed against Ash’s chest, made her look quite adorable even while she was sleeping, her expression completely at ease as if nothing in the world could disturb her rest.
His gaze was fixed on the ceiling above, or rather, his real gaze was beyond it, seeing the stars past the ceiling, as if the barrier itself did not exist for him.
Heavens.....Abyss....Transcendents.....
Eternal Supremes.....Realm formation....Gates of Heaven and Abyss....
There was a lot to take in, far more than what could be processed in a short time.
But the events that had transpired after he left the world of Akumia were beyond anything he could have imagined, each memory carrying a weight that did not feel real even when he recalled it.
Who would have thought that the change caused by his existence, the butterfly effect of his actions, would change the fates of every being so much that now a new realm had been born, something that felt like a dream straight out of fantasy.
But no matter how unbelievable it was, Ash knew it was all truth, because he had witnessed everything through the memories of Snow.
Snow had not noticed much before the Abyssal Gates appeared, as most of the changes had been beyond her awareness at that time. But as soon as the world barrier of Akumia weakened, she was alerted that something was wrong and thus witnessed everything that followed.
The descent of both Heavenly and Abyssal Gates, Eternal Supremes, Transcendents, Angels, Devils, even their brief clash, and the creatures from the Abyss, everything was witnessed by Snow from afar due to a special skill she awakened as her powers grew.
It was Clairvoyance.
Same ability that now he also possessed.
Which made him think that this ability originated from Snow’s Primordial Serpent bloodline itself. He just inherited it during his body formation.
Although this ability allowed her to see most things, actions done by Eternals were not visible to her with her current strength, thus anything related to those beings appeared blurred and unrecognizable, beyond proper comprehension.
Anyhow, she remained undetectable even during her spying because of various passive effects of Runes on her, but even then she still did not see everything in detail, as everything was noticed from afar, leaving gaps in what she could fully understand.
Only those conversations which were said loud enough to be heard by everyone were hearable to her, while the rest remained beyond her reach.
Or maybe the Eternal Supremes did notice her spying on them, but they did not pay heed to a simple Divine Serpent witnessing what was happening on the planet, considering it insignificant.
Indeed, Ash believed they did not see through the specialty of Snow due to the Rune of Concealment hiding her bloodline and connections, and mistook her as a normal Divine Serpent.
There was also a chance they did not notice her at all, a possibility he could neither confirm nor deny.
Then there was this huge source of energy which caused Snow to hibernate. One could say it was a blessing for her, because when the First Light of Creation affected her, she started to evolve into something that did not exist, but it required an enormous amount of energy to sustain that evolution, far beyond what she could gather on her own.
That was when the Realm Formation came into the equation. With the fusion of countless worlds, a massive amount of energy was released into the surroundings, and although normal people could not use it, that energy was absorbed by Snow unconsciously, feeding her transformation without interruption, as if her body instinctively drew in everything it needed.
That was the reason she stayed in hibernation till now, her body silently gathering everything it needed to complete what had already begun.
Church of Light...Church of Darkness.....Transcendent Circle....
These three were the major factions that held a very high influence all over Eden, with the Transcendent Circle having a slightly stronger hold compared to the other two, enough to subtly tip the balance.
Ash’s mind spun as he tried to connect them, his thoughts linking one piece after another.
I only know about the Church of Light and Church of Darkness, but this Transcendent Circle is new....
The Church of Light and the Church of Darkness were two major factions in the VR game ’Apocalypse Online’. One could even say that the entire story revolved around these two, with everything else feeling secondary in comparison.
From what Ash had learned from Snow, he could easily connect the Church of Light to the Heavens, the Church of Darkness to the Abyss, and the Transcendent Circle to the Transcendents, the pattern forming too clearly to ignore once seen.
What is it? What is the connection between everything? Why was there no Transcendent Circle in the game...? What’s so special about those ten servers that were in the game, or rather those 10 maps? Why were Transcendents present here in reality but not in the game, and why are they one of the major factions too??
All sorts of questions formed in his mind, each leading to another, but he had no answers to any of them. This time, he could not even make a guess like he usually did, because there was not enough information for him to rely on.
I need more information, without it I can’t do anything. Knowledge is Power. Without knowledge, I am nothing. If I had no knowledge about the Runes, I would not have acquired them. If I had no knowledge about my enemies and the world, treading through it would have been even more difficult....
Even to unleash the true power of the runes, I need to comprehend the knowledge behind them, which means I need as much information as possible. I can’t rely on these bits and pieces of information...
Ash had always wanted to establish an organization of his own for a long time. Back then, he neither had enough resources nor the power to create something that could remain loyal to him while gathering information from across the world.
But that was then, and this was now.
Back then, his goal was only to cover the whole planet, but now he aimed to extend his reach across the entire Realm, building an information network that could touch every corner of Eden, allowing him to hear and know everything that was happening without delay.
Let’s see, I was thinking of using souls for gathering information. But even after comprehending the Rune of Death up to 5%, I still did not learn anything about souls, so I have to drop that idea for now...
Souls are not visible to most beings, and even in the vast universe, it is almost impossible to perceive them. Of course, it is not entirely impossible, as a few special individuals like necromancers or other similar beings, along with extremely powerful entities, could sense or see souls.
But even then, their numbers were very small, making such cases rare.
And with souls being free and unrestrained by all forms of physical security, it could have become an information network that was nearly impossible to destroy or interfere with, something that could bypass almost any restriction.
But alas, not everything goes according to what one wants.
If not souls, I need to use my Mind Control, Memory Manipulation, Hive Mind and Consciousness Link skills to create an information network.....but the prerequisite is that, in this way the information network would expand very slowly...
After all, one could not just take anyone and make them an information provider, there was a need to look for the right candidates who were in certain positions or places, and many other factors had to be considered carefully before making a move, otherwise the entire network would fall apart before it could even take shape.
And Eden being soo big that the time it would take for the expansion of information network was not small....
His mind raced as he lazily spun the pen among his fingers in one hand. Strictly speaking, it was not a pen, but the miniaturized version of Eclipse that was currently being used as a spinner by Ash, moving smoothly between his fingers without breaking rhythm.
While his other hand continued to either lift the mug for a sip of coffee or gently pat Snow’s sleeping head, his movements absent-minded yet steady, as if his body moved on its own while his thoughts remained elsewhere.
{Ughhh....Its so boring, not many people are coming to buy clothes from us. I can literally count the number of customers we have received since the opening of the shop on my fingers.}
Ash’s lips twitched slightly as he heard Eva’s voice in his mind. He separated a small part of his consciousness to reply to her, while the majority remained focused on his thoughts, not letting the distraction fully pull him away.
"To be a successful businessman, one needs to keep patience."
{Tsk, patience is what people preach when they don’t know what else to do.}
Ash was left speechless hearing her reply, and it would be a lie to say he did not agree with her, because he had barely given any real attention to the shop itself, leaving it to run on its own.
Maybe I should have waited some time before I opened the shop.
{Are you thinking along the lines, ’Maybe I should not have opened the shop yet’?}
Tsk, is this what people call a woman’s intuition? It is quite scary, I would say...
But as a man, it would feel like a loss to accept that so easily, so he chose not to acknowledge it.
"Of course not, who do you think I am? Once I finish understanding the ’Unbreakable’ enchantment and inscribe them onto the clothes, the money will flow like a river."
{And how much time will that take..?}
Ash closed his eyes hearing that question, his spinning hand slowing down for a brief moment before coming to a pause.
"It will take some time. There are more important things that I feel I should focus on right now, rather than studying some enchantments."
He opened his eyes after releasing a quiet, helpless sigh, his thoughts settling slightly.
But instead of the ceiling, liquid rainbow eyes filled with doubt stared back at him.
Eva’s projection was floating just above him, facing downward, her gaze fixed directly on his face, she was too close to him.
Ash did not lose his calm or get flustered seeing her sudden appearance, instead he asked calmly, "What are you doing?"
{Seeing whether you are lying or not. Hmph!!}
Saying so, her form dissolved into light particles and reappeared on the counter. She was now sitting there with her legs crossed, her posture relaxed but her expression still carrying a hint of dissatisfaction.
{So, pray tell me, what are the things that keep occupying your mind? Didn’t you make me for this reason as well, to help you? Then why are you keeping things away from me? I am not omnipotent, that I will know everything. You need to tell me, or at least let me hear your thoughts so I can give you my input too.}
Ash tilted his head slightly and gave her a deep look, as if he was seriously considering her words, his gaze lingering for a moment as his thoughts quietly shifted as he replied.
"No."
****