Jason decided to stop thinking about his sister for now since he needed to go and meet Liam about some new Gate contracts for his guild, and they also needed to talk about the New Order cult that tried to set off a bomb at the press conference earlier.
Apparently, Liam had found a link between the New Order cult and a terrorist organization that had been moving around Australia recently, and he called Jason in because he didn’t want to discuss it over the phone, where anyone could listen in. Apparently, this was some super-secret information that only those very high in the Enforcers hierarchy were meant to have any access to.
A hand wrapped around Jason from behind, and Jason felt a kiss pressing into his neck. Jason smiled as he spoke.
"You’re done eating?"
"Mmhmm, not yet. I just wanted to kiss you."
Riyala sounded like a spoiled child who wanted to be spoiled even more, and Jason turned around and leaned down to kiss her softly. The kiss deepened until Riyala was practically hanging off Jason’s shoulder, and Jason grunted when he felt Riyala slide her hand into his trousers and grab his member softly. He was going to be a little late for that meeting.
...
[The World of Frinada]
[Fifteen Dimensional Leaps Away From Earth]
The world of Frinada was a volcanic world that was inhospitable to most species in the Primordial Expanse due to its extremely high heat and the intense smoke that filled the region and reduced visibility to almost nothing. But although many races endeavored to stay away from this world, there were still many other races that had evolved in ways that would allow them to survive in the harsh landscape, and out of those races, the most dominant one was the race known as the Gretin. The Gretin were subterranean creatures with large bulbous bodies that were used to store water and expert mana-sensing capabilities that allowed them to move around even without being able to see through the ashy and foggy air of Frinada. The Gretin survived by digging trenches in the volcanic rock and staying underground for long periods at a time while feeding on the volcanic magma that spewed from the Earth.
Right now, a large colony of Gretin were slowly making their way across the surface of Frinada to try and find some water. There were more than a thousand Gretin moving together, but there was no definite leader among them since they were made up of various families that only lived in the same region. At one side of the group, a small family of six Gretin were following after the colony.
"Stay close to me, children. You could get lost in these volcanic mountains. If anyone falls into the magma, let me know so we can fetch them out."
A kind voice echoed from the Gretin that was leading the group, and a chorus of ’yes, mama!’ came from all the other Gretin behind her. The Gretin colonies were separated into families of six or seven that were made up of a single female and many children since the adult male Gretin lived separately and only came to the colonies during the mating periods. This colony had been underground for more than a year now, and it was finally time for them to go and find some more water so they could prepare for the next year of living underground! The Gretin had brown skin that looked like it had been burnt by the Frinada atmosphere, and they walked with a slow pace so they could preserve as much energy as possible while moving through the heat!
"Mama, I want to go lava diving!"
"Me too! Me too!"
"Yes, me too! Can we!?"
The children all began to call out once they heard lava diving, and the female Gretin in front sighed as she told them to quiet down! They were searching for water right now, so they couldn’t get distracted! The children all moaned in disappointment once the mother said this, but she eventually smiled and spoke.
"If you all behave until we find a good spring, then I’ll let you go lava diving when we’re going back."
"Yay!"
"Lava diving!"
The children all exclaimed in joy once they heard this, and the woman just smiled as she continued leading them forward. The mothers in the other families could be heard promising something similar to their children when their children asked for permission as well, and the mothers were already looking forward to having some time to themselves as their children played in the lava. Frinada was a relatively safe world with almost no dominant predators, and most of the creatures here survived by either eating lava, soil, or volcanic vegetation, so the Gretin had adapted to be very carefree! They were just like the extinct dodos on Earth, who had willingly walked towards their own death since they believed that they had no enemies! And it was this carefree nature that prevented them from sensing the danger that they were walking into until it was already too late.
Rip!
The Gretin stopped in their tracks when they suddenly saw a blue line tear itself across the air in front of them! The female Gretin who had been leading her six children at the side felt her heart rate spike as she sensed a twisted aura flowing out from the Gate! She quickly moved to stand in front of her children and eyed the Dimensional Tear warily! The Dimensional Tear began to expand and grow until it was a large circle that was wide enough for someone to walk through.
A hand grabbed the edge of the tear, and a rambling voice could be heard coming from the other side.
"Are they really going to be there? Oh no, maybe I forgot my weapon. No, it’s in my hand. Hehehe, that’s so funny. I don’t think you understand. It’s hilarious. Oh, where am I? This world is funny. Soot and heat, hahaha, that’s so cold. No, what if they don’t listen to me? Heheh, I’ll just kill them then. Wait, I was going to kill them either way. No, you weren’t going to kill them. You were going to help them. No, that doesn’t make any sense, I need them to help me. Oh, no, that wasn’t part of my plan—eh, ugly creatures. What are these? Monsters? Demons? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything this ugly in my life."
’Is this woman insane?’
This was the thought that went through the mind of the female Gretin the moment she saw who had come through the Tear! Even though the Gretin couldn’t understand what the woman was saying, they could still tell that there was something very wrong with her. The person who came out of the Dimensional Tear was a tall woman with bright red skin and deep yellow eyes. She had a bald head, but there was a single horn growing from the right side of her head that circled around the top of her head like a halo. She was wearing a long gown that had slits down the sides like a Chinese battle gown to allow her to move properly, and there was a long spear over her shoulder that she was resting both hands on lazily. This woman was Evon, the mad, and the moment Evon stepped out of the Tear, her eyes narrowed at the Gretin.
The Gretin all shifted back slightly as they felt Evon’s bloodlust began pouring out of her, but at the next moment, Evon was smiling again and waving at them!
"Hello, this world should understand me, right? No, they don’t understand you; they’re monsters. No, they aren’t, look at them. They are really sweet. They’ll try to kill me. No, they’ll try to murder me, what about all the other people who tried to murder us? Well, we killed them. Oh, that’s what happened to them. I thought there was some sort of war they fought. Yes, the war was against us. We need to become complete. We’re too weak to fight a war. Yes, we’re too weak for a war. We need to become complete. We should go and find it so it can help us become complete. It can complete us! Hehehehhe!"
Evon looked at the Gretin with wide, unseeing eyes, and the Gretin could swear that she wasn’t even looking at them! It was almost like Evon was just looking through them and at something else behind them! Evon’s outfit was tattered and dirty, and her bare feet were stained with mud and moss from all the places she had been. Anyone would be able to easily tell that Evon had been traveling for a long time.
Evon had gone through more than half this Primordial Domain in search of the only thing that would be able to fill the emptiness in her heart, and now thankfully, Evon could feel that it was close! Evon could feel the call of the [Wandering Shadows].
"Complete! Complete! I’m going to be complete! I can’t wait to be complete! Let’s celebrate! No, let’s fight! Let’s celebrate! Fighting is celebrating! Murder is celebrating! Let’s murder for celebration!"