Volume 5 – Chapter 21 (in-editing v7)

Volume 5 – Chapter 21

(If I ever make any errors/mistakes/forget something, please let me know in the comments!)

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Several weeks prior…

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“Move it, people! T-minus 140 minutes until Operation SKD is a go!” A large, muscular man yelled with a maniacal smile on his face.

The speaker was as bulky as he was tall, measuring roughly 2.1 meters from head to toe, with arms that looked as thick as tree trunks. He had warm brown skin that seemed to radiate vitality and life, matched only in intensity by his piercing brown eyes. A large, dark axe that emanated faint, shadowy particles was strapped to his back, resting atop a set of dark leather armor.

In the midst of a large Magic Forest sat hundreds of artificially constructed clearings. These large, circular gaps in the trees were currently a bustling hive of activity as thousands of humans could be seen, moving about.

Several hundred humans moved through long lines carrying boxes of food, animal pelts, Magic Herbs, and Magic Cores that were stored at the end of the line in several Spatial Rings. Other humans had split off into groups of three, and were practicing jumping off the air with Cloud Stepping Shoes. Still others were setting up a large staging area, a huge wooden platform with enough room to allow thousands of humans to stand side by side.

“Keep it up! I want those supplies up and stored before the hour is gone!” The former Baron, Rex, grinned as he barked out orders, commanding the forces of the Beasts of Providence.

Lux shook his head as he watched from the sideline, observing the men and women he led move in unison, working in perfect harmony, with a hint of satisfaction. Off to the side, a gathering of several of the strongest members of the King Division took place, sparring against each other.

Two of them, Blue Flame and Sun Snake, were currently going at each other’s throats, launching colorful waves of energy as they each did their best to murder the other.

Lux resisted the urge to cool the rivalry that particular duo had, despite having the ability to influence their minds and make them get along with his Dark Dominion Ability. It was nice to see some initiative that came of their own free will, even if it was slightly disruptive.

Lux’s colorful silk clothes rustled as a breeze slipped by, setting his shoulder-length black hair fluttering in the wind.

The sense of satisfaction he felt faded as he turned his gaze upward, a frown appearing on his face beneath the mask he wore.

The order to pull back from the Second Layer had left Lux puzzled.

‘The King Above pulled the strings – but why did he stop us here?’

It just didn’t make any sense. 

‘What is that man thinking?’

Lux rubbed his forehead.

‘Something must have happened to one of the other teams.’

Lux had overseen the coordination of thousands of humans spanning across an enormous training initiative that culminated in the King Division. It was the foremost elite unit of humans on the Second Layer… but it wasn’t the only force commanded by Constantine.

As one of the few Seeds that possessed a strong degree of free will, however smothered it may now be, Lux had paid close attention to the doings of their leader, and the other teams he commanded, at least starting from the Second Layer and beyond.

‘Is it the Dawn Brigade?’

Three other large teams had travelled up the Layers ahead of the Beasts of Providence.

The Dawn Brigade was the team that left first, joining the other First Wavers that took the initiative to climb ahead during the First Wave.

‘It could be the Shadows.’

The Shadows were the second team, accompanying Constantine as he scaled the Layers ahead. They were a highly adept group, specialized in confronting serious threats and safe-guarding Constantine.

‘It’s probably not the Revolutionaries.’

The Revolutionaries were an insurgent force planted on the Third Layer, and the third team raised by Constantine.

They had just been ordered to meet up with the Revolutionaries, to coordinate a newly designed fast-travel method across the Third Layer. Had something happened to the Revolutionaries, Lux would know by now.

Constantine was nothing if not thorough in his preparation. Critical information like that wouldn’t have been left out.

‘It can’t have been because of the setbacks we faced.’

The Beasts of Providence were the fourth and final team, staying behind on the Second Layer to stabilize the world for humanity, disrupting the activities of the other races and natives, to create a testing ground, where humanity could whet her mettle and grow.

Their recent losses were irritating, especially losing Silverback and Sansa, but even the deaths of the entire Ape Division and most of the Hunter Division weren’t enough to impact their bottom line. While their deaths were a tragedy, ultimately, the impact was rather minor.

The Beasts of Providence had encountered a few challenges in recent times, upsets that impacted some of their inglorious leader’s overarching plans, but it wasn’t unsalvageable. Several of their plans were still ongoing, completely undetected as far as Lux could tell.

‘The only truly problematic elements remaining on the Second Layer are Orion Thunderfist and the Farian’s Lord Justiciar.’ Everything else, in Lux’s esteemed opinion, was manageable.

Nevertheless.

His orders were absolute.

He had no choice but to follow them, like the good little soldier he was.

Time slipped by, and soon, the preparations were complete.

All the supplies they needed were stored away, Artifacts sealed, weapons ready. The large wooden platform had finished construction and all the members of the Beasts of Providence now stood upon it.

Thousands of men and women, a huge, collective force, armed with thousands of different Abilities and Artifacts.

‘This is the part where a normal organization leader would rally off an inspiring speech.’ Lux pondered quietly to himself.

The platform was eerily silent, despite the presence of thousands of other humans.

The Beasts of Providence were not only influenced by Constantine’s Seeds, but also by Lux’s own Dark Dominion Ability, allowing every single individual to work in unison with one another. This had enormous benefits when it came to teamwork and coordination – Lux would even go as far to say there was no better coordinated group across the entire 7 Layers, at least as far as he knew.  

‘Hmm.’ Lux paused for a moment as he scanned those present.

‘Status.’

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— - Status — -

Name: Luxworth Anderwright

Points: 432,273

Race: Human

Age: 36

Physique: Fatum Ferox Physique - 6 Star

Soul Quality: 3 Star

Strength - 659

Endurance - 431

Recovery - 291

Soul - 48

Abilities - (5/7)

Luckstrider Type

Dark Dominion

Deathless Clone

Rakashic Regeneration

Ki Cultivator (Lord Tier - Early)

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‘It’s difficult to raise my Ki any higher here on the Second.’ Reaching Lord Tier would’ve been impossible if not for the enormous lines of support he had at hand as the leader of the Beasts of Providence.

If nothing else, he could finally fill the last 2 slots in his Ability slots once he climbed up to the Third Layer. The Points Wall for someone with his Soul Quality would be counted in the millions of Points, finally allowing him to gain enough Points to purchase what he wanted from the Shop.

With a mental shrug, Lux closed his Status and took one final look at his Beasts before him.

Despite knowing his mind was not his own to control, despite all the stress and self-doubt that plagued him, despite everything… he cared deeply for the men and women that stood as one.

Because, at the end of the day, they were all fighting the good fight, for a cause that he could believe in.

“To a new day’s dawn!” Lux’s subtly flexed his Dark Dominion Ability.

A swell of loud cheers broke out as the Beasts of Providence raised their fists, roaring towards the sky.

‘Maybe they’d really agree with me, if they had a choice.’ Lux smiled sardonically to himself, adjusting his Dark Dominion Ability slightly.

As one, every individual lowered their hands and then locked arms. Thousands of humans grasped each other’s hands, forming one long, unbroken line of contact. Even Lux stepped forward, laying a hand on Rex’s shoulder.

For one quiet moment, the world seemed to stand still.

That moment passed, and…

The entire 6,000 plus large group of humans vanished, teleporting away from the Second Layer in one massive flash of light.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

The Causeway Network was an impressive feat of human engineering.

Lux marveled at the dark sky of the Third Layer as he stood upon the brow of an immense Void Ship that was currently hurtling high through the sky, thousands of meters up. The wind whipped past him, fierce gusts blowing through the air, as they flew forward at an incredible pace.

‘The power of Magic sure is something else.’

One of the problems that came with crossing the Third Layer was its immense scale. It was a truly enormous plane, where travel times stretched on and on, and this didn’t even take into account the various dangers you might encounter while travelling. From feral Void Predators to vicious Void Nobles to the countless other invading races, it was a very dangerous place.

Constantine’s solution to this was something he built as he travelled across the Third Layer – an enormous network of floating, magical rings that created a constantly accelerating current of wind.

‘He hid the Network in plain sight.’ It was impossible to truly hide such a massive infrastructure undertaking, so Constantine decided to side-step the issue entirely.

He hid it in the sky.

Massive, enormous rings of Magic, anchored by stabilizing Artifacts, constructed thousands and thousands of meters up above the world. After all, who would suspect that a massive infrastructure project would be hidden high up in the sky? The wind currents created were tightly controlled, preventing any leakage or interference.

Lux’s eyes narrowed as they flew past one such ring, watching as it appeared from thin air as they drew close.

‘The rings are only visible when you are within about a hundred meters.’ From the ground, you couldn’t detect even the faintest hint of Mana. And, even if you did manage to get close, the Artifacts that anchored the rings were enchanted with a clever Spell that redirected light around the rings, making them practically invisible to those not actively within the Causeway.

They were truly masterfully crafted, and a statement to the resources Constantine could muster when he needed to.

It was this very Network that allowed the Revolutionaries to travel up and down the Third Layer with impunity, disrupting the stability of the reigning Void Nobles, especially those in the Red Line, which murdered all humans they came across. The Network had several points where it branched off, allowing travel to the East and West as well, and more branches were, even now, still being constructed.

It wasn’t perfect, the Network could only reach certain preset points in a quick manner, and any points in-between required a great deal of travel still, but it cut down what should be a journey of 9 to 10 months to mere weeks.

Lux glanced back, scanning the crowds of humans moving about on deck, and further beyond, where a whole fleet of Void Ships followed closely behind their own.

‘We’ll reach the territory of Duke Atlas in a few hours.’

Weeks had passed since he first arrived in the northern regions of the Third Layer, and rendezvoused with Hayden Montacerry, Leader of the Revolutionaries.

In that time, the Beasts of Providence had crossed the entire Third Layer, and reached their exit-point.

They had remained stationed there for several days, at an impasse, before, finally, Lux received new orders.

Orders that came in a very unexpected way.

Lux frowned as he recalled the memory.

He had been meditating, focused on increasing his Ki atop a larger boulder on one of the floating islands tucked away in the Outer Ringlands when he felt it.

The Seed in his Soul began to emanate energy.

It was a strange sensation that he hadn’t felt before – the Seed he knew was planted in his Soul was a subtle thing, hidden in the back of his mind, never at the forefront. Now, however, it began to pulse, sending out incomprehensible signals.

It was enough to make Lux try to stand up, but before he even began the motion…

He blinked, and found himself standing in a world of white fog.

‘Lux.’

“You.” Lux’s mind raced as he turned around, recognizing a familiar voice.

Standing across from him in the fog was a shadowy figure.

“My enslaver.” He spat.

"I didn't know you could pull me in like this. Is this a new power of yours? How unpleasant."

The shadowy figure nodded slightly, denying nothing.

‘It’s high time we talked.’

“Talk?” Lux snorted derisively.

“What’s the point?” He threw himself down on the ground, leaning back as he griped, his tone coated in sarcasm.

“Just order me what to think. It’s not like I can say no." Lux shrugged with his hands behind his head.

The shadowy figured sighed.

‘Impudent as always. But that’s why I like you, Lux.’

The shadowy figure continued,

‘The Seeds change people. Few can hold on to their will so powerfully as you. That makes you special.’

“It makes me useful.” Lux corrected, reading between the lines as he smirked.

‘I’m not here to antagonize you.’ Constantine continued.

‘I’m here to make a deal.’

Lux felt his heart beat slightly faster, despite himself.

Constantine was many things. A slaver, merciless, cruel, cunning.

But a liar, he was not.

“What kind of deal are we talking? Surely you aren’t going to offer me freedom.”

Lux knew he was far too useful a tool for that to be possible.

‘Yes.’

“…” Apparently, Lux didn’t know much at all.

A moment of silence stretched out as Lux sat up, fully concentrating on the conversation at hand as he stared hard at the shadowy figure.

“What changed?” Lux’s mind raced as a foreboding feeling settled into the pit of his stomach.

If Constantine was making an offer like this… something truly drastic must have occurred.

The shadowy figure shifted slightly as it tilted its head to the side, picking up on the shift in Lux’s mood.

‘The 7 Layers are dangerous. Far more dangerous than I anticipated.’ The shadowy figured sighed.

‘The Shadows are dead.’

Those words hit Lux like a physical blow, sending him reeling back.

Lux thought of that particular team, the thousands of men and women he had witnessed, warriors that had trained side-by-side with his own Beasts before they left. Heroes in their own right, focused only on fighting for humanity’s survival. Even if that decision was forced upon them by Constantine, it didn’t make them any less noble in Lux’s eyes.

And now, they were all gone.

“How!? What happened?” Lux’s voice cracked as he asked the question whose answer would make his decision clear.

‘We encountered an entity, a being that possessed power that could not be overcome.’

The shadowy figure continued,

‘A Titled Deity.’

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