478 Progress Under a Looming Shadow

I crossed my arms.

"Forefathers? You were spawned by the undead?"

"Not at all. I mentioned it before, but my clan never believed in the latent abilities behind undead magic. They thought of it in terms of its limitations, not its potential, and that is why I shall prove them wrong once more."

The death in Torix's palm spiraled into a tiny light, one that denoted something opposite to its eerie origins. It reverberated with untamed, chaotic possibility.

"I shall conquer death by making it into life. A new set of races shall be born, and I shall be their primogenitor."

Chapter Begin

I reached out a hand, grasping at the potential in his palm. Moss grew on my hand in moments, along with a variety of leaves and other fauna. Flowers bloomed amidst the greenery, and the roots tried burrowing into my hand. I raised the plants up.

"Wow. This reminds me of my origin mana. Except, you know, fewer crabs."

The flowers wilted in seconds as frost overcame them. Torix squeezed his palms together.

"It's a strange process, but I've learned how to imbue this chaotic possibility into the imbibed spirits and souls of the undead. It required a fusion of two disparate techniques, one gained from combining opposing elements and another from taking advantage of the intrinsic qualities of your armor."

I watched the dying plants wither before regaining the luster of life. I gawked in awe. After the moment passed, I turned to him.

"Actually, you mentioned my origin mana was strange, but we never talked about what was so different."

Torix swished a hand in frustration.

"It was odd that you skipped several steps. Generating life is effectively impossible for most magicians. The reasoning for that is self-evident as well. Biology, as a concept, is something that is inordinately complex, and it has required billions of years of incremental growth to achieve its current iteration. Origin mana of simple chemicals and processes shouldn't be as difficult, yet your abilities are inverted in that sense."

I raised a hand, ice crabs spawning out of my palm.

"Tell me about it. It's enough to make a guy crabby."

Torix took a deep breath.

"Please tell me this hasn't become a habit."

I held a crab out to him.

"Why so snippy?"

Torix raised his staff and swung it down at the crabs. I protected my beautiful children by raising an arm. After the echoing clash of metal on metal, I met Torix's eye.

"You’re thinking is narrow. You really need to get out of your shell."

Torix raised his hands in frustration.

"That doesn't even make sense. You're just saying words."

I furrowed my brow.

"Aren't we all?"

The crabs scuttled about before a few found crevices. One of them meandered to a precipice before falling a few feet down. In a moment of absurd chance, a spire of ice impaled the poor creature, killing it in seconds. I frowned at the sight before Torix walked over. He took a breath and fed the creature a strange concoction of killing magic. It held the certainty of one's end yet carried the chaos of a soul.

He ferried the energy into the corpse, and its eyes lit up, literally. Bright flames spawned where the sockets once were, and each icy blue sphere held a measure of intelligence. It walked over to Torix before the necromancer pointed into the distance.

"You were not born with a purpose, but you were given the tools to make one for yourself. Do not shame me by allowing that desire to fester. Tread forth into an uncertain world and make it yours."

The crab scuttled away, and I inspected it.

Undead Crestacean | Level 2 - This undead is a spawn of the necromancer Torix. Using a strange set of magics, Torix created a lifelike imitation of an actual creature. It has required many years of diligent study. His studies into converting mana into souls lies at the center of this phenomenon, and it is entirely due to his diligence that this was at all possible.

The magic operates by circulating via a magically constructed soul. This soul is based on many notes left by Alfred Worm, Torix’s son and a brilliant magical theorist. The first step requires the construction of a magical consciousness. Mana coalesces, creating a mind. Once crafted, it is then killed directly through pure and filtered death magic.

The creature is then bonded to the body that lost its function mere moments ago. This process doesn’t require the metabolic functions of the body to continue, though mana is required for the continued function of the body. In that regard, this effective undead feeds on the ambient mana around it or through stealing the mana of others.

The body still requires physical maintenance despite the lack of metabolic functions. A persistent sterilization function is required, otherwise bacteria, parasites, and viruses would break the body down to no less than bone. This results in weekly cleansing operations that are instinctual and ritualistic. Each undead is also either extremely basic or acidic throughout their bodies and blood. This ph discrepancy results in the further inhibition of hungry microorganisms.

Wounds require magic for healing and each species may graft other body parts from their victims onto their bodies. Anything lost to an undead will be taken and repurposed, and any undead is aware of this procedure. Undead can survive fatal wounds from other species, and their physical forms are only hampered by reduced functioning, not pain or exhaustion.

However, all undead are highly vulnerable to mind magic and any antimagical techniques used against them. If an opponent shuts down their mana circulation, they will collapse into a rotting heap of tissue. If a wizard robs them of their mind, then they become willing servants. Some undead are created for this purpose alone, their use nested in their master’s will.

The last remarkable aspect of their creation involves their psionic maintenance. Unlike a normal creature, the mind of an undead is a tumultuous, volatile creation. An undead cannot rely on stress relieving hormones, nights of rest, or physical pleasure for mental relief. They are purely psionic in nature which requires a different form of curation.

Any mental woe, pain, or issue can spiral out of control, therefore the undead must have mental techniques and rituals that act as a form of resetting. Understanding this issue is a huge part of what enables the species to survive; otherwise, they go insane within weeks. This results in a daily meditation period that lasts several hours and mirrors sleep.

They may stay awake for prolonged periods should they choose to do so, but they walk a path of insanity if they do so for long enough. In this regard, the strongest undead are the calmest. By curating their mental strength, they can mitigate their need for prolonged rest periods. Others may be trapped in a mental catatonia from prolonged rest periods.

Lastly, these creations are made in loving memory of Alfred Worm. May he rest at the summit of magic alongside the other giants who tread unseen paths before him.

A spark of sadness spawned in my chest. Even to this day, Torix grieved his son in his own way. The remarks on psionic stability also explained why Torix struggled to continue living after his son’s demise. I imagined Torix’s endless nights without any break or reprieve, all the while he wondered what he could’ve done differently. It was enough to drive someone insane.

Despite those worries, my jaw slackened at the construct. It would maintain itself, develop intelligence, and could survive on its own. Even after moments, it assimilated the surrounding icy energy to knit itself back together. Each of its claws pulled back and forth as if feeding, and it was actually pretty adorable.

It would be days, but the crab would be whole once more on its own. Torix watched the crab heal the impalement.

"They drink upon the world, becoming far more than they once were."

I raised my brow.

"But do they hunger for brains and flesh?"

Torix scoffed.

"Of course they do. Brains are by far the sweetest part of any animal."

"What? Really?"

Torix walked over, reached out a hand, and flicked my forehead.

"Of course not. Now, this is imbuing the inherent unpredictability of life into the stagnation of the undead. It shall not let them last forever, and eventually, simple creations like this will give way to madness. However, if it levels up through Schema's system, it shall augment its life expectancy as well through greater mana production and mental resilience."

I narrowed my eyes.

"So you've been working with Schema on this?"

"Oh, I wouldn’t make this more than it is. I've made contact with the Overseer a number of times on the issue as this kind of scaling magic requires many permits and the like. You've attempted something similar to dire results, after all. I didn't want to end up with the same kind of systemic disapproval."

“You mean putting mana into the destroyed minds of the primevals? Or maybe when I first learned the cipher.”

“The cipher, specifically. This skill of mine, Undead Endowment, it is an unknown skill via the system.”

I leaned over to gaze at the cute crab.

“How did you create the spark of sapience inside the little guy?”

“That is entirely the result of Alfred’s research. His ability to construct mental representations exceeds anything I could hope to create. His notes were integral in the creation of the corundums resting in the undead’s bodies. Each corundum manifests different primal mana types depending on their forming inclinations, resulting in beautiful, varied personalities.”

I winced.

“They’ll be hunted for them.”

“Oh, most certainly. I intended for that to be the case.”

I gawked at him. Torix guffawed.

“Disciple, let’s envision this scenario through a matter of incentives. As you go about your day, let’s assume you find a series of undead constructs. They have the ability to rip you apart and graft your body to their own. Would these beings be viewed the same as a normal creature?”

“Hell no.”

“That is entirely correct. Now, let’s make the same assumption, but let’s give these undead a highly valued and harvestable commodity - their corundum cores. They can be used for magical artifacts, expensive gemstones, or even as a status symbol. Would that change the way their viewed?”

“Palpably. Instead of being mindless monsters that grow into insane abominations, they would be considered a dangerous but valuable part of the world. You could have areas that are rife with the undead, and they would act as a means of economic opportunity. Imagine the hunting parties that would be gathered for just such a purpose. Some would die, of course, but others would find means of fortune and fame.”

I grabbed my chin.

“It’s a good measure to solidify them as something more than a curse, that’s for sure. Hm. I still don’t know how Alfred uncovered the spark of sapience.”

Torix flourished a hand.

“He learned how to stabilize interdimensional energies.”

I rubbed my eyes.

“He…He did what?”

Torix stood tall.

“I understand your misgivings. It’s a difficult concept to even conceive let alone believe. However, my son uncovered an odd settling ritual that was part of the undead’s baseline. He also uncovered the gem conduits for their expression.”

A part of my skin rippled at his words. I gazed at myself.

“That’s probably why I can assimilate the energy to begin with.”

“Indeed. It acted as the backbone for your entire progression. In fact, all of my study into your origin ritual has uncovered two truths. Firstly, Baldag-Ruhl’s vision held no bounds nor confines. He aimed to rule all that existed through infinite progression. However, this progression would’ve resulted in utter insanity.”

Memories of Valgus flashed over my eyes.

“Like all before him.”

Torix’s eyes shifted to a harmonious yellow.

“Indeed. Baldag-Ruhl would’ve ensured his swift and absolute madness. However, my son is the one who converted this insanity into something far more productive. He gave stability and consistency. Without him, you’d have been driven mad long ago.”

I reached out a hand.

“Do you have the ritual or the way that he accomplished these feats?”

“I do, though even after years of research, I still don’t fully understand them.”

Torix sent me a message, and the notification popped up in my status. Torix interlocked his hands behind himself.

“It’s a part of the images I sent to you about the ritual so long ago. It was nested within thousands of images, and I’ve only uncovered it recently. Aside from Alfred’s influence, you were also integral to this being’s creation. For instance, I was able to construct a sterilizing technique by emulating the aura you create. That is the weekly ritual they partake in.”

“Oooh, I’m glad I helped.”

“I was also at least partially inspired by the psionic drowning of the primevals. I found the crafted consciousnesses from mana to be the perfect shells, though their inherent malevolence made them far too volatile. Resetting them drew from my own pursuits into death magic and necromancy. Diesel and a few biologists assisted in the creation of the dual acid or basic forms to mitigate bacterial and viral growth.”

Torix paced side to side, his footsteps cracking the stone and ice below him.

“The meditation techniques drew from a few spiritual texts I found on your planet revolving around Buddhism. Those monks achieved a degree of disconnect that acted as a means of maintaining sanity into a long and well-aged life. The other bottlenecks revolved around mental binding. I had to outsource that to the corundum creation. By allowing them to build based on the body they inhabit, they almost always bind well.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Let us say they lack perfect function. It mirrors life in that regard as no process is perfect.”

“Last question. What about healing?”

“My work at scanning and uncovering the corundums gave me the insight to craft a means of diagramming the original body based around the cells and DNA of a creature. The corundum connects to these patterns, forming a graph of how to heal.”

“Wouldn’t the persistent grafting mess with that process?”

“I simply had the healing becoming individualized. As an aside, the undead that choose to graft will likely be far more intelligent than a crab.”

“Ahh, it’s simply something they can do if they're intelligent and ambitious. It carries risks of rejection, but it may be a powerful means and motivation for them to conquer foes far into the future.”

Torix gestured to the undead creature.

"In fact, my primary limitations revolved around their life expectancy. Schema doesn't like unearned immortality, and so I tied the creature's life expectancy to their level and general power. The stronger they become, the longer they shall live. It gives them far more purpose and drive, and I couldn't have stopped their true deaths even if I tried."

He put a hand on his chest.

"Even in my case, there's simply a limit to the sheer degree of longevity I may attain. While my body may last forever, my mind will eventually unravel. Such is life, regardless of its origin."

I peered off into the distance.

"It's true. Life isn't infinite, after all."

"It's cyclical, and I intend on pulling that kind of cycle into the undead's lives. It shall be one of sentience rather than simple resuscitation. While not perfect, my initial tests have been promising. You've seen it just now, but there are other, far more effective and fully grown individuals as well."

I smiled.

"Ah, those are the more potent minions you mentioned before. Your generals, right?"

"Correct. While initially mere test subjects, they have achieved a level of sentience that I wished for in all my subjects. At this point, I believe it's worth waging a campaign to harmonize the recently dead. I want them attuned to their bodies and aligned to their purpose, whatever that may be. It shall also act as a testing ground for my magic."

I rolled my shoulders.

"Then that's where the campaign across Earth comes in. It sounds like you’re hitting two birds with one stone, though I intended on waging that war myself."

Torix waved a hand.

"I've had my desired time to develop my skills. I now stand atop an epoch that may be developed as I wish rather than being in a state of relative stagnation. It's similar to the skill you mentioned. Infinity, I believe it was. Because of it, you may develop yourself at all times. This current iteration of myself is similar."

I stood up.

"How does it work?"

Torix followed suit.

"I have developed a legendary skill that revolves around being an undead. Do you remember that perfect memory recall skill I had you learn? I've had that for centuries, and the memories never degrade. I am now able to spend time meditating on the most vivid of those experiences to gain the skills of other people."

My eyes widened.

"That's how you gained my antigravitational magic?"

"And it's also how I obtained a variety of other common magics that you use. Part of that derives from the new body I've attained. Its sheer ability to call forth those primal engines of nature, such as gravity or temperature, is staggering. It made the entire process far easier than it would otherwise be."

I frowned.

"Hm. I wonder how much of my own skill is derived from those innate qualities?"

"None from what I can surmise. You've seen the magic I've used. It's not particularly complex or nuanced, though I have been able to apply it with tremendous force. I think that's similar to your abilities, but you've honed that sword until it glistens. The singularities for example. You learned that skill with far fewer resources than I currently have, yet I cannot seem to recreate that ability."

I scoffed.

"Well, I can't generate curses, portals, or the undead for the life of me."

Torix glared at me.

"Or the death of you. Don't disparage."

We laughed before Torix took a breath, one he didn't need.

"Ah, it's good to have my soul ingrained once more. I had forgotten what it feels like to live this way. It feels raw and real. I’ve also been meaning to ask how the Earth fares in my absence. Perhaps an in person report from the utmost authority on the matter will illuminate me.”

I rubbed my hands together.

“It goes well, but there’s a few details you’ve missed.”

I explained my empire’s situation since he went into isolated training. Torix crossed his arms.

“It’s good that at least one of your many pet projects has decided to seriously repay their debts.”

"Are you talking about the skeptiles?"

"Indeed. Their spirits are an enormous resource that will save our guild centuries of development and time. They contrast the albony utterly. I sink merely thinking of them.”

I raised a brow.

“Mind explaining?”

“They have a means of disparaging against other races whilst lacking many defining characteristics of their own. They organize wealth rather than creating it, and they carry many regressive customs. That is to say, I understand why you offered them sanctuary, but they've always gotten under my skin. They remind me of my upbringing within the Worm’s Estate."

My eyes lit up with curiosity.

"What was that like?"

"Oh, the Worm family? They were nothing special. As with most isolated worlds, they found ways to bemoan other cultures, people, and races without having to genuinely understand them. In that regard, every mirror showed perfection and every window exposed a different kind of evil. That evil was simply something different than them, but they never understood that simple fact.”

Torix’s eyes flared red.

“They nested their inherent and unearned sense of superiority within customs and tradition. It was suffocating in many ways, not least of all their opinions on necromancy."

I furrowed my brow.

"I can't imagine that was easy."

"It wasn't and yet it was. On the one hand, they gave me many practical concerns to deal with. How to get supplies for my work. How to hide it and its signatures from those who wished for my downfall. Even how to eliminate the smell that tends to linger with my chosen line of work."

Torix turned a hand to the sky.

"And yet I never lacked a purpose. They gave me motivation every day to escape that hellhole of inbreeding and nonsense. This project with the undead is largely spurred by my time stuck in caves on my home planet, escaping the judgmental eyes of fools."

Torix gazed up.

"Well then, I would ask of them thus: who are the fools now?"

A deep silence passed over us, the howling wind an accent to Torix's words. He nodded before squeezing his hand shut.

"Enough talk of them. Surely, we must be behind on many responsibilities? I need to assess the current educational standards of my academy and how lacking they are."

I scoffed.

"You might be surprised. I’ve given them a resource that you’re going to love"

Torix took a few moments before spreading his arms. Dominion mana oozed out of his body. Unlike my own or the dominion mana of other people, Torix’s mana continued carrying his strange signature. As if remaking it in his own image, it carried a piercing depth and an endless curiosity within.

The energy coalesced into a portal. It rived open reality, opening a vantage of Mt. Verner. I gawked once again.

“You’ve gotten a bit better at portalling.”

“Months of training tends to augment one’s abilities. Now, let us go forth.”

We flew through it, Torix taking the time to make his floating dark cloud. It was absurdly unnecessary now considering he used antigravity for his locomotion. Still, it gave him a flavor and character as we floated over the city. Torix gasped, gulped, and guffawed at the sights and sounds. The sheer development of the city left him nostalgic for its previous iteration.

He watched the changes and liveliness, his posture reserved and solemn.

"I do appreciate progress, but watching the loss of the natural aesthetic has been rather difficult."

I gestured to the many parks, the incorporated greenery, and the visible skyline.

"We put the time in to make sure it didn't get too dystopian."

“True enough. Perhaps I am merely accustomed to the wilds of the world.”

Torix floated over one of the incorporated trees atop the skyscrapers. He put a hand over one of the vines and ivies that grew along the lights and power lines. Crystals of quintessence glowed, the dark metal keeping it protected. Torix leaned close.

"It is beautiful, in its own way. It's not like the more brutalism-inspired construction of the albony."

I furrowed my brow.

"Brutalism? They're not concrete blocks or windowless expanses."

Torix waved a hand.

"They're close enough."

I scoffed as we passed several important landmarks. A few buildings held office spaces for people handling different logistical aspects of the empire. Those people went to work in a magical enactment of a pre-system world. The guild incorporated computers and their technology back into our lifestyles, though our enactment of the internet felt small compared to Schema's web.

People something akin to phones for communication and the like, each of them holding a variety of classic enchantments. Some even carried my signature dimensional fabric, each glass square becoming a conduit for a variety of powerful magics. The engineering involved definitely involved an architect golem. If I had to guess, Diesel worked on those models with other engineers.

Closer to Mt. Verner, we uncovered the many expansion projects. Though not fully realized, several dorm spaces opened up for different species, from Gialgathens to humans to the Eltari. They carried the flavor of their race, each set up for the comfort and sensibilities of their kin.

Sunbathing spots and perpetual ice sculptures for the gialgathens. Mosaics and preening baths for the eltari. Floating spheres of water and Blegara derived corals for the Vagni. The university expanded those alongside a dozen other modifications, allowing comfort and accommodation for many species. Torix peered down at it while nodding in approval.

"These adjustments allow us to cater towards many more races than the ones within your empire. Now we can afford to create opportunities for adjacent empires as well."

I peered down at a dessert biome established with skeptilian comfort in mind.

"A rising tide raises all ships, right?"

"I beg to differ. Ships are not all in the same position in a tidal formation, creating imbalanced rising based on their initial positions. This is similar. By 'offering opportunities,' we allow ourselves to advertise our empire while profiting at the same time. Many of the newcomers will experience the prosperity of the empire, allowing us to poach the brightest prospects from other regimes."

I leaned away from him.

"You're taking their talent?"

Torix steepled his hands.

"If they allow it, which they shall. Our empire offers numerous advantages, not least of which is the relative proliferation of knowledge. It gives us a tremendous edge in regard to education, and that alone is enough to siphon many of the most curious and intelligent individuals under our wings. Beyond that, many empires will send spies to take the knowledge we've procured."

"Sounds like a problem."

"Shalahora psionically inspects any immigrants coming into the empire for Elysium influence. Our publicity when fighting them has put us in a strenuous position, but it also allows us to enact invasive policies in such a manner without too much recourse. It's a matter of imperial security, so many accept it. Those that don't simply won't be allowed to enter here."

I rolled my shoulders.

“It won’t be that way forever.”

Torix gazed at his growing university.

“In that regard, let us hope for our empire instead of only ourselves.”

We landed near the university grounds and walked around. Innumerable stops for conversations and meet-ups later, Torix and I walked toward the lower dungeon levels. We passed a series of ornate murals, students or artists having added their personal artistry to the walls. They showed our victory over Yawm, Elysium, and the other worlds under my banner alongside my golems and the quintessence our empire ran on.

After reaching the bottom of the university, we walked past a receptionist who ogled at Torix like he was a god. We passed the gazes of students as well, many just openly gawking. It was enough to set my hair on end. Torix’s steps took on a philosophical swagger, the attention giving the undead lich even more life. I envied his appreciation of their attention, but I didn’t let that stop me from appreciating his momentous return.

At the lowest levels, it was Torix’s turn to gawk. We found the openings of the many dungeons I left here alongside their signature manas brimming on doorways. The mana coalesced into shining crystals, each one peppering the entrance with different colors. The bright blood of ascendance, the melodic harmony of lavender, even calm cerulean, these doors held other worlds behind them, each marked by mana.

And in other worlds brimmed monsters of their making.

Different eldritch spawned in the distance of each open portal, doors of my dimensional fabric covering their entrances until we opened them. Torix felt each of the mana signatures, and every time, his curiosity for Rebirth expanded by leaps and bounds. After inspecting the entire set-up, Torix shook his hands at a temporally augmented chamber.

"I can't believe the changes you implemented. This...This is unbelievable. You've given them such an incredible resource, and it's given so many gains across so many avenues. Can you imagine what kind of advertisement this is for newcomers? We'll exceed even advanced, ancient empires in the resources we can offer."

I shrugged.

"It was convenient."

Torix waved his hands.

"You carried these rifts from across Earth before imbuing them with strange leylines from an entirely different planet. In what hallucinatory world is that convenient?"

"I mean, I had the stuff on hand. You make it sound like I went out of my way to do all this when it really was just a spur-of-the-moment idea."

"Brilliance is oftentimes sparked in a moment rather than born from the passage of time."

I gestured back.

"Or, you know, I got lucky."

His eyes were piercing.

“Few would carry so many so far. Fewer would think to change the worlds to worlds they’ve seen. Whether you believe it or not, this…This is brilliance incarnate.”

I flushed under my helmet at his words.

“Well…Thanks.”

We floated up through one of the decorated tunnels and passed an implanted library. Many new books lined the growing number of shelves, these documents and texts written to inform warriors or mages about what rested inside the enchanted worlds. Many of those shelves rose far above the pre-system norm.

At this point, carpenters installed walkways on the sides that required finesse and balance to maneuver, but everyone could use them after Earth’s systemization. The architectural decision used the change in people, offering elegance in place of practicality. Torix and I didn't need them, our sheer size allowing us to walk the wider halls and seize the tallest books if need be.

Students along the shelves bowed or stared in reverence as we passed by them, each of us titans of metal. We found a fresh section, the cedar shelves carrying the wood's signature scent. I gave one of the books to Torix. The lich opened them, finding the pages lined by fractals.

Torix said,

"This must be the strange language you deciphered during my stasis. My, my, it looks complicated."

His eyes alit with possibility. The blaze expanded, filling the void of his sockets in azure light. Gazing close, he nodded at them.

“These…They’re beautiful. Fractals, you called them?”

I nodded.

“That’s right. They’re antediluvian fractals to be precise.”

“It’s as if you’ve taken the poison in the cipher or in the cipher’s runes and expunged it. My, my, these are tantalizing by comparison.”

He closed it shut.

“And they shall be perfect in ritual magic moving forward. Tell me, could you perhaps hold a few lectures at the university to describe the topic?”

I let out a booming laugh, metal tinging my voice while my size deepened it.

“Oh come now. Me? Teach? That’s a good one. A really good one.”

“I’m entirely and utterly serious.”

I wiped a way a metal tear.

“I can’t believe it, but it was still funny the second time.”

“Daniel, you are the world’s premier expert on the subject. Quite literally, you are the most qualified member on Earth to discuss the matter.”

I put my hands on my hips.

“Huh, you’re serious? Hm...I could try. I wouldn’t do a great job with the details though.”

Torix began sending messages to a few people.

“I’ll organize it right away. Send these people the time you’ll be open over the next while. Given your schedule, our guildmates will likely work around whenever you’re available.”

I found a few contacts.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

I gestured at the book.

"You know, it was more an archeological pursuit than a scientific one. That's an interesting part of living in a systemized world like this with so much history. Oftentimes uncovering past discoveries is more efficient than trying to make them on our own."

Torix nodded.

"That's why I created an archeological department. They are the contacts I sent you, and should you ever find a free evening, you should swing by and see if they have any techniques you could use."

I furrowed my brow.

"A few of them have probably gone to Rebirth, though none of them are nearly powerful enough to leave the city confines. Honestly, I don’t think anyone should go there unless they’re ready to die."

"From what I’ve gathered, the native fauna isn't exactly welcoming, is it?"

"Well, that depends on what you consider a warm welcome."

“Ah, what of a giant mouth full of teeth chomping towards your throat, perhaps?”

“Eh, more like a stream of lava flowing down your back.”

We spent a few more hours checking on various aspects of the university. Torix dropped into a couple of lectures, even adding his own thoughts at times when asked by the leading professor. A few of the classes even coaxed some replies out of me, and I kept my answers clipped and concise. While my methods worked for me, they wouldn’t work for just about anybody else lacking my advantages.

All the while, Torix inspected the professors. He found all of the teachers lacking in many regards, though he didn't fire any of them. A few he even gave raises while quoting inflation, and I thought he could just admit he was proud of who he hired.

After checking it all out, Torix lost some steam. He took another breath.

"It would seem we were never needed here, were we?"

I nodded.

"I felt the same way. Hell, if anything, it was like we held them back."

"Perhaps we did. By leaving, we allowed the people here to integrate and achieve leadership positions we otherwise dominated."

"Sometimes, leading as a leader is bad. Man. Being a leader is hard."

Torix gazed at a collection of laughing students.

"Of that, we agree."

Once we finished our checkups, we spent some time talking in Torix's study. We shared some carefully procured poisons, each of them made for our palates, and I had to admit, a few of the acids were quite refreshing. We finished the meetup with Torix gushing about Rebirth. 

"Before I conquer the Earth, I'd really enjoy at least a surface-level perusing of that place. It sounds fascinating."

I sent a few messages during our talk.

"I can have that arranged. How about we head over now?"

Torix scoffed.

"I'll be carving my way through several of the less established cities before establishing territorial dominion via resurrection ceremonies. After doing so, I'd be more than happy to do so."

I frowned.

"Yeah, I really do have to build a few cities in the meantime."

Torix put a hand on my shoulder.

"We're doing good work here. Though this has been a burden to be sure, it has borne fruit. Stay stalwart and focused. The work will inevitably end, and the systems you've put in place will lead to the prosperity of millions, then billions. Perhaps one day, even trillions."

I nodded.

"It's a long path, and we have many more miles to go before we sleep."

Torix snapped his fingers and stepped onto a cloud.

"Sleep is for the weak. I heard that from a dull brute, but it turned out to be true."

I smirked

"I'll keep that in mind."

Torix floated off and I took a deep breath. It was time to play catch-up. After finalizing the reports, I headed back to a warp center near the edge of Mt. Verner. I passed a series of grand statues depicting me and my followers. They once made me wince, yet they fit into the new, modern aesthetic without demanding too much attention. The architect golems and engineering team had done a fine job, as had the executive.

Finding it all in order, I left my imperial capital. I warped across the globe, spending credits like candy to save time. Not having to spend hours traveling and finding every city was a lifesaver, and it let me speed through the tedious process of building cities.

And make no mistake, it was tedious.

I had resolved myself to do this, but the sheer amount of commitment left me floored. It was one thing to construct a hundred cities. A thousand? What about ten thousand? Those were the numbers I was dealing with. I couldn't give every city a blue core either, but I ensured larger settlements got one or more.

In those settlements, a new order to the world had established itself. As had always been the case, strong militaries ruled vast areas. However, the size of those armies was smaller than before. Even a hundred soldiers could rule a country now, and that stemmed from the inequality between individuals.

A fully leveled Fringe Walker could take on a hundred non-classed fighters by themselves. If they played their cards right, an elite Fringe Walker could kill a thousand overtime. The greater the gap, the more apparent that became. The same Fringe Walker could kill an army of people at level 1,000 with ease. That meant a group of classers could rule masses made of millions.

Considering that absurd power difference, warlords became the norm. In particular, avatars of various Old Ones led the largest population centers. Even from passing by, I sensed many of them in the most massive cities, all of them vying for control. The largest population centers had several fighting for dominance, the clashes leaving portions of the cities wasted.

To me, it was all so pointless. They already sold their soul to an evil larger than humanity itself. How did they think conquering a city would change who owned their souls? But like flies flocking to flame, they flew into that fire with abandon. Earth had hundreds of these avatars, some of them even working together. It gave me a headache even thinking about it.

They each carried strange powers, so having to face a group of them would be annoying as well. I'd need my guild's support to take them on, but I ensured they weren't doing anything absurdly evil. Pretty much all of them fought one another, and they hadn't settled that storm just yet. It prevented their poison from spreading.

Considering Torix's plans, I'd let him establish dominance over the actual territories. I needed to clear relevant dungeons, not conquer the local populace. That would come with time after creating security. Emphasizing that point gave me the leeway to avoid fights against local forces while helping those who fell between the cracks.

And many had fallen.

It was a humbling fact. Several spots across the globe were utterly absorbed by the roaming eldritch, leading to small pockets of people who survived in those desolate zones. In particular, areas like Siberia, Central Australia, Central Asia, Northern Canada, and the Sahara desert had devolved into monster-ridden wastelands. I kept those places marked for Torix's campaign and for my own in the future.

Aside from that, I also learned about system-approved newcomers. According to Diesel, many more would arrive to try and pull us out of our incoming fringe status. We turned that around in a few places, and considering my guild's position, it would be nearly impossible to wrestle control of the planet from us. Still, Diesel's messages always carried a hint of worry.

I didn't share those same concerns. From what I gathered, my empire far exceeded general expectations for a new planet. We'd be fine, so I traveled from one city to the next. I helped settle vast swaths of territory across Earth. Most large cities had warp drives, and I created cities outside the primary settlements.

The dungeons were what mattered, and my guild began a world wide expansion across the globe. It felt surreal yet also inevitable. I had fallen outside Earth's leveling curve a while back, and even if I waited a long time, most world leaders still wouldn't be anywhere near me in that regard. The avatar situation changed things, but I still held confidence in taking the globe as a whole.

I'd have to face stiffer opposition than I planned. Despite those hurdles, I wrestled control over most of the world’s population centers over the next three months. I didn't fight the avatars yet, but I kept note of where they were. I left them to organize Earth for now while my guild expanded everywhere else. I kept ownership of areas by conquering dungeons, something the avatars weren’t as keen on.

After handling the busy work, I got back to Mt. Verner and laughed aloud at myself. So much time passed so quickly, and it all felt like I was getting pulled along for the ride. I had put a serious dent in the city-building load of the planet as a whole at least, and after that, I visited Blegara, Luna, and the luminaries' planet.

Blegara was the first planet I scoured. I found hundreds of underwater, air-filled domes dotting the vast ocean. The gialgathens roosted in these areas, and they loved them. At first, I found that surprising. After all, the gialgathens preferred high up places that carried excellent views and expansive vistas.

These spots lacked aerial views, but that didn't stop them from incorporating impeccable panoramas of underwater scenery. They settled along the edges of underwater mountains, giving them what they so craved. The sheer humidity of these areas also helped moisturize their skin, giving the gialgathens a level of comfort they lacked elsewhere.

Their culture bloomed in these underwater settlements, and many of their old practices came back. It was obvious that I wouldn't allow something like slavery, but that wasn't the only defining tradition they carried. The musical instruments were all over the place along with various murals covered in their histories.

They also incorporated underwater games, ones they played with local Vagni. I even found a few luminari listening to various musically augmented lighting displays. Watching the three races mesh so seamlessly left me heartened and hopeful, and for once, the gialgathens looked like they belonged.

They always stuck out like a sore thumb on Earth. Most gialgathens constantly used mist magic to prevent their skin from drying out. They leaped from slopes to small and short for their illustrious frames. Even the buildings' sizes lacked the sheer scale they needed, and that stopped them from fully settling. Blegara had the room they so desperately needed.

Of course, it wasn't perfect. Some golems and guildmembers stopped crime on a regular basis. The eldritch weren't fully contained, and the Vagni were still uneducated compared to the other races in my empire. However, those aspects could change with time. It meant a return to form for the planet, and I stood tall as I left.

Next up was Luna. I landed to find the vast spaces more scrunched than I had left them. While not oppressively tight by any means, they weren't wasting space with vast estates as they were before. I checked to ensure we had funds from them one last time before setting out on a massive expansion.

I found the albony imbued with a newfound industriousness. They created vast networks of underground mines that trailed for miles below the surface. The strange spatial fluctuations, once a problem, had accumulated unique mana deposits. Each of the energies carried unique signatures and held spatially charged augments. 

Even my own experiences with Ghelid's spatial nucleus taught me how valuable those could be, and they sold for a pretty penny even if they only shifted you a few meters in any direction. As an example, I bought quite a few while there. The albony also harvested eldritch supplies by the bundle from the myriad of unstable rifts on Luna.

That was something I noticed on Earth as well. Rare eldritch formed in mass on both planets, but they held just as much value as they did threat. People could use their bodies in thousands of ways, from making durable tools to exotic leathers to rare alchemical ingredients.

That was apparently one of the most valuable aspects of the permanent rifts my guild cultivated - alchemical knowledge. It was the same as Gypsum, one of the dungeon worlds Elysium conquered. We held permanent rifts like they did, though on a much smaller scale. Normally that kind of activity was considered illegal and created a fringe world status.

My Schema’s Champion tree rectified that. Still Alchemy was a rare profession considering the inherent difficulties in finding consistent bodies. Many eldritch died after a dungeon was cleared, and new eldritch often replaced the old after a dungeon reformed.

This variance resulted in an inconsistent supply of ingredients. Because of my Schemic trees, our guild maintained consistent supplies of eldritch and developed enormous amounts of information about them. It gave us an undeniable advantage over other empires, and our potions gained a palpable potency as a result. That was also derived from the second hardest ingredient to get - liquid mana.

After all, a potion needed an energy source for its reactions. Oftentimes, ingredients carried a difficult choice of potency of effect or potency in energy. The best potions required a delicate balancing act between those strong mana components and magically decisive effects. Having liquid mana meant we could use weaker ingredients before supercharging their efficacy.

The albony led the charge in those developments, integrating entirely new industries to fuel their economic interests. Once again, I felt heartened by the progress on their planet, and I left them expanded on all sides. The last planet I visited was the luminari planet in the Blegara system. They hadn't named it yet, but it was only a matter of time.

I gave them several dozen cities along with a few golem protectors to keep them safe. In general, they hadn't changed as much as the others, but they weren't in the worst spot to begin with. I still stopped by a lighting shop to pick up interesting enchantments before I left for Rebirth. Having handled it all, I took a breath. It had taken months, but as I warped back to Rebirth, I felt far better than I had before.

With my guild responsibilities squashed, I was about ready to go out and seize control of Rebirth. As I warped back to Renewal, I observed a changed domain. People lived in the buildings now, many researchers, mages, and engineers resting inside my barrier’s protection. Alongside the people came an influx of shops, businesses, and prospectors.

This was a boom town, and many of the most ambitious members of my guild settled here while I was away. Even better, the city held many of the leylines harvested from across the world. Intermingling types of mana manifested in different spaces, becoming a patchwork of different effects. Well, outside of the sacrifice mana. We didn’t want people aging rapidly. 

Magicians and warriors honed their abilities inside these fields, learning how to use the mana types. Several of them likely exceeded my own abilities in the mana, and that excited me. If they could learn them, so could I. At the same time, a few processed goods harvested from my guild’s elite and my golems.

These stores broke down different mana types into different forms. From crystallized stasis mana to crushing gravitation, it all held the power of whatever mana we harvested. A few were even from Emeralga’s temporal wasteland. I found beetleshells from his scarabs alongside a few labs researching the Remnant’s old memorabilia.

While not a perfect encampment, it found harmony in the populace, and as I passed by, I couldn’t help but smile. It was-

A colossal ripple ushered over the barrier of the city. I peered upright, and a strange amalgamation of various concepts shoved into one space above the city. It focused as into reality as the seconds passed, though it blurred as it stared at me. Even a cursory glance shot fear through my chest, and I winced at its passive psionic attack.

This thing assaulted any mind that looked at it, let alone engaged. I peered around, finding other guildmates driven insane.  Those veterans cowered in fear at the shape above. The monster above tapped the shield as it gazed at me. A sound like storm sirens blared in my ears, and I sent a message to my guildmates to escape.

A primal fear rose in my chest, and I tried inspecting this abomination.

Maal-Shateth| Level: 489,019

My heart raced. Its level was beyond anything I’d ever imagined. It could level entire planets. No. It could wipe solar systems with a wave of its hands. I took a moment while it tried to break in, but-

It shattered the shield covering the city. As it did, a disgusting radiance oozed over the capitol. People here began losing their sanity, and I shot up to attack the congregation of what appeared to be concepts. It warped in front of me.

"You...Are the one Kryaa spoke of? I...I."

Its amorphous, everchanging limbs latched onto my throat. It clasped stronger than steel.

"I found you."