It took a while for Vlad to recover from his dizziness.
At that moment, Rose—the future Spider Goddess—was sitting proudly on a tall altar, swinging her pale, delicate feet.
The transparent crystal shoes dangled from her crimson-painted toes, making a soft, melodic sound.
Out of nowhere, she held a chicken drumstick, eating it with relish.
Vlad's eyes widened. Where had the chicken leg come from? No, more importantly—where had this altar come from!?
"Here, take one." Rose thought Vlad was hungry too, so she casually conjured another drumstick and handed it to him.
He accepted it in disbelief and asked, "This is my sea of consciousness. Where did you get food from?"
Chewing contentedly, Rose muttered, "It's from the castle. Don't worry, eat slowly. No one will know you stole it."
That wasn't what Vlad was worried about. He felt as if a crow was flying overhead in mockery.
Still, he took a bite. Hm, surprisingly delicious.
"Have you always been inside that ball of light? And what exactly is this altar?" Vlad pressed.
"Yes," Rose nodded. "I've been sealed in that ball of light since birth. But because of that, I survived the great catastrophe thousands of years ago."
Her eyes flickered with loneliness, and suddenly the chicken drumstick in her hand didn't taste so good anymore.
"As for the altar…" Rose gave Vlad a strange look, suppressing the smile tugging at her lips. "Take a closer look. Do you really think it's an altar?"
"Isn't it?"
Vlad examined it again, and the longer he looked, the more his jaw dropped.
"This… this is a book!"
A massive tome with a black leather cover stood before him, several meters tall, exuding a suffocating aura of darkness. His voice shook with disbelief.
"This is too big…"
Rose hopped down from the book and explained:
"This isn't an ordinary book. It's an incomplete version of a world-class treasure—the Book of Darkness."
"Incomplete?" Vlad frowned.
"Yes. It once belonged to the Fear Demon God, but it was shattered by the Lord of Glory using divine power. Much of its law was lost in the process.
Even so, the Book of Darkness remains a rare treasure.
Thousands of years ago, even at the Dark World's peak, only a handful existed—enough to rule hundreds of civilizations across hundreds of planes.
Only medium and large planes, with immense foundations, can give birth to something this powerful."
"You mean… ruling hundreds of worlds?" Vlad asked, stunned.
Rose's voice was calm. "That is the strength of a peak medium civilization.
If the Gods of Light hadn't invaded, in tens of thousands of years our world could have advanced into a large plane—a rare, large-scale civilization in the star realm."
She smiled faintly. "In the surrounding star realms, even the Demon World and the Abyss—which rule over thousands of planes—are merely large civilizations."
Vlad struggled to digest the torrent of information. He had known this world once flourished, but never imagined its history was so overwhelming.
Then Rose said something that left him even more shaken.
"You should understand what the star realm means. In your terms, it's the universe. The planes are planets. The names are simply different."
Vlad froze. What did she mean by that? Did she know where he came from?
Rose caught his look and said lightly, "Yes, I know you're not from this world. Where you came from doesn't concern me."
She continued, "Things like rebirth are rare, but not impossible—so long as the mark of true spirit within the soul remains.
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, there was a great civilization called the Underworld. They held a secret treasure known as the Gate of the Underworld."
She paused, glancing at Vlad before adding:
"It's said that those who pass through the Gate, together with the Three Rivers—the Soul River, the Blood River, and the Corpse River—have a high chance of rebirth.
Of course, this only works best for intact souls. Those with broken souls, or only a shred of true spirit left, must rely on luck."
Vlad's breathing quickened.
The scale of this world exceeded anything he had imagined.
And for the first time in a long while, a fire reignited in him. His drive, dulled after gaining great power, returned with a new goal.
He wanted to see how magnificent this world truly was!
Rose noticed the burning passion in his eyes and smiled.
"Our world, however, has fallen to the level of a micro-plane after the catastrophe. If we want to rise again, we must lead it upward."
"What should I do?" Vlad asked.
"The fastest way," Rose said seriously, "is to conquer other worlds through war.
Take their resources to fuel our growth. As we grow, our world will recover as well.
Since the catastrophe, the Dark World's planar will has been damaged and has fallen into a deep sleep. That is why our energy is so weak."
Vlad fell silent.
Conquering worlds… He had never considered such a thing. The weight of it pressed down on him.
Yet, beneath the pressure, a restless excitement stirred—the urge to try.
What Rose didn't say was that her body was sealed inside the Book of Darkness. The current Dark World was too fragile to withstand her presence.
Only once it advanced from a micro-plane to a small plane could she emerge freely, without causing collapse.
To ensure she didn't abandon the Dark World after awakening, the Fear Demon Diavolo had bound her with a contract at birth.
Only when the Dark World was restored would the Book release her.
That was why she pushed Vlad to start a war.
After a long silence, Vlad finally asked the question weighing on his mind.
"But how do we even invade other worlds? We don't know where they are."
Rose covered her mouth with a sly smile, glancing back at the Book of Darkness. "Through the Book, we can construct a Dark Gate to other worlds.
Of course, there's a condition—we need the plane's coordinates first. And conveniently, I know of a micro-plane perfect for invasion."
She smiled brilliantly at him.
Still doubtful, Vlad watched as she stepped closer, standing on tiptoe to pat his shoulder.
"Do you remember the right hand you lost?"
"Of course," Vlad replied. "Does it matter?"
"Very much so. That hand is now in a miniature world. We can use it to trace the coordinates of that world!"
Vlad gave her a strange look.
Rose blinked innocently and admitted,
"Ah… I might have accidentally left a trace of my aura on that hand, so…"
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