[ Zoje has now been acquired]
" That's not what I'm asking" he said "who is she, and why did she call me lord, and what is she saying she missed me for?" He had a lot of questions
[ .... System can't answer all of host question but host should know that she is one of the 5 kings....]
"5 kings? What is that"
[ Host questions will be answered once the system has been upgraded]
"Really?, this upgrade again" He gave a disappointed expression as he sighed.
"Was she the one that upgraded Reveal"
[ Yes]
" How?"
[ Host is asking unimportant question. The system advices, that the host should focus and proceed with repairing the cracks]
" Hmmm.... I suppose you're right, doesn't look like you want to answer them anyways"
" How do I repair the cracks"
[ Return to the first safe zone. Only there can the fragments be fused]
For a moment, Dream said nothing. Then his memory sharpened - the first place. The barren land where he awoken, ringed by the endless hordes.
Ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine.
Those where the numbers, A challenge no sane man would face.
The void stretched endlessly before him- an ocean of silence and crimson mist, unmoving and unwelcoming. Dream stood still, his cloak whispering faintly in the wind that didn't truly exist. Ahead lay the path the system wanted him to take-- the way back to where it all began. The first safe zone.
The very place he had nearly died.
A faint flicker of unease stirred in him-- not fear of death, but something worse.
It was the hollow uncertainty of forgotten memory. He didn't know why he felt the weight in his chest.
The system's voice broke the stillness.
[ To repair the void and have a chance to leave this realm, you must return to the point you started]
Dream's eyes darkness " that's where the beast were... nearly a hundred thousand" he muttered
[ Affirmative]
" You're telling me to walk back into that place?"
[ It's the only path forward, Dream]
He stood silent for a while, then exhaled slowly. His grip in his sword tightened -- the blade humming faintly with nether light. The fear that once ruled his heart felt distant now. He wasn't that same broken soul crawling through the dark.
" Fine" he whispered. His voice carried softly across the void. "Let's do this"
He walked alone through the mist, guided only by the system map glowing faintly before him. The path pulsed like a vein- alive, beating with faint red light, indicating the danger that awaited ahead.
The air grew heavier with every step. The silence wasn't comfronting-- it was expectant, as if the void itself were watching.
Occasionally, a lesser beast emerged from the fog, pale, eyeless things that lunged only to be cut down in a single strike or 2. Their bodies didn't bleed. They simply faded, dissolving into drifting ash before they even touched the ground.
Dream slowed his pace, frowning slightly. "They're.... weaker?"
He turned his head, scanning the endless field. "No, not weaker. Dying"
The realization hit him quietly -- the deeper he went, the fewer beasts appeared. The void was growing quieter.
The air here felt ... drained. As if the chaos that once sustained the creatures had vanished entirely.
He didn't know why, but the silence unnerved him more than the screams of battle ever had.
Some time passed before he finally reached it--- the massive plain that once roared with death and thunder.
Now, only fog remained.
The ground was littered with faint ash that shimmered faintly under the light of the red moon. It wasn't ordinary dust- it carried faint traces of life force, the remnant of creatures once so abundant that their roars had deafened him.
Dream took a slow step forward. His boots sank slightly into the soft ash.
" They ... are dead?" . The words barely carried.
The silence was suffocating. It felt like standing inside a graveyard. Every breath tasted metallic, every gust of wind carried a whisper of something... And feel it- something ancient had passed through here.
His instincts screamed at him to be cautious.
That was when he saw it.
At first, he thought it was his imagination -- a ripple in the fog, the faint movement of something tall and graceful. But as his eyes adjusted, the shape grew clearer.
A silhouette.
Feminine.
Still and poised, standby amidst the drifting haze like a dream refusing to fade. It was her again.
Two crimson jewels glowed through the mist, locking into him with unblinking intensity. His breath hitched. Even form a distance, he could feel the weight of her presence pressing down
When the fog shifted, her form was visible.
Long different kind of red hair cascaded past her waist, each strand reflecting the crimson moonlight like molten glass.
Her aura was overwhelming -- refined power wrapped in beauty.
She was still looking at him with her beautiful crimson eyes, different from the other beast. She stared at him with eyes that were both longing and eternal, a faint smile curling her lips again.
And then, as though she were never truly there, when turned -- and disappeared into the mist.
The fog swallowed her whole.
Dream's heart beat once, heavy and slow. He didn't move, he couldn't.
The system's voice broke through the silence.
[ Safe zone Reclaimed]
[ Reward : Base upgrade]
He blinked, seemingly coming back to his senses
She... really killed all the beast?" He whispered. "Why?, is it Because she thinks I'm her master?"
The thoughts unsettled him more than it comforted.
But there was no answer. Only silence and drifting ash.
The system interrupted his thoughts.
[ All void fragments have been collected fusion is now possible]
Dream raised his hand. The three fragments he'd gathered floated upwards, orbiting one another with a faint hum. Their light grew brighter-- crimson, violet, and black intertwining in a hypnotic swirl.
He watched silently as the fragments fused.
The air vibrated. The ash beneath his feet lifted, drawn upward as energy condensed between his palms. In moments, the fragments merged into a single sphere... A void core.
And then a beam of pure crimson light shot down from the crimson-moon, cutting through the mist, striking the ground in front of him. The earth quaked under its power, the air thick with the scent of burning ether.
The system's tone grew solem.
[ Place the core within the light]
Dream hesitated briefly, then stepped forward. He extended his arm and lowered the void core into the beam.
The reaction was immediate.
The world trembled. The crimson light expanded, engulfing him in brilliance, he staggered backwards, eyes narrowing as the ground beneath him began to fracture and glow.
The void screamed. The sky roared
And from afar the gorgeous King watched, pleased with what she sees.
" From ruin, the void shall rise again... and so shall it's emperor"