Thirdly, he could use the newly forged Essence Artery Grid in those worlds to generate elemental essence. And it would not conflict with comprehension of the element.
Because essence flow was neutral—so when it integrated with the said element, it didn't change the element's property. It only made the element stronger and more powerful, turning it into elemental essence.
And places like underground volcanoes and Earth's core had fire element in good quality and quantity, but they also had other elements mixed in. It was never pure.
Same with underground lakes, where water element existed in much quantity and quality. But some other elements still mixed in.
The elemental world he was going to create would only have a single pure element. And even if Solar Clone didn't use the Essence Artery Grid, the elemental world would itself generate elemental essence after integrating with natural essence flow. Yes, Solar Clone could stop that integration, isolate it—but why should he? It had no disadvantages. Integration only made the element stronger. It didn't change the property of the element. So he was not planning to stop it.
And using the Essence Artery Grid would enhance those effects—in quantity as well as in quality.
And for these benefits, Solar Clone decided to create a world only for a single element—starting with fire.
Then other elements.
But… he was not planning to create those worlds here.
He was going to create them at the places where the said element was very abundant.
For the fire elemental world, he planned to go to Earth's core. The Earth's core not only had fire element in abundant quantity and quality, but it also contained an origin point. All these conditions would make a perfect and pure fire elemental world.
And he also planned for other elemental worlds. But there were some problems—like where should he create the death elemental world? Or the dream elemental world? The issue was mainly with higher elements and certain basic ones like lightning elemental world, shadow world.
These elements didn't have specific places of concentration. They simply existed in nature, scattered and diffuse, without special concentrated areas. If Solar Clone couldn't find such places, he would just create these worlds normally.
Yes, the growth of those worlds would be slow compared to the others, but he didn't have a choice. If those areas didn't exist, right?
The next phase was beginning.
And the worlds… would soon be born.
***
Meanwhile, in the Abode of the Sky. At the control spire.
Captain Sanya stood at the central console with her assistant Rudra beside her. Both were quietly happy—faces lit by the soft glow of holographic star maps.
There was no one else inside the spire. Their parents had gone to train. Ankit was occupied with something else. The other clones weren't here either.
The disciples and their families were forbidden from entering this place. The control spire was vetoed (forbidden).
Sanya was a good captain. She had never made a mistake while controlling the fortress. Ankit had never once worried about its safety. The fortress was easy to operate even for someone not trained. And even if something went wrong, the spire had layers of protection protocols and emergency overrides. The fortress would remain safe.
Sanya's fingers moved across the control panel. She initiated the final space jump.
After this, they would be outside the solar system.
She felt a quiet thrill. She had already explored every corner of their home system—every planet, moon, asteroid field. Now she wanted something new. A beautiful, unknown vision waiting beyond the solar system boundary.
Rudra watched her closely. He was also expectant. His appearance and mind had long surpassed a normal 16-year-old human. He understood everything clearly now. Seeing that he was about to experience something entirely new, excitement flickered in his eyes.
The jump began.
Space folded.
The fortress slipped through the barrier.
And then—
Crack~
Crack~
The sound emerged all around the fortress—sharp, brittle, like glass under immense pressure.
Every being inside heard it. And with the sound came a feeling of death—cold, sudden, pressing against the skin.
Sanya and Rudra froze.
They didn't understand what had cracked. But suddenly, the entire fortress came alive.
No message windows. No warning panels.
Only a deep red darkness flooded the control spire—blinking rhythmically like a warning heartbeat.
The red light spread through every corridor, every hall, every chamber of the fortress.
Then came the blinding light.
It erupted from every surface—pure white, searing, enveloping the entire fortress.
These were the defensive vyuhas—layers upon layers of the strongest protections ether clone had ever woven. When stacked together, they could withstand the surface heat of the sun for a time.
But now… they were struggling.
Crack~
Crack~
The outer vyuhas showed signs of fracturing—thin spiderweb lines spreading across invisible barriers. The light flickered, dimmed, flared again as the fortress fought whatever was pressing against it.
These vyuhas, capable of withstanding the surface heat of the sun for a time, were now cracking under the first impact.
The whole fortress began shaking. Just then a voice rang out, calm but commanding.
"You all move toward the space passage. And return to Earth."
The voice offered no explanation, but the fear that had gripped every being inside suddenly vanished. No one questioned it. They moved.
The cracking sound slowed a little, as if the fortress itself had bought a moment of reprieve.
Kamal, Neelam, Rudra, Sanya—all began moving. The puppets helped them. Some puppets lifted people in their arms and ran toward the space passage. In just four seconds, every person had reached it. They didn't stop. They surged through.
The last few to enter saw the sky cracking open. Through the fractures in the false blue expanse, they glimpsed pure black space beyond.
The disciples had told their families the truth long ago: the fortress was in space, and the sky was fake—created by their master. So when they saw the darkness outside, they guessed something was terribly wrong.