Upon entering, Ash's eyes immediately appraised the realm.
[Astral Secret Realm – The first central continent of Astralis.... from the world's First Era, preserved until now. A lost super-continent spanning 800 billion kilometers, larger than most small stars, floating in a pocket-dimension of endless twilight skies.]
[A/N: World Cycles span for 500,000 years each. One Era = 500,000 Years.... For world's only.]
The realm unfolded like a dream made real.
An endless super-continent stretched beneath a perpetual bruised-blue sky where three massive moons hung eternally... one crimson, one silver, one black.
Ancient forests of crystal trees towered kilometers high, their leaves chiming like glass bells in the wind. Rivers carved canyons deep enough to swallow mountains. Floating islands drifted lazily overhead, connected by bridges of pure mana that shimmered like auroras.
Ruins of First Era cities dotted the landscape. Colossal towers of obsidian and jade, half-buried palaces where vines of living flame grew through cracked marble. Even Beasts of forgotten eras roamed the wilds.
The air itself hummed with ancient mana.... it was thick and intoxicating. Every breath felt like drinking from a star's heart.
Millions of cultivators spread out like ants on a corpse, auras clashing in distant booms as they raced for the deepest ruins.
Ash hovered with his group, wings half-spread, blood-drop eyes taking it all in.
This wasn't just a realm.
It was a graveyard of an entire era's glory.
And they had just walked into the feast... Not that he minded it one bit.
He hovered with the group, wings half-spread, blood-drop eyes drinking in the endless super-continent under the pure blue sky.
As he looked around Katherine's voice sounded.
"What's the plan this time?" she asked, blonde hair swaying as she looked to Raven, Summer, Seth, and Connor. Not excluding Ash, but these five had tackled countless realms together before.
"Since it's six of us, how about two groups?" Summer suggested, shadows curling lazily around her fingers.
"Or three groups of two," Seth countered.
Raven pondered a moment, bloody eyes shifting to Ash, who was still gazing at the realm, seemingly amazed by its beauty.
A soft smile touched her lips— she saw no worry from him, and she couldn't understand why... but she could feel his emotions faintly and she felt only quiet hunger and excitement.
"Let's just move as we usually do," she decided, turning back to the others. "It'll be best if we all stick together."
"There is no restriction on rank this time… if we're caught by anyone too strong, we'll be doomed."
"I agree," Connor said, drawing his sword with a soft ring. "Let's check the outskirts first before diving too deep."
"These beasts may sell for a lot on the auction markets as well."
Ash's eyes finally moved, a grin spreading across his face.
He had just used his Eyes of First Dawn ability |Blink|.
Before, it showed a perfect 24-hour unaltered future. Now, upgraded, it revealed 72 hours—and boy were there some surprises were. After doing that he had also tested Origin Seeker for the first time, though it was used vaguely...
Show me the best opportunities in this realm.
That's what he willed, and then golden threads bloomed in his vision, stretching across the super-continent like paths of fate.
[Origin Seeker Results – Top Opportunities (Calamity to Mythic Rank)]
Hidden Prime Human Enclave (North-Eastern Twilight Mountains, 1.2 million km away)
-The last remnant of Astralis's original inhabitants—Prime Humans. Sealed in a hidden domain. Mythic bloodlines lost cultivation arts, and ancestral knowledge on Laws.
Eternal Starlight Herb Valley (Southern Crystal Canyons, 800 000 km away)
-Valley of Mythic-rank herbs that bloom under starlight. Each plant refines Laws by 1%.
First Era Celestial Forge Ruins (Central Floating Spires, 2 million km away)
-Ancient forge with Mythic artifacts and Calamity-rank weapon blueprints. Core furnace still burns with star-core flame capable of reforging galaxy-level treasures.
Abyssal Stellar Crystal Mine (Western Obsidian Depths, 1.5 million km away)
-Vein of Calamity-Mythic stellar crystals that amplify all talents by one rank and serve as cores for clan-grade arrays.
Silent Inheritance Palace (Eastern Jade Ruins, 900 000 km away)
Palace of a First Era master. Contains Mythic inheritance trials and Calamity-rank skill manuals focused on stealth and illusion.
Lunar Beast Sovereign Nest (Northern Moonlit Plains, 1.8 million km away)
-Nest of Mythic lunar beasts guarding eggs that grant dual moon affinities and beast-bond contracts upon consumption.
----
Ash's grin widened.
Plenty of feasts to choose from.
He looked at the others and spoke.
"Let's head south…"
Raven exchanged a quick glance with the rest of the group and nodded without hesitation.
Seeing this, Ash moved. He slid one arm around Raven's waist, the other around Summer's, pulling them both against his sides with casual strength. Katherine, not about to be left out, slipped in between them and clung to his front, arms looping around his neck.
Ash just smiled and shook his head, wings rustling softly.
His gaze shifted to Seth and Connor. His eyes narrowed.
[Law of Mana – Allows the user to use mana from surroundings rather than stored MP. Mana can also be manipulated into tangible threads, allowing the user to channel other Laws, skills, or techniques through them.]
Two threads of mana shot from his fingertips, latching silently onto the two men. Then he activated his Law of Space.
His mana sense exploded outward, spreading for fifty-nine billion kilometers in a single heartbeat.
The valley bloomed in his vision.
In a blink, they were there.
They reappeared high above the Eternal Starlight Herb Valley.
The valley itself was a living painting of impossible beauty.
A perfect circle two hundred thousand kilometers wide, cradled between mountain ranges that rose like the ribs of some long-dead titan. The ground was carpeted in starlight herbs, each blade glowing soft silver-blue, releasing motes of light that drifted upward like fireflies made of pure mana.
At the center grew the true treasures: Mythic-rank Eternal Starlight Lotuses, their petals shimmering through every color of a nebula, each bloom the size of a small city and radiating gentle waves of Law energy.
Protecting it all was the Mythic-ranked barrier, a dome of translucent crystal that reflected the light into blinding rainbows. Runes of pure starlight crawled across its surface like living constellations, humming with power that made the air itself vibrate.
Below, chaos reigned.
Dozens of groups hammered at the barrier, some with galaxy-shaking talismans, others with arrays that tore holes in space.
A Calamity 6 Abyssal Fox hurled a sphere of devouring darkness that cracked the dome for a heartbeat before the runes healed it instantly. Three Noctis vampires in silver-black robes unleashed a combined blood-Law strike that painted the sky crimson, only to be reflected back as silent, lethal mirrors that forced them to retreat.
On the eastern edge, two Solar Fox teams were already fighting each other over a crack they had managed to open, golden flames clashing against golden flames, the ground turning to molten glass beneath them.
Ash hovered above it all, three women clinging to him, wings spread wide.
He smiled.
"Looks like we're just in time for the main course."