Planet Master

Dian was looking at the system panel which showed the current situation of the planet under his control.

Although only three were under his control, it allowed him to extract more energy points from them since a new Nuclear Fusion Power Plant was built on the two newest planet colonies. That powered the Terraforming Machine and could even run for decades at the current rate.

What pleased him the most was the energy point generated.

[Energy Point Generated: 5 points/ year]

Although it was just a small number, that was enough for Dian to do so much more. Because for existence like him, a year was a short time. By the time centuries had passed, he would have 500 energy points. And this number was not fixed, it could change to more.

Part of the energy that the civilization was producing was transferred to him in the form of energy points.

Additionally, his civilization finally explored the deep sea with earnest. Truthfully, he had been waiting for this moment since there were resources to be gained from the deep sea.

With the help of the merfolk, accessing the deep sea became easier. What the civilization wanted to do was to be able to gain additional resources from those previously inaccessible places.

When they found out about the unexplored area of the deep sea, the merfolk and the Hinon Federation sent their delegation to explore as well as to find a new resource point.

Their endeavor turned out to be successful since they had found seven resource points that could be transported to the surface.

Dian looked at the earnest races on his planet, trying to explore as well as find the resources to use for the development of the civilization.

-

“I understand. You are already used to it, right?” Tatsumi needed to make sure that it was really the case.

Currently, he had noticed that something had happened with Ame. To make sure that this was not a negative thing, he decided to ask and found out that her connection to the Afterlife was slowly strengthened and now she almost could communicate with the deceased.

Ame nodded at the question. There was no better teacher than Tatsumi when it came to connecting with the deceased predecessor.

“Can you hear what they express or what they say?” Tatsumi asked another question.

He needed to make sure that the connection was with someone she could handle. There was a chance that she could connect with someone in confinement and isolation.

“It is faint but it is there. Soft-speaking and but also clear…” Ame tried to get the unfamiliar feeling and tried to express it.

“Yes. You will get that when communicating with the deceased. Their physical bodies may be dead but their existence will be imprinted in the Afterlife. I have a feeling that the Nafs is immortal and indestructible.” Tatsumi said while nodding his head.

Then Ame looked at Tatsumi with her brown eyes.

“Is this the world you always perceive?” Ame asked this question but actually she wanted to ask this for a long time. Only when she was in a similar condition did she realize how amazing that was.

“For a long time, I have connected with important people or even the unsung heroes whose deeds never even surface in the history books. Yes, this is how I interact with them.” Tatsumi replied softly.

He extended his senses and knew that his current location was in the middle of the Royal Sacred Tree. Currently, only the two of them were in one of the spaces inside.

But the most important thing in his situation became two. One regarding Tetsuya and two about Ame.

When they arrived at the Royal Sacred Tree, the first thing they did was to check on the royal family of the Elves.

Sybil welcomed them warmly as he realized that something monumental had happened.

Then he along with Ame and Charlene encouraged Tetsuya in his pursuit while also trying to increase the Ether production. Other than that, the environment was the best for doing something important.

“Hmm.” Ame looked at Tatsumi and realized that what he had said all along was not only true but impacted him and the deceased in the Afterlife, creating a Zipper Model where each got their own benefit.

“Next. We need to test whether you will be fully conscious when entering the Afterlife. After all, I can do it.” Tatsumi explained the next move he wanted to make.

“So what do you usually do?” Ame asked with a slight smile on her face.

Tatsumi stared back at her before replying, “Usually, that happens when I fall asleep. Actually, the way to enter is through the daze right before you sleep. That daze is the key!”

His voice became more spirited. Ame finally understood her assignment. She needed to do it properly to be able to do it.

“Right now, I have trained you to be able to do that. So all your training is for this moment. Are you ready?” Tatsumi asked.

Ame’s eyes widened at the realization. She did not expect that her training was for this moment. Meditation was one factor to enter the daze moment.

“I’ll do my best. Please keep guiding me. You possessed the knowledge that I don’t have.” Ame replied softly.

After the two looked at each other in the eye, they sat cross-legged and then slowly closed their eyes.

Tatsumi first appeared in the Library of Consciousness. Beside him, a small ripple appeared as if drawing something from the realm of the living. Tatsumi then extended his hand form and felt the sensation from the ripple.

He felt that familiar presence and then ‘tugged’ at the ripple, and slowly but surely a figure started to appear.

She had a similar appearance to her living form. Long brown hair and a slender body while her eyes were closed. Then her eyebrow fluttered before her eyes opened.

“This place?” Ame tilted her head in confusion before the sight of the familiar face woke her up completely.

“You’re conscious. I am helping with the connection since I have Perfect Connection so that part is covered. Tell me first how you feel.” Tatsumi said.

But the first thing Ame did was to smack Tatsumi in the head.

“Ouch! That hurts. Why did you hit me?” Tatsumi asked with indignation.

Ame pouted and then turned her head away from him. Tatsumi, who had seen so much of her, realized that she was truly angry.

“You know the reason.” She said before continuing with her antic.

“I am sorry, alright. No amount of words will be enough to get the sensation you feel right now. And there are some people here that you might know from history books.” Tatsumi then grabbed her hand and tried to reason with her while trying to change the direction of the discussion.

Ame then sighed before looking around and finding that they were in the interior of a building filled with people.

“When in this state, time flows differently here than in the reality. I mention this so that you become aware of this.” Tatsumi added before greeting the people around him.

Kudungga, Goto and Chi You were there ready to receive him and Ame. The moment Ame appeared in this place meant that the effort they had been trying to enact was a success.

“Perhaps the position of the Star Child affects the connection to this place too.” Goto murmured.

“Another Perfect Connection to this place is actually someone close to you, huh,” Chi You teased.

“Well, since she is here, what should we introduce her to?” Kudungga asked with a sagely smile and nod.

“Ah, Forefathers. Please just proceed with a surface-level Memory Assimilation.” Tatsumi requested that of them.

“Even the surface-level Memory Assimilation is taxing even for you at first. Are you sure about this?” Kudungga asked for confirmation and looked at Tatsumi seriously.

“Yes. This is important since I often told her about this and now an opportunity has arrived to let her try.” Tatsumi reasoned, and then the three looked at each other before they looked at Ame.

“Girl, which one of us do you want to look into?” the three said at the same time which also caused them to chuckle.

Ame had heard about the Three Forefathers of the Modern Era. It was they who encountered the Father God as well as participating in the First Star Battle and left the clearest record of it. The Era before them left scattered records of their daily activities and opponents but all of that changed during the reign of the three.

As for her feelings toward them, she felt respect and a slight admiration. But as for the one she wanted to know the most…

“Can I get to know Forefather Goto?” Ame asked.

Goto nodded and then stepped forward.

Then he grabbed her hand and slowly Ame felt something before she was transported somewhere.

‘According to Husband, once the Memory Assimilation starts, you are in the spectator mode and cannot interfere with what is going on. You will possess the perspective of the person your memory tries to assimilate with.' Ame thought of the things Tatsumi had told her and knew that she was currently in Goto’s first-person perspective.

“Hah, why do I need to exercise?” a young voice came out from Goto’s mouth.

It was he in his youth when the Three Tribes were prominent. Currently, he was exercising his body, which caused sweat to form on his body.

Ame was certain that this was the memory of Goto in his youth and wanted to get to know the surroundings better.

“But how long do I need to do these push-ups?” Goto protested despite trying to do the push-ups all the same.

His current count was on the fourty and he was seriously doing it, meaning his stance was clear and there was no rush in its execution. But his breath became slightly ragged.

Ame realized that the ground that Goto was on was actually just barren ground. Around him was actually the place Ame recognized as the ancient training ground.

Furthermore, there was a small signature which Ame clearly recognized as the symbol of the Osas Tribe. This was the moment where the Kudungga Tribe, the Qiang Tribe and the Osas Tribe ruled the Comberth Continent.

‘This is amazing. I can uncover some sort of secret with this.’ Ame realized the utility of the Memory Assimilation.

Then Goto did the rest of the exercise and finally fell straight to the ground. Even Ame could feel how taxing the exercise was for an ordinary human.

Then Ame felt that the surroundings twisted before she returned to the Library of Consciousness.

“That’s….your past memory?” Ame tried to confirm it with Goto.

“Yeah, probably something to do with training in the camp.” Goto bashfully said.

“How do you feel?” Tatsumi smiled when he asked this question.

“It feels like I am truly Mister Goto.” Ame honestly said what she felt and perceived.

“Yes but you still retain your thoughts and personality. You remember clearly that moment, don’t you?” Tatsumi spoke.

Ame nodded with a serious expression.

“So this is how you do every day. I am told that you became aware of your ability when you were at the Nine Suns Orphanage. How do you handle this?” Ame asked Tatsumi since she realized the heavy burden on Tatsumi and finally was able to share some of it, which caused her to ask.

“Well, get good?” Tatsumi gave a quick but worrisome reply.

Ame smacked Tatsumi on the head with her hand since the reply was making her worry even more.

“That’s no way to learn this. Be precise.”

“Alright. First…”

Tatsumi then explained the surest method he had thought of to handle the Memory Assimilation process. It was to get used to it through practice.

“There is no other way. You need to accustom your own Nafs to the process so that you can endure more and more, possibly even creating a muscle memory through it.” Tatsumi explained with a helpless look.

“Ah, right. The Nafs is your entire existence, whether conscious or unconscious. Of course, it should be related.” Ame had an understanding of this topic since Charlene was the one who propagated this idea.

Tatsumi nodded solemnly, as if it were an important part of the reason why the Memory Assimilation worked. And that was true for him at least.

Ame looked at Tatsumi’s face and knew that she needed to adjust herself. As for how, it could only be done by herself and the others could only help at most.

“Let’s try again later. For now, you should get to know this place.” Tatsumi then grabbed her hand and, along with the others, gave her a tour of the buildings and the surroundings.

Ame could not believe that the so-called Afterlife could be no different than the living realm.

“The entire thing you have seen is a construct of memory and physical laws manifesting in this place.” Tatsumi explained while still holding her hand.

“No wonder sometimes you said that the deceased have a new knowledge to be shared with the living. So this is part of the reason.” Ame had remembered what Tatsumi had said to her and said this.

They went to every floor of the building before stopping right outside the building. There were so many skyscrapers that Ame felt that this place was really no different from the living realm.

There were Elves, Lizardfolk, Birdmen, Giants and Humans roaming the street. They were in a harmonious state as they greeted each other and learned from each other.

“Well, let’s end this for now. We have spent quite a bit of time here. Furthermore, we need to do something with the relationship of our child.” Tatsumi said as he turned his body and faced Ame.

“Right, the time flow difference.” Ame nodded in understanding.

“See you later, everyone.” Tatsumi said as his consciousness returned to his body.

“Be well and make sure not to neglect your children.” Kudungga said before laughing in a carefree manner.

Ame looked at the Three Forefathers before her consciousness returned to her body.

In the middle of the Royal Sacred Tree, two people suddenly opened their eyes and rose from their cross-legged position.

“How do you feel about being able to perfectly connect to the Afterlife?” Tatsumi asked.

“It feels like a brand-new world for me to explore.” Ame said honestly before giving Tatsumi a pointed look.

“I know. That feeling where you can learn from them is the biggest reward since now you can do it consciously. That is the difference between the rest of the people and us.” Tatsumi replied quickly.

Ame knew this since Tatsumi often discussed this with her.

The difference between the ordinary people and him was that for the ordinary people, they needed to enter the daze period to be able to form a barely connected link to the Aftelife, which the deceased relayed some sort of new knowledge.

But for them, they could choose which one they wanted to connect with while the ordinary people could not.

“Then what kind of criteria do you think connect the ordinary people to the deceased in the Afterlife?” Ame asked this question since now she could do what Tatsumi could. Usually, she would not ask this question but now it intrigued her.

Tatsumi put his hand on his chin before replying, “Well, their mindset could be one of the biggest factors of connection. Remember that the connection also means that there are some similarities between the living and the deceased, whether in mindset, skillset or knowledge that they possessed.”

“That is why I have my current mindset by being tempered through numerous Nafs in the Afterlife. Since you can do this as well, I need to remind you. There will be some that sought to cause tribulation to you. You need to judge this matter yourself and I can only support you. Can you accept this?”

Tatsumi then grabbed Ame on her shoulders while his eyes stared right through her eyes. Ame knew that the most important matter had come since Tatsumi wore a serious look.

‘I think I understand where he comes from. Not every deceased is spreading good values. Some of them spread bad values that could affect the current living people but also the future generation.’ Ame finally got where Tatsumi’s unease came from.

“Of course, I am ready. And don’t forget that I can help you with this now that I can also Perfectly Connect to the Afterlife.” Ame placed her hand above his and tried to share his burden even for a little.

She felt that for centuries, Tatsumi had shouldered a burden that only he knew how heavy it was. Now that she had been allowed to help him and support him, she gladly accepted it.

Tatsumi could feel that the calloused hands of Ame were her way to support him in his endeavor. He let out a chuckle before grabbing her hands and squeezed it slightly.

“Well, then you need to learn more about this later. For now, let us return to the recent thing we need to do.” Tatsumi said before he swept with his hand and the space where the two had been was opened.

Then the two walked out from the isolated space and were met with Tetsuya and Rihana who had been waiting for them.

“Son, kept you waiting huh.” Tatsumi said while trying to ease the worry on the two’s face.

“No, it is just right. From your expression, the matter you handled went well.” Tetsuya could see that his parents were undergoing an important matter but did not tell him. Despite that, he could assume that it had gone well and now they came out to address the matter between him and Rihana.

Rihana, on the other hand, had a slight blush on her face when Tatsumi and Ame came out. She was a step behind Tetsuya as if trying to hide her presence from his parents.