Chapter 126: Dawn of the Endless Dream (5)
[Evolution Task #3: Complete]
[The Divine Domain will now undergo evolution. Time Limit: Instant]
Akasha reappeared high above the main Star Union battlefield, black-and-white hair drifting in the winds.
The moment his feet settled in the open air, the Divine Domain answered.
HUMMMMMM!!!!!!
A deep, resonant pulse rolled outward from Lucid Winter’s Peak.
On the Underside, the purple-and-white barrier expanded in a smooth, unstoppable wave. Grasslands thickened into ancient dark forests.
Rivers of pure crimson blood carved new paths through once-barren stone.
The scars of trillions of years of war—cracked earth, poisoned soil, lingering decay—were overwritten in heartbeats.
What remained was a vast, shadowed oasis of power, beautiful and quietly lethal, bathed in the dim light of the seven suns.
On the Topside, the same barrier mirrored the expansion, sweeping across the Southern Continent and continuing outward until the entire world of Kalpa rested beneath the Domain’s authority.
Liliana stood frozen beside her father, crimson eyes wide as the transformation unfolded around them.
Salvatore’s remaining arm tightened around her shoulders, his broken frame trembling with more than just residual injury.
"What... is this?" he rasped, staring at the newly healed landscape that stretched to the horizon.
Sunya had appeared on the battlefield during Akasha’s confrontation with the two Supreme Goddesses.
She hovered a short distance away, green eyes tracking the expanding barrier with sharp, calculating intensity.
Her long blond braid drifted in the changing wind as the very ground beneath the trapped dreamers shifted from blood-soaked ruin into living darkness.
"How can..." she whispered, almost to herself. "What the hell is going on?"
Nara arrived moments later, still supporting the unconscious form of Amaterasu.
Her green eyes swept the transformed Underside, then locked onto the distant figure of Akasha high above. The living bow in her hand remained lowered, but her posture was tight with wary respect.
"What... in the....," she murmured.
Sunya’s eyes drifted upward until they locked onto Akasha, a flicker of recognition mingling with a sharper, colder edge in her expression.
Across the way, Liliana’s gaze stayed fixed on him, unwavering.
Salvatore noticed and let his eyes follow hers, the hint of a wry, weary smile tugging at the uninjured side of his mouth.
"So that is the one you have been blabbering about, huh?" he said quietly.
Liliana nodded, her gaze unwavering.
A gentle, affectionate smile played on her blood-red lips, even as tears still clung stubbornly to the corners of her eyes.
"Father... the bond I’ve been sensing is exactly as you described when I was younger," she said softly, her tone certain and unshakable.
"We are fated mates, and I will not let him slip away."
----
High above, Akasha’s abyss-black eyes moved across the figures below—Sunya, Liliana, Salvatore, Nara, the unconscious Amaterasu, and the millions of warriors still locked in dreams across the newly transformed battlefield.
Luna and Yume appeared at his sides in the same moment.
Luna slipped her arm through his with easy familiarity, pink-and-purple hair swaying as she looked out over the Domain with open satisfaction.
Yume linked her arm on the other side, cooler, blue-streaked hair drifting like mist, expression calm but clearly pleased.
"My Love... It seems the foundations of Phase Three are almost set," Luna said, voice light yet carrying genuine warmth.
Yume’s quieter tone held a note of quiet pride.
"Indeed... Master, now that the Domain covers the entire world, the Academy on the topside... will find it much easier in their conquest."
Akasha’s lips curved into a casual smile.
"Right... and after I stay on Lucid Winter’s Peak for a while... I will set the final piece for Phase Three."
His abyss-black eyes drifted across the millions of figures still locked in dreams below.
"By... finding a second disciple."
Snap!
Then as his words ended... He raised one hand and snapped his fingers.
The soft pulse of Absolute Dreams reversed.
Spanning three hundred million kilometers, every frozen warrior—whether of the Celestial Sun or the Dead Sun—suddenly snapped back to awareness.
Their eyes focused, divine power surged anew, and a wave of bewilderment swept through their ranks as they took in the strange, altered world surrounding them.
Before a single weapon could rise or a single battle cry form, Akasha’s voice rolled across the entire Domain, calm and absolute.
"The war between the Dead Sun and the Celestial Sun is over."
A heavy silence followed.
"And... for the Dead Sun, Izanami has abandoned you all," he continued, "after nearly dying."
The reaction was immediate and violent.
"Blasphemy!"
"Lies!"
"How dare you speak of the Supreme Goddess that way!"
Salvatore’s remaining crimson eye narrowed sharply, black ichor still dripping from his wounds as he stared up at the distant figure of Lord Dream.
Akasha shook his head and, without saying a word, tapped into his innate power.
[Dream Nexus (Above Origin)]
"Number One... come."
The Guardian Construct stepped through the portal, clad in his usual attire—a black, Anbu-style mask that completely obscured his face.
His long white hair hung straight down, contrasting sharply with the darkness of his mask.
His posture was utterly still and impossible to read, giving away nothing.
Not a trace of aura or presence emanated from him, as if he were a void in the space around him.
Number One paused, looking around at the transformed Underside with mild, almost clinical surprise.
Then he turned and offered a respectful bow to Akasha, followed by a slight nod toward Luna and Yume.
"Lord Dream. Lady Luna. Lady Yume," he greeted, his voice steady, quiet, and perfectly measured. "I have arrived."
"Begin clearing the Domain," Akasha instructed. "Start at the farthest edges of the Underside and work your way inward."
Number One gave another respectful bow. "Understood."
"Before you go," Akasha added with a faint smile, "show them a demonstration."
"As you wish."
Number One rose from the bow and vanished.
It was known that the Guardian didn’t actually hold any rank, star, or title that marked someone as a cultivator.
Still, his strength was undeniable—on par with the total might of Akasha himself—and he wielded the rare ability to control darkness.
In battles that pushed him to his limits, he would need far more than just that, but for now, it was more than enough to face whatever came his way.
HUMMMMMM!!!!!
In the next series of heartbeats, flashes of pure darkness flickered across the distant ranks.
Vampires, Ghouls, and Dead Kami dropped without a sound—single, precise dagger strokes ending them mid-breath.
In less than two minutes, five hundred thousand corpses found themselves beheaded on the ground.
Akasha’s voice echoed one last time across the Domain.
"You’ve got one week... or until my Guardian loses interest. To get out of this world."
He turned and disappeared with Luna and Yume, leaving the battlefield in stunned silence.
Nara, Sunya, Salvatore, and the countless warriors below remained tense, staring at the empty air where he had been.
Only Liliana’s expression stayed soft, almost radiant, as she watched the space he had occupied.
Sunya approached the two Supreme Goddesses with careful, formal steps. She lowered her head in deep respect.
"Supreme Goddess... what happened?"
Nara’s green eyes remained distant for a moment. When she answered, her voice was calm, almost motherly, and deliberately vague.
"A new power has risen in the vast world.... One that even the Celestial Accord must now acknowledge." She rested a gentle hand on Sunya’s shoulder.
"For now... that is all you need to know, my child."
Nara’s green eyes swept across the vast transformed battlefield, settling on every figure that still carried the light of the Celestial Sun.
Her long green hair stirred once in the residual wind.
When she spoke again, her voice dropped into the Language of Gods—each syllable absolute and heavy with authority that bent the air itself.
"Bring a complete and immediate return of every Celestial Sun warrior, along with all members under my command, to the world of Leiva."
In the next heartbeat, every Celestial Sun Kami, human, dragon, and angel vanished.
There was no light, no sound, not even a trace of lingering energy.
One moment, the sky and the land stood firm in their places; the next, they vanished entirely, leaving behind only the forces of the Dead Sun, Salvatore, Liliana, and the hollow space where Nara and Amaterasu had once stood.
