Chapter 151: One Year Later (2)
The moment the book entered Akasha’s mind, information flooded in without resistance. He closed his eyes for a short while, letting the details settle into place one by one.
The Child of Consumption was a High Apostle of the Pantheon of Endless Hunger.
And despite an age of eighty-five thousand years, the man remained trapped in the body of a ten-year-old boy until the day he finally absorbed an entire Star Cluster.
Not only that, but he also stood at Cosmic Union Tier 22.
However, there wasn’t much more information about the Pantheon he was a part of, though it was known the man grew stronger through devouring.
Akasha figured the favorability must have stemmed from his plans being ruined—whatever those plans might have been.
His eyes opened once more, a glint of cold amusement flickering within them.
"Well, he’s probably pissed," he muttered under his breath. "Whatever his issue with me is, I’ll figure out how to handle him... and drop by for a visit when the timing feels right."
With that, his gaze shifted, settling on Jovian’s favorability.
The number had dropped more than twenty points since their last encounter.
For someone as carefree as the Jovian, that sort of drop was enough to spark a flicker of caution.
’Tsk... he’s not thinking of betraying me, is he?’ he mused, a twinge of regret surfacing as he wished he’d made the guy swear an oath.
The only reason he hadn’t done so from the start was that he hadn’t shared much with the Jovian—just a glimpse of his power, something that couldn’t stay hidden forever anyway.
Still, before he could spiral into the worst possible assumptions, a fresh burst of notifications drew his attention.
[Dreamer’s Drift Summon]
The same request had been sent over ten thousand times.
"This..." he murmured, knowing immediately there was only one person capable of sending such a summons.
Yet, noticing how sharply his favorability had plummeted made the whole situation feel even more unsettling.
In this moment, Akasha’s expression tensed ever so slightly.
Either Jovian was truly in some kind of trouble... or he was intentionally trying to pull him into chaos despite having been told countless times not to.
Though.... Neither possibility felt right.
He set the matter aside for a moment and scrolled further. It had long since unlocked the ability to receive updates on the activity of the members of Dreamer’s Peak.
And in this moment, a long string of notifications from Melvin filled the next section of the record.
----
[Melvin Blackwood has killed the Queen of Blackwood.]
[Melvin Blackwood has killed the King of Blackwood.]
[Melvin Blackwood has killed the Princess of Blackwood.]
[Melvin Blackwood has killed the King of Loria.]
[Melvin Blackwood has killed the Prince of Loria.]
[Melvin Blackwood has destroyed the Kingdom of Loria.]
[Melvin Blackwood has destroyed the Academy of Truth.]
[Melvin Blackwood has killed 7,000,000 Barbarians.]
-----
"Uhh, what the hell happened on the Eastern Continent?" he wondered aloud, as a quiet curiosity instantly spread across Akasha’s face.
Something serious must have pushed Melvin to go as far as wiping out his own family before turning that very same blade against the Kingdom of Loria.
"And... Amber, her last name includes both Salvatore and Loria," he murmured. He had already guessed she was Liliana’s adoptive daughter, but this changed things entirely.
Whether it was just an odd coincidence or a hint at something much more complex was still unclear.
Luna stretched beside him, pink-and-purple hair shifting across her shoulder as she glanced at the lingering notifications.
"Looks like things are going to get tangled," she said lightly. "Both Amber and Liliana are already circling you in their own ways. Whether it’s love, obsession, or power... it will not stay simple."
Yume’s soft voice followed, calm yet tinged with the same observation.
"Hehe, Master, it seems you’ll always end up in the middle of a mess, whether you like it or not."
Akasha simply shrugged and rose in one smooth motion, soft snow slipping from his clothes as he moved.
"For now, I’ll just let things play out on their own. I have no plans to get involved unless I’m truly needed," he said calmly.
At the moment, he held no particular feelings toward either Amber or Liliana, nor did he have any intention of going out of his way for either of them.
’...I’m the damn prize, aren’t I?’ he mused with a wry internal chuckle, though deep down he knew things were bound to get complicated before long.
With Liliana actually being the Red Lady, he realized he’d have to make her a member eventually, and when that time came, avoiding her as often as he had so far would be near impossible.
And if Liliana became a member, he figured he might have to bring Amber in as well, if only because of their connection.
’Or maybe... not.’
With that thought, he shifted his focus entirely back to the persistent summons from Jovian.
The two women stood nearby, already sharing knowing glances.
Luna’s smile turned overtly teasing.
"Go on... there’s no point in complaining about it," she said. "You’re going to check on that mess anyway, and we all know it."
Yume’s lips curved just enough to convey quiet agreement.
"Right... now let’s go see this new world."
Akasha’s mouth twitched, but he offered no denial.
He rolled his shoulders once, loosening muscles that had remained still for far too long, then accepted the summons without further comment.
-----
Half a decade had passed since Jovian first found himself sealed inside the prisons of the Dark Thorn Pantheon.
That was the exact measure of time they had allotted him before his existence would finally be hollowed out completely.
He sat slumped against the cold black stone of his cell, stripped naked, the once-bright white hair now dull and matted against his skull.
There were no visible signs of torture marked on his skin, yet his body had withered to little more than a skeleton wrapped in pale flesh.
In this moment, his rank, power, even the basic shape of his own identity had been scraped away until almost nothing remained.
Across from him, High Apostle Lane sat with casual composure, the other Apostles arranged loosely around her.
A small, satisfied smile rested on her lips as she regarded the broken figure on the floor.
"Little Human, it looks like your time has finally come," she said, voice smooth and almost gentle.
"In five minutes, you will be no different from all the others who have passed through these cells. Only... hollow shells of themselves."
Hearing this, Jovian’s mouth moved... on pure instinct, much like it had for the past two years.
A rough, formless sound escaped him, the kind that carried no meaning.
The words just wouldn’t come.
The language he once knew had eroded into scraps, too scattered and fragile to piece together again.
When only two minutes were left.
The air behind Lane and the gathered Apostles shifted almost imperceptibly.
Akasha appeared in a flash of light; in this moment, he was already concealed.
He was currently within Dream Land while remaining fully present in the waking world at the same time—one of the quieter upgrades his physique had granted him after reaching Divine rank.
Yume stood at his side with the same dual presence. However, Luna simply walked with them as if the overlapping layers of reality were of no concern at all.
Akasha’s eyes narrowed as he took in the gaunt figure chained to the far wall.
"Well... looks like he never planned on betraying me," he muttered.
Luna’s soft, knowing chuckle brushed his ear.
"Fufufu~ No wonder his favorability plummeted. The poor thing was probably counting on you to save him... and you almost showed up too late."
Akasha gave a small shake of his head. One glance over the Apostles told him the rest—every one of them Star Union, Lane herself at Cosmic Union Tier 21.
In the end, it really hadn’t been worth all the trouble.
With little more than a shrug, he started walking forward.
The instant his bare feet met the chill of the stone floor, the veil of concealment dissipated.
Each step sent a soft echo rippling through the chamber, drawing the attention of Lane and the other three Apostles, who all turned toward him in unison.
Akasha stood before them in loose black baggy pants that hung low on his hips, bare feet silent against the floor, and a simple white muscle shirt that left the luminous light-brown skin of his arms fully visible.
With his purple infinity sign shining subtly, the impossible beauty of his true form settled over the room like a quiet pressure.
Soft purple-and-white hair framed a face that no longer carried any racial disguise.
However, before any of them could speak, he activated an innate power.
[Absolute Dream Anchor (Divine)]
HUMMMMM!!!!!
THUDDDD!!!!
In that moment, fractured dream states bloomed inside each of their minds in the same instant.
Their bodies went limp, eyes vacant and hollow.
One by one, the Apostles toppled where they stood, like marionettes with their strings suddenly severed, collapsing in awkward heaps.
Lane’s easy smile lingered on her lips, untouched by the chaos, even as she sank to the ground in slow, almost graceful surrender.
Akasha continued forward without breaking stride, stepping over the fallen figures as if they were nothing more than discarded robes.
"What a fool... I’m sure you’re the cause of your own doom."
He muttered as he entered the open cell, crouched beside the skeletal form of Jovian, and began unfastening the heavy chains that still bound what little remained of the once-carefree man.