Chapter 805: Ancient Dread


    “Is it really here?” Gu muttered as he kept watch for those sinister insects that seemed to lord over this.


    “That’s what the captain said,” Bubbur grunted, though he was clearly as confused as Gu was.


    “What would the invaders want with an uninhabited ce like this?” Gu frowned as he looked around. “The seems old enough, which means this area has to be pretty stable. But there are multiple nearby gates. It would be impossible to hold it for long.”


    “Not to mention these critters,” another member of the expedition grunted. “Setting up a camp in this ce would be suicide. There are simply too many, and they are freakishly perceptive. Just look how they attacked our ship. Those bastards would have to invest way too much in shielding to make it worth it. Even setting up camp on a random asteroid would be better.”


    “It only took us four jumps from the Leviathan to get here,” Bubbur thoughtfully said. “Perhaps they’re setting up an ambush?”


    “They would have to be suicidal to attack the Leviathan with their current strength,” Gu said with a shake of his head. “Their weapons are pretty terrifying, but by the time someone powerful enough makes it through, the Leviathan will be long gone from that position.”


    At least Gu prayed that was the case. They still hadn’t found the Space Gate, but they knew it was out there. After all, they were here already.


    At first, they were just rumors, unconfirmed sightings of a new group of spacefarers in this chaotic sector of space. Normally, that wasn’t anything odd. Now and then, a new species or people appeared through a rift, their homeworlds suddenly connected to the Million Gates and the outer world. But these people were different.


    For one, the faction was too diverse to be some isted civilization that had grown inside a Mystic Realm. Secondly, their methods were too advanced. The Muscle Brigade was among the best-equipped and most ferocious squads in the area, yet every sh with the invaders had been a costly endeavor.


    Even when the Muscle Brigade overwhelmed them in numbers and levels, the invaders exacted a high cost before sumbing. And they were true zealots. Even now, they didn’t know where they came from or what their faction was called. They only knew what they could glean from the corpses.


    Neither the researchers nor the thieves had managed to crack their weird spatial tools either. Finding news of this world was simply a stroke of luck. Greatest Peak managed to ambush kill a leader in one go, right when he was reading a star chart.


    The only good news was that the Space Gate hadn’t stabilized just yet, giving them a few more years to prepare themselves. Those squads who had arrived were just at the E-grade, with the asional early Hegemon squeezing through. The Muscle Brigade had beenmanded to hunt down any squad they could in hopes they could finally find the Space Gate, but it didn’t look good.


    Even with over a thousand simr squads having been sent into the Million Gates Territory by the recently formed alliance, they simply couldn’t find it. Not even the sages of the Heliophos n could glean its location ording to Average. ording to them, the issue wasn’t the chaotic territory.


    The gate was shrouded, and not even their Monarchs could break it.


    That could only mean one of two things. Either their enemies were extremely powerful, or the System was aiding the invasion. Perhaps it was both. In either case, it was bad news. Yet the Muscle Brigade pressed on, delving deeper and deeper in the seemingly endless expanse of the Million Gates territory. If they couldn’t prevent the invasion, they could at least hamper their efforts.


    These advance scouts were working toward something, gathering intelligence and setting up outposts. The more scouts they could kill and preparations they could ruin, the better their position would be when all hell broke loose. Perhaps they could even dy the invasion for a couple of years, which would allow for more fortresses to be built.


    That’s why they were on this cursed ind infested by an endless number of insects, each one of which essentially carried a gastric bomb in their abdomen. Gu was scared enough that he was ready to strike at every shadow that moved, but he no longer felt discontent about joining these kinds of dangerous missions. He had even volunteered for this one, wanting to use his unique ocr skills to aid hispanions.


    What he was doing had value, and even someone like him could make a small difference in these critical times. He might have been discarded by his n, but the Allbright Empire was still his home. The hundreds of trillions of lives didn’t deserve to be swept up in this war. He had seen how sinister these people were.


    Wherever they had encountered locals, not a single life was spared.


    “If not ambush, infiltration, then?” Bubbur ventured as he scratched his beard.


    “No point in guessing,” Average said as he nced back at the squad. “As long as we find what we’re looking for, we’re bound to find some answers.”


    Gu nodded in agreement as he nced at his friend. It was true what they say; heroes rise in troubled times. Just a few short years had passed, yet the loudmouth young master had transformed into a capable leader that the Muscle Brigade willingly followed. Of course, his explosive growth in power had helped solidify his position among these meatheads.


    After all, while this chaotic ce had its dangers, it also held uncountable opportunities. They had lost more than half of their squad by now, but those that had survived had gone through a baptism of fire that no training regimen couldpare to. Average, in particr, had essentially been reborn through the inheritances and troves he had survived.


    Hopefully, they would get the chance to consolidate for a while longer. They had grown a lot, but they were ultimately just E-grade warriors. An errant sh between captains could crush their souls. Only when they became Hegemons would they be able to equip proper regalias, which would at least provide a semnce of safety in arge-scale war.


    Hours passed as the squad crept closer, closing in on the camp they had spotted from orbit. Oddly enough, the incessant chirping from the native beasts grew more and more sparse as time went on. Did the invaders have some method to repel them? Finally, they were within a few kilometers of their target, at which point the jungle was eerily silent.


    Seeing as no critters were nearby, they activated a cloaking array before taking out their enhanced binocrs. The invaders had set up camp at the edge of a vast chasm, one sorge they had seen it from outer space. Gu had never seen anything like it before, and he even suspected that some supreme warrior had tried cutting the huge in two in some ancient era.


    The scar reached almost halfway through the world, and just looking at it from space had filled Gu with dread.


    “What are they doing?” Bubbur whispered as he looked over at Average. “Is it a trap?”


    Gu frowned as well, feeling disconcerted by the scene. The invaders were right there in full disy. A few were standing at the edge of the chasm, apparently looking out at the vast beyond. A few others were simply sitting a few meters away from the others, mindlessly staring at the sky. It was a far cry from the ruthless warriors they had shed with before.


    Average looked confused as well, and he didn’t say a word as he kept observing for a few more minutes. But there was simply no change. None of the invaders moved as much as an inch.


    “Go!” Average eventually growled, and the squad rushed out like a rabid pack of wolves.


    There was no need for words from that point on. Their group had been through over a hundred battles by now, and their cooperation was wless. They soundlessly closed in on the distance, and a series of attacks rippled out with perfect timing. However, Gu couldn’t believe what he was seeing as one enemy after another was ripped apart, not even lifting a finger to defend themselves.


    “Stop!” Average eventually shouted as he threw out two chains that grabbed the sole remaining invaders.


    “I didn’t get any energy,” a warrior suddenly muttered, and Gu looked over with surprise as he stepped into the camp.


    Some of them were already dead before?


    “Uh, boss,” another warrior said as he walked out to the edge. “You need to see this.”


    The others walked over as well, and they were shocked into silence by what they saw. An ancient fortress silently floated in the massive chasm, and it radiated a terrifying aura even if it was damaged by a huge scar. Had that thing just appeared? Because they should definitely have spotted that from orbit.


    The construct was not asrge as the war fortresses the alliance was frantically building, but its quality was vastly superior. The aura it emitted was more overwhelming than anything he had ever encountered, including the Monarch that met with the captain a year ago. Its towers and walls were covered in scripts that Gu didn’t recognize, and he didn’t recognize the design either.


    This wasn’t something built by someone in the Zecia sector. They simply didn’t have the capability to build something like this. It didn’t match the invader’s heritages either, which begged the question; how the hell did these invaders know where to find this thing? Where did ite from? And why were the invaders all dead or braindead? And who was powerful enough to damage this thing with a single attack?


    A hum suddenly broke the silence as some runes lit up on one of the towers.


    Something about the sound elicited a primal fear that threatened to break Gu’s spirit, and he wasn’t the only one. A few simply fell on their knees, while others desperately looked away. This was not something they could get involved with.


    “Run!” someone shouted, but it was toote.


    ————-


    Unique advantages like Hidden Nodes, Constitutions, Specialty Cores, Attuned Souls, and other kinds of enhancements were restrained in the Orom World, but not sealed altogether. Even those with less unique Bloodlines than his could somewhat benefit from their abilities, and those with many such rued advantages generally did better in the wilderness.


    That was why he wanted to open another Hidden Node before entering the wilderness. Conversely, the Attribute Fruits in his Cosmos Sack would only provide some Contribution Points, but no real strength.


    Zac could technically take the seed anywhere and at any time, but he had no idea how Draugr Bloodlines worked. They might have unique requirements like his Void Emperor Bloodline, so Zac had decided to visit to improve his odds of sess. Eventually, he saw a towering peak through the miasmic haze, which meant he had reached his destination.


    It was the ckink Mountain, a unique cultivation resource a few days’ travel from Samsara’s Edge.


    There were two spots in the death-attuned zones that held special opportunities, and one of them was the ckink Mountain. The solitary peak was thousands of meters tall, and it held 242 empowered cultivation caves along with one mansion at the peak. The mansion was only essible to Emerald Badges, and the eight peak-quality caves could only be booked by Jade Attendants and higher. But the rest was avable for rent.


    What made the ckink Mountain differentpared to the zones themselves was the amazing density of Miasma and Dao in the caves. Even the worst of the caves at the foot of the mountain far surpassed the density you could enjoy in the center of any zone. Of course, nothing good came for free, and you had to pay Purchase Points to rent these caves.


    Zac soon arrived at the foot of the mountain, where a few dozen houses were erected. It wasn’t a real settlement, but rather a ce to wait in case the cave you wanted was upied. Thankfully, few people were willing to pay for prolonged stays on this mountain, only splurging when they were ready to push for a breakthrough.


    “Wee,” a bored-looking clerk said as Zac entered a small office. “Are you here to rent?”


    “How is upancy at the moment?” Zac asked. “I’m looking for a low-tier cave.”


    “You’vee at the right time. Few caves are upied at the moment, but that will likely change in a few months,” the clerk said as he infused some energy into an array, which prompted almost one hundred small crystals to rise from a nearby box. “These are all the low-tier caves. Let me know which one you’re interested in and I will check its avability.”


    Zac nodded in thanks and walked over to the gems. They weren’t Miasma Crystals, but rather small arrays from the looks of it. Zac infused a stream of mental energy into two crystals at random, and he was immediately met by two small ripples of energy. Zac’s nodded in understanding and nine streams poured out of his mind, each one moving from one crystal to another.


    After months of training, he had mostly gotten used to his transformed soul. He had even gained another 800 points by simply stabilizing and strengthening his soul with the help of treasures. Altogether, he had already passed 15,000 Contribution Points without even trying, which was why he could afford a room at all.


    “Is there anything amiss?” the clerk asked with confusion when Zac returned after just a few seconds.


    “I’d like cave 183, please,” Zac said.


    “Oh, alright,” the clerk said. “Cave #183 is luckily avable, costing 1,000 Purchase Points per 12 hours. How long will you be staying?”


    “One day is enough. I can extend the stay if need be, no?” Zac asked.


    The crystals were a pretty interesting solution. The ckink Mountain contained a tremendouslyplex array, and most of the caves actually held different Daos. Certainly, all of them contained the Dao of Death, but just a third of the chambers were Pure Death.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Other caves were filled with mixed-meaning paths, mostly those popr in the Undead Empire. Zac had even sensed a couple of crystals that held a Death-Conflict imprint. Ultimately, Zac had chosen one of the pure-meaning Caves. As to why Zac chose #183, he couldn’t exactly put his finger on it. While its imprint was extremely simr to over a dozen others, it simply felt morefortable for some reason.


    He figured it had the best match with his Draugr side.


    “You can extend your stay without leaving as long as no customer outside has booked the same cave. Your token will inform you when your time is up,” the clerk nodded as he handed over a small que. “Your key. This will lead the way.”


    Zac thanked the man and shed away, making his way up the mountain following the signal in the key. It only took thirty minutes to reach his destination, an excavated cave whose entrance was covered in intricate runes. Zac couldn’t tell if the runes were part of an array, but they seemed like some sort of fusion between death and the patterns he had seen around the spatial gates the Orom used.


    Their meaning was too esoteric for Zac to decipher though, no matter if he relied on [Primal Polyglot] or any of his rued knowledge. There wasn’t any indication that a cultivation haven waited inside, so Zac curiously stepped through the threshold. The moment he entered the cave, a barrier activated behind him, quelling all sound and impressions from the outside. It once more felt like he had entered a sealed dimension, where there was only himself and the Dao.


    Still, Zac was a bit confused as there weren’t any particrly impressive levels of energy around him, so he walked deeper into the mountain. Soon enough, he reached a densely engraved door, and he opened it to reach the core of the cultivation cave.


    A wall of pure death immediately mmed into him with such ferocity that he was pushed a few steps back, and Zac’s eyes zed over for a moment. Death. He had opened a door of no return, crossed the river of forgetfulness into an eternal domain of stillness. Death was always there, waiting, epting all whether they wanted to or not. It was nothingness, it was release.


    Zac shuddered as he regained his wits, but it was still with some trepidation he walked into the chamber. He had initially wondered if he was too cheap, not springing for 12 hours in one of the middle-grade rooms. Now, he rather wondered if he had overestimated himself bying to the ckink Mountain at all. This environment bordered on the edge of what was harmful rather than helpful.


    Still, the price was paid and Zac refused to turn back now. It wasn’t only a matter of cost either. He didn’t want to lose the sense of momentum he had gained after witnessing so many valiant warriors showcasing their skills. He wanted to use that adrenaline rush and hunger for power to fuel his breakthrough. There was no time to find some other ce to settle down.


    So he let the gate close behind him, shrouding him in utter darkness. Zac was constantly beset by impressions as his body filled with Miasma, but while he weed the energy, he rejected the truths. Zac knew that he would probably be able to turn his Fragment of the Coffin into a Dao Branch if he stayed a week in this ce.


    However, such a breakthrough would be like the first ones he had back on Earth, where he was imnted with external concepts.


    He didn’t want a Dao Branch based on the Daos fed into the cave by some array. He wanted a Dao Branch that was his alone, a branch attuned with hisbat style, his ss, and his path. Since Zac still hadn’t found all the answers he looked for in that regard, he couldn’t let himself get influenced by the curated truths that hid in the mountain.


    Instead, he took out the pitch-ck box and picked up the small seed within. It was norger than an almond, but it felt like he was holding a small in his hand. The inner chamber did not let in as much as a wisp of light, but the seed was somehow darker than ck, which made it stand out in the dark.


    Zac looked down at the Natural Treasure with wonder, but the feeling onlysted a moment before he swallowed it. The effect was immediate, and Zac felt like he had be a ck hole with the small seed as the core. He didn’t drag matter or energy into his body this time around though, but rather darkness.


    It emerged from the ceiling, from the walls, from the floor beneath him. It flooded his body through every pore, frantically burrowing deeper. The gloom was growing deeper, turning it into an Abyss that he had only seen in the eyes of Be’Zi before. Zac tried to channel it, to guide the changes the [Seed of Eldritch Awakening] was eliciting.


    But he was losing control. His body was no longer his own. It was bing one with the Abyss. Even the shimmering cores in his Soul Aperture were drowned in pervasive dusk. Thest thing he felt was a burning sensation through his veins before his consciousness faded.