Bainin
patreon
Chapter 137: Back on Earth
🕑 Added 2025-01-16 09:01:11 +0000 UTCOnce they had spent the last of their points and said their goodbyes, they prepared to leave the soulscape. Alistair embraced Riseth and kissed her again.
"I swear, if I reappear on Earth and you’re standing next to me again, I will—" Before he could finish, she pulled him in closer and kissed him once more, giving him a cheeky smile before disappearing from the room. He worried she had actually spent the precious points to appear directly on Earth.
"Don't worry. She knows she's needed on Neshan until the rest of us are in a safe location," Nessyra reassured him with a wink before vanishing.
James was the last to leave, offering a simple "See you soon" before he disappeared as well.
Alistair took a deep breath, feeling King egging him on through their connection. The Wyvern was eager to finally stretch his wings and fly in an environment that wouldn’t vanish after a year. After focusing his intent, Alistair stepped out of his soulscape and appeared on an empty road flanked by familiar-looking buildings. He breathed in the cool, fresh air, glanced around, and noticed others who had appeared at the same moment. The surrounding buildings looked overgrown and abandoned compared to when he last saw them, and for a moment, he wondered where his car had gone. He received a notification, and based on the unique sound, he had been connected to a network, though he decided to look at it once they were traveling. Shaking off the idle thoughts, he summoned King, who was a much better ride than his car anyhow. The wyvern looked around curiously, startling some of the other people who had appeared nearby. Alistair jumped onto King's back, and they took to the air.
As they soared above the buildings, Alistair observed that the cityscape had transformed drastically. The world seemed enlarged and fragmented, with parts of the city visibly disconnected from one another. The once continuous streets were now broken, with sections of cracked asphalt abruptly ending and giving way to grassy fields stretching out almost a kilometer before resuming again. Some buildings were destroyed or torn in half, exposing their interiors; he looked into the distance, spotting some overhead power lines that hung precariously, some snapped and trailing on the ground. In the distance, other parts of the city stood isolated, further emphasizing the disjointed and chaotic state of the environment.
As their elevation increased, Alistair gazed towards the nearby mountain range, which used to be part of the Swiss Alps but had undergone clear changes, growing in both height and scope. He could make out large walls on their outskirts and enormous white, palace-like structures built into the mountainsides, forming what Alistair presumed were the outskirts of one of Sol's major fortresses. He knew Sol had claimed most of the Alps to establish his fortress and infrastructure. He wondered if people who had lived there would be forced to teleport within Sol's territory or be expelled to its edges. The mountains made for an incredibly defensive position, and Alistair would bet a lot of credits that the Alps had an abundance of dragon veins to fuel the natural god's ambition.
Alistair searched his karmic connections and found that most of his family was relatively nearby, but he focused on those of Remo and his cat, Viv. Both were in opposite directions and not as close as he expected. Faced with a choice, he decided to fetch his cat, confident that Remo would be fine on his own. Giving directions to King, the wyvern nodded.
"What exactly are we looking for?" King's deep, rumbling voice rang out.
"My cat, Viv. She's a small black cat, at least the last time I saw her," Alistair replied.
Alistair had been worried his physical changes could potentially scare her off. She had always been a rather smart cat. Still, she had been rather skittish with anyone other than his closest family and friends, who visited regularly; only after getting to know them did she show her highly affectioned side. King seemed unbothered by the revelation and just seemed to enjoy the scenery below him. With King having a rough direction, Alistair checked on the notifications he had received.
-----------
Notifications:
Akashic Link skill has connected to [Sol Network]
You have [1] unread Network message from Sol.
--------------
Network Messages:
Title: Earth Information Package
From: [Sol]
[Attachment]
Welcome back to Earth.Please be aware that the world has undergone drastic changes in your absence. All followers are advised to retreat to the nearest Sol Sanctuary or team up to form conclaves with other followers nearby. Due to these changes, certain areas of the planet have become danger zones, with the local fauna or environment turning hazardous for most. Regions like Florida, Australia, and Thailand have been overrun by various beast tides. Beware of hordes of alligators and monkeys, spiders, and other beasts attacking anything that encroaches on their large territories. Citizens of Australia are advised to evacuate to New Zealand or Indonesia immediately.
-----------
Alistair took a moment to process the information package. He had known that Sol had claimed multiple locations, but the sheer number was more than he had expected. As he looked at the splintered remains of nearby cities, he hoped his sanctuaries still had some infrastructure left since most of the buildings he could see were aged and in disrepair. If it weren't so tragic, he would have found it almost amusing that Sol recommended everyone flee from Australia. The country was already known for its dangerous wildlife, including emus, saltwater crocodiles, lethal snakes, spiders, and cassowaries. He suspected kangaroos might also be a threat now.
Opening the attachment revealed the locations of all of Sol's sanctuaries and enclaves, along with a comprehensive list of danger zones. Each danger zone included detailed information about the types of monsters and their territories. Alistair's assumption about Australia was mostly accurate; in addition to the expected threats, packs of boars were a common beast tide across the globe. He reviewed the other countries, noting the diverse and perilous fauna they now harbored. Africa was similarly dangerous, though its threats were different. Instead of vast numbers, the individual monsters in Africa were already at early Grade 8 or high Grade 9, making them formidable adversaries.
When he checked his own region, he found that evolved boars, wolves, goats, and cows were the most common beasts. Freshly introduced monsters like drakes and wyverns were listed as the biggest threats. The wolves surprised him as they did not have that many before the initiation, so he suspected they either migrated or intermingled with the released dogs, bolstering their numbers.
"Apparently, there are Drakes and Wyvern around here; keep your eye open in case they feel you are intruding on their territory," Alistair warned King, tapping his armored plate next to him.
"I welcome the challenge," King responded eagerly, his confidence evident.
Alistair noted that the Wyvern felt more powerful. He knew King had selected the rest of his rewards without his input, and it seemed his successful arena tour had allowed King to get some good things for himself. Alistair considered asking but decided against it as he was still too busy to take in his surroundings. He sensed a bunch of Dungeons from all directions and couldn't help but notice the people traveling through the fields and forests scattered throughout the area. He spotted a fair few animals he suspected had been pets but had evolved into something more powerful. He also noticed a massive convoy of people heading towards the mountains.
Seeing them made Alistair check the wider network, which was already flooded with messages and recordings. He had to restructure his system again to make the information digestible, giving it the appearance of a browser. Rifling through the recordings, he found both uplifting and horrid scenes as people fought monsters and other people alike over newly discovered treasures, locations, and more twisted wants. He shut down the videos for a moment, considering it as he did not wish to get involved. However, the curiosity nagged at him as he looked; he saw the videos disappearing and being replaced by others, which made him curious enough to open them.
What greeted him were more informational videos made by Sol's followers, reminding their followers to stick together and act quickly. There was also a fair share of what could best be described as propaganda videos, and he opened one of them.
Are you worried about your safety? Tired of the old regime holding you back? Hesitant to join a new faction because of past corruption? You're not alone. We feel the same. Under Sol's guidance, we can rise to greatness.
No more corruption. No more division and greed. We promise protection and safety for all. Together, we unite under one banner.
We will prevail against the rot within and the outsiders seeking to enslave us and take our world. The Sol System is our home, and we will defend it to the last man.
Join us! Be part of something greater!
Alistair was impressed with the new orchestral music and production value of the video; seeing more and more videos vanish as soon as they appeared meant that Sol decided to curate the videos on his Network, and it seemed to evolve in front of his eyes as it made new categories like a FAQ and even rescue request section. He even found a public statement that followers are instructed to help those in need and capture instead of kill wrongdoers. Alistair watched as a life map updated with locations where people were gathering for safety. Alistair had to give it to Sol. He knew how to make use of his advantageous position, and his efforts would ensure that fewer people would die, which certainly got Alistair's approval. More Notifications rang out as more Networks went online. Apparently, quite a few factions used their contribution points to access the means of creating their own Networks that Sol couldn't curate. They were also quick to advertise their own efforts of gathering and safeguarding people with their own propaganda and speeches. However, they were quickly flooded with unwanted information and recordings and struggled to curate the information like Sol's Network seemed to be capable of.
A quick look at the recordings revealed the chaos unfolding on Earth. Billions were fighting for survival. Alistair watched footage of someone following a pair walking down an overgrown, decrepit New York Times Square.
"We should get out of here. I can sense a lot of 'ROUSes' all around us," the woman in a red dress said quietly, coming to a full stop.
The man in black leather armor scoffed. "Rodents of unusual size? Are you serious?"
Moments later, he screamed in agony as a massive rat leaped onto him, sinking its teeth into his shoulder. The person recording the incident took to the air as everyone nearby began to scream. A tide of giant rats swarmed the area, devouring those who couldn't escape. Among the rats were ratkin, casting spells at those who managed to fly away. The recording abruptly ended.
Another video showed a horde of monkey monsters attacking people; the distinctive architecture confirmed it was Thailand. Alistair observed a squad of Knights in Sol's heraldry desperately trying to hold the line against a tide of monkeys wielding crude tools and weapons as people fled for their lives.
Alistair cursed as he watched them retreat, abandoning those who were too slow to flee. He wanted to help and interfere, but he was too far away to do anything about it; as he watched in horror, they were teleported away in a flash of light. Alistair doubted that had been the work of a regular individual and suspected Sol had interfered. The same scenes played out around the globe, and Alistair could only watch them as hours passed. The worst was the Alligators, as they were incredibly numerous and quite powerful, with most of them at peak Grade 9 and the ability to fly, which made for a horrifying display.
Alistair pulled himself away from the videos as they neared the location where he sensed his cat. Looking at the forested area, he recognized some apartment blocks as the ones he used to live in. Relief washed over him when he saw that, although aged, the apartments appeared to be intact. They were now situated in a dense forest, with occasional buildings scattered throughout the greenery. It seemed Viv had stayed close to his old home.
Alistair teleported to his apartment block, noting the broken doors and shattered windows. He made his way to his apartment and sensed a presence trying to hide itself, clearly spooked by the approaching wyvern and Alistair's own high grade. As he entered his previous apartment, he checked his bedroom and found a pair of golden eyes peering at him from the shadows.
"Viv?" he called softly.
-------------
Start of Book 3
Comments
Bai Red
I had to re-upload some of the Book 3 chapters if there are any issues with the linking or availability of any chapters, let me know!
