Chapter 143: Dreaming of Gods
Chapter 143: Dreaming of Gods
I gripped my gun tighter and waited nervously for the big guy to arrive. The shrieks around me grew softer and softer before complete silence descended, forming a big contrast against the previously noisy atmosphere. I waited silently for the big guy.
Suddenly, a silhouette appeared in my line of sight. The silhouette slowly approached me, allowing me to get a clear look at the newcomer. The newcomer was a young man clad in a white windbreaker with long purple hair floating behind him. He had a handsome and confident face, with a physical appearance that was basically the same as Bluelings.
I was shocked to encounter a Blueling here. I asked, "Who are you? Why are you here? Why do you look like a Blueling? Did you come from Blue?"
The handsome young man smiled when he heard my series of questions. "I will look like whatever you think I look like."
"Who are you? Why are you here? There are so many interstellar creatures here. How are you controlling them?" I asked.
"That isn't important. What's truly important is the purpose of existence. These creatures can't be controlled. This is a maze with no exit. I am curious how you got in here," the young man talked in riddles instead of answering my questions.
"It is impossible that there is no exit. As long as there is an entrance, there will be an exit. It merely depends on whether one can find it," I said.
The young man gestured at a spot far away. A white interstellar creature the size of an elephant suddenly appeared beside him.
"This species will never be conquered. That is as absolute as the fact that there is no exit here. If you had entered without being absolutely clear of your goal, you will be trapped forever," said the young man while gently caressing the white creature.
"Senior, your words are too profound. This one is slow-witted. Can senior give this one clear guidance?" I inquired, not understanding what the man in white was talking about.
"The interstellar creatures are the offspring of Clearsky. They are an ancient species that can't be harmed wantonly. If you want to leave, you need to gather all their power," said the man in white.
"Offspring of Clearsky? Are you referring to that myth?" I asked in puzzlement.
"In fact, you have conquered a tiny member of their species. That has greatly surprised me. However, that is far from enough. The young one is not sensible, so it had brought you here directly. If you want to leave, you must have full faith in the power of your heart," said the man in white.
"Who exactly are you? How do you know that so well? Do you know Prince Arude?" I was getting more and more confused.
"Am I not clear enough!" The gentle man in white suddenly turned boorish, giving me a scare.
Darkness suddenly returned, and I found myself lying on the ground. Beside me, Nyx was also lying on the ground while breathing heavily. I rubbed my head and found with astonishment that I had returned to my initial position in the cave, looking like I had fainted the moment I had entered the cave. I raised my head and looked around me. The man in white was nowhere to be seen, leaving only the shining eyes amid the darkness.
"What is happening here?" I muttered as I turned on my searchlight.
Suddenly, I saw my backpack lying to the side. A realization hit me.
I hurriedly opened the backpack and saw that Bulu was still blissfully sleeping.
"You must be the one messing around with my head. Stop pretending to be asleep," I questioned as I lifted Bulu from the backpack.
However, Bulu merely buried its feeler into my arms and continued sleeping, ignoring my question. Immediately, I heard a loud roar from the depths of the cave. A pair of red eyes appeared and rushed toward me at a rapid speed.
The large interstellar creature, three times larger than Nyx, appeared before me again. It repeated the same action, standing upright with its sharp mouth and claws lifted above it. I lifted my gun instinctively, but the words of the man in white suddenly surfaced in my mind.
"The interstellar creatures are the offspring of Clearsky. They are an ancient species that can't be harmed wantonly. If you want to leave, you need to gather all their power." As I savored these words, my brain spun furiously. Scenes of me giving up on defending myself to conquer Nyx replayed in my mind.
The sharp mouth of the gigantic creature stabbed into my shield. With the power of technology, I blocked the ferocious attack. The creature was enraged when it saw that its attack didn't work. It flapped its wings and hovered in the air before diving down toward me with its sharp mouth.
"Screw it!" I roared inwardly.
I then tossed my gun away, turned off my shield, and shut my eyes, silently waiting for the attack.
Bang!
I was blasted away by a powerful shockwave. I opened my eyes and saw that the sharp mouth of the creature had stabbed into the ground like a sharp sword, creating a massive hole right beside where I had been standing. The shockwave from the impact had sent me flying. One of the flying rocks struck my forehead, instantly causing me to bleed.
'This fellow must have shifted its attack at the last moment,' I thought as I looked fearfully at the hole in the ground.
A fierce shriek rang out behind me. When I looked back, I saw small Nyx complaining to the giant creature, its two purple eyes shining brightly. Perhaps they had detected my wound, but both Nyx and Bulu were reacting in their own way. I could see that Bulu was starting to shine in a blinding red yet again.
The aggression displayed by Nyx and Bulu seemed to have scared the giant creature; the giant creature appeared fearful for a moment. It hesitated for a few seconds before retreating into the darkness of the cave.
I finally understood what the man in white had told me. One had to give up on one's fear of harm and conquer the interstellar creatures with the power of conviction. That was the only way I could leave.
At that thought, I slung my gun behind me, lifted Bulu, and started walking deeper into the cave. Behind me, Nyx followed.
Unsurprisingly, the communication channel was jammed. I had obviously gotten myself trapped in the cave. According to the man in white, I could only leave after conquering the interstellar creatures.
I followed the route in my memory and arrived at the second cave with countless shining eyes. The interstellar creatures were roaring at me incessantly. Without my shield, I was extremely nervous despite having prepared myself. I wrapped my arms tightly around Bulu, struggling to get any comfort I could get. Nyx loyally stood guard behind me, roaring back at the owners of the shining eyes. Shortly after, the roars suddenly stopped, and the various eyes withdrew.
"Don't tell me the same scene is going to repeat itself?" I wondered.
Suddenly, I felt a cold breeze blow through the cave while complete silence descended.
"Handsome guy, just show yourself. I understood what you meant," I shouted at the darkness.
An intense gale blew over as I saw a black silhouette rushing out from the depths of the cave. Suddenly, Nyx stopped making noises. As for Bulu, it became as bright as a blinding, red sun.
"Shit! Something is wrong." My heart thumped.
A massive black creature appeared before me and rammed me into the air. Even as I felt my body soar into the air, I still kept my arms tightly wrapped around Bulu. It felt like an entire century passed as I flew through the air, my perception of time slowing down. I dropped loudly onto the ground. I felt like my bones were going to fall apart. My chest, in particular, was in intense pain.
My vision swam as I took a long while to recover from the pain. I took another look at the creature; a completely black creature was standing before me. Its body was the size of a mountain, completely dominating my sight. Unlike a regular interstellar creature, its head resembled the mythical beast kirin with a pair of massive horns. However, the rest of its body was exactly the same as a regular interstellar creature.
'Damn it! What mutated freak have I encountered this time?' I cursed inwardly.
Due to the intense pain, I couldn't stand up and could only lie on the ground. The black beast slowly approached, studying me with its big red eyes.
"What do you want, you brutish buffalo?" I demanded.
The black beast hesitated slightly when I scolded it. It opened its mouth and roared at me, nearly deafening my ears.
'Looks like this fellow thought I was trying to talk to it. What a boorish method of communication,' I thought inwardly. For the sake of my ears, I shut my mouth in case it tried talking back to me again.
The black beast circled me repeatedly. Perhaps it had sensed that I had not prepared an attack for it, so the red light in its eyes started dimming. Suddenly, it noticed the blood flowing from my forehead. It did something completely unexpected.
It actually licked my face clean of blood. As it licked my face, a strong smell of sulfur assaulted my nostrils. But due to the beast's sheer prowess, I silently accepted its help. Seeing that I was accepting its gesture of goodwill, the black beast was very pleased. It raised its head and roared in joy, and the surrounding interstellar creatures answered the summons and started coming closer.
When creatures of all colors surrounded us, I felt like I was looking into a kaleidoscope. They constantly shrieked as they observed me from a close distance. I was suddenly hit by a realization that this black fellow could very well be Clearsky.
However, my rational mind quickly rejected that conclusion. After all, if that was true, this big fellow would be incredibly old, so old that it did not make any sense. However, the surrounding creatures were showing this beast so much respect that it could only be their ancestor.
Looking at the scene before me, I slowly started to understand what the man in white had said. There was no exit here. This was actually a parallel dimension! To leave, I needed to pass through a tear in time itself.
The discovery caused me to grow excited. Perhaps I was truly facing a life form from tens of billions of years ago, and I had entered a dimension from over tens of billions of years ago. I grew more and more excited as I realized that I was living a historic moment that would forever remain in the history of the league.
In a short while, I fully adapted to my new environment. Despite the pain I was still feeling all over my body, I was already back on my feet, freely stroking the creatures around me. When the other creatures saw how much Clearsky trusted me, they came to accept my touch. Only after a while did I recall that I had an important mission to complete. My thoughts calmed from the excitement as I came to face a serious question. How should I leave?