Free Web NovelChapter 109: Sleeping Beauty
Evan shot through the inner areas of the forest like a raging storm, and as he did, he left behind a long trail of corpses of every kind and species.
At this point, he no longer knew how many beasts he had killed. Most of them had been relatively weak, with only a few exceptions that he managed to eliminate after a few seconds of combat, ultimately earning an amount of ESS that had already surpassed 100,000.
Evan used Life Force to double his ESS gains, but his clones didn’t do the same. After finishing their battles, they left Shadow’s summons to take care of collecting the beasts’ cores.
And so, in little more than ten minutes, he had slaughtered a large portion of the beasts that made up the beast tide.
’It seems those stronger ones, unlike the others, are also moving deeper into the forest,’ he thought after encountering several C-Rank beasts that, although clearly on alert, seemed drawn toward something within the forest.
Naturally, Evan took the time to eliminate a few of them, but he didn’t linger for long. In the end, his objective right now was to figure out what was happening.
Just as he was approaching what he believed to be the source of the disturbance, he heard a loud rumble from ahead, followed by a massive pillar of light shooting into the sky from somewhere deeper within the forest.
"Now, what the hell is that thing?" he muttered, surprised by what he was seeing.
Judging by the direction it had appeared from, he realized it was coming from the same place he was heading toward. The problem was that he had no idea what exactly he was looking at.
’Things are getting more complicated here... maybe I should retreat?’ he wondered, questioning whether it was worth going any further.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a powerful sense of danger washed over him, and before he could even move a muscle, the space around him trembled.
[Ding! Space has become unstable.]
[Warning! The spatial fabric has been compromised.]
[Ding! ...]
A series of notifications suddenly rang out in his mind, but he had no time to pay attention to them because in the very next moment, a crack appeared before him.
Before he could even attempt to flee, a powerful suction force emerged from within it and dragged him inside.
His vision darkened, and the last thing he remembered were white feathers, followed by the sensation of something soft embracing him.
***
The phenomenon struck various locations across the continent, paying no attention to who or what was caught within the dimensional cracks.
Humans, beasts, objects, it didn’t matter. Everything was randomly swallowed by these spatial fractures.
Evangeline, who had already reached the skies above the forest, witnessed the center of the phenomenon with her own eyes and couldn’t help narrowing her eyes slightly.
"Strange. Without a creature of death, that thing shouldn’t be able to activate, should it?" she murmured, confused herself.
She knew what it was.
And precisely because she knew what it was, she also knew it shouldn’t have been possible for it to activate.
She had already sensed the changes taking place throughout the continent and could feel the laws of space descending into madness.
Even she was affected by it, but thanks to her overwhelming strength, she could suppress the spatial fluctuations around her.
That said, she had already noticed that doing so was becoming increasingly difficult even for her, something that shouldn’t have been possible given her strength.
She wondered whether she should intervene and investigate exactly what was happening or simply avoid the area altogether.
Unlike her, however, those who had been swallowed by the fractures had no choice, and before long the various human kingdoms began taking action to suppress the incidents.
In the royal capital of Solren, within the grand council chamber where the six kings convened through their avatars, the atmosphere was anything but calm.
"I assume you’re all facing the same problem in your kingdoms," said King Rowan, his avatar’s expression unreadable.
"Yes," Iris replied, her tone flat. The avatar she maintained here burned faintly at the edges, the heat of her SS-Rank presence barely contained within the chamber. "And it’s clear this isn’t limited to our kingdoms alone. According to the reports, the phenomenon is also appearing in other parts of the continent"
The six of them had sensed it simultaneously, a pulse that radiated outward from multiple points across the continent at once, tearing small holes in the spatial fabric wherever it touched.
Reports were already flooding in from every direction, and by now the situation was known to all of them.
The only thing left to discover was what exactly was causing this phenomenon.
"Does anyone have any idea what it is?" one of the other kings asked.
No one answered.
That silence alone told everyone present that they were just as clueless as the others.
"It’s not a spell," said another king. "No caster alive could produce something like this across an entire continent simultaneously. This is something else."
Rowan’s avatar remained silent for a moment.
"According to the reports, the phenomenon started after those pillars of light appeared across various parts of the continent. Perhaps we can find the cause there?"
"Perhaps, but can we really afford to investigate them personally? I’m sure you’ve all already sensed the force behind these rifts," said Iris, the strongest among them.
Like everyone else present, she had initially considered investigating the pillar closest to her kingdom.
However, she had quickly realized that the spatial fluctuations surrounding them were far too violent. If she attempted to approach one regardless, there was a very real possibility she would end up trapped inside one of those fractures.
No one knew what existed beyond them, assuming there was anything there at all.
The risk was simply too great.
Silence fell over the chamber once more as none of them knew what to do.
Eventually, Rowan spoke.
"For now, let’s focus on limiting the damage. We’ll think about the rest later."
The others nodded.
"I’m sure all of you possess formations capable of sealing space. Gather as many formation specialists as possible and let’s see if we can suppress the phenomenon, at least in certain areas."
With that, everyone dismissed their avatars and returned to their respective kingdoms, immediately beginning to mobilize their forces.
The order went out immediately.
Across the capital and the major cities of every kingdom, awakeners specializing in spatial artefacts and spatial formation arrays were mobilized, the best available, pulled from academies, guilds, and even powerful noble families. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
Formation arrays were erected at the sites of the worst disturbances, anchoring the spatial fabric before the rifts could widen further. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
It was precise, coordinated work, the kind that only centuries of accumulated knowledge could produce.
An entire day was required just to assemble everything before they could even begin activating the formations.
Yet just as the final preparations were being completed and the first tests were about to begin, the spatial fluctuations suddenly disappeared.
No more random spatial fractures.
No more disappearances.
No more pillars of light.
Everything calmed down without warning, just as suddenly as it had begun.
Once again, the kingdoms were left speechless.
None of them knew whether this was a good sign...
Or a sign that something even worse was about to happen.
In a distant and forgotten place, a snowstorm raged endlessly, making it impossible to see the geography of the land.
The only thing that could be seen, whether near or far, was white.
Endless layers of snow stretched in every direction.
Amidst this strange place stood a cave.
Unlike the chaotic environment outside, however, nothing of the sort existed within.
The interior was silent and empty, as if no living soul inhabited it.
Yet someone was there.
Deep within the innermost part of it, a young man lay unconscious upon the frozen ground.
He was young in appearance, taller than average, dressed in light adventurer’s gear.
He was alive, and this could be told from the cold air that formed each time he exhaled.
His expression was tense, as if he were fighting off a nightmare. This continued for an indeterminate time before his eyebrows began to move, and then his eyes slowly started to open.
"What happened to me?" Evan muttered as he came back to his senses. He felt his body a little sore, as if he had done forced labor all day and now, in the evening, his body refused to make any more effort. His mind was a bit confused as he tried to piece together what had happened.
The last thing he remembered was being sucked in by a spatial crack before passing out.
He saw the ceiling of the cave, realizing it seemed to be made of ice, and he frowned.
"Where on earth am I? Hey, Bruce, do you know what happened to me?" he asked, recalling the system messages he had received just before the crack opened.
A few seconds passed, but he received no response.
’Hm? Are you there? Why aren’t you answering?’ he tried to communicate again, but still received no reply.
The thing confused him, and for some reason he felt a strange sense of unease creeping in.
He immediately opened the system screen, and as soon as he did, it appeared.
Seeing it, he let out a sigh of relief, but if the system was here, why wasn’t Bruce responding?
He sat up on the ground, trying to understand what was happening and why his dear longtime friend had suddenly decided to go silent out of nowhere.
Just as he was wondering what to do, a voice suddenly echoed out of nowhere, interrupting his thoughts.
"I see Sleeping Beauty has finally decided to wake up."
