The Sound of Dawn sailed across the vast ocean under the sunlight.
On the deck, Alka lay in a vine rocking chair constructed from the Sound of Dawn, swaying and basking in the sun.
Feeling the warm sunlight, he pondered something.
Lucelia watched from beside him, transformed into a shrunken doll, and walked around on him.
"That's strange! How did you recover so well?"
Lucelia asked, somewhat curiously.
She continued to observe him while stepping on him.
She had checked on Alka's condition yesterday and knew he needed rest. The broken connection with his body was being repaired, causing the union of soul and body to become unstable.
Alka had indeed been in this state for a long time.
How could he have recovered so unexpectedly after a good night's sleep?
Entering a dream at this time would only worsen his condition.
Could it be another special ability of the Dream King? Even being able to repair something like this is ridiculous.
After all, this is a real-life illness.
Lucillea was a little confused.
This contradicted her research on the soul.
Hearing this, Alka opened his eyes and smiled at Lucelia, who was kneeling on his chest.
"Last night, the Virgin Mary summoned me into her kingdom. After learning a few things, I got better. Maybe I helped with the repairs.
I discovered that the Virgin Mary also has some authority over the realm of the soul."
Upon hearing this, Sofia, who was lying nearby, turned and looked at him in surprise.
"You've entered the Virgin Mary's kingdom again?"
Alka nodded.
He didn't care about the expressions of the others on deck. After all, they had just chatted without concealing their voices, and it easily reached the ears of everyone on board.
"Don't look at me so strangely. I just went to the Divine Kingdom to learn about the current situation across the Vast Sea.
All I can say is that the situation across the Vast Sea is dire, and the gods can't offer much help.
They're fending off even greater threats outside the world."
At this point, Alka sighed, "This world is in imminent danger."
This impending crisis may continue until hundreds of years from now, when it enters a fatal crisis and shatters.
And they must find the problem within those hundred years.
Of course, this is just Alka's conjecture. It could take even longer.
The current situation is that all the crises have fully erupted and manifested.
The impact of the erupting crises is becoming increasingly profound.
"Alas, I wonder what the situation is like with the World Scar now. I wonder what those cults who betrayed the world are up to."
Jason said, leaning against the side of the boat. When they were helping the Church of the Holy Machine, the fatal crisis facing Whiteman Island and the surrounding people disrupted their intelligence systems, preventing them from gathering information on the current situation of the World Scar.
They didn't know the exact situation across the entire Infinite Sea.
But while they didn't know the situation within the World Scar, they knew the rest of the world wasn't doing well either. After all, the power of the gods was affecting it.
Just imagine how even a deity like the Newborn God gained a body with the help of a cult.
I simply couldn't imagine what was happening elsewhere.
The cults that had been active for so long were erupting in unison, disrupting order across the Infinite Sea.
This made the already chaotic world even more chaotic.
"It's a shame. There's no shortcut to collecting the Trial Towers. We have to collect them one by one," Alka sighed, reclining on a recliner.
There was essentially no way to quickly teleport them, or anything like that. Alka had never been to any of these Trial Towers, let alone through dream teleportation.
However, in the process of collecting Trials, Alka and his companions could be said to have circled the Infinite Sea.
It wasn't quite that exaggerated, but it was roughly the idea.
Now, Alka would mark every island he arrived at.
This allowed him to quickly teleport through dreams and his own power.
Once he had completed a small circle around the world to collect Trial Towers, Alka roughly calculated that if he wanted to reach a certain point in the Infinite Sea later, simply by dream teleporting and then reaching his desired destination, the time it would take would not exceed a month.
After all, his circumnavigation wasn't a true circle, but rather a zigzag connection of 12 points, ultimately forming a circle.
The starting point and end point were both World Scars.
"Speaking of which, have you ever been worried about something?" Lucilia suddenly asked, sitting on Alka's chest.
"What's that?"
Juanlu, walking past them, stopped and asked.
"The world was destroyed before because the gods unleashed the demons to wreak havoc. In a sense, they were collaborating, right?"
Hearing Lucilia's powerful words, everyone thought about it and nodded. Indeed.
It's unclear whether they had discussed this or if both parties had a tacit understanding.
But it's certainly true that they collaborated to bring about the world's destruction.
"So, do you think they'll collaborate again now?"
Hearing this,
Jason thought for a moment and said, "Based on what we know, the information we saw in the library, and even the inherited memories of Urulius, we can infer that while the primary culprits for the destruction of the world at the core were the Devouring Mouth and the demons under his command.
But at that time, he was the only powerful demon lord active in this world, right?"
Everyone nodded. At least the information they had now confirmed was true.
"Later, the Devouring Mouth was tricked by the gods. After destroying the world, he didn't reap any benefits, and was only released from his seal a thousand years ago."
This was confirmed information.
"After that, the demons that destroyed the Saranan Empire and attacked the World Scar were no longer led by the Devouring Mouth, but by more demon lords."
This was also what they knew. The current World Scar was previously led by three demon lords.
The Devouring Mouth was at most second in command.
Now, it was even more formidable.
According to the information they had previously learned, there could be as many as six Demon Lords this time, or even more.
"So the gods see an opportunity, but I don't think the Devourer is willing to cooperate with these traitorous gods.
He might even be looking for an opportunity to bring down the gods who caused him to this state."
If they had known that the Devourer had been tricked by the gods into falling from Demon Lord to Demon Lord, they would have known that his hatred for these gods was even deeper than they imagined.
But his becoming a Demon Lord was, in fact, the gods' indulgence in his destruction of the world.
"I don't think these traitorous gods are fools. Even if the Devourer cooperates with them, there will be a deep rift between them."
In short, they are not afraid of cooperation between the two. Even if they do, they might even hinder each other.
And to be honest, their demands are quite different.
The demons want the world to be dragged into the abyss and become part of it.
The gods want this world completely destroyed, leaving nothing behind, with no possibility of reunion.
Both sides have their own agendas, further complicating their already difficult relationship.
What if this world falls into the abyss and is controlled by it, and then in turn affects them? That would be the end of them.
Currently, both sides are essentially targeting the Vast Sea, but when the Vast Sea is truly on the verge of destruction, they will undoubtedly turn against each other.
Therefore, the Vast Sea's destruction is not so easy.
Their current predicament is not as severe as they imagined, and they still have a chance to make a move.
Everyone on the deck chatted freely, their thoughts wandering, about the current state of the world's war.
Alka and the others' casual conversation now focused on improving their strength and providing support. There was no way. Their situation didn't leave much room for other amusing conversations.
Time passed, and the Voice of Dawn sped across the sea.
It was unknown if this was an invisible blessing from the Four Gods.
During their voyage, Alka and his companions rarely encountered anything that would slow their progress.
A constant breeze blew across the sea, and no waves crashed before them.
Even the Voice of Dawn's speed seemed to have inexplicably increased.
These strange phenomena were obvious to all.
They simply accepted them with pleasure.
Even they felt a sense of urgency.
The increased speed offered them no disadvantages.
They were three months away from their destination, where the sixth Trial Tower lay.
And this Trial Tower was firmly in the hands of the Church.
I hope nothing serious will happen this time.
At least Jason, that crow-mouthed man, didn't bring up the matter.
On the deck.
Under the canopy of a large tree.
Everyone sat around a table made of makeshift vines.
On the table sat a long metal box.
This long metal box was exactly the kind of container Alka always used to store treasures.
The long box represented the treasures inside, two in total.
Undoubtedly, these two treasures were Julia and Simon's first scepter-level treasures, respectively.
As the box opened,
The appearance of the two treasures was revealed before everyone.
Based on the appearance of the treasures, everyone instantly recognized which one belonged to whom.
Because its appearance is so recognizable.
One of the treasures is a necklace, and the pendant on the necklace is a dancing musical note.
Just looking at the melodious note, it's clear who the necklace belongs to.
Alka lifted the necklace and handed it to Julia with both hands.
Julia took it steadily and looked at the beautiful note, unable to help but smile.
The note is designed to resemble the undulations of ocean waves, its pale blue color shimmering beautifully in the sunlight.
It's a very beautiful piece of jewelry. While not a work of art, it's certainly beautiful and simple enough.
Sofia stood behind her and placed the necklace around Julia's neck.
The necklace's shape, simple construction, and beautiful color complemented Julia's image perfectly, blending perfectly with her temperament.
Julia took a deep breath, calmed herself, and closed her eyes. Then her magic flowed through her body and into the necklace around her neck, and the pendant, resembling a musical note, seemed to dance in the air.
As the note danced, a wave, visible yet seemingly invisible, began to spread around.
This wave carried a sound.
Even though this sound seemed devoid of any expression, neither music nor words, simply sound.
Yes, this treasure was a pure sound, like a sound wave.
It was a treasure that suited her perfectly, and she quickly mastered it.
This soundless and invisible sound vanished.
Then Julia opened her eyes.
"A treasure that suits me perfectly, yet difficult to control."
Because this treasure represented nothing but pure sound. To unleash the power she desires, she must delve deeply into it, master it, and consider how to integrate it into the system she desires, unleashing the desired function.
All of this requires time and mastery.
This time, Julia simply waved her hand gently.
Her hand stirred the wind.
And under her control, this wind sound became musical notes.
It was as if her casual wave of the hand had rippled invisible strings in the air, creating waves of melodious music.
This music was transformed from the faint, inaudible sound of the wind produced by her hand plucking the air.
This was just the simplest application she could manage.
Then she grasped it with her own hands.
Alka and the others immediately entered a world of silence.
The sound of waves crashing outside.
The sound of a gentle breeze.
Everything vanished. This place had become a silent barrier.
‐‐ These were the most basic deprivations of sound, and integrating sound into it would require Julia's in-depth research.
‐‐With Julia's simple demonstration, everyone gained a general understanding.
‐‐Julia dispelled the barrier.
‐‐Then everyone looked at the remaining treasure inside.
‐‐This treasure was quite interesting.
‐‐It consisted of a total of six cubes.
‐‐What was interesting was that these six cubes were all different sizes.
‐‐But they were all put together.
‐‐Honestly, it looked more like a strange work of art.
‐‐Arka picked it up and handed it to Simon.
‐‐Simon looked at the six cubes, casually attached to each other, in his hand.
‐‐He infused them with his own magic power.
As his magic surged in, the six cubes immediately scattered, connecting to each other like a strange geometry yet repelling each other through the air, spinning haphazardly in the air.
It seemed strangely orderly, even though it was spinning chaotically.
"Huh? How come there's no effect on the surroundings when it's in my hands?" Jason asked curiously after observing it for a moment.
This was a scepter-level artifact, after all. The vibrations generated by its control would undoubtedly bring about some special effects.
Or perhaps some influence on the surroundings.
However, when Simon grasped the artifact in his hands, there was no effect on the surroundings; only the artifact itself spun haphazardly and chaotically.
Hearing this,
Arka smiled.
Then a mechanical object appeared in his hand.
No, it wasn't a mechanical object, but a spliced mechanical structure made of wood.
But it was made purely of wood.
When this object appeared in Alka's hands, the wood inexplicably scattered.
Alka used a coupling structure, so the fixings were extremely secure. Only someone who knew how to disassemble it could dismantle it step by step.
Now, it had simply shattered into pieces.
And these pieces began to fly through the air again.
, becoming as chaotic as the treasure itself.
But within this chaos, it pieced itself together haphazardly, arbitrarily stitching together in a coupling structure Alka had never encountered before. Yet, strangely enough, it all fit together perfectly.
"What is this? I don't understand," Jason said, puzzled.
Even when Alka pulled out an object to demonstrate to him, he still couldn't grasp its power or structure.
Just as he was asking, the treasure fell into Simon's grasp.
The six cubes gathered together, floating in a chaotic yet orderly formation.
And Simon opened his eyes.
"Sure enough, it fits perfectly."
"So, what exactly is the power of your treasure?" Jason asked, his curiosity piqued.
Hearing this, Simon thought for a moment, then found a specific explanation.
"It can probably be roughly understood as decomposition and reassembly."
"Of course, it's not about disassembling something that was originally a single entity, but rather disassembling something that was originally combined.
Then, things that can be combined can be reassembled, like a puzzle."
As he spoke, he waved his hand.
A mechanical object was thrown out.
Under his control, it was instantly disassembled into its individual parts, even a single screw.
Then he swung it around casually.
Under the power of the treasure, these parts reassembled.
But the resulting appearance was completely different from its previous form.
"Like this."
Jason shook his head.
I couldn't see any use for it.
"But I'm curious why the divine essence released by a flesh-and-blood god has nothing to do with flesh and blood?"
Jason asked.
"Because these aren't the artifacts themselves used to build his power, but rather, these two artifacts serve as a vehicle to construct a body.
A god descended into his body. Even those flesh and blood nests we experienced earlier were merely rituals for this god's arrival."
Alka explained nearby.
"Using two scepter-level artifacts to construct a body? That's truly impressive."
"Think about it, after all, that god's power reached the eighth stage upon his emergence.
Even if it was achieved through a ritual, it's still too outrageous. It seems these two artifacts played a significant role in the center."
The others chatted casually.