Origin Seeker

Chapter 284: Protection

Luna and Alice instantly appeared on the other side of the portal, and they looked at their new surroundings. 

There were tall buildings all around, and people rushing down busy streets. All of them were asuras. 

"The Blood Drop Primary World."

Luna mumbled. She obviously had intel on this place, and all the other significant celestial landmarks throughout the universe. Coming here was simple for her.

Then, she turned her head, looking at the building beside her.

"Dream's Armory?"

She was a bit stunned when she saw all the thousands of people flooding in and out of this cubic building. 

Before she could get curious though, she suddenly felt herself shudder. Her soul bond that had been dormant for years was finally strengthened. She could feel Dream on the other side, and immediately knew exactly where he was. Alice felt the same thing.

Without hesitation, both of them jumped into the void, appearing on the planet next to the primary world. Specifically, she appeared in Dream's mechanical city atop the spire. 

Dream sat in his chair, smiling as Luna and Alice appeared before him. 

"Hello, ladies."

He chuckled like a child, a truly bright smile on his face. Luna also smiled lovingly, finally relieved to see her husband after several years. 

Alice directly shot forward, landing in Dream's lap and laying her lips across his. As they kissed, their soul bond was strengthened thousands of times over, directly forming another Divine Sea exclusively for the purpose of their bond. 

When the Sea was finished, Alice pulled back, looking deep into Dream's eyes. Contrary to Dream's grin, she was frowning. 

"...What did you do?"

Alice questioned, immediately seeing Dream's weakness. He had no magical signature, and his Divine Sea of Magic was void of any power. He was a purely physical existence.

Dream scratched his head. Luna noticed the same thing too. 

"Well, I discovered something. Turns out, there are only three dimensions. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. All magic resides in the 3rd, unlike my previous assumption of it being in the 4th. Because of this false assumption, I had to rebuild my comprehension of magic from the ground up."

"With your mind, something like that should happen instantly. No, it wouldn't be necessary in the first place. You would just correct your foundation."

"In normal circumstances, yes. But along with my realization, I've understood that there is a connection between matter and mana rooted in the fabric of reality. Until I find that connection, I can't wield magic."

"The concepts won't allow you to."

Luna suddenly chimed in. She could quickly figure out Dream's dilemma. 

Dream turned to Luna, suddenly standing and walking over to her. When he kissed her as well, the same Divine Sea was formed for her as with Alice, bringing their bond to another level.

When he pulled away, he was a bit baffled. 

"8 concepts, huh? And you're on the verge of becoming a god. Really, I've fallen behind. You too."

Dream turned back to Alice. 

"I can't even sense your root in the 3rd dimension. You're trying to erase your existence, but I worry."

"That I'll truly erase myself from reality?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry."

Alice giggled a bit.

"I can be both alive and dead."

"Let's hope so."

Dream sighed, making his way back to his chair. 

"Anyway, I'm a weakling now. You guys must have heard about the war."

"Yes. I already have a large portion of angelic legions under my command, along with the support of many demigods who want to protect you."

"I see. Vursoid, the spear god, has also pledged to protect me. He said the rest of the asura clans will as well."

"So the Asura Faction is on our side. Good to know."

Luna nodded with a bit of thought. She glanced at Dream, seeing his truly weak existence. Without magic, and especially without arcane transmutation, it simply wasn't possible for him to fight any magical beings. 

But now that she was here, she could protect him. 

"It's a good thing I thought of Melody."

"Took you long enough. I thought of how you guys should find me years ago."

"Hey, I was busy taking over armies and pulling generals under my command. I formed you an army of several trillion angels, none of which are weaker than class 4."

"Well, I was able to build myself an army of trillions of bots, some of which are class 5's."

"...Yea, I noticed that..."

Luna mumbled while turning her head. Even with all her power, she couldn't do what Dream did, and she had seen exactly what he did. It was ridiculous to think he could fight her entire army with manufactured bots. It made all her work seem much less impressive. 

Then again, Dream also knew her powers went far beyond her army. He could feel the depths of her being. She truly was on the verge of becoming a god. She made it seem so easy, and made Dream seem like an idiot who was barely beginning to take over his own concept. 

Who really had the powerful mind now?

Dream shook his head. 

"Well, I have nothing to do except ponder life. Once I crack this secret, I'll be back to how I was. In the meantime, don't go talking to Vursoid or the other asura clans. Just stay back and accumulate."

"Why?"

"Well, neither of us want the war to start yet. And... I have a feeling. Something is searching for me. I feel that if I meet Vursoid, I'll be discovered. I'm not sure why, but I'm trusting my gut on this."

Dream laid out his totally illogical reason, and Luna was slightly shocked. Dream never did things based on gut feelings. He was a logical man, the most pragmatic one there was. So this was new. 

But she went with it. Now more than ever she knew that the concepts could expose their effects in mysterious ways. Dream's Ascendency being formed was one such way. This was another. 

"...Alright. I'll sit tight."

"Thank you. Also, prepare all the worlds under your command to be transported on a moment's notice. When the war does start, things will be easier if all our power is brought together. Moving worlds can also help us when dealing with invasions. Go ahead and study the cage around this planet, and say hello to Tersa, the Terra Core. I'm her master."

"So that's who's locking onto me with every weapon on this planet?"

"Yes!"

Suddenly, Tersa appeared beside Dream. She looked at Luna and Alice warily. And as Dream couldn't even detect magic, he didn't notice how Tersa had focused every megastructure on them as soon as they appeared.

Luna smiled at Tersa.

"Hello, Tersa. I'm Luna, Dream's wife."

Luna held up her hand with that greeting. Tersa looked at her finger, seeing the cosmic ring that radiated Dream's unfathomable aura. 

"...Nice to meet you."

Tersa nodded before looking around. She couldn't find Alice.

Then, she felt a pair of arms hug her from behind. She froze. Although this was her avatar, she felt like Alice had locked onto her soul through this very avatar. 

Alice smiled while poking at Tersa's cheek. 

"You're cute. Dream found himself a good guardian. But it's a shame you're still a secondary world. When will you touch your concept?"

"I-I don't know..."

"Hm, I see."

Alice stroked Tersa's hair. Dream was a bit surprised by her words though. 

"What's this concept you speak of?"

"All Terra Cores are capable of touching upon a single concept built exclusively for them. When they touch that concept, they gain infinite power like demigods. From then on, their world becomes eternal, making them a primary world. It looks like Tersa is still young, but there are enough people on this planet for her to begin touching her concept."

"So the world's population is the prerequisite?"

"In a way..."

Alice's words drifted, causing Luna to chime in. 

"A Terra Core's purpose is to house people, to be the overseer of civilizations. There are about 1.6 trillion people on this planet, and Tersa has the sheer power of a developed secondary world. So technically she should have met the prerequisite."

Luna pondered after scanning the planet. Dream's mechanical city, after two years, had become a bustling metropolis far larger than Earth. Even Earth had become secondary to this city, and over half the planet had been occupied. Along with the expansion of those who migrated here from the 6 thousand asura secondary worlds, the mechanical city had been expanded, and over a third of the planet was now something of a machine world. There were thousands of spires that pierced into space all over Tersa Prime, and every day, the population only grew. 

This was how attractive Dream's planet was to people. At first, many had come for the discount, an effective lure. But now, this planet had become the ultimate hub for economic prosperity, surpassing any single one of the asura primary worlds. The Red Eye clan had also become the heads of this planet, acting as something of a government body. Dream allowed them to do this since it was his recommendation to come here. 

With all these factors, Luna had guessed that Tersa should be on the verge of advancing. But it didn't seem like he had yet. 

Dream pondered. 

"What if I gave her a supply of Dust? That should put her in contact with the concepts."

"An artificial awakening? I don't know, that's extremely dangerous."

"How do you think I touched the concepts?"

"...You're not normal."

Luna was momentarily baffled before shaking her head. Even when she had realized Dust, she hadn't forcefully enlightened herself with it. Not long after her class 5 advancement, she had been pulled up by the concepts, not unlike how Dream was. She earned their approval, and since she already realized Dust, she could begin comprehending them immediately. Dream had only been a class 4 when the concepts acknowledged him, so he had to enlighten himself after the fact. 

Luna knew that things were different for him. It was why she didn't look down on his power despite him being many times weaker than her at his peak. She knew the difficulty of what he was attempting to do. 

Dream shrugged. 

"I think it's worth a try. You should know how to manipulate Dust, right? Well go ahead and help Tersa realize hers. Maybe that will trigger the advancement. Also, I have a massive stockpile of souls in my inventory. Take it if you need more Dust."

"...Alright."

After giving it some thought, she nodded. 

Dream then looked between Luna and Alice. He suddenly smiled. 

"I thank you in advance for your protection. I'm only sorry that I can only supply up to class 5 bots."

"Don't worry about it."

Luna gazed at Dream with a loving smile, walking over and combing his hair. 

"...I can't be here all hours of the day, but Alice can. I'll head back to Heaven and prepare. I'm bringing together all those on our side of the schism. I also plan to make contact with Iris since she's leading a similar effort. I hear she's attempting to overthrow one of the demon kings. I may help her with that."

"Mm. Do what you need. Oh, and if you guys could, go after Asmodeus first."

"Why?"

"My concept, that of Physical Reality. Asmodeus is in it."

"Oh. Then I'll tell her."

Luna nodded. Of course, she would make sure nothing got traced back to Dream. Nobody wanted the war to begin yet. 

After that, Luna spent some more time in the spire before teleporting back. Alice remained by Dream's side. When Luna left, she sat in his lap again. 

"Hey, tell me about your concepts. It'll help me."

"Really?"

Dream was pleasantly surprised. Was she actually asking him to teach her science?

"Well, I'd be happy to! First, let me run you through my Theory of Everything..."

............

.......

In desolate space, on a planet as barren as cracked desert. 

Iris tread along the hard ground in her fox form. She occasionally growled, shaking her head as if flies were buzzing around her head. 

Then, she stopped, looking up at the sky. Luna descended from above. Like she had appeared in front of Dream, she was dressed in a flowing silvery blue dress. The ground below froze, creating a platform of ice for her bare feet to step on. 

Surprisingly, Iris didn't look at her sister with any kind of familial love. She snickered. 

"You've become more and more unbearable, Luna. Please stop looking at me with those beady eyes of yours. It makes me want to eat you."

A hoarse voice came from Iris' mouth, causing Luna to frown. 

"...We've both changed, Iris."

"No, I've only become more genuine. This is who I've always been. You, on the other hand, have forged yourself a truly deceitful mask. What would your people think, your loyal generals, if they knew that you would throw away their lives on a whim for a single man?"

"As if you wouldn't eat all your soldiers for the same reason."

"Oh, but at least they know I would."

Iris cackled a bit more while Luna shook her head. The things she had to do couldn't be done so straightforwardly. That wasn't how a king or queen ruled. But such reasoning wouldn't work with Iris. 

Iris growled at Luna. 

"So, tell me why you've come to my slice of Hell, before I eat you along with this Terra Core."

"I found our husband."

"..."

Iris' eyes widened before narrowing again. 

"That's... news I like to hear."

"He's in the Asura Faction. Those clans are going to protect him. And for his sake, I've come to offer my help to you."

"I don't need your help."

"I don't care. You can't fight the demon kings alone. And you should know that you need to target Asmodeus first."

"Why?"

Iris narrowed her eyes further. 

"You can't know that. If you do, the war will start. None of us can handle that right now."

"...Fine."

Iris gave up, letting out a fiery breath. 

"I'll kill Asmodeus first. And you'll help me. But... this doesn't mean Heaven and Hell will unite. Let me make something very clear to you, sister."

Iris seemed to grow several sizes, towering over Luna and baring her ferocious teeth. 

"We may have our temporary alliances, but make no mistake, I will destroy your armies of Heaven. I'm going to eat all those demons who oppose me as well. And don't think I can't fight two wars. When I'm done, there will be no Heaven or Hell. There will be me and Dream, ruling this universe with impunity. And if you're not careful, you may disappear along with your tasty angels."

Iris licked her teeth, a wave of fire billowing out of her nostrils. The fire washed past Luna. 

It was at that moment though that Iris suddenly stepped back. A snowflake shot past her face, and a thin red line appeared, dripping corrosive blood. 

Luna raised her head a bit. It was then that her aura changed. She was no longer the elegant, humble woman. Now, she stood like a true ruler, like a queen that nothing ould enter the eyes of. Iris growled at that domineering figure that looked down on her like she did to the lowly demons in her army.

"Finally dropped the cutesy act, huh?"

Iris snickered, only to shoot into space the next moment. 

Suddenly, the entire planet below froze. Of course, this wasn't normal freezing. Every atom and every strand of magic was halted in its tracks. Everything in that part of the dimension was frozen in time. 

And Luna stood atop this now frozen wasteland, looking up at Iris in space. 

"Don't get cocky, sister."

Luna's voice turned otherworldly, ringing in Iris' mind. 

"You're not the only one who seeks to take over the universe. All I've seen you do is eat a few demon lords. I have control over those that can kill demon lords. I have control over a primary world! You're naive to even think that you can fight me with your pitiful power. So I'll extend the same warning: Watch yourself, before you get surrounded without even knowing it. Though, you don't have to worry too much. It would devastate Dream if you were to disappear, so you can at least know that you have my protection."

"I don't need your protection, you pompous bitch!"

With her scream, Iris grew to the size of the planet, bearing down on Luna with all her power. 

"There is nothing I can't eat! I'm chewing on concepts! I can even eat gods! Don't you dare threaten me!"

"...You've fallen, sister."

Luna's sigh reached Iris' mind. But Iris knew. It carried little care. Or, at least that's how she saw it. 

"Shut up!"

*Woosh!*

With a roar, Luna felt all the space around her be sucked in by Iris. The chaotic void was exposed, engulfing them along with the planet. 

But Luna wasn't affected. With a single step and shake of the head, she teleported away, returning to Heaven. 

Iris roared out. 

"Just you wait! All will fall by my power! I will reign supreme!"