Eternal Freedom's Ascension-Chapter 133: Leaving the Main Island
The sea washed against the shore repeatedly, carrying various sea shells onto the shore.
Kaiser sat up, his expression calm as he remembered the things that had transpired a few hours ago. He picked up the small book by his side, once again opening it and reading the content on its first page.
It was exactly the same, confirming that he hadn’t been dreaming.
"Oh goodness..."
He closed the book, then reopened it. On the second page was a simple rune—Light.
Runic formations were simple, yet complex. They needed a pattern, a medium, and enough essence to activate them. Creating the pattern or weave only required skill, while the medium needed to be compatible with the specific rune.
Kaiser looked around, his gaze falling on the tree he had hidden himself the previous night.
Snapping a branch from it, he carved some intricate, interconnected lines across the branch. It was perfectly identical to the rune formation drawn on the book.
Holding it in his hand, Kaiser poured his essence into the carvings he had made. The marks glowed with soft white light, then went dim.
’It... didn’t work?’
Kaiser blinked.
The next moment, he squinted. The branch became a beacon, flashing a bright white light that shone even under the sun.
"Ah... this is... simple?"
Kaiser suppressed a smirk. Suddenly, the tree branch crumbled to ashes. Kaiser blinked in surprise, then smacked his lips.
"Tch. Just when I thought I got it."
He closed the book, keeping it in his storage relic. Perhaps there were some adjustments he needed to make—the quantity of essence poured into the runes, or the durability of the medium itself. However, he was glad he could at least get it on his first try.
’I should be leaving the island soon. This place is too dangerous for a mere Awakened to linger.’
Holding that line of thought, he prepared to head away from the shore. Suddenly, something lying close to the sea caught his attention.
’Hm? What’s that?’
He tilted his head, filled with curiosity. The shape also looked familiar. As he moved closer to inspect it, he was shocked.
’This... isn’t that the creature from the night?’
There, laying on the shore was a skull. It was small, just like the size of a regular dog’s skull. It could be the skull of any creature. Yet, Kaiser had no doubt that it belonged to the creature that had come ashore last night.
’So instead of successfully hunting a prey in the sea, you were killed. Uninteresting.’
His expression of surprise was replaced by boredom. He casually picked up the skull, then threw it into his storage relic. Perhaps it was out of resentment or vicious glee at seeing it dead, he decided to keep it as a trophy.
"Mehh, whatever."
Shaking his head, he walked away, returning to the mainland of the desert. Although he had no map, there was no issue getting to the edge of the Main Island.
Since the Northern Region was obvious north of the island, then the edge would surely be north. It only took him half a day to arrive at the northern edge of the island.
Looking back into the distance, he saw the Smoke Pillar again. Though, it seemed farther away from him.
As he stared at its thin trail, he remembered the warning in the runic formation manual.
"Never come back into this specific ruin until you’re a Transcendent—never come back."
He turned away, looking at the green vine connecting the island into a smaller one in the fog. Although he was curious about what parts of his memories were sealed, he didn’t really want to know. The scars on his armor and the state of his body when he surfaced from the sea was enough to let him know it definitely wasn’t a pleasant experience.
Even then, he was still displeased that someone could actually have control over his memory. Sighing in his heart, he dismissed the battered Nullweave Carapace. It dissolved into sparks and returned into his crystal core for repair.
To avoid the relic from being completely destroyed, he needed to let it rest and return to peak condition. Also, it would be foolish to let the armor’s whispers distract him while he crossed the Vine. That was surely a death sentence.
Standing in light underclothes, he enjoyed the soft breeze for a while, then summoned the Asura Vest.
The armor manifested onto his body, covering him in its embrace. He rubbed the steel breastplates softly with a nostalgic expression. This was the same armor that stopped Lugh’s spear from completely piercing his heart during his Assessment Quest.
He rolled his shoulders, summoned the Deathstalkers, and latched onto the vine with his legs.
Using the daggers, he dragged himself across the vine. As he entered deeper into the fog, he encountered a few familiar creatures—Sky Wraiths.
Those glassy aerial creatures attacked him stealthily. However, Kaiser was intuitive enough to react in time. He sat up on the vine, slicing the first one apart with his daggers.
[You have slain an...]
The others abandoned caution and continued attacking him, but he efficiently warded them off, even killing a few more. After ensuring they had truly retreated, he continued crawling across the vine.
Sometimes, he would see flashes of light in the darkness below, making him wonder if there were living creatures down there.
’Surely there’d be some, right?’
After all, he had personally witnessed a Fog Predator smacked out of the sky by a tentacle from the void.
Placing such dangerous curiosity at the back of his mind, he continued crossing the Vine. He encountered the Sky Wraiths a few more times, but he barely sustained any injury.
After what felt like hours, he finally arrived on the next island. This one was similar to the first island he had explored, covered by hundreds of withered trees.
This island was quite special. It was connected to the remaining two islands on both ends, and it was also connected to the Shattered Thrones. Essentially, it served as the only island carrying the Western Sky Bridge, and being the end of the Aether Skies.
’One last stretch... and I’m back to Earth.’
He rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck, then stepped into the Withered Forest.
