Caelus was flipping through the various historical books Omacido had brought from his home, learning about the past of the Human Empire, which spanned countless planets and star systems.
The stories within were too magnificent and vast to be explained in a few words.
"If you only wanted to get historical books and learn about this planet and the Hive City, you could have asked me directly instead of beating around the bush and corrupting me first."
Perhaps because he possessed power or because his nature had been liberated, Omacido no longer had the stern face he always wore before. He was even leaning against a tree in a rather cavalier manner now.
"To obtain something, you must first give something. For example, to get food you must pay money. To get money you must labor. I observed for the past few days that most nobles would not have that mindset, so I did not approach them. You were the one I saw who was filled with confusion and helplessness. I thought I could make a deal with you, which is why I appeared before you."
"You could have relied entirely on the characteristic of nothingness, that it has no presence, and simply gone to the library to flip through the books."
"There are too many books."
Omacido was silent for a moment, then decided to move past this topic.
"I obtained the power of Nihility from you, but I have not noticed my emotions becoming weaker. In fact, it gives me the feeling that my nature has been liberated. Could it be that as time passes, my emotions will also become weaker?"
"I do not know. I do not know much about the power of nothingness. This power is something I was born with. Of course, I have not been born for long." Caelus looked at the introduction and blueprints of the Hive City while answering and reading the knowledge in the book. "I have two predecessors. One is an existence manifested from a destiny that was observed but not chosen. The other is a Traveler who, like me, traveled through the universe. However, both were very unlucky, falling into the source of nothingness and having the vast majority of their existence consumed, leaving only remnants in their final moments. I am a brand new person born from those remnants."
"Up to now, judging by the age of my current personality, as far as my own perceived time is concerned, I have only been born for seven days."
"That sounds like a tortuous story. But a destiny that was not chosen? Generally speaking, only when the development of events is unsatisfactory and does not meet the observer's goals will it not be chosen."
"Yes. Although I have no past memories, the situation is just like that. I only know that the 'me' who was not chosen was male, and the one who was chosen was female."
"Shouldn't this situation be the other way around?"
"Does such a highly developed civilization like the Empire also believe in that sort of thing?"
"Hard to say, but our family is like that. Only men can be elected as the family head."
The two chatted idly like this until Caelus had learned all the information he wanted. He closed the book, then looked at Omacido, who had been accompanying him, and asked, "What are you going to do next?"
"I will take a ship used by the family for commercial activities to leave this planet, and then embark on my own adventure story."
"Congratulations."
"I hope we meet again in the future. When that time comes, I will definitely tell you the stories of my encounters along this journey. They will be a thousand, no, ten thousand times more exciting than those inexplicable stories of knights and kings."
"The universe is infinitely vast, and I am only stopping here for a while before I leave this universe. By then, the probability of us meeting again will infinitely approach zero."
"This is no time for such wet blanket talk."
"But in the end, it is only close to zero, not completely equal to zero. Just as an unchosen destiny might still lead someone onto a path of their own weaving, miracles can never be predicted, but they truly exist. May we meet again one day in the future. Great adventurer Omacido, I hope your name resounds throughout this galaxy."
Omacido looked at Caelus. At this moment, he no longer had the lazy appearance from when he first accepted Nihility. Instead, he regained the solemnity and refinement of his former noble status. He gave a solemn bow to Caelus.
"May we meet among the stars. A toast to this brilliant galaxy."
"Goodbye."
The two then parted ways, one heading further upward, the other beginning to descend.
A soul once bound by gravity was now free from its shackles. He held his head high, looking at the endless starry sky that symbolized freedom, and a smile once again appeared on his face from the bottom of his heart.
Caelus got into the hovercar he had borrowed. In the upper district, he used the power he had left behind to find the original owner of the car, parked it for him, removed the assimilation of Nihility, and even left some antiques that Omacido had given him before leaving.
This served as payment for borrowing the car.
The merchant, just coming out of his house, froze when he saw the car parked at his doorstep. Then he slapped his forehead. He must have been so busy lately that he forgot to take the car for maintenance. It looked a bit dirty.
The merchant completely forgot that he might have lost his car before and hurriedly ordered a Servant to drive it to the maintenance shop.
The Servant also looked at the car in confusion. Was there a car parked here before? Why did he have no memory of it at all?
Caelus returned to the lower levels. Using the hive city blueprints he had drawn, he searched for the path to the Underhive. Although things must have changed after so many years, areas like the main passages would not have changed too much.
After spending several hours, Caelus finally found the way down. Although it was still sealed and the elevator would not start, he found a passage he could squeeze through and then jumped straight down from there.
Just as he was about to hit the ground, his body suddenly became as light as a feather, and he slowly drifted down. He pushed open the elevator doors and stepped out, finally seeing the sight of this hive city's bottom layer.
How should he describe it?
As soon as he opened the door, he saw a crowd of people with pinkish flesh, looking as if their internal muscles had been turned inside out. They were kneeling on the ground, praying to an unknown statue. A pink mist drifted through the air, clearly thick yet not obstructing vision.
The praying crowd did not notice that the previously sealed elevator doors had been opened, nor that someone was standing there watching them.
They simply knelt on the ground, praying continuously and chanting strange incantations.
Then the pink mist grew heavier, and the expressions of those kneeling became increasingly fanatical.
Then, accompanied by a surge of unknown energy, Caelus saw an illusory gate open. From that illusory gate stepped a purple figure with four arms, long horns on its head, and androgynous sexual characteristics.
The believers kneeling on the ground became even more fanatical.
[Stage one of the main quest is complete. Stage two has begun.]
[Main quest stage two objective: Purge all contamination in the Underhive.]
[Quest reward: One spin on the System Grand Lotto Wheel.]
Caelus glanced at his quest, then looked at the bizarre androgynous daemon. The power of Nihility surged in his hand, forming the shape of the Night Practice he had used in the previous world.
This task was much simpler.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)