Ch61: The Place Beyond The Sky
Darkness.
Then—
light.
Soft green light reflected across clear water. Gentle wind moved through endless grass. The sound of flowing water echoed peacefully nearby.
Alicia slowly regained consciousness.
"…Where…"
Her voice became softer midway.
She froze.
Before her was a beautiful lake. The water was so clear that the sky itself reflected perfectly inside it. Green spiritual particles floated above the lake like glowing stars. Every ripple looked unreal.
Pure.
Calm.
Beyond the lake—
stood a giant tree.
No.
Calling it giant almost felt disrespectful.
The tree was enormous beyond imagination. Its trunk alone looked larger than mountains. Silver and golden leaves glowed softly while countless branches stretched across the sky like rivers of light.
The air around it felt ancient.
Peaceful.
Alive.
Alicia silently stared at everything around her.
The sky itself looked strange.
One side was bright blue with white clouds drifting slowly.
The other side—
was night.
A deep beautiful night sky filled with stars and flowing auroras of green, blue, purple, and silver light. The auroras moved slowly like waves across the heavens.
"…Beautiful…"
Even Alicia herself became stunned.
For a moment—
she completely forgot about the underground cracks.
Forgot about the earthquakes.
Forgot about the Annihilation Ceremony.
Everything here felt too peaceful.
Then—
a voice echoed nearby.
"You like it?"
Alicia immediately became alert.
Near the lake sat a figure beneath the giant tree.
The figure looked human.
Or perhaps humanoid.
Long silver hair flowed behind them while glowing robes moved gently in the wind. Their appearance looked blurry somehow. Like Alicia's mind could not fully understand it.
Alicia thought" Oh My God... who is this beauty? ".
Alicia didn't need to mask anything bcz she was now just a glowing ball of green light.
The figure quietly looked toward the lake.
Not toward Alicia.
Almost like they already knew she was there.
"…Who are you?" Alicia asked cautiously.
The figure stayed silent for a few moments.
Then finally spoke.
"A dead world."
Alicia froze slightly.
"…What?"
The figure slowly raised one hand.
The beautiful lake suddenly rippled.
Images appeared across the water.
A giant world floating in space.
Countless stars surrounding it.
Massive streams of energy flowing between worlds.
Planetary beings communicating through light itself.
Alicia's consciousness trembled.
"…Stars…"
The figure nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"The Stars."
Their voice sounded calm. Ancient.
Not proud.
Not arrogant.
Just… tired.
"This place…" Alicia looked around again. "…What is it?"
"A memory."
The figure answered quietly.
"One of the many worlds belonging to the Stars."
The auroras above them shifted slowly as glowing leaves fell from the giant tree into the lake.
Alicia noticed something strange then.
There were no living creatures here.
No birds.
No beasts.
Nothing.
Only silence.
A lonely silence.
"…This isn't real."
The figure gave a faint smile.
"No."
"It is merely an illusion created from memory."
Alicia became more cautious.
"You still haven't answered my question."
"Who are you?"
The figure finally looked toward her.
Silver eyes met Alicia's glowing spiritual body.
For the first time—
Alicia felt an enormous pressure.
Not killing intent.
Not hostility.
Just the pressure of something ancient.
Something far beyond her current level.
"…I was once a Planet Core."
Alicia's consciousness shook violently.
"What!?"
The figure looked back toward the lake calmly.
"Long ago."
"I was one of the Stars."
"…Not an important one."
"Not a great one."
"Simply… another growing world."
Alicia became silent instantly.
Another Planet Core.
Someone like her.
Then—
the figure continued.
"At Level 45…"
"…my world was destroyed."
The peaceful atmosphere suddenly felt colder.
The lake rippled violently for a moment.
Alicia saw flashes across the water.
Darkness swallowing worlds.
Massive distorted creatures moving through space.
Entire planets collapsing.
One enormous black mouth consuming light itself.
Alicia instinctively trembled.
"…Void Eater…"
The figure nodded slowly.
"A powerful one."
"My world could not survive."
The giant tree above them released glowing leaves continuously into the lake.
Beautiful.
Yet strangely sad.
Alicia stared silently.
"…Then how are you alive?"
"Alive?"
The figure gave a faint laugh.
"I am not alive."
"I merely refused to disappear completely."
The wind became quieter.
"When my world collapsed…"
"…I used every technique I possessed."
"I abandoned almost everything."
"My power."
"My world."
"My future."
"And preserved only a fragment of consciousness."
Alicia suddenly understood.
The underground entity.
The spiritual veins.
The hidden help.
Everything connected together.
"…You were helping me."
The figure did not deny it.
"You awakened much earlier than expected."
Alicia became startled slightly.
"…Expected?"
The figure ignored the question.
Instead—
they looked directly at Alicia.
"Do you know why Planet Cores exist?"
Alicia immediately answered honestly.
"…No."
The figure quietly looked toward the sky filled with auroras.
"For survival."
Alicia frowned slightly.
"Survival?"
The figure nodded.
"The universe is cruel."
"Worlds devour worlds."
"Stars consume weaker Stars."
"Void Eaters consume everything."
"The Annihilation Ceremony…"
"…is merely the beginning."
Alicia's consciousness became heavy.
For the first time—
the ceremony no longer felt like some mysterious system event.
It felt real.
Terrifyingly real.
Then suddenly—
the figure asked quietly:
"Tell me, Alicia."
"If your world faced destruction…"
"…would you sacrifice everything to save even a fragment of it?"
The lake became silent again.
The auroras moved slowly across the heavens.
Alicia did not answer immediately.
Because somehow—
she already knew the answer.
And the figure seemed to know it too.
Far away beyond the illusion—
deep underground—
the Moonlight Fox quietly sat beside the massive crack in silence.
Its silver eyes glowed softly beneath the trembling earth.
Meanwhile—
inside the illusion world—
the ancient former core looked toward Alicia once more.
Then softly said:
"…Welcome to the real universe, little world."