Chapter 206: The Beginning Of A Nightmare
"Calista."
Akasha turned toward the beautiful Shadow Demon and allowed himself a quiet moment to take her in fully.
Her long black hair fell in smooth waves past her shoulders, framing a face of pale, almost luminous skin.
Two sleek black horns curved upward from her temples, and a pair of dark, bat-like wings rested folded against her back.
Her figure remained petite even after the recent evolution, yet every line of her carried a refined, dangerous grace.
’Well,’ he mused for a moment, ’Now that I really look... that Divine-ranked bloodline, it’s made her... beautiful as hell.’
As the thought flitted through his mind, Calista felt the weight of his gaze and instinctively edged a small step backward, a flicker of uncertainty threading through her thoughts.
’He... he’s not still dwelling on my earlier blunder, is he?’ she wondered, recalling how she had impulsively offered herself to him not so long ago.
Yet, before the worry could truly take hold, Akasha lifted a hand and gave an easy, casual wave.
HUMMMM!!!!
A clean portal of layered purple and white light bloomed into the space beside him, its far side already showing the familiar slopes of Dreamer’s Peak, or more accurately, the expanse of the new Dream Land.
He gave a small shake of his head, as though clearing away a fleeting thought, and offered her a wry smile.
"This portal will show up whenever you will it," he said. "You’re free to do as you like again. And once you finish updating your status... you’ll go through another evolution, one that will upgrade the rank of your star."
He stepped toward the portal with Luna and Yume already moving at his sides.
Just before the threshold swallowed him completely, he gave a quick flick of his wrist, sending a small metallic badge spinning through the air toward Calista.
She snatched it out of the air without thinking, instinct guiding her hands.
"Summon me whenever you need," he called over his shoulder, his tone still light and tinged with that familiar teasing lilt. "But don’t ever waste it on something meaningless."
And just like that, he was gone.
The portal sealed shut behind him with a gentle hum, and the vast library seemed to fall into an even deeper hush.
Calista lingered in the silence, the badge resting cool in her palm, still a little dazed by how quickly he had vanished.
After a moment, she gave a small shake of her head, a wry smile curling at the corners of her mouth.
"I really do need to understand that man better," she murmured.
The smile lingered as she turned and walked toward one of the many zafus scattered across the polished wooden floor.
She settled onto the cushion with practiced ease, already feeling the quiet pull of the knowledge that filled the endless space around her.
"This is almost too convenient," she said softly to herself. "My only task is to acquire everything this library holds."
----
Akasha returned to the high balcony of the treehouse.
The wide projection of the star system still floated in the open air before him, casting soft shifting light across the polished wood and the long cascade of his purple and snow-white hair.
In this moment, he truly took in the changes in his domain.
What had once been called Dreamer’s Peak no longer carried that name.
The entire mountain now existed simply as Dream Land—an immense landmass suspended in the cold void of space, its outer slopes and plateaus stretching outward beneath a barrier that expanded into a perfect sphere, one light-year in every direction.
The barrier did not touch any of the six orbiting worlds directly. Yet, within its vast radius, it had quietly enclosed several distant stars and scattered celestial fragments that now drifted as silent companions to the mountain.
Far beyond the edge of that barrier, a golden shell surrounding Kalpa continued its slow, inevitable cracking, the fractures spreading like delicate veins of light—this was the world barrier Kalpa herself forged.
Closer in, the purple-and-white shield surrounding Noxara, the newly founded Hub of Knowledge, stood firm, clearly an extension of his Domain formed by the creation he had devised.
Luna came up from his right, looping both arms around one of his and resting her head gently on his shoulder.
The gentle weight of her presence settled against him as she began to speak.
"Things are almost close to how you want them, no?"
Akasha released a quiet sigh, the sound barely louder than the thin wind that brushed the edge of the void.
He already suspected her answer, yet he asked anyway.
"Is it truly worth us spending time in this Minor Existence?"
Luna replied without hesitation, her voice calm but carrying an unexpected weight.
"It depends on how you look at it, love," she said, rubbing her head against him.
"Even at the peak of power, you’re still the Ruler of a Pantheon and the Master of two disciples. You might be ready for whatever lies beyond if we left right now, but you need to be sure everyone else is ready too."
Yume leaned in from the opposite side, blue-streaked hair drifting against his other shoulder as she added her own quiet certainty.
"Not only that... Isn’t this Minor Existence ripe for your taking? Master, I think you should use it for preparation for what’s to come."
A chuckle slipped from him as he savored the shared warmth of the two women at his sides. He gave a slight shake of his head.
"You both know I’m no tyrant. I’ve no desire to hop from universe to universe, conquering worlds or causing trouble. I want to enjoy my life... and stay safe."
Behind them, Kalpa stood in silence, seven-colored hair shifting in the high wind.
The simple honesty of his outlook settled over her with unexpected force, leaving a quiet, almost wistful impression in her chest.
Luna and Yume both nodded; they had long understood this part of him.
"Then at least wait until you have a Galaxy Cluster under your influence before you decide to leave,"
Luna advised that, with the knowledge they now had, they realized they were still a long way from accomplishing such a feat, since a galaxy cluster contained at least a hundred galaxies.
Yume’s lips curved into a small smile as she gestured with one hand toward the vast mountain that now surrounded them.
"I agree... besides, you don’t have to become a tyrant either. You already have every tool you need right here. This is the setup you wanted—the ability to grow without ever having to step outside your own domain."
At those words, Akasha’s expression softened into a genuine smile.
Even though he understood all of this, it was still a good thing to have his thoughts expressed in different ways and to genuinely see other perspectives.
"You’re both right. There’s no need for me to be a tyrant," he muttered, as that had never been his intention.
He knew he could easily conquer civilizations, forcing them to bow without hesitation—a method that would be much faster.
It was what he had done on Kalpa, but it was never the life he envisioned for himself.
Being a tyrant brought unnecessary trouble and pointless problems, the kind of burdens Akasha preferred to avoid.
Not out of fear, but simply because it was exhausting to live constantly looking over your shoulder.
He had a much bigger plan and vision for himself.
"I will make Dream Land into what it is meant to be... a true place of Dreams. From the outside it may look like nothing more than a mountain floating in space. Inside, I will ensure it becomes everything else."
As he finished speaking, his smile gradually slipped away.
The purple infinity symbols turning in his eyes began to shift, the intricate patterns dissolving until only two solid points of deep red remained.
When he spoke again, his voice carried a colder, sharper edge.
"It’s time to fuck up some Pantheons."