The 8 Great Regions and Dark Continent fade away from my perception, but the real-time memories of my doubles are still being relayed to me, and I can swap places with one anytime I'd like.
The progress on harvesting the Apex Region's mana has moved along quite nicely. By the time I have my meeting with the Regional Directors and powerful hunters in the morning, it should be complete and ready for use.
Even though I know Raven is near me in the sky, it's still quite fascinating that I don't sense a thing.
She vaguely described how her ability worked, revealing that when she activates her divine-grade stealth skill and tethers it with her true core's innate ability, she finds herself in a flow state between existing and not.
Physical contact and extremely close proximity are the only things that negate her power.
While she can stab an enemy through the heart while fully in stealth mode, it won't do any damage until she comes back to this physical plane.
While this is more than enough to kill anyone at her strength level or lower without them even knowing they've been stabbed, the big three have a power gap so large, they can feel her presence when she's within a very close proximity of their auras; a few meters would set off the mental alarms.
If I didn't have my purple barrier to trigger my perception when her silver blades were close to cutting me, I would never have been able to perceive her presence.
However, now that she is connected to me through a link of loyalty, I am capable of zeroing in on her general location with the geo-points my Rising Emperor's domain interface grants. Along with that, even while she's in her stealth mode, the instant long-range telepathy perk I have through the interface grants me an open speaking channel even if my perception can't pick her up in the physical world around me.
As the near endless forest of thick trees below us starts to turn into a more mountainous and rocky landscape, I realize something isn't quite right and raise a question.
"These aren't real mountains... Did someone make them?"
My perception is dampened, as to not send out any abnormal waves of divine energy into the atmosphere, but even now as we fly over them, I can sense that something is off using just my mana senses.
It feels like these massive pyramids of stone stretch for hundreds of kilometers in front of us and thousands of kilometers north and south to form a border between the sea and the land that leads to the 8 Great Regions and beyond to the east.
I know earth summoning well, as it's a skill I use often, but this massive scale of use seems unbelievable. Many labyrinths' worth of mana must have been used to create such a mountain range.
At the outer edges of my radar to the north, I sense these same mountains made completely of ice, and it feels like they're mostly made of mana as well.
To the south, the mountain range curves east and leads down to Raven's volcanic territory, but those mountains and landmarks are far smaller and more natural. This phenomenon has me stumped until Raven replies.
"You're right. These mountains aren't real. However, they've been around for as long as I can remember. Apparently, they were created in the Great War. Elara's kingdom used to be to the north, and Beckman ruled where we're flying over now... It's the residual aftermath of a battle fought long ago. Believe it or not, the divide used to be far larger; most of the mana has already dissolved back into the atmosphere."
I don't respond for a moment, thinking over her words, imagining the large-scale fight that must have taken place to create such a massive change in the landscape of the world...
Raven continues talking through our link as my mind wanders.
"To the southeast, it's rumored Redgrave won a battle where my territory and the Dark Continent stand today. Old maps show that the sandy wasteland you've built your city in wasn't always that way. It used to be far more full of life, and the volcanoes in my region that never go out used to be nothing but mountains 50 years ago..."
My mind wanders more, as pieces of the world puzzle click together.
Back in school, they never taught us much of anything outside of the 8 Great Regions, and commonfolk never had the means to travel elsewhere. There was always talk of other nations in the world, and other stronger hunters rumored in the news; but I'm seeing it all for real now.
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I respond to Raven.
"So you mentioned before that the throne appearing is what started this war... but what stopped it?"
She responds.
"I was too young back then to know what the truth really was. It must have been more than the throne. Powerful nations grew out of nothing after 30 years of profitable dungeon diving. The whole world was on edge, with superpowers rising and falling left and right. A war like that was bound to happen, and the high-ranking members of the Order must have had a falling out when the throne showed itself, and it was a catalyst for it all... Who knows, maybe there were more than just three world leaders back then. History is re-written by the victors."
My curiosity isn't yet satiated, as I still have a feeling demons and dragons played a massive role in this war, and still have a finger on the pulse of this world now.
The fact that Celia's memories show world after world being destroyed and taken over by demons before her eyes is still burned into my consciousness. She was a purple-cored entity witnessing these catastrophes, which makes me believe that no matter how strong the powers of a world may be, demons must have dominating mana rich planets down to a science. There is something I'm still not understanding in all of this.
Despite this nagging feeling, Raven has given me some valuable information here about the big three.
"Makes sense... So Elara is an ice user, and Beckman uses earth magic... What about the island nation we're visiting now? Who are the Order members that stay there, and what are their abilities?"
Raven takes a moment to respond, but finally does; and at the same time on the horizon through the dead of night, the mountains finally end and a vast sea begins.
"Elara and Beckman are multi-skill users... So is Redgrave... I don't know the full extent of their power; they never reveal it. For all I know, they aren't element users at all. This world is their playground, and every time I see them, it's like they're living out a long, elaborate act... You have to remember, they've been in power before I was even alive. They are ruthless killers and meticulous planners. We think in days, weeks, months, maybe even years. They think in centuries, and have thought of every possibility many times over..."
Her response hits my consciousness, and the seriousness in her tone makes me fly in silence for a full minute before we reach the sea and continue to fly deep into the ocean under the night sky.
She responds to the next half of my question after letting me conceptualize her words.
"As for the island nation, its two rulers are husband and wife. They're both water wielders, yellow cores near the strength of Mr. Freeman. The nation they rule is known as the Kingdom of Palmyra. If we visit in these stealth forms just to survey the main city, there will not be a problem. I don't recommend we visit any of the finger cities; there aren't usually any citizens present on those. They're all Association-run."
I raise an eyebrow and respond as the mountains disappear behind us.
"The finger cities? What do you mean...?"
Raven chuckles through our link.
"You'll see."
Another hour passes as we soar through the air over the endless ocean.
Finally, a shining bright light appears in my vision through the darkness.
It appears to be a few kilometers above sea level, and about 70,000 individual systems register on my enemy detection radar as well.
A good amount of dungeons and a single labyrinth reach my senses too. I mentally map out the large city, it is near the size of Solara, but far more densely packed with strong hunters.
There are a few dozen B-Class hunters that touch my perception, and even a handful of A-Class hunters too. One of which, I can feel gravity bending around him, and a red tint in my mind makes me believe this is a red-core holder on the island.
My perception seeps deeper into the city the closer we get, and the more of my power I can use without bursting through my stealth disguise.
I sense five smaller islands in a curved pattern around the back of the island, however, they are also floating above sea level.
At this distance, it's hard to fully make sense of what I'm feeling in my mind's eye.
It's as if one large island, about 60 km wide, and five smaller islands ranging from 2–3 km wide, are all floating above the sea.
There's an empty void below them that appears to be holding them up above the water.
It isn't until we arrive, and I get a view of the island up close with the city lights illuminating the night, that I see it for what it is...
A massive black hand, that looks like it was taken off a statue of a giant as large as the world, sticks up and out of the sea.
On its palm, a fully functioning city rests, with modern skyscrapers, roadways, shopping centers, apartments, housing, dungeon gates, and trade markets.
There's a thick layer of earth that rests above the pitch-black hand, allowing for parks, lawns of bright green grass, and small forests to flourish.
Atop the five fingers of the island, smaller cities stand, and these house many of the stronger hunters.
On the largest of what Raven referred to as the finger cities, the thumb, I can finally sense the presence of two dense yellow wells of gravity within a guarded mansion. It is an estate with nature, walkways, resorts, and many high-grade mana-shielded facilities. One of the most protected facilities on this island has a dense labyrinth portal within it.
On the other four fingers, there are Association-branded buildings with training centers, high-grade dungeons, and housing for many D, C, and B-Class Association hunters.
My gaze scans the entire city many times over as we get closer and closer, then eventually float down to touch down on the outer edge of the city together under the darkness of a well-maintained public park.
As my feet touch the ground, the realization of why the black stone of the hand is completely invisible hits me.
The entire base of this island is an originator artifact. It's completely made of the same black material as the pillar reaching up to the sky in the middle of the Dark Continent.