Vela was quick to show Dream and Melody to a residence within the clan. Dream hadn't expected much, but surprisingly, Vela brought them to an incredibly large mansion.
The mansion was located within the depths of the clan but also far away from anything like the standard clan areas. It was isolated and surrounded by natural landscapes. The size of the clan was easily the size of a large country back on Earth, so finding an empty area wasn't difficult.
After taking them to the residence, she let them be. She had many things to discuss with the clan leaders, and Dream had things he wanted to do himself. So, they parted ways. Though, not before Vela left Dream with some kind of mana device.
The device she left him was a communicator. It used mana signals to send voice or text transmissions across distances. Basically, it was a magic phone. In order to send messages, you needed someone else's contact mark, a special mark specific to the person not unlike a phone number.
Vela left him with her contact mark. After understanding the enchantments behind this magic phone, Dream also left her a contact mark. By now, Vela couldn't be surprised anymore, so she just nodded and left. After she left, Dream crushed the magic phone and broke it apart, analyzing the magical structure. With that, there was nothing more to understand about it. As for not having a magic phone, Dream wasn't worried. He could act as the phone himself. It was a basic magic that he could replicate and improve on a hundred times over. There was no need for a special rock.
With that, Dream turned his attention to Melody. She was in a deep sleep and her soul was recovering. It would take a while, but eventually she would regain all her energy, her soul would heal, and then her maximum energy level would increase. If he just let her be as is, it would take several days. But Dream had ways to accelerate and support the process.
Dream created a few enchantments that filled the bedroom Melody was in. When the enchantments took effect, the entire place was flooded with extremely dense mana. After that, Dream injected some of Aegis's power into the space.
This power began to nourish Melody's soul, supplementing it with energy. There was also a slight restorative effect, but Dream refrained from amplifying this effect too much. She needed to recover by her own power. That would give the best results.
With that, Melody was set to recover. Dream estimated she would be in a deep sleep for a few days time. Because of that, he planned to make good use of this free time. After setting up some more defensive and alarm enchantments, Dream left the residence, flying up to the sky.
Dream knew that the clan was a large place. Still, there was more than enough open space for his use. After finding a large plot of land, Dream hovered a hundred meters over the surface. He could see many exotic trees and plants that radiated mana. Disregarding this, he took out a large sphere from his inventory.
Dream hadn't taken his borg cube with him. This was because there was simply no need to. He could just make another. Dream dropped the large sphere, the sphere disappearing into the plants.
Moments later though, smoke began to rise from the ground. Dream could see all the plants be overtaken by a wave of black liquid material. This material spread through all matter, multiplying endlessly. These were Dream's nanobots.
The nanobots were like gluttonous ants as they not only swallowed up the plants, but the ground. They seeped into the planet, intaking all the dirt and rock as material. Everything was equal, because everything was material. With the nanobots, anything could become everything.
After only a few minutes, the surrounding mile of land became a lifeless zone of black liquid metal. Dream smiled at this before giving a command.
"Rise."
He spoke, and the nanites answered. They began to pile on top of themselves, their elements being constructed at lightning speed. Dirt became metal as a massive construction formed. Dream also helped, his power accelerating the process several times over.
Soon, a large cube was formed. It wasn't as big as the borg cube, but this much was enough. What was left was a giant crater in the planet, but Dream didn't care about this. The planet he was on was massive, much more so than Earth. There was more than enough land to go around.
"I need a few rockets and some ships. We need to place some satellites in space while mapping out the planet. Also, have some independent scout squads go and search for some mana crystal mines. It's fine if they find the ones that this clan uses."
[Understood.]
Sophia responded to Dream's requests. The next moment, the cube below him roared to life. Hundreds of bots and ships were quickly constructed. After that, the ships launched themselves into outer space while the bots formed squadrons and shot off into the distance. There were some bots that burrowed into the ground, digging straight to the core of the planet.
Dream didn't plan to sit by idly though. He hitched a ride with one of his ships as it rocketed into the atmosphere. Within a minute, Dream was able to see a large outline of the planet. Only, he quickly discovered something interesting.
The ship Dream rode on began to rapidly disintegrate under a chaotic mystical power. Dream was surprised as this power hit him as well. Looking around him, he could see powerful currents of mana that rampaged about, like a stormy ocean.
[Well isn't this interesting.]
Sophia commented as Dream reinforced the ship underneath him. He nodded.
"Space really is different here. The space outside the planet is filled with tons of mana that's denser than the mana on the planet itself. This mana is incredibly chaotic though. Anyone class 4 and below would almost instantly die in such an environment. If they were weak, even class 5's would die eventually. This basically prohibits anyone from soaring into space themselves. Even regular material would be obliterated here. If I want to put satellites around this planet, it'll take some powerful enchantments."
Dream spoke as he looked around him. As he rose higher and higher, he found that space was exactly the same as Earth's. It was the same dark void with the same bright stars. He could see the massive planet below him that was bigger than Jupiter, about 120 thousand miles in diameter. However, the invisible currents of raging mana made it impossible for anyone ordinary to traverse this chaotic space. Luckily, Dream wasn't ordinary. He had no trouble resisting these mana currents. He could live up here indefinitely if he wanted.
Eventually, the ship reached its designated height. After gaining enough speed, the ship shuttled around the planet, deploying the satellite. This satellite was just recently enchanted by Dream so it could survive the chaotic space around it. While it wouldn't last forever, it would last long enough to collect the data he needed. Dream watched as the satellite disappeared into its orbit, the powerful camera on it taking countless images of the planet below. That wasn't the only one either. There were a few dozen other ships that Dream quickly enchanted and deployed.
After that though, Dream turned his sights away from the planet. He looked at the massive star that beamed light down upon him. This star was much bigger than Earth's star, and it was deep red in color. After using himself as a telescope and collecting all light in a radius of 100 meters, Dream also discovered several planets in this solar system. These planets were massive but barren, with no signs of life. They were also much farther away from the star. This planetary system was quite a bit larger than Earth's.
The planet Dream was on was the 5th planet in this 6 planet system. There was another planet not far from him, so after thinking for a second, Dream began to shuttle through space toward that planet.
After several hours, Dream arrived. He descended upon the planet that was about 50 thousand miles in diameter, but what he found on this planet surprised him. The planet truly was barren, not unlike the planet Mars or Venus. However, it also had a magical repulsion field like the planet Melody was still on. This magical repulsion field was weaker than the other planet, but it was powerful enough to resist the chaotic space mana outside of it.
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Thinking for a second, Dream suddenly dove into the planet. He put away his mortal shell, becoming purely spiritual. Like this, he was able to fly straight into the planet without digging.
He traveled for only a minute before coming upon the core of the planet. It was here that he discovered a massive sphere of crystal. This crystal looked just like the mana crystals that powered the totem space Melody fought in. However, it was countless times larger and more powerful. This single core was around 6 thousand miles in diameter, only a bit smaller than Earth. Not only that, but Dream could actually sense an aura of life from this core.
"So this is a Terra Core..."
Dream mumbled as he approached. He released his Will, encapsulating a section of the core. Like this, he discovered that this massive mana crystal actually wasn't material. It had no atomic structure. It was purely magical.
"This is the pure manifestation of mana!"
Dream was ecstatic. As mana became denser, its effect on the real world became more pronounced. Dream had only seem mana manifest in the form of magical effects. He had never seen mana actually take shape in the real world. This mana could be touched, yet it was still impervious to physical harm.
Suddenly, Dream thought of something. He searched through his inventory before pulling out a small sphere. This sphere looked almost identical to the mana crystal before him. It was the ball of mana atoms he had created a long while ago.
"When mana becomes dense enough, using flux as the binding agent, it can actually form something like an atom. There are no mana elements, only the single mana atom. But this mana atom is denser than any other form of mana. This mana crystal... it's actually comprised totally of mana atoms. To think such a thing could form naturally... This is amazing!"
Dream gazed between his sphere of mana atoms and the Terra Core. He then dove into a frenzy of research. However, when he began to poke deeper into the Terra Core, he felt his soul shake. A massive power radiated from the Terra Core, washing over him.
At this point, Dream was shocked. That was because what washed over him was Will. Somehow, this Terra Core actually had a Will! This meant it truly did have a soul, a life of its own.
As this Will observed Dream, it didn't carry with it any hostility, only vigilance and curiosity. It also attempted to communicate with Dream, but because it didn't seem to have much knowledge, it didn't have a coherent language. Despite this, Dream was able to pick out meanings within this Will. Using Universal Language that could read the intent of souls, he made out what this thing wanted to say.
"What... are you?"
The Will desired to know what Dream was. It was like a child seeing another person for the first time. Dream was surprised before communicating back.
"I am Dream. I am a person."
"Dream... Person..."
The Terra Core observed him, and Dream observed it. Poking deeper, Dream could sense a massive soul within this Terra Core. It was also a soul beyond a class 4. Its soul wasn't made of soul strings, but a massive core. This was a core of its intelligence, its being.
By all rights, this soul should be intelligent beyond words. However, because it was a barren planet with no life, it had only drifted in nothingness for millions, perhaps billions of years. This soul has basically existed in limbo for its entire life. It has gained no knowledge of its own.
Knowing this, Dream was both excited and worried about communicating with this thing. He knew that its sheer power was unmatched. Dream could be severely injured out should this Terra Core attack him with its power. If he gave it intelligence and knowledge, allowing it to become a sentient being, there was no telling what could happen.
But it was this unknown that excited Dream. At first, Dream only wanted to harvest the Terra Core, bringing it in for study. But now, he discovered that this thing was like a child. An extremely powerful child. It could be raised, molded into whatever Dream wanted. There were countless applications for this Terra Core. Not only that, every other planet in this system had a Terra Core too. They were all like this core here, children that had been locked away in darkness for an eternity. If the planets didn't have Terra Cores, then they would have been obliterated by the chaotic mana around them since it was the Terra Core that produced the magical repulsion field, protecting the planet itself.
Dream thought for a long while. As he thought, he continued to communicate with the Terra Core. This communication was simple and dull. However, after Dream made a decision, he suddenly opened the flood gates.
He formed a data stream. This data stream held countless understandings of what life was, what people were, even what magic was. It held data about languages, relationships, interactions. Dream showed the core what it was and what he was.
All this data covering many aspects of existence were infused into the Terra Core. The Terra Core's intelligence was thrown for a ride as all this knowledge flowed into it. It was forced to process everything Dream sent to it. However, its soul was more than capable of handling this. Within mere minutes, its vast wisdom that had been dormant for millions of years awakened. It began to understand its own existence and the vast universe around it.
However, Dream obviously didn't let it develop randomly. Behind every intelligence was a drive, a motivation for existing. Dream decided to give this Terra Core a purpose. Within the data he sent, he used his power to affect minds and imparted a wonder and love for life. This thing was a planet, and as a planet, it would house entire civilizations upon it. Dream didn't doubt that the Terra Core within the other planet he was on had a vast intelligence that had evolved alongside the civilizations that appeared on it. It had observed the rise and fall of countless people and empires. To ordinary people, it was like a god.
At the least, Dream couldn't have this thing turn hostile, so he urged it toward being peaceful and wondrous. After a few hours, the Terra Core locked in on him and spoke.
"You are Dream, a person from another world. I... am a Terra Core. I am a world!"
Dream could feel the Terra Core shake, as if it had been enlightened. Dream was vigilant as the Terra Core thought of countless things, forming countless associations. There were truly so many things for it to think about.
Eventually though, it came to realize that Dream was the one that awakened it. If it didn't have Dream, then it would have remained nothing but a rock. Dream was the sole being that it knew of, like a benevolent god that granted it the privilege of intelligence. Sure other people existed, but there were none that the Terra Core could communicate with.
"Dream, my god!"
"God? Let's not go that far. Call me your master. I shall guide you."
"My master!"
"That's better."
Dream nodded. He didn't know how to feel about being called a god. It just didn't sit right with him, so instead he became a master.
"Alright, let me think of a name... How about this planet be called Tersa Prime. I'll call you Tersa."
"Tersa. It shall be my name!"
"Mm."
Dream nodded with a smile. Meanwhile, the Terra Core, Tersa, was wild with joy. It had finally been awakened, and now it would be given an identity, a purpose.
And Dream wasn't willing to let this planet remain idle. He rapidly communicated with Tersa.
"Tersa. On this world, I will build the foundation for all my future plans. You will be in charge of it. This will be a world of both life and machine. In the future, I will connect you to another world, the place I come from. You will be at the center of prosperity, never to return to darkness again. Are you willing to follow my plans?"
"Yes, master! My world is yours!"
"Thank you. Then let's get started."
With that, Dream disappeared. He reappeared on the surface of the planet. Then, he dropped another sphere of nanites. The nanites began to spread, multiplying countless times over as they gathered and converted material. Unlike last time though, Dream didn't restrict them. Anything they touched was converted.
"Tersa."
"Master."
Dream called, and the next moment, a figure congealed beside him. This was Tersa who took on form. It was a female form shaped by pure mana, not unlike a spiritual body. The name Dream gave her, Tersa, was derived from Terra. Terra was the goddess of the earth, and thus a female. Over time, as Tersa built her own personality, her form would be further defined. For now, she was still a blank slate.
"Master, what is this?"
Upon appearing, Tersa pointed at the rapidly expanding pool of nanites. Dream explained.
"These are tiny atomic robots capable of synthesizing any element. From them, I will construct infrastructure from which everything else will be built. I will first build a machine world, after which I will terraform this planet into one that can hold life. As for you..."
Dream looked at Tersa.
"Many things here need to be powered by enchantments. I hope that you can take control of the enchanting process, making sure that the mana systems here remain functioning."
"Of course, master. I will ensure that everything here thrives. That is my purpose as the core of a world."
Tersa readily agreed. As the core and intelligence of this world, it was her purpose to cater to the lives of those that lived upon her. She wasn't a normal soul or person. She was a Terra Core. Even without Dream's urging, she had the natural instinct that came from her formation over millions of years to bring prosperity to her world.
Usually, other Terra Cores would have countless civilizations on them. They couldn't side with just one of these civilizations as they would just die over time, so when these groups of people would fight and destroy each other, the Terra Core would maintain a neutral stance, not favoring any side and becoming complacent as nature took its course. The only thing it would be concerned with was the extinction of the peoples upon it, but that would only happen in the most drastic situations.
But Tersa didn't have this problem. There was a singular person, Dream, that she had to serve. There was no conflict, only one direction she had to travel. This was a clear and defined purpose. There wasn't any simpler way for Tersa to fulfill this purpose of hers.
All she had to do was use her power to drive enchantments. These enchantments would transform her world into one of absolute productivity before transforming it once more into a vibrant land of life. These anticipations filled Tersa with euphoria. She was like a mother to this world, and she was now awaiting the day where she would be able to birth and nurture life. In this sense, Dream was the father who was the catalyst for this change.
Of course, Dream didn't know about these thoughts of Tersa's. All he could think about was the grand vision he had for this world. In the future, he wouldn't mind connecting this world with Earth, maybe even merging Tersa with Earth's core. Before then though, this would become his center of production. It would become the foundation he used to elevate himself within the inner universe.