Sophia looked upon the universe that she had constructed, and the other infinite universes that she had reverse engineered.

With Luna, Iris, and Alice finally in their places, she was uninhibited in her work. What she had barely been able to do so long ago could now be achieved with relative ease.

She was cementing her place as Time itself. She was rebuilding the universe that would soon become no different from the true universe, and by the end of her journey, she would be Time incarnate. She would be omniscient, able to see everything and all, past, present, and future.

But there was still one significant flaw in her omniscient vision.

As Luna and Iris had learned, to become Order and Chaos, one needed to obtain the infinite Source energy known as Origin and Null. However, Order wasn’t an entirely different concept from its constituents, Life and Creation. Nor was Chaos from Annihilation and Death.

In that case, Luna was already Order, just without the ultimate power that Order should wield. And Iris was Chaos, likewise without that Source.

In that case, Sophia, utilizing the power of Luna and Iris, could reverse engineer the universe in its entirety, because there was no longer any concept or law that she didn’t know. She could be perfectly accurate in her virtual reconstruction.

But, there was the tiniest variable that she couldn’t account for.

That which was outside Order and Chaos. And he who had eluded everyone for so long.

The anomaly had finally made his entrance.

And nobody knew about it.

………

……

…

“Hmm… What’s this?”

It was atop a plain of grass that he woke up.

Upon sitting upright and scanning his surroundings with curiosity, the young man was able to find rolling hills of green grass with little patches of forest all around. It seemed so peaceful.

But what bothered the young man was the fact that he didn’t know how he got here. So he stood up.

And when he looked to the sky, he could see a structure that enclosed the sky like a cage.

It surrounded the entire planet. And not only that, there were structures in the sky above that looked like floating cities.

He could see thousands upon thousands of little dots entering and leavin these cities, some enterinig the space beyond, and others flying down toward the ground.

It was busy. There was so much going on up there.

And for a moment, the young man wondered…

“Is there nobody around me?”

He asked that question while turning, scanning to see if there was any sign of life nearby.

And then, he saw it.

A figure that rapidly approached. When it got close enonugh, the young man could finally see what they looked like.

Long red robes with golden embroidery, and a slit on their forehead that could open to become a third eye.

It was a man who had an ancient aura, his mind no doubt containing the experiences of thousands of years, if not more.

“Who might you be?”

That old man approached, stopping in front of the young man with a curious gaze.

The young man tilted his head.

“I’m not sure who I am. My memories are… seemingly nonexistent.”

“Oh? Well, do you remember your name?”

“My name…”

The young man thought for a second, before suddenly smiling.

“Not sure. But my friends call me Dream.”

“Dream? Interesting name. Well Dream, you are currently located within the lands owned by the Asura Queen. I’m afraid that you can’t stay. But then again, I’m not sure how you got here anyway.”

“Neither am I.”

Dream scratched his chin, taking another look around.

Meanwhile, the old man continued to observe him. There were three reasons why the old man didn’t approach with hostility.

First, Dream had appeared suddenly, bypassing every array and barrier that was constructed around this territory. He obviously wasn’t normal, and seeing how he didn’t seem to have any memories, he was showing himself to be a curious anomaly.

Second, Dream was absolutely powerless. Nothing more than a mortal with a nonexistent soul. He contained no power besides the measly chemical energy keeping his body alive. In this world where every single person had some sort of cultivated power, such a person was more abnormal than freakish magical geniuses.

Third, there was no need to worry about any potential danger this anomaly could pose.

The owner of these territories, and the world for that matter, stood at the top of the universe with her strength.

So for this old man, Dream’s appearance was merely an interesting occurrence.

Dream’s gaze rested on the old man.

“So I can’t stay here? Then where should I go?”

“Hm, well, considering that you’re just a mortal, you’ll need to go to a place that will at least give you basic necessities…”

The old man drifted, thinking deeply for a second before suddenly shaking his head.

“You know what? Why don’t I take you in myself? You’re a curious anomaly. I’m interested to see if such an ordinary person has any talent for magic. Come. I’ll take you to a residence and get you set up in our magic academy.”

The old man waved his hand, and suddenly, Dream began to float.

Then, the two shot off into the distance. They cross the wide fields and forests of green, and eventually, Dream could spot something over the horizon.

“Welcome to the Oasis.”

The old man spoke with a smile of pride.

Dream’s eyes went wide.

The capital city of the world, Oasis.

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It was a city of buildings that gradually rose up from the outskirts to peirce into the skies. In the center was a structure that rose into space, its top expanding like a disc to cover an unfathoably vast area.

And around that disc that could rival a continent in size were massive orbital cannons the size of moons.

Dream couldn’t seem to collect himself in front of such mind shattering proportions. He was entirely silent as the old man continued to fly him into that megacity.

“Our academy is one of the best in the universe. We regularly create class 5 asuras, and even class 6’s can be trained in certain numbers with relative predictability. So I’m sure even a pure mortal like you will be able to build yourself given the right help… Dream?”

Suddenly, as the old man was talking, he looked back ini confusion. Then, his eyes bulged.

“Dream? Where are you?”

The old man spun around, even releasing his Will to scout the surroundings. They were already over the outskirts of the city, and tracking down someone with his power should be easy, even amongst trillions of people.

But, miraculously, he couldn’t find Dream.

Instead of panicking though, he rubbed his chin.

“Interesting. Very interesting.”

………

Dream walked along a metal road within the city, gazing at all the colossal sights around him.

The millions of people were also a sight to see. They seemed endless as countless vehicles either drove or flew past at blinding speeds.

Dream walked unceasingly, constantly making his way toward the center of the city.

As he did so, he seemed to have flashbacks.

Within the depths of his mind, Dream came to remember the construction of the massive megastructure in the center of the city. Long ago, it wasn’t nearly as large, instead being more of a space city.

Not only that, but it had been constructed on Earth.

This definitely wasn’t Earth. Or at least, the entirety of the planet wasn’t Earth. Only a small portion of its surface was Earth.

Earth.

His initial home, and the place that he left on that fateful night so long ago.

…How long ago was that?

Dream seemed to vaguely recall more and more, and then, he remembered the beginning of his journey.

His transmigration to another world.

It was there that his rise to power began.

And where he met…

The memories stopped there, the rest of it hidden behind a veil.

However, there was something else that came to him.

Magical attunement. Dream’s mind spontaneously began to churn with the energy of the arcane. It seemed like the universe itself reached out to him.

Mana.

And Runa.

Both of these things came together within him, spawning from the depths of nothingness.

And with their appearance, Dream was allowed to comprehend their function.

Both of these energies gathered atop his palms, bringing stability and ruin to the space they touched.

“Magic, huh?”

Dream shook his hands, as if trying to get the energies off of him like an annoying sticker. In doing so, the energies did indeed disappear, dispersing into the atmosphere.

Good thing too, because after burning those energies for a mere several seconds, Dream now felt like he was exhausted and starving.

Thankfully, technology came to the rescue. Out of nowhere, a little drone came flying up to Dream, parking in front of his face.

“Hello there! It seems to me that you’re hungry and in need of rest. I happen to offer the remedy to your needs! Would you like assistance?”

“Oh? Yes please.”

Dream was surprised for a moment before nodding happily.

“Very well then! My records indicate that you do not have any form of identification, so I have registered one for you. And seeing as how you do not have any monetary currency and are also a mortal with no magical power, I will be providing you with everything free of charge. Consider it a gift from us to a person in need.”

“Really? Thanks!”

“Of course! Now, with your new identification, you have been provided basic accommodations within the city. I have arranged a vehicle to take you there! Please, step inside.”

At that moment, Dream saw a flying car park itself right beside him. He gave a wide smile.

“Awesome!”

After jumping into the car, he was stunned by the incredibly luxurious interior.

The robot also joined him. Then, they took off, heading to these basic accommodations.

The robot faced Dream.

“Now, go ahead and choose what you’d like to eat. We have everything you can ask for, but I’ve featured some delicacies that you might find interesting.”

With that, Dream saw a screen, on which was a menu of every kind of food. He happily scrolled through the list, and chose anything he wanted.

It wasn’t even a minute later that Dream finished choosing. Right as he was finished, the car also arrived, opening to reveal a house.

It was a house atop a building, and although the building was far away from the center of the city, it still gave Dream a miraculous view of the megastructure that rose into space.

And upon walking into the house, he found that, instead of basic, they seemed to provide him with a 5 star hotel!

With floors and walls that were masterfully constructed, furniture without blemish, and accessories to show off the high tech environment, this place had the perfect balance between comfortable and pristine. In fact, it seemed almost too perfect, definitely not basic, but Dream didn’t care.

He entered the house, and after another minute, the food was delivered by the drone that greeted him.

Platters of exotic specialties were laid out on a table, and Dream engorged himself in the wonderfully tasting food.

“If you ever need to dine again, don’t hesitate to give us a call.”

The drone left Dream’s ‘basic’ accommodations with that.

It was an hour later that Dream cleaned off the last plate of food. Once that happened, the plates suddenly sunk into the table’s surface, as if the table were a liquid! They quickly disappeared, off to who knows where.

“Nice tech.”

Dream nodded in approval. Then, he walked out onto the balcony that hung over the edge of the building, overlooking the massive megastructure.

His mind roiled with deep thought as he began to wonder what was going on.

“My life… my memories… What’s going on? This isn’t the era I grew up in. I’m in the future now. There has been a significant passage of time, and I’ve missed out on a lot of it. And…”

Dream looked upward. Not toward the megastructure, and not toward the cage surrounding the planet, but toward the endless void of space.

He could feel something deep within him. Like an itch inside his brain.

Something was going on out there, and there were people that he needed to return to. He could feel it. He could sense the turbulence of the universe.

But he couldn’t remember. His memories were locked behind a seal that he couldn’t simply break.

But he did know one thing.

“If I gain more power, everything will come back to me.”

It was a simple solution, and carrying it out seemed simple as well.

“Magic isn’t so difficult. It just takes lots of energy to use. But I think there’s an easy way to fix that.”

Suddenly, Dream stood from the table, and walked over to one of the many light sources that illuminated the house.

It was a floating light source that drifted near the ceiling, providing a soft but sufficiently bright light. Jumping, Dream snatched it out of the air.

“Hm, its powered somehow.”

Poking out a finger, Dream formed a small blade with Runa. Then, he cut open the lights, digging around inside of them for a power source.

Then, he found it. It was a small module that received wireless power from… somewhere. Either way, it had two prongs that transmitted power and created light.

Dream grabbed these two prongs.

And suddenly, a bolt of electricity shot through him.

“Oh! Tingly!”

With a jerk, Dream quickly adapted to the odd feeling.

Then, he summoned his magic.

The power that seemed to appear from nowhere manifested once more. Mana and runa surged around him, both able to be controlled and changed at will.

This time though, controlling these magical energies didn’t drain him. The reason?

All the electricity that was pumping through his body was somehow giving power to the magic. Instead of just ripping away the chemical energy inside him, the electrical energy supplemented the magic.

And as he controlled the magic, Dream began to feel something within him accumulate.

Looking inward, Dream could see nothing. No soul, no magical power. Within him was just an empty void.

But when he controlled mana and runa, he could see small little specks of mist appear in that void.

Gray Mist.

It continued to accumulate in that void, going from small specks to a small cloud.

Unfortunately…

“Emergency shutoff initiated. Please do not tamper with potentially dangerous electrical items.”

The lights that Dream was zapping himself with suddenly shut down, meaning the mana and runa around him disappeared as well.

“Dammit! Stupid safe technology. I just need a little extra boost! Just to feel something.”

*Zap*

The light flickered once more with his words, sending a jolt through his body. His eyebrow twitched.

“Are you patronizing me? Fine. I’ll find another fuel source. Maybe… gasoline? Hmm, no, I think something a bit less potent would be better. Oh, maybe a car battery! Yes, that’s a good idea.”

With a wide grin on his face, Dream stood and left the house, his new mission to prowl about the city for a source of power.