Anom looked at the shaking room wide-eyed. How did she do it? That was the only question on his mind.
Cassana didn't give him time to think further. "Get ready. We're going back. Uh, I mean, I'm going back and you're coming with me."
"Get back? But to where? And what about those people outside? Don't think that I'll carry you out with me." Anom stated, feeling weird as he listened to her.
"Humph! Fool." Cassana gnashed her teeth, but after looking at the stone, she helplessly waved her hand.
Whoosh!
The light screen glowed as it showed images from around the ruin. The exploration team members started panicking as the ruins shook. The team grabbed the scattered tools and started running towards the exit.
"Restore!"
Anom was about to get more surprises. As she finished speaking, or more like giving a command, all the broken pieces of wall and the like started floating. And that was not all!
Anom kept looking at the retreating team. The screen followed them constantly. Suddenly, the team stopped while staring in the direction of the exit.
Anom frowned. As he tried to think about the reason, the team separated into two and ran towards the passage walls.
What was that? When the team parted, something flashed at a high speed. Whatever it was, if it collided with someone, it wouldn't end well.
Just as he turned to Cassana, a sound came from the doorway.
Shuush! Something came crashing towards him, almost scaring him. Fortunately, it stopped a few meters away from him.
Anom found that they were the pieces of the 'big-breasted statue' that he saw in the storage.
"How did they get out of the box? More importantly, WHY THE HELL ARE THEY FLYING?" Anom was at his wits' end. He felt that he was in a dream and would wake up any second now.
"You'll dislocate your jaw; close your mouth." Cassana said to Anom, "Get ready to put the stone in place."
Anom looked at the floating pieces as they moved towards the platform in the middle of the room.
In front of his disbelieving eyes, they assembled together to form a complete statue. Even the broken hand slipped out of his hand and was back in its place. Only the stone in his hand was left. Small pieces of rock and fine particles of dirt gathered at various damaged details, such as the face.
The statue finished its restoration, giving off a gentle glow. Anom kept his eyes on the statue. As soon as the face finished forming, he lost his breath. He had just admitted Cassana was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. But the statue in front of him made him change his mind.
If Cassana's features were those of a fairy, then this statue depicted a goddess. A face filled with all the charm a woman could want, along with her alluring face and the loose dress she was wearing, made her look like a goddess. Her mature features, along with that supple body, posed a fatal attraction to anyone, regardless of gender.
"Forgive me, Mother God. I'll come back soon and receive my punishment." While Anom was lost in the charm of the statue, Cassana put her hands on her sides and gave a deep bow to the statue.
What does she mean? Is she some kind of idiot believer who wants to reunite with God by committing suicide? Wait! She said she'd take me with her. Anom took a step back as he stared at her cautiously. Although she looked like a weak girl, Anom knew that such hard-core believers could get dangerous once they got lost in their faith.
"Why are you standing there like an idiot? Go and put that stone in the hand of the mother god. Arrh, make it quick. I want to go back." Cassana shouted as she stepped forward when she saw Anom not responding to her words.
"Hey, step back! I'll put this thing back. No need to come here." Anom quickly got near the statue and slowly lowered the stone towards the hand. As nothing was making sense anymore, he could only go with the flow.
As soon as the stone touched the flat disk on the stone palm, the vibration of the ruins stopped.
Anom blinked his eyes as he stepped back. Only that he couldn't. His left hand, which was holding the stone, was stuck. He used all his strength to free his hand, only to get disappointed.
"What's happening here? Can you do something about it? Tell your mother god that she's a beauty, but I'm not into statues. Tell her to free my hand." He could only ask Cassana, as she looked like she knew what was happening.
"Shut up! Don't you dare speak about Mother God like that? And you can only free yourself after we get to my world."
"What world? Do you want me to believe that you are from another world? So now we're going to your home world? No thanks! I still have more stealing to do here. I still have many novels that I haven't finished yet. I will remain here, so undo whatever's happened to my hand." Anom was really pissed. Nothing was clear to him anymore.
"I can't. You have to come with me." Cassana shook her head. She knew that the only one who could explain what happened here was her Mother God.
Anom's face was tense for a few moments. He took a deep breath and took out his blade with his right hand. He put it above the wrist of his left hand.
Only this way remains, then. I'll have to develop some one-handed thieving skills now. I don't know where in hell I will end up if I follow her. Anom made up his mind. With a shout, he hacked at his hand while closing his eyes.
Tang!
Huh? He opened his eyes only to find his hand intact. There wasn't even a cut. He tried to poke his wrist with the blade.
Ta! Ta! Tak!
He noticed that it was the barrier that helped him with the traps. The only difference was that now it was covering his body like his clothes. He tried to poke his chest with the blade. And yes, the barrier was still there.
Anom looked at Cassana only to find her looking at him with a smirk.
"Why do you want to stay here so badly? Is it because of your family? Or some last wish you want done? Tell me, maybe I can help." Cassana asked with a smile so annoying that he wanted to beat her up.
Anom stood silent for a while before replying, "I have no attachment here. I just don't want to end up in an unknown world. And why in hell are you asking for my last wish? Are you trying to tell me that there's a chance to die while traveling to another world?"
"Don't worry. It's a good world. We have received very good ratings regarding the operation of our world." Cassana said so proudly. "Besides, the world stone has already protected you with its barrier. I can't even kill you now."
What the hell! She's still thinking about killing me. And what does she mean by good ratings? It's like I'm listening to a food joint employee.
"So what should we do now?" Anom freed his mind of random thoughts and calmed himself. Now that it had come to this, he could only keep up with the flow.
Cassana looked at Anom. More specifically, she was looking at his right hand. "Give me your hand."
"Huh? My hand?"
"Give your hand!" Cassana said so in an arrogant yet embarrassed manner.
"But...why? And what's happening to you? Why are you turning red? Don't die on me. Solve this problem first, at least."
"Shut up. If I want to go back, I have to hold onto the world stone, which is now in your hand. I don't know what will happen if we operate it just like this. So we had better stay close so I can react in case anything goes wrong."
Anom looked at her weirdly before saying, “If so, then you should give me your hand.” He then asked, "Why do I need to give it to you?"
"M-my hand? Yo-You dare hold the hand of an angel?" Cassana grew more embarrassed as the conversation progressed.
"What? You got some contagious disease from another world or something? Then you had better stay away from me."
"YOU! FINE! Here!" Cassana said as she moved her hand towards Anom.
Anom, who was having fun teasing the poor spirit, grabbed her hand.
So soft! He only thought about it lest he make the angel blow up.
"Now what?" he asked.
"Concentrate on the energy of the barrier. That's what connects you to the stone." Cassana explained as she closed her eyes and spoke, "Return!"
The rumbling had already died down. Anom looked around and found the statue giving out a blinding light, forcing him to close his eyes.
All of a sudden, he felt weightless. Like he was floating. He opened his eyes and looked around.
"Whoa!" He could only stare in amazement at the scene around him. He was alone. All around him was darkness, and inside the darkness were dots of light scattered all around him. They looked like stars, but when he looked at some nearby dots, it looked like there was something inside them.
"They are worlds, just like the one you came from."
Anom heard a melodious voice before he was pulled out of the star-studded space.
He looked around and found himself standing in what looked like a garden. The blue sky was clear and looked more perfect than the one he was familiar with. There was no sun. There were trees in one direction; it looked like the entrance to a forest. On another side, there was a lake. Resting under the blue sky, the tranquil lake water invited his tired soul to take a break.Anom turned around. Right in front of him was a stone pathway going straight into the distance. He could only see some mountains in the distance. The peaks of the mountain were especially huge. Anom was sure that even Mount Everest would be dwarfed before them.There was someone in front of him on the pathway. It was Cassana. But right now she was kneeling on the ground and holding her ears.Anom wanted to laugh at her, but he couldn't. His attention was on the person standing in front of her.It was a woman wearing a lilac full-length skirt and a white, full-sleeved, loose top with red flower patterns that was tuc
"The world stone has already served its purpose. All the work after that needs to be done by Yerra herself. That's why she sent me a message to get it back.""Yerra is residing in a separate dimension within your planet. That temple you entered was designed by Yerra to keep the world stone in place. She opened up her dimension to let the temple pass through and reach the junction between the two worlds. As I was busy with something, I sent Cassana to retrieve the world stone. But something happened, which I'm not clear about, that made the temple surface in the physical world just above the surface of the planet. That wouldn't have been an issue either, as the temple had measures of its own to keep it inaccessible and invisible to anyone. But as she is always slacking in her training, she didn't operate the temple competently and made such a flashy appearance." Della shook her head while looking at Cassana, who kept her head low to indicate that she was ashamed of her mistakes.Sudden
It has been two days since he came here. This is a dimension situated just outside the core planet of this world. Every world has a core; it can be a planet, or a god can just treat his or her own dimension as the core. Most of the gods were like Della and Yerra, who attached their dimensions to a planet, thus making it the core planet. Two days ago, Della gave Anom two choices. The first was that he could just become a resident here and enjoy his life as a spirit. The second choice was that he could descend on any planet of his choice in this world. He also found out about the practice or training of comprehending and controlling energy. Their levels might differ, but most of the worlds practices similar methods. It was just like how humans on Earth were advancing their understanding of the world through breakthroughs in science. The creatures treated cultivation as their way of life. Just like the holy novels! This was what Anom thought when he first found out about this. The gee
Della began by explaining, "When you descend to the world down there, you will find yourself overwhelmed by a swarm of energy. As you have grown up in an energy deficient environment, it will be better if you prepare yourself beforehand in case you get harmed by the sudden influx of energy. But don't worry, your soul is powerful enough to withstand that. Just be careful, and you will be fine. Now let me tell you about how you can make use of and exert control over energy." Anom straightened up as he listened to her with full focus. "Any being, whether it is a human, animal, plant, or any other species, starts understanding about energy by observing the impact the energy has on themselves and their environment. Like how hot and cold waves affect the climate, how fire can burn as well as nurture, how water can decide the life and death of mortals by its flow, how gravity works, and many other ways in which energy interacts with a being. To be clear, everything is made up of energy; eve
He got off of her and sat by her side. He kept some distance, afraid that his wild instincts would take over.Anom began telling about his adventures back on Earth as Della listened from the side.About an hour passed, as he had just finished another one of his stories. He was so engrossed while speaking that only now did he notice that, at some point, Della had slid over to him and was resting her head on his thighs.Anom knew how she felt, so he let her continue to rest on his lap. As he was about to start another story, Della looked up and asked, "Anom, am I a bad goddess?"Anom was not sure what she was talking about, so he asked, "What do you mean?""And besides, I don't think you're bad in any way."Della smiled lightly before speaking in a bleak voice, "What I mean is, am I bad for desiring to enjoy the world like mortals do? For wanting to escape my duties and live an ordinary life? For wanting to make new friends and go on adventures with them? For desiring love?"Anom felt h
The world around them moved. They clearly hadn't moved from their position, but the things around them were changing constantly. Anom knew that their souls were connected, and, as Della had a more powerful soul, it felt like they were inside her soul. Her soul was connected to the world, and it felt like he could explore the whole world just by standing there. While Della was focusing on creating an imprint, Anom looked around them. He saw stars moving everywhere. Once in a while, planets of various sizes and colors will pass by. He was instantly fascinated. He looked around like a child who has come to the amusement park for the first time. He saw a blue planet. He kept looking at it for a while, as it reminded him of Earth. Just as he was about to move his sight away, he found his vision expanding as he felt like he was getting closer to that planet. He then realized that, as their souls were connected, he could utilize Della's vision to view any area. He once again focused on
In front of them were two curved pillars rising upward and meeting at the top. It was the Gate. It was able to send people anywhere in the world. Anom was going to use this to leave this place. At the moment, they were standing on top of a small mountain. Anom looked up and saw a structure shining on top of the tallest peak, which, according to Della, was a part of her palace, built on the edge of the cliff. The Gate extended to the full width of the mountain top. Anom looked at this simple structure and wondered how exactly it would teleport him away. "Welcome, Mother Goddess!" A voice was heard as they reached the front of the Gate. They saw a lady standing in front of the Gate, welcoming their arrival. She was tall, almost as tall as Anom. With dark-brown hair, an oval face, and beautiful features. She was wearing a sleeveless black crop top and slim-fit black leggings, enhancing her slender figure. There were some golden symbols drawn on her cloth
Anom found himself surrounded by a turbulent current. All around him was chaos; he didn't even have a way to recognize the direction. Fortunately, he was covered in a formation that led him in a certain direction without the need for him to do anything. This chaotic journey continued for a few moments until Anom felt the formation coming to a stop. His surroundings became clear as he found himself in a large stone hall. The floor covered with colorful tiles was cracked, and the majestic walls with intricate carvings had holes, allowing wild vines to enter and cover the walls. The roof allowed streams of light to pour in from outside. Overall, the hall had an ancient feel to it. All the factors came together to tell the story of its glorious past before its abandonment. Is this what she meant by a peaceful place? Just as Anom was about to walk forward and take a better look at his surroundings, he felt his head spinning and fell to the floor. He felt as if a vacuum within him was be
"Now what?" Selvo suddenly realized that even his newly reached Materialization State was not helping him deal with the powerlessness he was currently feeling.When he first learned that their backer was one of the great families, Selvo was already imagining all the ways he'd enjoy himself freely in the future.But knowing his personality, his father had already warned him to stay within his limits, at least till the whole matter of swallowing the Safaira family was resolved.Although he felt vexed, Selvo knew better than to anger his father. So he decided to stop, or at least tone down, his activities.But one day, as he was roaming across the city, he came across a party of mercenaries. It was like any other party you'd found in Nulis City. Though what attracted his attention to that party was a beautiful girl—one like he had never seen before.She was so charming that Selvo had a hard time believing that he had missed the presence of someone like her in his own city. But he soon co
Knock! Knock! Knock!Anom was roused from his focus as a series of knocks were heard on the door. Closing the book that was in his hands, Anom replied using the gang leader's voice, "Enter."The door opened with a click as a stout man appeared in front of him. It was the same guy who had previously informed him about the invitation from Selvo Handler, the intermediary that the original gang leader had arranged to pass on important messages between the two forces."Leader." The man greeted Anom respectfully before speaking, "Young master Selvo has responded.""Hm." Anom nodded. He then asked, "Where and when?"The intermediary immediately replied, "He's coming here." He added, "Now."Anom was a bit surprised before he muttered, "He seems to be in a hurry.""Yes." The intermediary agreed. He then thought for a moment before adding, "I also felt the same when I went to meet him. He seemed to be in a terrible mood." An expression of fear appeared on his face as he re-counted, "The express
Anom and Kristin arrived back at the place where they had parted ways with the other two. But Nia and Crystal were not back yet. So they could only continue to wait.Kristin tried to relieve her boredom as they waited by reading the book that Anom had bought. But she soon got bored of it too."What are those two taking so long for?" Kristin furrowed her brows. "Don't tell me they encountered some trouble." Her expression turned grim as she looked at Anom and suggested, "Should we go look for them?""No need." Anom replied simply. "The list I gave them was not short; it's only natural for them to take some time." He paused before saying, "As for their safety, although not the best, your friend is still sharp enough to detect most of the dangers. That said, Crystal's not weak either. The two of them will not face much trouble, at least within the city."Kristin calmed down after hearing his words, but continued grumbling in complaint.After they had waited for almost an hour, the two gi
Kristin and Anom were in front of a large, two-story building.Gazing at the display cabinets visible through the glass, Anom realized that it was a bookstore."Let's enter." Kristin motioned for him to follow as she walked through the entrance of the store.A moderate crowd was gathered on the ground floor, consisting mainly of adventurers and mercenaries. Practical experience was necessary, but it was also necessary to gather enough information and know-how before going deep inside the Zeru forest. The place was dangerous as it was; it would simply be fatal for the ill-informed.Kristin seemed to know her way as she led them deeper inside the store. Walking through the rows and rows of shelves, Kristin stopped in front of one.Anom saw her taking out a book with a hard cover. Leafing through the pages, she flipped to a seemingly particular page before dog-earing it at the top."All done!" Pressing it back on the shelf, she turned and smiled. "It was good, right?" she asked. "I learn
Inside, Nia was leaning in her chair, holding a glass of water over the table. Her face was calm, but the water stain on her clothes gave her away.Trying to act calm, she asked Anom, "Are we up?"Anom nodded. "Let me tell you about our first objective before we depart.""I hope we didn't interrupt your meal." Loreana suddenly said as she started acting like the polite host she was; she clearly considered it her responsibility, one that needed special attention, considering that the two girls were an important part of their plan to alleviate their crisis."It's fine." Kristin said as Nia followed up, "We were done anyway."As they all set down, Anom began telling them about the urgent objective that was his priority:"We have to delay, or possibly cancel, the marriage. The Handler family must not be allowed to continue with their plan. Only then will I be able to put my mind at ease and leave for the capital."He looked at Nia and Kristin and asked, "You two are fine with the arrangem
When his eyes opened next, morning was already on its way.Anom looked at the sky through the window; it was gradually brightening up."It's time for action." Anom muttered before heading towards the washroom.After freshening himself up, he straightened his appearance and checked his gear before turning to walk out of the room. Following the stairs, he came down and made his way towards the exit of his quarters.Walking on the paved path that led towards the central region of the Safaira estate. No one beside him was staying in the guest area, so he didn't meet anyone on the way.Anom passed through the garden full of vibrant flowers and turned towards the hallway that led towards Loreana's chamber.He had only walked a short distance on the path when he saw a cute and lively figure walking in his direction."Ah!" Luna paused as she saw Anom appear from behind the corner. "Big Brother Anom!" Exclaiming his name, the cute little maid ran towards him with cheerful steps.Anom opened hi
Seeing Crystal's unsatisfied expression, Anom sat up before leaning over to pull her over to him.Lying down once more, he then made her lay on top of him, her soft bosom resting against his chest."You don't have to worry, Crystal. You'll understand it soon enough." There was a kind smile on his face as he assured her.As Loreana heard his words and looked at his expression, which was in total contrast to the topic, she couldn't help but marvel at how someone could even say that with a straight face.Crystal, who was on top of him, suddenly squirmed. "Anom! Something is poking me in the stomach."Hearing her words, the other two blanked for a moment before Loreana suddenly glared at Anom.Anom himself was stunned. Facing Loreana's warning glare, he smiled wryly.Speedily, he moved his hand to check around his waist before yanking something out of there.It was his sheathed blade. "It was my blade poking her, not the "sword" you were...""Alright, I got it!" Loreana hu
"He informed me about the invitation from the then-head of the Safaira family.I was apprehensive, but then I realized that it was their territory after all. They could have done something to me already if they had meant it.I followed the polite messenger to the Safaira Mansion, suppressing my nervousness.I quickly met the dignified head of the Safaira family, under whose protection I had sought refuge.That was my first meeting with Uncle Gamus. He was in his prime back then, looking every bit like what one would imagine a family head to be.But he didn't intimidate me. One because he didn't want to, and another because I had lived with people much more powerful than him.As I entered the courtyard he had summoned me to, I saw a person tied up to a tree there.It was Bolance. His expression was green and anguished, but he didn't dare to speak as Uncle Gamus gazed at him regularly.To my astonishment, Uncle Gamus apologized to me on behalf of his nephew.Without waiting for me to sa
"I had never drank in my life before that. I had only seen Uncle Benny enjoy some liquor, while Lady Faustina too liked to taste some fruity wine. But they never showed any signs of losing control of their faculties.Maybe I had too much faith in my puny strength, as I decided to take a sip. How bad could it turn out to be?Just the first sip made me want to spit it back out; the burning sensation was only making it harder for me to drink anymore. But I saw that Bolance had also calmed down when he saw me drinking. He raised his glass to show his appreciation for accompanying him. Taking small sips, instead of the large swigs like earlier, he began talking about some business plans and proposals he had prepared. I didn't understand most of what he had said. What I did understand was that it was also related to the reason why he looked so down.As I tried to make sense of how a business related topic might be connected to his broken heart, I also had another problem to deal with.Bolan