The man's Hyperion differed enormously in size from Elias', measuring only 278 meters from end to end. Compared to the latter, it was practically short by an entire digit.
However, this was the Hyperion's original scale.
Elias' battleship had only expanded to nearly ten times its original size because of Vill-V's modifications and upgrades.
And just as there was no second Elysia in existence, there was no second Elias in this world either.
Thus, even if one searched every bubble world throughout the entire Sea of Quanta, one would never find another leader of the Flame-Chasers bearing the Signets of [Deliverance] and [Eternity]. Otherwise, the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta would not have been so obsessed with Elias, because he was truly unique.
Although Elias was unique...
The Hyperion clearly was not.
Within the Sea of Quanta, where countless bubble worlds existed, there would inevitably be other Hyperions, as well as captains who were not Elias. This man was clearly one of them.
The man had almost forgotten his own name.
Thus, he called himself the "Ferryman."
He was a man who possessed nothing. Yet if there were anything precious aboard this Hyperion, it would perhaps be the bubble world anchored to it and the large number of Ether Anchors stored within.
"With this, I'll have collected my two hundred and thirty-eighth. But that's still nowhere near enough to achieve my goal. According to my calculations, if I want to create a large bubble world that will never be eroded by the Sea of Quanta, a utopia where everyone can survive, I'll need the Ether Anchors of at least a thousand bubble worlds!"
The Ferryman clenched his fists as he muttered to himself.
He walked toward the Hyperion's storage chamber, where more than a hundred Ether Anchors from bubble worlds were kept. These were all the world Cores he had gathered throughout his journey thus far.
If all these Ether Anchors were combined, they would likely be enough to grant the Ferryman power surpassing that of a Herrscher. Yet power had never been this man's objective.
What he yearned for was a utopia.
What he longed for was an ideal land.
What he wished to create was a paradise!
His homeland was a bubble world on the verge of destruction.
Much like a dream world, the Ferryman's bubble world possessed rules unique to itself.
The rule of his world was that "the sky and ground would continuously draw closer together. There was also an enormous scar in the sky, and at regular intervals, monsters called [Pointers] would emerge from that scar and endlessly destroy the bubble world."
Thus, to save his bubble world, the Ferryman piloted the Hyperion into the Sea of Quanta, hoping to find a way within other bubble worlds to escape the fate of destruction.
Yet through voyage after voyage, exploration after exploration, he found no solution. All he discovered was a cruel truth.
The Ferryman discovered that every world was nothing more than an insignificant bubble, unbearably fragile and liable to shatter at the slightest touch. Under the erosion of the Sea of Quanta, every bubble world was destined for destruction.
Unable to find a way to save his world, the Ferryman could only return to his bubble world and use the power of an Ether Anchor to defeat the monsters known as [Pointers].
In the end, he burned through all the Ether Anchor's energy and forcibly maintained the bubble world's stability, but even that method could only last for seventeen years at most.
Thus, the Ferryman anchored his own bubble world, which had shrunk to one seventy-fourth of its original size due to the erosion of the Sea of Quanta, to the Hyperion.
Then he once again set sail across the Sea of Quanta in search of salvation.
During this period, the Ferryman met many companions.
He and his companions offered aid to every bubble world on the verge of collapse, hoping to save every world they encountered. Yet that wish was far too grand to ever truly realize.
And throughout that process, the Ferryman changed. Failure after failure turned him extreme, fanatical, and cold.
(Simply put, he became completely obsessed...)
As a result, his companions eventually parted ways with him. Now, once again, he was the only person left aboard this Hyperion.
But...
His ideal of saving the world had not changed in the slightest!
Ferryman: "I already have a plan for salvation, but I need an opportunity! An opportunity capable of drawing together the clusters of bubbles in this sea and stirring up towering waves! I will ride those raging waves and send the world back to its eternal homeland~!"
"Before that opportunity arrives, I must make every possible preparation. I need more Ether Anchors! Even if it requires sacrifices beyond counting, if those sacrifices can create an eternally peaceful home, then every one of them will be worth it!"
The Ferryman's plan was to collect hundreds, even thousands, of Ether Anchors and use the cores of countless worlds to maintain the stability of a single world. That way, everyone would have somewhere they could belong.
Looking at the vast number of Ether Anchors inside the storage chamber...
The heart beneath the Ferryman's body burned with fervor.
Not enough. Still nowhere near enough!
These Ether Anchors were not enough to fulfill his lifelong wish!
He needed more! More!
Ferryman: "Fate is like a black hole in the universe, devouring every ray of light. It is merciless and cruel. Within this sea, every world is wretched beyond measure."
"But if fate's ending is destined to be nothing but darkness, then I will become the one and only light! I will become the Ark of Civilization, carrying everyone toward a perfect world!"
The Ferryman swore this oath before the Ether Anchors.
In his eyes, these Ether Anchors were not merely the foundation stones for creating a new world. They were also... tombstones for the old worlds.
After all, removing a bubble world's Ether Anchor would accelerate its collapse within the Sea of Quanta.
And since the Ferryman had collected so many Ether Anchors, the number of bubble worlds that had collapsed because of him was naturally beyond counting.
But...
Ferryman: "No matter how great the price, I will create a perfect new world!"
After reaffirming the conviction in his heart, he returned to the bridge and brought up an observation report.
This Hyperion, which sailed through the Sea of Quanta, had likewise gained the ability to observe bubble worlds through modifications. Recently, however, the Ferryman had observed something strange with it.
Bubble worlds he had originally decided to visit had already vanished without a trace by the time he arrived.
And it had happened more than once.
At first, the Ferryman assumed those bubble worlds had simply failed to withstand the erosion of the Sea of Quanta and collapsed. But after reconsidering, he rejected that possibility. The observational data indicated that those bubble worlds should still have had some time before their collapse.
Moreover, even if a bubble world shattered, traces would remain behind.
It was impossible for one to disappear this completely.
After several more observation attempts and deploying large numbers of monitoring devices throughout the Sea of Quanta, the Ferryman finally discovered why those bubble worlds had vanished... They had been eaten!
Ferryman: "Terrifying. To think a monster capable of devouring bubble worlds has appeared in the Sea of Quanta. I can't imagine how many worlds have already fallen victim to its jaws."
The monitoring device had transmitted only a few seconds of footage.
A colossal creature with nine dragon heads swallowed an entire bubble world in a single bite, after which the monitoring device was destroyed.
After enhancing the footage several times, the Ferryman discovered that the nine-headed chimera was not alone. There was also a blurry white figure whose appearance could not be made out.
"...I need to investigate this."
The Ferryman muttered to himself with a grave expression.
As someone determined to create an ideal land and then save every bubble world in the Sea of Quanta, the person and monster in that footage represented an enormous threat he absolutely could not ignore.
After all... the Ferryman certainly did not want to finally fulfill his lifelong wish and create a flawless bubble world, only for that monster to swallow it in one bite.
But to prevent that, he needed information.
At the very least, he needed to learn the other party's true identity.
And now, that opportunity had arrived.
The Ferryman looked at the Hel bubble world before him.
Of all the worlds he had observed, this was the only bubble world known to have survived the Bubble World Devourer's jaws.
That alone made the Ferryman deeply curious.
In every place he had previously observed where the "Bubble World Devourer" appeared, not a single world had survived. Wherever that terrifying monster went, every bubble world in the area disappeared.
Only this Hel bubble world was an exception!
"Hopefully I can find some information about the Devourer in this bubble world. And while I'm here, I need to recover its Ether Anchor as well."
With that thought, the Ferryman piloted the battleship downward.
However, once the Hyperion landed and the Ferryman opened the hatch to inspect the situation first...
"What the hell?! What kind of bubble world is this?!"
The instant he took a single step out of the hatch, he hurriedly retreated inside.
The Ferryman then equipped himself with a complete life-support system before cautiously leaving the ship again.
Ferryman: (I've exited the ship. I have a bad feeling about this.)
Cold sweat poured down his body as he stared at the bubble world. As a traveler of the Sea of Quanta who had crossed countless bubble worlds, the Ferryman had witnessed innumerable worlds, but... never one with an environment this atrocious. It was virtually indistinguishable from hell itself!
Terrifying supermassive tornadoes rampaged everywhere. Lightning crashed down without pause as though it would never stop. Even the air and vegetation contained trace amounts of toxins, while the nearby sea was completely frozen over.
Even the gravity was several times stronger than that of an ordinary world!
This place could truly only be described as hell on earth!
"I never expected there to be a bubble world with conditions this horrible. Could it be that the Devourer didn't eat this one because the environment is so awful that it thought this world would taste bad?"
The Ferryman shook his head and made a joke.
If possible, he wanted to find someone and ask about the situation. But in a world this terrible, he was not even certain whether any living creatures remained. And if something was still alive here, perhaps it would not be human, but some kind of monster.
And at that moment, the Ferryman saw a monster.
It was a humanoid figure whose entire body was engulfed in flames.
It wailed miserably while somehow remaining alive, as though even as the flames burned away at its body, some other power was continuously healing it.
"What the hell is that?"
The Ferryman immediately assumed a defensive stance, preparing himself for a possible battle. Yet to his surprise...
"Aaaah... Aaaah... The demon... The demon is back... No... Please, don't torture us anymore!"
"Huh?"
The moment the burning figure saw the Hyperion behind the Ferryman, it was scared out of its wits and immediately turned to flee.
The Ferryman was completely baffled. What the hell is going on here?