The Dawn's Voice came to rest beneath a craggy cliff.
Sharp, vertical rocks rose here, and the surrounding underwater reefs were densely packed.
Of course, these obstacles, fatal to other ships, proved no obstacle to the Dawn's Voice.
After zigzagging for a while, it finally came to rest beneath the cliff.
Alka was the only one aboard.
At this moment, a large brown earth sign appeared beside Alka, and he used it on the cliff face in front of him.
Then, the cliff began to crumble, and a large amount of rubble and dirt slid down, staining the seawater a muddy hue.
Then, a perfectly smooth cavern appeared ahead, as if it had been carved by human hands.
The Dawn's Voice slowly sailed into it and stopped there.
Alka left a large mirror on board, stepped into it, and emerged from another mirror.
When he emerged, he was already in the vast underground chamber where he had retrieved the treasure.
The underground chamber had been transformed into their temporary residence; after all, such a prime location was worth using.
In addition to the necessary concealment and protective measures, the construction of this underground chamber must have also employed spells designed to resist the invasion of the Abyss.
In this chamber, the aura of the Abyss could not penetrate at all.
The ruins of the temple above had also been demolished.
The reason they chose this location was primarily because of its excellent location, not far from the seashore, at least barely enough for Alka to reach the shore through the mirror and reach the Sound of Dawn.
The surrounding environment was also particularly pleasant.
Perhaps because of the temple itself, not only was the basement impervious to the aura of the Abyss, but even the surrounding land was also difficult to infiltrate, resulting in a relatively fertile forest.
The Moon Worshipers had built this temple here, naturally considering the nearby winding, clear river.
There was also a damaged water pipe.
If it were just for their own benefit, Alka and his companions wouldn't have stayed here; it would have been more convenient to stay in the city.
The reason they stayed here was to facilitate the Vastva integration process.
Alka and his companions had decided to choose this place as the Vastva's gathering place.
For the time being, it would have been difficult for them to find a better place.
When Alka left the lower chamber and reached the upper level,
It was already a massive camp.
The camp was surrounded by a six-meter-high stone wall, above which extended a two-meter-high wire mesh fence forming a steel grid.
Through the construction of earth cards and various crystal structures, eight watchtowers had appeared, encircling the entire camp.
Various weapons and energy equipment have been brought out.
The first few groups of Touchers have already begun bustling about the camp, constructing rooms using surrounding materials.
Of course, many makeshift tents are also pitched around.
The entire camp seems unusually busy.
Pororo and the others are also helping out. You can see puppet girls wandering around the camp, but it's unclear whether they count as helping.
Observing this, Alka smiled and nodded. Once this camp is repaired, the Vastva people will gradually move out.
They will begin to truly integrate into the world they were once forced to leave.
Of course, there are also Vastva's Holy Grail-level treasures, which have been completely drained of their energy.
With these treasures outside, it shouldn't take long for them to return to their former state, though how long that time will take is unknown.
After all, who could have imagined that the treasures' energy would be drained?
Suddenly, he sensed something and hurried back to his tent, lying on his bed, and drifting off into a dream.
Awakening from his dream.
Shooting away the small animals surrounding him, Alka left his dream bubble and entered the outside world.
As soon as Alka arrived, Hirvi was already waiting nearby. He let Alka sit on his lap and walked all the way to the throne.
Shadow Robe, standing nearby, had been waiting for a long time.
Alka sat on the throne, looking at Shadow Robe and saying, "Tell me, what's the matter? It's rare you've called me in for something."
Usually, it was Alka who would ask Shadow Robe to do something.
Hearing Alka's words, Shadow Robe nodded, bowed slightly, and said, "The Great Serpent King has sent a signal, requesting a meeting with you."
"The Great Serpent King?" Alka asked, somewhat puzzled. He was certain he had never heard of that name.
But since Shadow Robe was relaying this, it was almost certain this was a dream king.
Hearing Alka's doubtful words, Shadow Robe explained, "He's one of the three chairmen of the Council of Kings, and his request for a meeting is very important."
Alka knew about the so-called Council of Kings; he was considered a member. All Dream Kings automatically became members of this council.
Almost no one would refuse.
It was like the governing authority of the dream world, albeit a much more relaxed one.
Periodically, there would be meetings regarding either dreams or reality. Of course, if a council member discovered a serious problem, they could directly request a meeting.
The so-called periodicity referred to the timeframe for these Dream Kings.
500 years at the fastest, 1,000 years at the slowest.
Anyway, Alka found this information quite outrageous.
But on second thought, for a Dream King, a creature with no concept of lifespan, this really wasn't a very long time.
After all, most of the Dream Kings have survived since the Golden Age.
The rebellion of the gods in the real world still hasn't affected the Dream World; it's impossible for the Dream Gods to wreak havoc there.
After all, within the Dream World, the true masters are still the Dream Kings.
The so-called gods are merely gods in the real world who happen to possess some of the characteristics of dreams, and the Dream Kings are willing to share this power.
While dreams are connected to reality, they are also separate. While they do influence each other, the impact is minimal.
Whether there is any passage of reality within dreams is a questionable matter. The only way Alka can sense the passage of time within his dreams is through the ebb and flow of the dream bubbles.
"I accept the meeting request. How long will he take?"
"If you accept, he'll be here immediately."
So soon.
But Alka nodded nonetheless.
Hearing Alka's response, Shadow Robe nodded, then his figure twisted like mist, as if transmitting information.
Soon, Alka sensed changes in the outside world.
His dream was within a mirror, and the entrance was a giant mirror floating within the dream.
At this moment, he sensed a powerful creature waiting outside the mirror, appearing suddenly.
"It seems the king has arrived." With this, Alka rose and floated toward the entrance, Shadow Robe and Hirvi following closely behind.
Despite the mirror blocking his view, Alka could see the king through the entrance.
And the king also saw Alka through the mirror.
As its name suggests, this was a gigantic, snake-like creature formed from white mist, the very same Dream Serpent that Alka had seen before.
Upon hearing the Serpent's name, Alka's mind involuntarily thought of him.
At this moment, he hovered above the entire dream, completely obscuring its surroundings, with only his neck and head hanging down from above.
It remained at its absurdly enormous size.
Alka blinked, now seeming to be able to discern the range of this creature's power.
However, contrary to his expectations, he couldn't fully grasp it.
Its power completely exceeded the limit of Alka's vision, which was the ninth stage. Therefore, the Dream King before him was either at the tenth stage or had already reached a godlike level.
No wonder he was called the Serpent King; it was indeed quite fitting.
Alka passed through the mirror and appeared before the enormous serpent's head. He nodded slightly.
"Your growth has exceeded my expectations, and you've successfully become the King of Dreams."
Hearing the voice lingering in his mind, Alka nodded and said, "Thank you for your help. It's been a long time."
"A long time? Didn't we just meet?"
Hearing the questioning voice in his mind, Alka silently closed his mouth and nodded. Why would he use human time perception to communicate with such a powerful ancient creature?
The Council of the Dream Kings originated in the Golden Age, perhaps even older than that.
To become one of the Council Chairmen, he must have existed from the same time period as the gods, and still survive to this day.
The three Council Chairmen have never been replaced.
In other words, the age of the Dream Serpent before him was beyond certain concepts.
A few years, a dozen years, was but a blink of an eye.
"So, what brings you to me this time?" Alka still had a favorable impression of the Dream Serpent before him.
It could even be said that the source of his stabilization and rapid growth in strength was the help provided by this Dream Serpent.
"As a member of the Dream Kings, you and I are equals.
And as a Dream King, you must place your capital opposite the region you currently occupy."
Upon hearing this, Alka frowned in thought. He knew that a fundamental responsibility of the Dream Kings was to connect their dream kingdoms with reality and stabilize the chaos of reality.
Even his own floating mirror kingdom still had a stabilizing influence on reality.
It was just that his territory was not fixed.
He was currently located in the World Scar. Was the Dream Serpent before him asking him to stabilize the chaos of the World Scar? "Why me?" Alka asked, puzzled.
"My kingdom is only just beginning, and my strength is only at the sixth stage in reality.
Even if I place my capital in the area corresponding to the World Scar, it would be difficult to stabilize such a chaotic region."
Simply put, neither Alka nor his dream kingdom can effectively alleviate the chaos in the World Scar region.
Because Alka has already taken over his dream kingdom and tried it out there, his dream kingdom is mobile after all.
And among Dream Kings, the sixth stage is just a starting point. The Council of Kings is filled with powerful individuals.
Whether it's their own strength or the power of their capitals, they are more capable of stabilizing the chaos in the World Scar than he is.
Hearing this question, the Dream Serpent slowly replied, "We can't. Our kingdom is already established. Otherwise, why would I help you become the King of Dreams and let you devour the remaining fragments?"
"You mean, you helped me last time for this reason?" Alka asked.
The Dream Serpent nodded. "This mission was originally assigned to Mirmi. He's the youngest among us and hasn't even experienced the shattering of reality.
But he failed in the process of devouring the fragments. He was contaminated by the spirits of the real creatures I protected. This is my fault, so I must continue his duties."
Hearing this, Alka gradually understood the situation.
He had known before that the Dream Serpent before him seemed to have signed a contract with the royal family of Southern Cross Island, promising to protect that island.
That was also where Alka had first met him. Later, Mirmi met him and learned from some circumstances that he had indeed sought to devour a fragment of a god, but was instead influenced by the lingering spirit of revenge left by the deceased human who had given him the fragment.
"A demon infected the real creatures I protected, causing our plan to fail.
You mastered the Dream Hunt, a former power of the Gatekeeper. Since you are a real creature, I believe you might be able to master that fragment and become the new King of Dreams."
Faced with Alka's doubts, the dream serpent before him patiently recounted the entire story.
Alka, who had some knowledge of dream creatures, stood there, quietly awaiting the serpent's narration.
Based on his knowledge of dreams, Alka had a rough understanding and asked, "So, to establish your kingdom in a location corresponding to a scar on the world, you need a real-world existence, right?"
After all, that was a special area.
The Gatekeeper is a deity that combines reality and dreams. Mirmi's desire to devour the fragment stems from his desire to obtain a carrier of reality.
That's why Shadow Robe mentioned earlier that Mirmi rarely returns to his kingdom and barely cares about it, as he plans to relocate his capital.
This is all part of the Dream Kings' plan.
They didn't expect the fragment to have been tampered with. Now that I think about it, it makes sense. A mere pirate, a relatively insignificant pirate, possessed a fragment of godhood. How could he possibly use it to corrupt a powerful Dream King?
It suddenly made sense that a demon was behind this.
After all, once a carrier of reality was established, placing the Dream Kingdom on the opposite side of the World Scar would undoubtedly have an impact on the demons.
And as Alka's previous actions against those demons indicate, for demons, death in the Dream Realm is likely permanent, especially for the Dream Kings.
Alka pondered for a moment. This was definitely the way to go, but he needed to figure out how to do it the most rational way.
After a moment's thought, he turned to Shadow Robe and asked, "If I want to expand the Dream Realm to encompass the entire World Scar, how many times will my current realm need to expand?"
Hearing this, Shadow Robe seemed to have anticipated it and said directly, "Your Majesty, 53 times."
"?"
That would require a massive expansion.
After further thought, Alka turned to the white mist snake before him and said bluntly, "Okay, I'll transfer there later, but I need someone to help me clear the Dream Realm corresponding to the World Scar, leaving only the mist creatures.
And I need more mist creatures to come to me, expand my realm, join me, and build more Dream Architecture."
While it wasn't necessary, and expelling them was fine, preserving their purity would be more efficient.
After hearing Alka's request, the voice of the White Mist Snake rang directly in his mind: "No problem, your request
I've already conveyed your request.
Then you can begin your action before the next meeting."
With that, the White Mist Serpent's massive head and the dangling portion of its neck slowly retracted, disappearing before them.
Despite its enormous size, its speed was remarkable.
"Next meeting? When is the next meeting?" Alka asked, turning around.
"In reality, it's 230 years, Your Majesty." "
Arka was speechless upon hearing this. Were they truly creatures from the Dream Realm?
What he had just said meant that he hoped Arka would take action within 230 years.
Time was indeed quite generous.
He simply sat on Hirvi's back, letting Hirvi carry him, wearing the shadow robe, into the realm of dreams. Then, Arka controlled the entire dream realm and headed towards the area corresponding to the World Scar.
Soon, Arka approached the corresponding dream area.
As soon as they arrived, they saw enormous, countless black shadow creatures and light-shadow creatures evacuating the area.
The unique area of the World Scar caused a significant number of these shadow creatures to be present.
These light-shadow and black shadow creatures surged forward like a tide, without any collision or attack. Instead, They continued to leave, with only the mist-like creatures lingering inside.
Furthermore, Alka saw countless more mist-like creatures gathering in their direction.
Although the concept of time was vague for these dream creatures, it was still efficient.
Immediately after agreeing, the message was delivered, and these dream creatures were clearly meticulously carrying out the White Mist Serpent's orders.
Observing this, Alka immediately removed the mirror that had previously been used to isolate the inside from the outside.
The entire Dream Kingdom appeared at the center of the area corresponding to the World Scar, and then the entire kingdom began to bustle with activity. Countless dream creatures began to join the kingdom and expand the capital.
"Your Majesty, I will take my leave. Alka nodded, then patted Hirvi, telling him to get busy.
Alka sat on his throne, observing the surroundings.
Mist-like creatures continued to join his kingdom, and the entire dreamland immediately erupted into a bustling atmosphere, transforming into a construction site.
The previously constructed area in the center remained unaffected, but at the very edge of the distant horizon, as the additions reached, various dream-like devices began to spontaneously construct.
Strange structures, shrouded in white mist and constructed of eerily smooth white metal, rose from the ground.
Even though these dream creatures were numerous and rapidly building, it would still take a long time to cover the entire dreamland.
Alka needed to gradually connect and stabilize himself in this area during this time.
Then he would begin repairing the corresponding reality.