When Varian stepped into Hortus, it was beyond recognition.
Human Empire had just spent 20 years developing rapidly after the end of a century-long war.
It was prosperous, hopeful and joyful.
The old were spending the last phase of their life in peace, knowing that their descendants wouldn't have to face the horrors of war.
The ones in their prime heaved a sigh of relief whenever they remembered their scary childhood, thankful they wouldn't have to be conscripted one day and die in a distant planetoid.
The young, however, dismissed the concerns of their elders as exaggerations.
While they still held awe for the wars from the footages they experienced in 5D format, they did could not grasp the degree of danger.
After all, how could they?
Now a days, even some geniuses in academy reached the Sovereign state. To think it's this level that decided the fate of humanity?
'Come on, give it a break!'
It was a sweet naivety.
One that Varian hoped the kids eventually come out of but didn't mind as much.
It was a sweet naivety.
One that Varian hoped the kids eventually come out of but didn't mind as much.
After all, if the children of a race were naive and oblivious to the horrors of war, wouldn't that mean that they lived in such blissful peace?
Varian was happy for creating that peace.
He was hap—
Boom!
An explosion in the sky scattered the clouds and engulfed a floating urban town.
Debris shot out in all directions. Bits of wood and metal, coated with blood and containing bits of flesh fell in front of him.
Varian bent down and picked up a splinter of wood.
A single splinter of wood with a drop of blood.
It was heavy.
Heavier than a thousand suns he could throw for baseball.
It was cold.
Colder than the near absolute zero he could survive.
It was bloody.
Bloodier than the ocean of blood he witnessed until now.
Varian trembled, like he was shivering in bone-chilling cold. A lump seemed to be struck in his throat. And his eyes turned red.
But it all lasted for a brieft moment.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The supreme senses of a pseudo divine captured the explosions ringing far away in the vast world of Hortus.
And he also sensed the lives that were cut off at every single second, every single attack and every single field.
"Haaa~"
Varian's fists loosened and his shoulders slumped.
Remaining completely invisible to the detection systems and patrolling soldiers, Varian moved toward the nearest city.
The outskirts of the city were desolate. To make the matters worse, they were infested with mutated monsters whose life code seemed to be severely tampered.
Youngsters and adults, forming teams based on their own criterion, hunted in the outskirts, collecting herbs, ores and monster meat.
And they paid the 'tax' to the soldiers at the gate with a reluctant expression before returning in.
The city, which looked vastly different from its distant past, was somehow less majestic and grand than it was 20,000 years ago.
Instead of evolving, it devolved.
Varian's lips twitched and he felt a pang of pain as the pitch black walls exuding aura of oppression stood tall.
It was his mistake. He assumed humanity's progress to be inevitable, treated it to be a linear affair.
And this was the result.
"Halt! Resident tax has risen by 25%! Pay up!"
"B-But there was an increase l-last quar—"
"If you don't want to pay, you can get out!"
"I…I…"
"Absconding tax is a capital crime."
"…Fine!"
Unlike the previous free spirit between cities which promoted trade and technology, these cities were isolated, oppressive and violent.
Varian watched the cruel reality with calm eyes.
'It's been 20,000 years for them.'
Then, his eyes turned in one direction. All the calmness he tried to exhibit melted away and his breathing turned ragged.
A wave of panic struck Varian and he gritted his teeth.
With a tap of his foot, the scenery around him changed and he landed in front of a range of snow mountains.
They seem to be perfectly natural and impossibly cold. Even a pseudo divine ranker could barely hold himself from freezing.
'1,000 years.'
But these were not normal.
Their power had evolved a lot. And the way they used their divine power had also matured over time.
Perhaps for the first time in a long while, the difference in their power widened in their favor. And this gulf was the largest it had ever been.
Even if a thousand people equivalent to his power attacked, they wouldn't be able to win.
Such was the disparity.
Naturally, there should be no way for him to even recognize their power or the traces of its application when it's so skillfully hidden.
And yet…
"A-Are you okay?"
The power of synergy remained the same. It was a bond that transcended even the disparity created by divine ranks themselves!
So, Varian knew.
The cold wind howled and the snow swirled in the air. Everything in front of him was a heartless white.
But he knew.
This was the place where they were at.
"Are you fine?"
He stepped forward, going past the complex soul formation that was supposed to decieve people's perception to step away from here.
A strong barrier touched his skin and as it did, began to engulf him in a very dangerous power of light. It was quickly followed by a flood of darkness which drowned him.
Varian closed his eyes and felt the powers.
Familiar powers.
Varian's heart which turned cold from the events at God's Eye began throbbing again and he yelled.
"Sarah!"
"Sia!"
"Enigma!"
"Isadora!"
There was an eerie silence in response.
And then, a force pulled him in a direction he couldn't even notice.
Thud!
Varian flew through the wind and crashed onto his knees due to the force.
"Speak."
A cold voice rang in front of him.
Varian raised his head holding his breath and saw her.
A cold beauty in pure white clothes like an angel, looked at him with a sharp gaze. Her soft blonde hair gently fluttered in the wind.
She reached out her hand to cup his cheek and bent down. Her cold breath hit his face and the calm blue eyes looked at him steadily.
"How dare you ask if we are fine, Mr. Husband?"