The Newt and Demon

6.35 - Changes in the Realm

6.35 - Changes in the Realm

The void had changed so much in such little time. Theo felt as though he had dropped into a hurricane, rather than the tepid sea of darkness he was used to. It was filled with colors and sounds, mixing the realms, ribbon, and Bridge as though it were a churning galaxy. A bright ball of something rested at the core, while his realm flew in orbit around it. There was no need to cross the bridge this time. He flew directly for his realm, buffeted by an unseen wind.

A moment later, Theo set foot into his realm. His ears cleared a moment later as they adjusted to the sound of silence. He breathed a sigh of relief, spotting Belgar approaching from the distance.

“Oh, boy!” the dronon said, wiping sweat from his brow. “Things are getting wild.”

Theo looked around. The landing area in Tero’gal had changed. Someone had paved it with cobblestones. There was a small building standing off to the side. The spirits had likely built it themselves and it had a sign hanging off the front.

“Welcome Center?” Theo read, trying not to laugh. “You’re taking this seriously, aren’t you?”

“As ordered.” Belgar winked. His face shifted a moment later. From excitement, to concern. “The realm kinda changed without anyone’s command.”

Theo jerked his head to the side. “Let’s walk and talk.”

There was a queue of spirits waiting for his approval, but they could wait. They had already waited for something like a year. A few minutes wouldn’t kill them. “What’s the scoop?”

“A few hundred lower realms were destroyed,” Belgar said. “That guy wasn’t kidding. Fire and fury. Anyone who didn’t abandon their realms was lost to the void. So I started seeing souls approaching the realm, all led by the leader of their old realm. And the line got so long that Tero’gal reacted.”

“It gave them ‘resident’ status, without making their souls part of the realm. I think it wants to change again, but Tero’gal is waiting for your command.”

Theo spread his senses over the realm. Belgar was right, but it was weird. The realm was being willful, as though it had protected itself to adapt. He sent a sense of comfort to his realm, hoping it got the message to chill for a minute while he sorted this out. “I hope the realm is big enough for everyone to stay.”

“Oh, yeah. Space hasn’t been a problem. That’s why we made the Welcome Center. I made a council with the other spirits, and we sectioned land off throughout the realm for the others to settle. We even got some higher realm folks over. And one very special guest.”

“Drogramath,” Theo said. He didn’t need his intuition for that one.

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“But, everything is working out?”

“Oh, yeah. All the new residents are having a good time. They’re adapting to life here, but this is like a calm island to a sailor. They’re just happy to be alive.”

Once again, things were moving too fast. But Belgar and his counsel had done extremely well. Theo was surprised at how well they handled the situation. As he sent his senses over the planet, he could feel pockets of civilization. The residents were building towns in various pockets, establishing themselves in this new utopia. The alchemist was reluctant to reach out to his realm, but it had to be done. A message appeared when he did.

“Ah. That’s interesting. Could I get your advice on this, Belgar?” Theo asked, reading the message aloud.

[Realm Evolution]

Tero’gal, the Mortal Dreamrealm wants to evolve into a Throneworld.

The proposed evolution would change the way this realm operates, making it more adept to the changing tide of the void. Tero’gal insists you accept this change, as it would prevent the realm from being torn apart as the void changes. Failure to accept this change would cause the realm’s eventual destruction.

“It says to accept or be destroyed.” Belgar shrugged. “What more is there to consider?”

Belgar was right, but Theo was reluctant. Tero’gal was at Level 41, and had many things that defended it against outside forces. While that was important to consider, there was Void to think about. If the new god of this world could, he would have destroyed the realm already. But he trusted the message sent by his realm. It wasn’t a standard message he had seen before, and didn’t follow most others he had seen. This was a plea from his realm.

“I’m going to accept,” Theo said, nodding to himself.

“I would.” Belgar produced a nervous laugh. “I’d rather not die.”

“Okay. Let’s see what this change is about.”

Theo accepted the change and felt his realm rumbling. He sucked in a breath as an unfamiliar energy filled his body. It stung his chest as the sky above darkened. Spirits shouted in the distance and he watched as one changed. A flood of prismatic energy washed over the world as those spirits were given a corporeal form. The alchemist felt some of his powers within the world being stripped, while others were bolstered. He understood what the changes meant before they were done.

The sky cleared above them as a pale white star flooded the world with color. Another message appeared.

[Evolution Successful]

Tero’gal has evolved into a Throneworld.

All upgrades have been stripped and reinvested into the size of this world. It now sits in balance with the void, and cannot be destroyed so long as it remains in balance. Please review your world screen to see the changes.

“I think it worked,” Theo said, looking around in confusion.

“I have a body!” one spirit shouted in the distance. They jumped up-and-down, hooting with excitement.

Belgar looked down at himself, shaking his head. “I feel different. Something changed, Theo.”

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Theo inspected his realm… No, not his realm. HIs world.

[Tero’Gal]

Throneworld

Leaders:

Theo Spencer, Tresk

Residents:

581,420

Cities:

15

Features:

Bridge of Shadows

“Okay. This is really weird. Why does it say that Uz’Xulven’s bridge is a part of…” Theo trailed off as another message appeared. It was slightly late.

[Evolution Synergy]

Your realm has consumed another realm during the evolution process and thanks to the presence of the Throne of the Herald. Uz’Godan Bokrak Tal has been consumed and incorporated into this realm. Review the features within the world screen.

Theo was bowled over, falling face-first into the cobbles below. He expected his nose to break and his horns to scrape on the surface, but he felt nothing. For a moment, he forgot that no harm could come to him while he was within his world. The body pressing against him was familiar, as was the energy and scent. “Uz’Xulven,” Theo said, grumbling into the stones.

“You saved the Bridge!”

Theo rolled, shoving Uz’Xulven off of him. She tumbled back, none of her shadowy form present. Her true form was that of a gray-skinned dronon with long black hair. Her gray eyes glowed, and a smile tugged at her lips.

“The realm saved the Bridge,” Theo said, rubbing his head. The motion was a reflex, but he felt no pain.

Uz’Xulven rose to her feet, looking shy for the first time since Theo met her. He felt a pang of something in his chest. It wasn’t quite guilt, but he felt bad for her. She was one of few ascendants immune to the purge. If the alchemist thought about how this new world would be structured, he would pick the Queen of the Bridge of Shadows as some kind of leader. Although he wondered what this meant. He paused his thoughts, looking over at Uz’Xulven with a brow raised. She was still on the ground, giggling to herself.

“Why can I feel your core?” Theo asked, spreading his aura over the woman. Because she was never a god, only a woman. An ascendant. He turned to Belgar, narrowing his gaze. “I can feel core slots in you. But my senses have always been such crap…”

“Big changes in the realms,” Uz’Xulven said, doing a little dance. “I was just preparing to abandon my realm when it was integrated with yours. Thank goodness. Fenian was still using it.”

Theo breathed a sigh of relief. This was good, right? There was a lot to analyze, but Wisdom of the Soul helped. Some restrictions that had been placed on the spirits within a realm were lifted because this was no longer a realm. It was a Throneworld. The alchemist checked, seeing that he no longer had direct control over the world. He could feel some measure of his ability to move around, but greater functions such as his upgrades were lost to him. What was left behind was much greater, though. The world felt alive, as though it wanted to develop on its own.

“Look who it is,” Uz’Xulven said, pointing to an approaching figure. “Old Droggy.”

Drogramath waved awkwardly, approaching the group. “Well, this is fun.”

Despite how things were going, Drogramath seemed mostly unphased. He had a small smile on his face and shrugged as though this were a normal meeting.

“The demon gang is back together!” Uz’Xulven shouted. She was far more cheery than Theo was used to.

“Except the others. They went to Khahar’s realm.” Dorgramath kicked at the ground like an upset child. “I was hoping we could have all the demons in this realm.”

Theo only took a beat, looking at the pride on each dronon’s face. He only had one question. “Did you guys know you weren’t gods?”

“I never called myself a god,” Uz’Xulven said.

“Only the Prime Pantheon called themselves gods. I just enjoyed the position I had. While it lasted.” Drogramath was eager to dismiss the subject.

Theo wasn’t eager to pursue it. It was done. No big deal.

“Belgar, what do you think about adding these two to your little group?” Theo asked.

For the first time, Theo saw the way Belgar looked at Drogramath. There was a flash of anger on his face that faded as soon as it came. He cleared his throat. “It would be a good idea to add their wisdom to our world.”

This wouldn’t be the last person upset with their former ‘god’. The ascendants only ever had the power to give cores and fight with each other. Theo couldn’t get his mind off of Void and how much he had changed things. There were also the other three, one of which he suspected was dead. It hardly mattered now. The way he saw the other ascendants in his realm made him happy.

“So. I guess this is life.” Theo gestured to his new world. “I hope you guys found homes.”

“There is a swamp to the south I intend to settle on,” Drogramath said. “Along with some… I suppose they’re no longer my ‘faithful’. Have your cores stopped working?”

“Not yet. But that leads me to a question. Do you know how I could evolve my cores?” Theo asked.

“It shouldn’t be hard, darling,” Uz’Xulven purred. “You can sense the energy in your realm, can’t you? Pull it into your soul, and inject it into your existing cores. Oh, you should think about doing only one at a time.”

“Core creation for ascendants was easy. We had an interface,” Drogramath said. “But we could also experiment with new cores. When you get one aligned with Tero’gal, toss one my way. My cores have already stopped working. Sadly.”

“Yes, toss one my way.” Uz’Xulven fluttered her eyes at Theo, making a pouty face. “Please.”

“I’ll work on that,” Theo said, giving a pleading look to Belgar. The dronon shrugged. The alchemist placed a hand on Drogramath’s shoulder. He could still travel within his world. Taking a passenger shouldn’t have been that hard. “Let’s go, Droggy.”

An instant later, Drogramath and Theo were within a sprawling swampland to the south. They stood knee-deep in a swamp, surrounded by the buzzing of insects and the objecting calls of nearby birds. Something stirred in the water nearby, rushing away from the sudden disturbance.

“We should create some portals,” Drogramath said, looking around. He nodded with approval. “I like this swamp.”

“This is a nice swamp. Agreed. Quality swamp right here. Gonna take your people a few months to walk here.”

“Or we could get portals.” Drogramath winked. “This is a curious situation we find ourselves in. I am happy to be alive, and even more thrilled to be rendered powerless.”

“I’m glad someone is happy. Did you see this coming?”

“Others might have, but I didn’t. I’m just happy to have my loyal follower as a backup plan.” Drogramath laughed, probing his broken horn. “You never liked me. But perhaps you’ll allow me to find peace in your realm.”

“No, I didn’t like you. But I didn’t hate you.”

“You’re talking about me as if I were already dead. A fair assessment.”

Theo only smiled, teleporting back to the welcome center. It wasn’t hard to round up the other followers of Drogramath. The council Belgar had created was good at finding people, and were happy to assemble them in the landing area. Once Theo had everyone in one place, he teleported them to the swamp. While the action wasn’t difficult, it also wasn’t effortless. But the world seemed willing to work with him, eager to distribute a new population.

Tero’gal was smaller than Earth was back in the day. Distributing half-a-million people over the surface would be effortless. He just hoped others didn’t take the prime real estate before he could. Perhaps he could plant a few ‘no building’ signs near potential sites. After teleporting Drogramath’s followers to the swamp, he returned to speak with Belgar and address those souls that were waiting for admission. The system to accept souls was now loose, and didn’t impact the power of the world directly.

“This has been a joy,” Theo said, watching as the people—who were souls only a few minutes before—entered the welcome center. “Not really, but I’m glad this place still exists.”

“It’s gonna stick around, right?” Belgar asked.

“I hope so.”

Theo left Belgar to his work. The alchemist now had two towns to manage, but he wouldn’t make the same mistakes with this one as he had done in Broken Tusk. He knew the best way to run it was to have a core of people who could take care of the day-to-day things for him. For now, he visualized the Drogramath core in his chest, reaching out to the power of Tero’gal. When he touched it this time, it didn’t sting. The alchemist welcomed the power of the world into his chest, selecting his Drogramath Alchemy Core as his first to evolve.

This wouldn’t be an instant process. The energy cracked in his core, finding places where the Drogramathi energy was fading. Theo had enough time to exploit his new potions before the power of Drogramath’s realm faded. Or so he hoped.