Last Light successfully captured the two main districts in the southern part of the city. The leader of the tourist district organization proved to be a reasonable man and did not do anything stupid. Surrendering in such a situation was the best and most correct decision.
Gisle gave orders to clear the area around the monsters as before and decided to negotiate with the leader of the captured organization.
The man's name was Ailot Otey. When the apocalypse began, he was on vacation in Overion, but suddenly the world changed, and he had to take many things into his own hands. Thus he became a leader in the tourist area and quite a strong man.
Along with Gisle and Ailot, Elsa and Wain headed to the table.
Wain wanted information about the military base. Besides the fact that Gisle wanted to take over the entire city to begin the process of restoring civilization, their second main goal was to get an airlift.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Gisle Enge. This is Elsa Gulsvig. I am the organization leader, and she is the leader of one of the branches. The southern part was the last one, and so now the whole city is under our control." Gisle said.
"Ailot Otey." He said briefly.
"Ailot, I want to ask you about the military base. Is it under your control?"
"No, we tried to occupy it, but it didn't work out."
"What? So there aren't two organizations on the south part, but three..." Gisle muttered in surprise.
"That's not true. The military base wasn't taken over by humans but by humanoid creatures. I don't know what to call them. We saw one of them from afar, but robots do all the work. We tried to attack them, but we couldn't even break through the energy barrier around their base."
'Hmm? Robots? The energy barrier? Is he talking about...?' Wain pondered.
"Monsters took over a military base? That sounds rather strange."
"I'm not sure these creatures can be called monsters. Maybe they're people from another world? I wouldn't be surprised that's possible, especially after what happened to our world." Ailot put forward a theory.
"Okay, I hear you. We'll go there a little later anyway. However, it's an interesting situation. Hopefully, all will be without casualties and destruction. Without transportation, we'll be in big trouble."
"Gisle, what do you intend to do with my people?"
"Are you worried about being belittled as losers? Don't worry. The moment you cast your axe aside, you and your men became members of Last Light. I won't tolerate betrayal, though. Just don't create any unnecessary problems for anyone, and everything will be fine."
Ailot nodded.
For the next hour, he and Elsa discussed the organization's governance. It was decided that Ailot would run the entire southern part of the city, but Elsa would supervise him.
Gisle decided to go to the military base tomorrow. He wanted to give the people a chance to rest. They also needed to clear their new areas of monsters.
Wain also needed to heal his wounds. During the battle with Zaral, he had used a Beyond and two forms, which put a serious strain on his body. However, before that, he wanted to see who was in the military base.
He climbed on top of the building and used his binoculars to look in the direction of the military base. It was pretty far away, but Wain could see everything clearly as if he were standing a few meters away.
The military base was fine. The walls, the buildings, the hangars, everything was in perfect condition.
There were no signs of struggle, no dirt or blood on the ground. However, no humans were visible, just a few robots patrolling the area.
Wain had a theory about who might have occupied the military base, but he had to make sure.
Wain waited about two hours until finally, a tall man with purple hair emerged from an underground building.
He looked almost like a human, except for the fact that he had a large square-shaped sign on his chest.
'Construct... They were able to get into the human world, but how? Although, if they were in some Void, a random energy release could have led to that. Also, maybe they found their way here through high technology... Damn, that's a big problem.' Wain thought and headed for Gisle.
...
"Gisle, I need to talk to you. It's urgent and important."
At that moment, Gisle was discussing something with Elsa, but seeing the serious look on Wain's face, he immediately knew something extraordinary had happened.
"Of course, Elsa, I'll leave the rest to you."
"I understand." Elsa nodded and left them alone.
"Tell me."
"Eh, I don't know how to explain it to you, but in a nutshell, Ailot was right. The military base has been taken over by inhabitants from another world, and we need to do something about it right away."
"What?!" Gisle exclaimed in surprise. If someone else had said it, he would have thought it was a joke, but Wain was telling the truth.
"Sit down. We're going to have a long talk. Now I'm going to tell you a little bit more about this world of more than just humans."
...
For the next few hours, Wain talked to Gisle about the eleven major races, blood purity, as well as the World of Darkness and the Seal of Darkness. There was a huge amount of information, and Gisle needed time to absorb it all.
He also asked Wain a lot of questions, and he answered them whenever possible. At that moment, Wain felt like Sven. Only he didn't know how to make cocktails.
"Ugh, my head is about to explode. To realize such a thing...it's too hard. It's unbelievable how many events have passed me by, and I haven't even noticed it. So our planet is just a grain of sand on a giant beach... Damn it..." Gisle muttered.
"Yeah, but you don't have to worry about that. That the Construct was able to get here is probably an amazing coincidence. Although... Perhaps it happened when the spatial barrier of our world was damaged. Then hundreds of monsters came through the cracks."
"Good if that's the case, otherwise there could be another catastrophe at any moment. Monsters and humans evolve at the same rate, so we're still fighting and taking territory. However, if any of the Pillars discovers this world, we're finished."
"You're right. The Third Chronicle creature will destroy us all in a single skill. There's nothing we can do to a creature with that much power. I don't think we have to worry about that, though. Last time there was some good reason why the pillar of light appeared, and the spatial barrier was weakened." Wain muttered.
"The races and the World of Darkness are amazing, but I didn't expect other humans to exist in this world. Moreover, unlike us, they had energy and soul power from the beginning. However, they were weak, and then they became a threat to everyone else."
"Yes, officially, it is believed that humans no longer exist. Moreover, many other races are not even aware that there once was such a race as humans. However, this is not true. I have reliable information that the humans still exist somewhere, and they are insanely strong, but no one can find them."
"Hmm, maybe we're not the humans then? Maybe the names of our races are just a coincidence?"
"No, we're definitely of the same species." Wain said seriously and proceeded to explain.
...
He told Gisle everything he knew about the humans, which shocked Gisle. Wain also explained the peculiarities of the dominant races and how the World of Darkness works.
"I see. It'll take me a little while to get my head around it, but I understand the situation much better now. Turning Overion into a normal city like it was before the apocalypse would only be the beginning. One day, we'll all need to meet representatives of other races." Gisle muttered.
Wain nodded, "We must clear the military base of Construct as soon as possible. People must not learn that there are other worlds and more than ten powerful races besides monsters."
"You're right. In that case, that's where you and I should go, right? However, that might not be enough. If there are several hundred of them there, we definitely can't handle it."
"Don't worry. Luar will go with us too. He has the Seal of Darkness like me."
"Hmm, that's good. I wish I'd had a chance to take the trials of the World of Darkness. I will definitely need to get that seal and own some Void."
"Yes, the World of Darkness is dangerous, but Voids is great. You'll get lots of perks, various resources, and you'll have your army of monsters, and that's just the beginning." Wain said confidently.
"Wain, you and Luar have zones where you are in the role of king. To get into Void, I first have to pass the test and get the Seal of Darkness. However, can't you invite me into your zone?"
"I don't know. You're the first person I've told about this and who doesn't have the seal. I can try."
Earlier, Wain had wondered whether the Seal of Darkness was a prerequisite for entering the World of Darkness or whether it was more an opportunity to seize territory and visit arenas. Now he can find out.
"First, we need to find the spatial rift. Even if you stand close to it, the passage won't open for you because you don't have the Seal of Darkness. However, instead of with me, perhaps you can enter." Wain said.
Gisle nodded, and Wain closed his eyes.
The closest spatial rift was in the hotel's basement, where they went down.
Gisle waited with anticipation for what would happen and stared at Wain. He strolled toward the wall, and suddenly the concrete turned to ink. Gisle was surprised to see something like this.
"Come on. I hope you can get inside." Wain said and stepped forward. His body disappeared into the ink.
Gisle was unsure of the safety of this method, but he trusted Wain, so he headed for the ink. They slowly engulfed him, Gisle felt cold, and a strange feeling of emptiness, but nothing dangerous happened.
Gisle, along with Wain, found himself in a spatial rift. He saw an inky door with many eyes and a huge gate made of icy wood.
"What is this...?"
"The ink door leads to a random Void. It will be pretty weak the first time, so you don't have to worry. Behind that gate hides my zone. You have to get an invitation from me to enter there." Wain explained.
"Then can we get started?"
"Sure, but I can't guarantee anything. You don't have the Seal of Darkness, and you'll probably get thrown back to the planet.
A blue shard flew out of Wain's body and into Gisle's glabella. Then something strange began to happen. Gisle's eyes glowed brightly with a purple light like lanterns, and space trembled.
"What the hell is going on! Gisle, let's get out of here!" Wain uttered, but Gisle didn't move from his seat.
Suddenly a dark fog appeared next to them, closing in on them in the dome. Gisle came to his senses, and a message appeared before them at that moment.
[Nameless, the owner of the third rank Seal of Darkness, has transferred the energy of the World of Darkness to Gisle Enge.]
[The special trial of the chosen candidate begins. Choose what will be the focus of your challenge.]
Both Gisle and Wain saw these messages. Several possible choices appeared in front of them.
[Trial of:
Physical Strength
Magic Power
Spirit Power
Intelligence
Strategy]
There were five choices in total. It was strange and unusual. Wain was as surprised as Gisle.. They looked at each other and realized they both didn't know what to do in this situation.