Myths Reawakened

The Astral Plane was a no-life zone and an ocean of truths, and its native residents were known to the magical world as Astral Beasts. They were essentially giant magical creatures that came in different shapes and forms with a great variety of abilities. However, there was no consensus about why they existed and who created them.

Wayne had encountered an Astral Beast back at the Geocentrism Sect’s base, Blue Spine Parasite. It was incredible in size and procreative ability, able to provide an endless supply of eggs. Its weakness was fire.

Now, when confronted with another Astral Beast, Wayne couldn’t help but marvel at its size.

It’s so fucking big!

From afar, he couldn’t see the true appearance of the giant creature, but its long, slim shape made it look like an annelid, resembling an earthworm or a de-legged rag worm.

The massive worm pierced the spatial barrier and crawled toward him at high speed, half of its body already through. The giant size and the writhing worm-like body perfectly checked the boxes for Wayne’s scoleciphobia and megalophobia. Shuddering, he tucked Shadow Nightmare into his body and bolted.

“Where do you think you can run to?” With his back to the Astral Beast, Obed sensed the large eyeball’s recoil and fear, laughing out loud. Wayne might be special, possessing power that would stump even a legendary mage, but his abilities came from his bloodline. In essence, he was still a Silver-ranked mage.

His bloodline mimicked the ancient gods and forged a new path of evolution, which Obed couldn’t wait to have. Wayne didn’t deserve such an extraordinary bloodline; it should be his.

Thinking of that, he laughed out loud again. Rather than chasing after Wayne, he mockingly watched Wayne search for a way out like a superior being. He saw struggle and helplessness, as well as the lack of fighting spirit and the desperation for survival.

This was how it should be! A Silver-ranked mage should feel despair when confronting a legendary mage!

What had happened earlier didn’t count. He had been careless, making a move without finding out more about the original bloodline. That was why the power of ancient gods and the Death Knight caught him off guard.

Now, he had the upper hand. It would be his victory!

“You possess such incredible power, Wayne, yet you perform so poorly...”

Obed was certain that victory was within reach. This would be the best moment of his life. But suddenly, he sensed danger. His long bow flickered at increasing frequency, alerting him to a nearby threat.

“Danger?!”

His eyes widened. He detected nothing even when he extended his senses.

He was rational and never gave in to his hubris like Marshall did, so he always exercised caution when he entered the Astral Plane. No matter how he desired it, he still rejected the omnipresent knowledge.

Then where did the danger come from?

The question didn’t bother him for too long. He turned around and saw the threat: a worm-like Astral Beast with an immeasurable size. Its hideous vortex-like maw opened, revealing fangs that covered its mouth cavity all the way down its esophagus.

“Astral Worm!”

Obed blanched in terror, instinctively trying to open the Gate of Truth to make a run for it, but he failed!

The magical world had explored the Astral Plane numerous times, mostly by the legendary mages and some Gold-ranked mages with a death wish. One after another, they threw themselves into danger in pursuit of truths. With their blood, they left valuable records of their experience for those who came after them—a bestiary of Astral Beasts included.

According to the bestiary, Astral Worms were a species of Astral Beast at the top of the food chain. They were incredibly large and powerful, with the terrifying power to freeze space, devour spatial tunnels, and create wormholes.

Its target would mostly die since it could freeze space and prevent an escape, but of course, surviving the encounter wasn’t impossible. Someone had to have escaped for the information to be recoded in the bestiary. While the chance of survival was slim, it wasn’t zero.

Astral Worms were greedy eaters. By sacrificing a companion—no, by running faster than a companion—it was possible to escape the frozen space.

Despite his panic, Obed recalled the one way to survive. He conjured darkness with a swing of his hand and summoned the obelisk and the platform it stood on; he wasn’t feeding the worm the obelisk, of course, but Dorrin’s adoptive children.

He had no time to worry about losing the obelisk. Leaving the human flesh for the Astral Worm, he rushed toward Wayne, all the while cursing at the unreliable information in the bestiary.

According to his predecessors’ experience, while there were numerous Astral Beasts, it was unlikely for a mage to encounter one in the vast Astral Plane unless they stayed for too long. An Astral Worm, a native inhabitant without natural predators, was even fewer in numbers and less likely to appear.

Obed seethed. He had only just stepped into the Astral Plane and hadn’t said more than a few words. Why had he already encountered an Astral Worm actively hunting for food? What rotten luck was that?

The Astral Worm was exceptionally fast. Slamming into the square platform and shattering it, it swallowed the dozens of unconscious members of the Church of Moonlight, its mouth writhing a few times before it spat out the obelisk it couldn’t break.

The snacks weren’t enough to satisfy its appetite. It chased after Wayne, solidifying space like casting a hunting net. It was determined to get a taste of the human this time.

It had been waiting for Wayne for too long! It was so close to getting a taste the last time it went after Wayne that it refused to miss this chance.

Wayne was running in the lead with Obed trailing after him, while the Astral Worm gave chase. Funnily enough, Wayne didn’t know that he had been marked by the Astral Worm, assuming that the giant creature was chasing the legendary mage. He cursed out Obed and his whole extensive family as he ran for his life.

Don’t come any closer!

To Wayne, it seemed like Obed was trying to drag someone else down with him, refusing to go to the netherworld alone when facing certain death.

Obed didn’t know that Wayne was the target, either. He thought that as a legendary mage, he was so appealing that the Astral Worm was salivating after him. He fled as quickly as possible, betting on the hope that he would outrun Wayne.

At this moment, he no longer coveted Wayne’s body. His own was more important. Survival was his primary goal.

His treason wasn’t a big issue since Planck made the perfect scapegoat. Once he killed all the witnesses, he would be able to go back to serving the Queen as the loyal Vice Minister of Magic.

There were only four witnesses. Wayne, Mona, Filomina, and Kristen.

In the front, Wayne suddenly accelerated. Transforming all four limbs into tentacles, he ran as fast as the wind with the large eyeball as his main body, carrying a magical girl with his tentacles. Anyone would call him an abomination when they saw him.

Perhaps it was because the tentacle monster fit the aesthetics of the Astral Plane, he was able to run faster in this form. That terrified Obed. He pushed himself to his limit, afraid that Wayne would shake him off.

Behind him, the Astral Worm roared in fury, also accelerating.

Wayne hadn’t been running aimlessly. Kiting Obed, he ran a large circle and, when passing by Mona, picked her up with one of his tentacles.

Her stigma had been protecting her sanity, but she wasn’t in good condition. Her eyes were blank as haunting whispers rang in her head, making her feel good about herself and her dawning knowledge.

The tentacle pulled her close to Kristen, resulting in their heads colliding with some force. Now that Mona was closer to Wayne’s large eye, the whispers in her ears faded significantly. Her thoughts gave in to exhaustion and numbness, and her twitching eyelids slowly fell.

Wayne made another semicircle and finally found Filomina. The Gold-ranked mage had conjured a vitality barrier and was struggling to traverse the cosmos. While she was able to reject the knowledge surrounding her and stayed inside the Gate of Truth for a short time, she could not endure for long. When she saw the tentacle Wayne extended toward her, she gave his large eye a tired smile.

Another head joined the huddle.

Carrying the magical girl, the magical nun, and the magical auntie, the tentacle monster rushed as fast as he could. He wasn’t sure where he was going after rescuing his people, though.

Last time, the world inside the Gate of Truth had a clear exit, and they could escape by finding it. This time, however, with Obed opening the gate personally, the exit was sealed, leaving no way to escape.

“I know a way out...” Filomina said tiredly. “Buy me some time. I can open the Gate of Truth with the cards of moon phases. Then we can escape.”

“Do it now!” The tentacle around her opened a mouth and urged her.

“It’s not so simple...” Filomina got closer to the large eyeball, her words coming in starts and stops. “My thoughts have been corrupted by the Astral Plane, so it’ll take some time for me to open the Gate of Truth. Besides... the Astral Worm is chasing us. It’s frozen the space around it, and I can only open the gate once we’re out of its hunting range.”

Such a hassle!

“Damn Obed, opening the Gate of Truth for no reason. Now he’s targeted by a monster.”

Wayne cursed. The Book of Greed was happy, but he was cornered with no way to escape. He would rather not have the chance to gain benefits when this was what it entailed.

The Astral Plane was too dangerous. He would have to be a fool to enter it again!