Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

---Delta, Northern Wall---

The wall wasn't looking too swell. The past months had already been hard with the constant attacks of infected beasts. The disease that was ravaging the north of Urth was terrifying, with a danger level that could even threaten the whole empire if it were to spread to the Pathworks.

“Tsk, these cloud continent bastards...” one of the soldiers cursed.

Despite things being dire, the situation had been improving lately until the cultivators started wandering around like brainless chickens. Now, they were under constant attacks of cultivators that fell under the infection.

Still, those guys kept running into the wilderness, increasing their workload. They barely had time to patch up the walls with how often another of them appeared. The worst part was that they kept most of their skills when zombified, making them much harder to deal with than the occasional beasts.

“Commander, we need more people on the wall,” the Captain the the western edge demanded.

“I know, but you know it isn't easy,” the commander answered with a sigh.

There were many problems plaguing them at the northern wall since the weird plague started appearing. The danger of being infected with almost certainty if one got injured took a great toll on the soldiers' mentality.

For those men on the wall originally belonging to the legions of Chrona, it was especially hard, seeing their comrades turn into mindless beast that had to be destroyed in body and soul. This was an especially great horror to those people who held strong beliefs in gods and the immortality of the soul. Not as much on the atheist Urthans, that were recruited from Delta, but still... Few people wanted to be here.

Another problem was their support. The political situation in the mother world, the changes in representatives, and such had stalled their appeals for reinforcements. Growing from a similar root, was the lack of support of the natives.

Chrona's reputation had fallen among the citizens of Delta, many cursing them for the mismanagement within the city. Those who had already joined stayed, but very few from Delta were still willing to join.

Morals were falling, dissatisfaction was on the rise. They were being worn away with no hope of reinforcements. The commander of the northern wall stared into the eyes of his captains. The one that had spoken fell back on his chair, listless.

“I'm sorry Commander.”

“No, you are right. I will have to talk with the other commanders. We cannot continue like this...The new representative is arriving today, maybe he will have to power to help.”

…

--- The Voracious Cloud Continent, Luminous Mountain---

Master Mountain was sitting on an ostentatious chair, in a well-lit cell, surrounded by various golden formations. He was calmly drinking from a cup of tea, reading the scroll in front of him. Nothing about him seemed out of the ordinary, except for the thin golden shackles that glinted in the light of formations when the sleeves of his white robe fell back a little.

“Yu, “ the master of the Luminous Mountain Sect entered the room with a wry smile. “You don't have to put up and act, as your master, I know that you are dissatisfied. The older man smiled and sat at the table, opposite him.

“No, why would I be dissatisfied? I came here to talk about the matters of the future, but was detained instead, “ Master Mountain said, more sad, than dissatisfied.

After parting with Seth, Yu returned to the Voracious Cloud Continent to speak with his master about the possible ramifications of the information Minas Mar had shared with him. The fact that their world was stopped and held in place by a mighty being calling itself the System god.

He had described the motive of this creature to his Master and his worries that other Sects would resort to drastic measures, such as trying to eradicate all Urthans in an attempt to spoil the “god's” fun. Yu didn't believe that was a solution and wanted for their sect to establish a faction that could work together with Minas Mar in the future.

After sharing his views with his Master, he was suddenly detained in this cell. He was allowed to ask for reading materials and food but he had no connection to the outside. He didn't know how long it had been, but he guessed several weeks had passed by the time his master finally visited him.

“You have been detained because this goes beyond what you know and I needed time to think about things. Did you know those weird portals started appearing, not just across the XiGuang Province, but all of the continent? ” he suddenly asked a question. Yu could only shake his head, he had been able to catch up after his return.

Although they were much fewer and limited in danger, the people of the Voracious Cloud Continent were familiar with dungeons, just like the ones on Urth. Now, the Portals he had come across on Urth were also appearing on the Voracious Cloud Continent.

For the uninitiated, this may have seemed like a weird side-effect of the connection, but Yu knew that it had a much greater significance. His shaking hands put the cup of tea down, afraid he would spill, or let the cup fall.

The appearance of the portals meant that the Vracious Cloud Continent had been connected to the Pathworks, just like Urth and many other worlds. The greater consequences could hardly be foreseen, but...

“Yes. Dungeon beasts and creatures of unknown origin have been wantonly spreading across the land, plunging the mortals in great peril.”

The mortals of the land were not prepared for monsters, invaders, or divine beasts suddenly appearing outside of dangerous regions. The peace of the mainland that had been kept for millennia was broken as otherworldly beasts traveled through the land, marauding and looting.

“On the other hand, the great ancestor found that our worries were solved. Before they could erect their great seal, the spiritual Qi stopped flowing away from us through the connection to Urth. Lately, they have even registered a slight rise. The most likely cause would be the appearance of these portals.”

Yu didn't know how to feel. The portals seemed to have solved the biggest crisis threatening the world of cultivation but at the cost of the lives and peace of the mortals.

“I'm sorry, my boy. I had to detain you with how things were standing at the time of your arrival. Your course of action would have only created chaos.”

With this word, he touched Yu's shackles and they fell off.

“Did you really think the great elders would not know about the System god? The border guilds had brought in many people and young disciples from Urth, the dark path also had their people there, much longer than even you. This information was revealed to us sect leaders sometime after you left.” he spoke with a heavy voice.

Yu still looked at him questioningly. What did all of this have to do with his detention? It wasn't like any of this changed his concerns. Although the reason for the purge was gone now, at the time his concerns were valid.

“Your concerns were valid, but a purge had already been dismissed by the elders, as it was not something that would work on the System God. However, if it had slipped through before we managed to deal with the situation, there were people that would have attacked even against our commands.”

“What do you mean, you managed to deal with it?” Yu stumbled over this part of the sentence. What had they done? Wasn't it the appearance of the portal that had solved everything? The sect master sighed, before he looked him in the eye, a tinge of sadness in his gaze.

“I have been struggling with the decision, and hoped I wouldn't have to tell you, but you are the next sect leader, and you deserve to know. The Continent made a deal with the god, that's why the portals appeared. We got a message about it from the central regions and used the last two weeks to ascertain it.”

The portals were a decision of the world's will, not a natural disaster. The two men sat in silence.

...

---Chrona, Chrona Empire---

Standing in a bright office at the central complex of the palace stood the second prince of Chrona, Perlwol. Looking out the window, he spoke to the royal guard standing in the room behind him.

“Did you find them?” he asked with a stern tone.

“We located one of them, Your Highness,” the guard said with a bow and placed a folder on the table. Inside were pictures of a slender mercenary, wearing a beautiful mask with incredible charm.

“I see, you know what to do.”

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