As the guards led Rolgar's army away from the platform and toward the central bridge, movement within the formation became easier to see. While escorting them, some of the guards finally noticed the figures at the front of the group. These were the commanders of the other legions, each one representing a different unit. Every expedition was composed of four legions, and all of their leaders were present.
Between them, they carried a stretcher. The frame was sturdy, and upon it lay a single figure completely still. A white blanket covered the body from the neck down, hiding any visible wounds or armor. The stretcher was handled carefully, as if its burden was fragile or extremely important.
The guards positioned near the front could not help glancing at the figure on the stretcher from time to time. Each time they looked, their curiosity grew. From what little they could see, the person appeared to be a woman. Dark blue hair spilled across the side of the stretcher, falling over part of her face. The strands obscured her features, making it difficult to clearly see her expression or confirm her identity.
Despite their curiosity, none of the guards dared to ask questions. No one spoke about who she was or what had happened to her. The tension earlier with Commander Rolgar was still fresh in their minds, and they had no desire to provoke further anger from him or draw attention from the other commanders. In silence, they continued their escort, carefully keeping their thoughts to themselves.
Watching his army and the guards gradually leave the platform area, Rolgar remained vigilant. He stood firm as his gaze returned to the towering gates. He observed the evacuation in silence, carefully tracking every movement and every figure passing through the hall.
Only when the last remaining soldiers had fully exited the portal did he relax slightly. As the towering gates began to close on their own, the glowing sigils dimming little by little, Rolgar let out a slow breath. He sighed in relief, though the feeling lasted only for a brief moment.
In truth, the relief he felt was insignificant compared to the fear and shock still weighing heavily on him. What happened earlier on the 27th floor remained vivid in both his mind and soul, no matter how hard he tried to suppress it.
Questions crowded his thoughts, one after another, leaving him unable to find peace.
'Was everything real back then?'
'How would the empire react after listening to our report?'
'What had really happened to the princess?'
Rolgar stood alone before the gates, silently lost in these thoughts, never realizing that he was the only person left in the elevation hall… Or was he really alone?
...
Unbeknownst to everyone, Relict, the culprit of what happened on the 27th floor, was already out in the open. No one noticed when he walked out from the portal. The distortion in space was brief and silent, leaving no visible trace once it closed behind him. He immediately used spatial manipulation to shorten the distance between himself and the exit of the elevation hall. The space between each point folded inward, allowing him to move forward without taking visible steps. Without stopping, he traversed the entire 1st floor of Valkor using that ability, moving through vast stretches of space in moments while also keeping tabs on his surroundings. His senses remained alert as his position shifted repeatedly, the environment around him changing in rapid succession as he crossed the floor.
'Though the path had not changed, most parts of the floor had already deteriorated by the passage of time,' Relict thought as his surroundings shifted multiple times while he traversed the floor.
The 1st floor of Valkor was massive in scale, far larger than any structure meant for ordinary humans. The ceiling rose high above, disappearing into shadows where inactive lighting systems hung from thick metallic frames. The floor stretched endlessly in every direction, its surface wide enough to resemble an open plain rather than a corridor. Massive support pillars stood at regular intervals, each one broad enough that several people could stand behind them without being seen. The walls were distant and difficult to make out, layered with reinforced plating that bore deep scratches, fractures, and discoloration caused by age.
What was once polished metal had dulled into rough, uneven surfaces. Panels were missing in several places, exposing internal frameworks, thick cables, and sealed conduits that no longer carried energy. Some sections of the floor were warped or sunken, suggesting long term structural fatigue. Old markings and symbols were faded almost beyond recognition. The sheer emptiness of the space made every detail feel smaller, emphasizing how enormous the ship truly was, as if it had been constructed for beings far larger than any living in the present era.
Relict wanted to know how long he had been gone from his era to this present time for the interior of Valvan's spaceship to have degraded to this extent. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of this world did not even manage to map the entirety of their own planet, much more having the knowledge or records about the history of civilizations on a galactic scale. Vast regions remained unexplored, and whatever historical data existed was fragmented, localized, and limited to recent eras. Understanding this, Relict could not help but lightly shake his head and sigh. The lack of accumulated knowledge and the absence of long term records made it impossible for him to determine how much time had truly passed since his era.
'There's so many things needed to be done first,' he thought.
Exactly as he said those words, he finally arrived at the place on the 1st floor where a massive fissure was located. The ground around it was fractured and uneven, with deep cracks spreading inward from an external rupture. Looking high above, he saw a long, narrow opening carved into the ceiling. This was the passage the draconians had used to access the spaceship itself, descending from the surface far above.
Without hesitation, Relict teleported upward. Space compressed around him, and in an instant he was floating just above the opening, suspended in the air as he looked out at the outside world. The exterior of the ship was dark, not due to the absence of light entirely, but because it rested inside a massive pit that extended several kilometers below the surface. The surrounding walls of the pit loomed outward and upward, blocking most of the sky and casting the area into constant shadow.
He did not find any other draconians in the vicinity, nor did he see their equipment or vehicles, except for the ones he had encountered earlier inside the elevation hall. The area outside the fissure was empty and still, showing no signs of ongoing activity or recent movement.
'Had they abandoned their expedition?'
This thought surfaced in his mind for a moment, and he was clearly bewildered by their actions. However, he dismissed it immediately, choosing not to dwell on it. Instead, he lifted his gaze toward the faraway skies above the pit, where faint light marked the horizon.
"Oh, so this is what evening looks like in this world? Wait… is this real?!"
Relict questioned as he observed the sky before him.
To the naked eye of a mortal, the clear dark sky was breathtakingly beautiful. Numerous stars filled the vast expanse, accompanied by other celestial objects that formed clusters layered upon clusters. The arrangement of distant lights created a night time view that appeared deep, endless, and visually striking to anyone without heightened perception.
However, to Relict, what he was clearly looking at was no longer the sky itself. Instead, it was the accumulation of yuan energy coating the sky in its entirety. The energy spread across the atmosphere like a vast layer, dense and continuous rather than scattered. Its concentration was extremely high, to the point that he could see its presence extending tens of kilometers away without obstruction. The thickness of the energy made it impossible for him to mistake it for a natural atmospheric phenomenon.
Without a second thought, Relict instantly teleported upward. Space folded and shifted around him as he traversed several kilometers in an instant, moving faster than the blink of an eye. In the next moment, he was positioned high above his previous location, staring directly at the dense concentration of yuan energy that enveloped the sky above. From this elevated position, the accumulation of energy was even more apparent. It spread across the atmosphere in thick layers, extending far beyond the limits of ordinary perception. The energy was stable yet overwhelming in quantity, existing everywhere rather than being gathered around a single source.
"How can the energy of this world be so thick? Are there any transcendence currently living in this world?!"
He could not help but blurt out those words, genuinely surprised by this new discovery. The only knowledge he had about this world had come from the memories of the draconians who had entered the chamber, and even those memories were fragmented and incomplete. They lacked depth, historical context, and any detailed understanding of the greater state of the world. Because of this, the scene before him directly contradicted his prior assumptions, leaving him momentarily shaken as his expectations were overturned.
"Transcendence or not, my plans had already started the moment I stepped outside the chamber. There's no turning back anymore," he said.
That was right. What was important right now was that his scheme to subdue the draconian civilization had to be thoroughly organized once more. The situation demanded caution and proper evaluation. He needed to first understand the reason behind this abnormal amount of energy before blindly moving forward with his plans, lest he encounter existences that went beyond his current limitations.
"But, seeing this dense energy also answered my problem as to how to replenish Valvan's energy reserves. I can just throw Valvan into orbit and let it absorb energy on its own," Relict thought as he observed the surrounding flow of yuan energy.
Although Relict understood that this kind of action had to wait, as doing so now would attract unwanted trouble, the conclusion itself was still valuable. Acting too early would expose Valvan to forces or entities he had yet to fully identify, and that risk was unacceptable at this stage.
Nevertheless, one of their problems was already solved. The uncertainty surrounding Valvan's energy supply was no longer an immediate concern. This realization eased his thoughts slightly, and it made him smile a little.
...
While the cunning entity from the past was busy observing the world for the first time, the draconians inside Valkor's 1st floor had already begun entering their transport vehicles. The vehicles were lined up outside the elevation hall. Unfortunately, only a few dozen draconians could occupy the available seats. The transports were never prepared to accommodate the remaining thousands of survivors from the 27th expedition army. Many warriors were left standing behind, bodies exhausted, and expressions filled with frustration and resignation as they watched the transports fill up.
"Ehem. I apologize, commander, but the others will have to wait for reinforcements to arrive and give them a ride back to the surface," the leading officer of the guards said sheepishly.
His voice was hesitant as he glanced toward the large crowd of exhausted warriors outside who had yet to be assigned transport. The weight of their stares made his posture stiff, and he avoided meeting their eyes for too long.
"You do not have to worry yourselves about it. Your current task right now is to escort our entourage back to the command center at all costs. Do you understand me, officer?" the Serpar commander replied. His voice was stern and flat, devoid of hesitation or emotional inflection. His gaze remained steady, fixed directly on the officer as if daring him to question the order.
"Y-yes, of course!" the officer responded quickly.
The officer almost stuttered after hearing the sharp and unyielding tone coming from the Serpar commander. He gulped a mouthful of saliva and immediately shut his mouth, not daring to speak further. He then seated himself in the pilot seat, his movements rigid and rushed, and began starting the aircraft's engine. The control panel lit up in front of him as the vehicle powered on. His coworker sat down beside him just as stiffly, hands placed carefully on the controls, both of them acting as if afraid that even the smallest mistake would result in severe consequences.