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89.7% The Harvester / Chapter 399: Honor of Memory

Kapitel 399: Honor of Memory

Long ago, the Gulon were a race of creatures born at the core of planets. They were often seen as worms of relentless willpower, overcoming isolation by defying what could or could not be their food.

It was not such a rare thing for planets with incredibly short lifespans to be born. During the dawn of the Lost Era, whenever any such place was created, the steady cycle of the Realm would scatter its remnants to assist new life elsewhere.

But sometimes, unfortunately, planets were able to develop a mind. Maybe some were too close to a mana vein for their own good or perhaps they had too many primitive lives on their surface; such things brought sentience to the celestial objects.

Therefore, they possessed a natural drive to survive. However, it was nearly impossible. They had been born imperfect and couldn't hope to do anything about it without help. In those conditions, an ambition would be made and determination would germinate.

The core of the planet would detach itself from the rest, become an eggshell of its own, and give life to a creature obsessed with survival and sustaining itself. To grow beyond the planet's lifespan and carry on its memory; that was the meaning of their life. 

To do so, they needed resources. So, they would eat the mass of land that birthed them. Eating and eating. Until they knew they could survive long enough to eat more.

The Gulon were born just like that and became a species roaming the vastness of outer space. They swam through the vacuum, and some were said to be bigger than a star. Their forms varied based on what they ate or what they were born from at the very beginning.

But their rough features were consistent; no eyes, red tendrils, mineral-like scales, and a maw that could eat and swallow anything it came in contact with.

Among those creatures, one was born from a very small planet; the weakest Gulon in the whole of Existence. Despite this, he was the one with the most developed sentience. And perhaps out of pity, sadness, or kindness, that Gulon had one personal objective; to give the support his brethren and himself never got to enjoy.

Planets that were sentient but too weak to birth a Gulon; he would visit and grant them respite by devouring them, carrying their memory and spirit with him. Perhaps due to his actions, he one day became able to eat mana and all kinds of energy.

He was still the smallest Gulon to ever live, but the strongest of them all. Attracted by him, others of his kind found him and followed him on his journey. It didn't take long for him to be called King of Gulons by humans. Led by him, the Gulon remained pacifists and lived in peace.

That is until the End came, preceded by the advent of the Three Enders, abominations of nature that corrupted and devastated the world; The Wailful Nightmare, The Blind Puppeteer, and The Brume Legion.

Stars and planets began to die, mana became poisonous, newborn life didn't live past infant stages, dimensions splintered, time became erratic, and the external Realms were severed as if banished to exert their influence.

King Gulon survived through it all, eating the dying celestials and even as far as his own followers who diminished over time. When there was ultimately nothing but him, his determination to keep surviving and carry the proof of his species' struggle allowed him to persevere.

He hibernated in a timeless world until one day, a breath of life woke him up. The resplendent tree that had sprouted at the center of the universe gave him just enough strength to hibernate through a few more billion years.

Then, one day, he awoke for the second time inside an ocean, on some planet that had caught him in orbit during its formation. King Gulon was amazed; he had never been to such a place. The depth he sensed himself to be was greater than thousands of millions of kilometers and he wasn't even anywhere close to the bottom.

This planet would be known by Existence later as Vathiá, The Boundless Sea, located in the Second Mother Reality where all life is said to be the strongest, and where a baby could be strong enough to kill a grown man in any other Reality.

King Gulon spent thousands of years on that planet, eating his way past the horrors of the deep sea where darkness was the most prominent companion.

Eventually, he reached a platform of soil. It was merely an elevated cliff but he felt quite fascinated by the fact it had taken him that long to even see a hint of reaching the bottom. He wondered what kind of behemoths lived there.

But it was on the second elevated platform that he found something he didn't expect; humanoid lifeforms that had evolved to breathe and live underwater. He observed them for a few years and eventually resumed his way downward.

Focusing his path vertically, it took him only about a few hundred more years or so to finally reach the floor of this ocean. He expected frightening monstrosities to greet him and, in a way, he wasn't disappointed in the slightest.

But… all of them lay dead.

These monsters of nature bigger than continents and outright planets were scattered everywhere and dead beyond doubt. His interest piqued, Gulon deployed his senses and located two lives. One was weak, but the other was notable.

King Gulon put in the effort this time and moved at full speed. Quickly, he reached his destination and found a felled creature worthy of being called a leviathan. It was sprawled on the ocean floor with its tongue out and all around it, there were remains of a destroyed settlement like the one he had seen above, made by amphibious humanoids.

He spotted a few corpses of said beings and then approached the two last living ones. Both of them were shark merfolk; a child and a much older man. The latter was sitting against the dead leviathan with a greatsword buried next to him, his body battered and bloody with an arm missing. The child was unconscious on his lap and unharmed.

King Gulon guessed easily that this used to be a village of humanoids that had been raided by sea monsters. He could sympathize with these people who had been forced to stand their ground and defend themselves instead of swimming upward to lesser depths.

This planet had mysterious tunnels of water. On his way down, the pressure weighing on him had changed at least a hundred times. The problem was that it was abnormally random. Sometimes, he would be caught by a layer with incredibly weak pressure as if he was just a few meters under the surface, and at others, it felt like he was lifting planets all on his own.

This bottom area was shockingly tame; a pressure of barely a few tens of kilometers worth, though there was also a massive increase in ambient life force. Comparatively, the previous layer had been far worse and most of these amphibious people would have died instantly there. 

To King Gulon, it wasn't much, but for them, it was a prison forbidding anyone from escaping.

"…you're a new face…" The dying warrior whom King Gulon suspected had killed most of the sea monsters spoke up, opening one eye to look at him.

"Though… I can't say you have a face anyway," he joked with a wry smile.

Gulon tilted his body. These beings wouldn't understand him even if he spoke, so he kept silent. It was only due to his transcendent nature that he could understand all forms of language.

"Don't want to answer…? Or maybe you can't," he snorted. "If you could… save me, that'd be perfect but… can I ask a favor?" He asked airily and King Gulon growled pensively. He had already finished exploring this planet, so he nodded since he had nothing else to do.

"This is my son…" The man patted the boy on his lap. "His name is Cura Arlan… you've come from above, right? If I asked… is it possible for you to bring him with you? Just handing him to the care of another village is fine…"

King Gulon didn't reply for a moment and nonchalantly swam in circles a bit, looking around a few times, and eventually approaching the sleeping child. He inspected him with his senses and turned back toward the warrior to nod.

"Hah… thank you… very much…" The shark man mumbled. "Please tell him… his dad went off like a true warrior…" He said with a grin, leaning his head back against the leviathan he had killed and the hundreds of sea monsters in his sight. He then slowly closed his eyes; for eternity.

Quietly, King Gulon huffed in respect and used one of his tendrils to grab the child and move him away. Then, he opened his maw wide and swallowed the body of the dead warrior. He acquired his memories and added them to the grand list of lives for which he needed to survive.

He then glanced at the greatsword left behind and at the child as well. After some thought, he ate the weapon and slowly changed his appearance to fit a similar aesthetic. He grabbed the child and then used his full power to swim up and shield the boy at the same time.

* * *

"That's certainly an interesting story," Rakna commented as he sat on a boulder of the 75th Plateau whilst watching the sunset. Everything around him was either craters or gravel so he did not really have anywhere else to sit.

He brought a cigarette to his mouth and exhaled a cloud of cyan-colored smoke a moment later. It had been quite some time since he no longer needed them to calm Obsidian Blood, but it didn't change the fact that it was a perfect concoction designed by his uncle to help its user relax.

"Interesting, huh?" Cura snorted, his body healing from its wounds thanks to a prototype transpith of Harvest given to him by Rakna. "I guess. I just want to be stronger; strong enough to match my father and conquer the place that took my family. I want to dedicate it to them. Apparently, Gul decided to train me because I reminded him of himself."

"We spent about twenty years in the upper layers of Vathiá," the shark said. "Most of it was spent moving and Gul occasionally pitted me against roving monsters. There wasn't much he could teach other than that and he planned to get us out of the planet with his full speed. Normally, we would have reached it after a few more years but…"

"The System, huh?" Rakna hummed.

"Yes," Cura nodded. "In a way, it was the perfect place for me to grow stronger, and Gul also agreed that this System was a very useful training wheel but that it should have been discarded long ago at this point. We only want to get out now, but Gul doesn't have the necessary skill set to do it."

King Gulon growled in annoyance at that.

Cura shrugged. "He's a creature with transcendental physical toughness and energy manipulation, but he's incapable of magic or any other technique to cross space or dimensions. He could try and eat time and space, of course, but according to him, that might just annihilate Plateaus more than anything else. This place is too 'structured'. Break one thing, and the rest collapses too."

The therian snickered. "Sorry to hear that," he smiled at the ancient creature. "I guess you can get a ride with me once I get strong enough to exit myself… or more likely when we settle our scores with the Téra and the Phantasms."

"I suppose," Cura mused. "If it means a good fight, I'm in anyway."

On the other hand, Gul grumbled to himself, obviously annoyed at being at the mercy of those mere pests and ghosts that should have normally been way below him on the food chain.

"Though," Rakna looked at King Gulon. "You're way stronger than any of us, right? Are you holding back or is the System weakening you?"

"Nothing like that," Cura shook his head. "Gul bound himself to me. I guess you can say it's similar to your Soul Weapon. If he wants, he can unseal himself, but right now, he's equalized to me. That's the reason we think the System even summoned us. We don't know what would happen if he were to let loose. Like I said, the intrusion of his full power might harm everyone in the System."

"I see. It makes sense," Rakna nodded. "Otherwise, there's no way the System would intentionally summon a creature beyond its capacity due to the risks it poses… I wonder if Hans was in a similar situation."

"{I'm also rather curious to know how the Wailful Nightmare became my successor,}" Fray added.

Rakna sighed and threw away his cigarette before standing up. "Well, we can just ask him. Anyway, Cura, accept this," he said and sent a Guild invitation. "In a month or so, before or after we start the 'Miracle' plan, we'll see, there's an SS-Class Hidden Quest I'm sitting on that I plan to complete. I'll ask help from both Throne of Glory and my Guild; I thought you might be interested."

"SS…?" Cura repeated. "That's the first I hear that rating," he replied and Gul hummed in interest.

"It's been issued to me a while ago, and just looking at the thing almost killed me," Rakna revealed with a small grin. "It would be quite amazing to defeat the Boss of that place, no? I can't wait to get my hands on it."

"On what?"

"Well, of course," his grin widened viciously. "I'd like to see how its heart tastes."


AUTORENGEDANKEN
AhraManyu AhraManyu

It’s all right? Didn’t bore you too much? I wanted a little backstory episode for Cura so here you go. It’s nothing fancy.

Kapitel 400: Myth Council I

The streets of New Athens cleared themselves as the day started. Even the higher sectors were not an exception as the aristocrats stood aside in deference as the Myth Tower was released.

"How snobbish," Rakna huffed as he walked up the granite stairs of the second-highest layer of the spiral city. Kaelith following next to him snorted in amusement.

"What else do you expect them to do? To everyone here, it's the day where their Presidents gather, so to speak. They decide how things are run; the highest authority endorsed by the System itself and composed of the most influential, powerful Hosts and Locals."

"I approve of it!" Akronis stated loudly from atop Allan's head. "This pleases me very much!"

"They aren't doing this out of respect for you, stupid bat," the vampire slayer retorted.

Nyx shook her head at the duo's antics and turned toward Evelyn, who had a stiff expression as they approached the Myth Tower. "Are you okay?" The goddess asked worriedly.

The Cambion tensed up for a second before sighing. "Yes… I think it should be fine."

Rakna glanced over. "Don't worry too much. As long as you're with me, nothing should go wrong. I won't let the Council protect 'them' if they ever try."

She smiled softly. "Yes. I have no doubt, but…" She looked down. "I fear for what I—"

"Evelyn," the therian cut her off. "Don't hold back," he uttered and she blinked in surprise. "There is nothing to fear. The judgment will be all yours, so let it free; your hundred-year-old grudge."

The succubus' eyes widened slightly and their dark green color briefly glowed red before she schooled her face into a healthy flush and a smile. "Yes!" She replied happily.

Natsu, who was hanging from her shoulder, looked at her from the corner of his eyes and inwardly smirked at what he could feel was already brewing up to the surface.

After all, even he had been startled to see the compatibility he had with her as a Soul Beast. When thinking about it, it made sense to him. Being a Hell Priestess was one thing… but the requirements for having such a Path was another.

"Here we are," Kara exclaimed as they reached the end of the stairs and were faced with a carved stone tower, crowned by a floating ring of crystallized mana. It was a structure that could only be found in the Four Major Plateau Cities.

It was situated at the center of a circular platform, pillars erected along its circumference to hold up the roof, from which water flowed down like a fountain.

At the entrance of the tower, a pair of Adjudicators were silently standing guard. Not far from it, a small group of people seemed to be waiting for Rakna.

"Ah, lad! Good morning," Gaelius Eldron waved his hand in greetings, a grin on his lips.

"Mhm," the therian nodded as he reached him. "Good morning," he said and succinctly greeted Caer and Merlina who were there. The latter reciprocated with a nod and the pink-haired man let out a chuckle.

"It's a nice morning, isn't it?" He smiled.

"Eh? Were you also part of the Council?" Flavia asked curiously.

"I'm just here to accompany my wife like all of you are right now," the Blossom Wind replied. "I'm sadly not part of the Council myself," he shrugged. "I'm quite far from being a Top 10 Host, or even a King or prominent merchant. Just good old Caer," he joked whilst wagging his finger, his squinted eyes forming perfect crescents as always.

Merlina was the one who gave him the most unconvinced stare.

"Don't be fooled," Kaelith rolled her eyes. "Caer Llawen may not be the most powerful member of the Throne of Glory Guild, but he's still one of their most vicious assets," she uttered. "And there is nothing more misleading than his title; harmless compared to the scenes he leaves behind after his battles. Your guild is a bunch of weirdos, wolfy. Remember that."

Caer laughed lightly. "Aren't you being a bit mean?" He pouted. "I would argue that I'm a gentleman no matter the place, even the battlefield."

"Sure, you do that," the vixen droned sarcastically.

Rakna watched his guild mate react with faux hurt and then turned toward the two other people that had been quietly awaiting their turn to speak.

One of them was an elderly man with a patient and kind smile wearing the robes of the Basilica; Lacros Hortensia. Someone Nyx greeted with a respectful smile.

The other was a woman perhaps nearing her 30s with luscious hair comporting two colors at once, orange and red, with charm and appeal fit to be admired. Her expression was marginally colder in nature compared to Lacros, but her blue eyes were soft and seemed even wiser.

But most crucially, she exhibited inhuman traits, such as a pair of antlers stealthily growing above her temples, semi-hidden by her hair, and faint golden-bronze scales on the back of her hands that brandished unusually sharp nails.

She wore a black dress tailored for Basilica members, with the customary eight-branched cross around her neck as a necklace. When the focus was put on her and Lacros, they promptly bowed with one hand over their heart.

""We greet the Kind Demon's Kin,"" they spoke in unison.

Rakna blinked, unsure of how to respond, while Kaelith seemed surprised for a reason of her own.

"Light of Tribulation…" She muttered and the beautiful woman straightened her back with a smile, seemingly amused by the title.

"It is my pleasure to meet you all," she said with a polite tone. "My name is Fiora Leonhart, known as Light of Tribulation to some. I am somebody that some refer to as the Founder of the Basilica of Eternal Night," she revealed and a few gasps spread among the listeners.

"Um, if I may…" Astraea raised her voice curiously. "Are you perhaps a Qilin?"

Fiora's smile widened. "Correct. I am a Tribulation Qilin, wielding Lightning and Light as one. I'm the only one of my kind in the System if you're curious."

"She's a Wilden, wolfy," Kaelith further explained to Rakna. "One of the strongest we know and one of the few everyone has collectively agreed that fighting isn't worth any reward. A Qilin is a Divine Beast, a Child of Heaven of sorts, but not quite a Celestial. She's stupidly powerful," she said blankly and the woman in question chuckled.

Honestly, Rakna didn't need anyone to tell him that. If it wasn't because he knew she wasn't hostile in any way, his mere instinct to flee would have been difficult to overcome. Unexpectedly, he could also smell something beyond friendliness from her… something closer to devotion.

"If she wasn't part of the Basilica and peaceful, she would most likely rule over entire Plateaus just by herself," Kaelith shook her head. "I knew she was part of the Myth Council, but last I heard, she hasn't partaken in over five hundred years."

"Well, how could I possibly stay still when the nephew of Arimane Blade is here?" Fiora said with a bright smile. "This might mean nothing to either you or him, but the Kind Demon saved me from the worst possible fate, even if unaware. I have thus a debt I can never repay to both him and any of his kin."

Rakna snorted. "Well, I'm sure the old man would be happy to hear that. He once told me that there is nothing in life more pleasing than someone owing you a debt for free."

The Qilin giggled. "Good to hear. Please be assured that my power is all yours. Should you need me or the Basilica, I shall force them to accept you as their leader," she stated confidently.

Lacros sighed. "Please don't do that…"

She ignored him, too happy to show her commitment. "And should you wish so, I would be more than happy to even bear your child," she declared with no change in her expression.

A few people immediately choked on nothing but air and Lacros facepalmed. The girls shook their heads in exasperation, Lanata's mouth opened wide in an 'O' shape, and Kara laughed without a care in the world, "My, I'm genuinely curious of what kind of child would result from that union."

"A unique breed of Qilin and Ten-Tailed Werewolf…" Hans muttered under his breath; his interest piqued. "I have to admit, I would love to see it, if just to record it on paper myself."

Kaelith's expression was blank as she retorted, "Follow the pecking order. You're last; dead last."

Fiora seemed startled by the collective effect of her words. "Oh, I apologize," she cleared her throat in embarrassment. "I had no idea I would be intruding. Please forget that."

"Oh no, please don't think that," Kara smirked teasingly. "You're more than welcome."

"That's enough," Rakna groaned. "I understand," he said and looked at the Qilin. "Your loyalty was heard and received. I'll be sure to rely on it, so be prepared," he said with a small smile.

With a small widening of her eyes, Fiora's mood spiked up. "Yes!" She replied eagerly.

"Ding, Strongest Wilden, Get." Allan quietly imitated a video game notice to the side and more than a few people smiled in amusement.

"Wow, little Majesty, just two days and there's already a top-tier powerhouse swearing allegiance to you?" A new voice echoed from the staircase leading to the tower and everyone turned toward it; Zialtra's dominating presence quickly joined them.

"Oh, the gorilla," Hans commented off-handedly.

"Tch, who are you calling gorilla, you fucking midget."

A step behind Zialtra, another woman approached. One that Rakna had never seen before, but that plenty of others knew about, especially Nyx. A woman with pink eyes dressed in a tantalizing black dress approached the group and without saying anything, glared at Rakna as if he was her mortal enemy, which got her a confused expression in return.

"Hello, Guild Master," Nyx greeted the woman.

"Ah, yes," Enya Fendyrlen looked away from the therian and smiled at the goddess. "It's good to see you, Nyx. I haven't seen you for several days now. Polia misses you."

Nyx smiled 'gently'. "Please tell her that I certainly don't."

Enya chuckled. "All right. I'll be going in. Let's talk later," she said and gave one last glare at Rakna before heading inside the tower with a huff, the Adjudicators scanning her to confirm her identity.

"Did you do something to her, devourer of mine?" Higure inquired with a tilt of her head.

"I've never even seen her before today," Rakna responded. "Who was that even?"

"Enya Fendyrlen," Caer answered. "Fifth Ranked Host, Leader and 'Master' of the Wiccan Guild, and titled Monarch of Sorcery & Magic. I've met her a few times. She's an innocent child under all that pretense. She's probably jealous of the spells you and your uncle used during your battle."

"Well, the girl's cute like that," Zialtra said mischievously. "But don't underestimate her. She isn't a Monarch for nothing. Magic has no secrets for her. She can dispel others' spells and cast some herself capable of eradicating millions of lives without breaking a sweat."

"I see…" Rakna muttered. "Well, I'll try not to provoke her."

"Or seduce her?" Allan added with a smirk.

"That too," the therian deadpanned and eventually approximated the entrance of the Myth Tower where he paused next to the Adjudicators when an idea popped in his mind. "Hey, you," he called out to one of the marble-like paladins, and due to his authority, it immediately responded.

[| Rakna Xiorra Blade. Clearance Confirmed. State Your Attentions. |]

"Only Myth Council members can enter this place, correct?"

[| Entities Fulfilling Entry Conditions Can Pass. |]

Rakna hummed and pointed at two people; Astraea and Ceresta. "Then, can they?"

The Adjudicator turned its eyes toward them and spent an abnormally long time examining them before answering, [| Affirmative. |]

The therian smiled. "You heard the big guy," he said and both girls blinked in surprise. They hadn't expected to be granted access.

"How peculiar," Caer chuckled. "This is probably the first time I see this."

"You don't say…" Zialtra raised an eyebrow.

"Let's go. Evelyn, you should be called in after a while," Rakna said and the succubus nodded with a serious face. "See you later then."

"Mhm, good luck in there," Kaelith crossed her arms.

Promptly, everyone with the clearance began to step inside the portal-like doorway and when only Zialtra remained, she flashed a grin at Hans. "Later, midget."

The azure-haired boy's eyebrow twitched. He grunted quietly and before she could even move, he abruptly walked past her and sent an indifferent gaze at the Adjudicators as if daring them to do something. Before they knew it, he had stepped inside and disappeared from their sight.

"…huh?" The Hunting Queen was left gawking.

"Hm…" Caer rubbed his chin. "As expected of the Wailful Nightmare…"

"Wait, wait, wait! Brick head!" Zialtra shouted at the Adjudicator. "Why'd you let that one in?!"

[| … |] It remained silent and she frowned. It wasn't normal for them to just stay silent at a question from a council member. In other words, it meant her wording was the problem.

"…Adjudicator," her voice lowered a bit. "Is there a Host called 'Hans De Vale' in the System?"

This time, it reacted and after its eyes flashed, it replied, [| Negative. |]

Zialtra's eyes widened and then she burst out laughing. "Hahaha! I can't believe it! It's not that they allowed him to pass; they didn't even register his presence," she cackled to herself and finally went inside. "Hah, that midget is a bag of wonders."


AUTORENGEDANKEN
AhraManyu AhraManyu

Happy 400th Chappy.

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