CHAPTER 60: CHAPTER 48 SHIAYAR’S UTOPIA

Weaving dreams is a specialty of the Succubus race.

This race isn’t adept at weaving nightmares to kill their enemies but is exceptionally skilled at creating beautiful dreams.

This was especially true for the Succubus Royal Family. Favored by the Dreamscape Dragon, their beautifully woven dreams were nearly indistinguishable from reality, capable of making people lose themselves in them forever.

And this was why Isadella had activated Dyres, a hidden pawn kept secret for many years.

The silver-haired Princess had indeed taken notice of Shiayar Egutt—his identity, and the potential and capabilities he had shown. However, Shiayar’s origins were always shrouded in mystery.

Add to that the possibility of the revival of an ancient figure, Isadella found it imperative to assess Shiayar’s character.

Otherwise, if an old enemy of the Empire became the Swordbearer, that would be quite the fiasco.

Verbal interrogations could be met with lies; countries emphasized anti-interrogation training for their secret agents. Furthermore, past backgrounds and records could also be falsified.

Only the Mind Landscape never lies. It is a virtual world determined by one’s subconscious. It reflects true essence once stripped of all pretense and disguise, revealing the most genuine landscape of the soul’s depths.

The beautiful dream woven by Dyres, a member of the Succubus Royal Family, would manifest the most perfect world imaginable within a person’s subconscious.

That is to say—

’An independent utopia, detached from the world.’

On the Western Continent, the greatest bliss ordinary people could imagine likely involved sleeping in the world’s most luxurious palace, embracing the world’s most beautiful woman, and possessing endless wealth.

Even the fantasies of the powerful were largely based on this, merely with clearer dream content and richer details—

For example, replacing the prettiest girl in the village with a queen riding a magic dragon, and replacing mountains of Gold Coins with countless high-order Extraordinary materials.

After all, regardless of strength or status, the fundamental desires of Humans are the same.

Yet, in Shiayar’s utopia, Isadella saw an entirely different scene.

Her gaze fixed on the surface of that azure planet.

The ’Space Elevator,’ resembling a tower that pierced the heavens, was sending numerous platforms laden with passengers into deep space.

And at the end of that ’Space Elevator,’ within the dark and profound Sea of Stars, stood one magnificent city after another.

Constructed entirely of silvery-white metal, some were built on satellites orbiting the planet’s surface, while others floated independently.

In the dark and deep Sea of Stars, these metallic cities formed clusters, slowly orbiting the planet—

Much like the mythical Floating Cities said to drift in the distant heavens, never falling.

Isadella saw countless people traveling between the planet’s surface and the space cities. They journeyed either via the ’Space Elevator’ or by spacecraft that, while resembling the Empire’s magictech airships, far surpassed them in performance.

From these people, Isadella sensed no powerful fluctuations... they were merely ordinary people, or rather, civilians.

Yet, they were already accustomed to everything around them.

)

On the Western Continent, venturing into the stars was a privilege exclusive to the Legendary. Even Titled Rank Beastmasters needed a specific type of Pet Beast to even attempt it, and the risks were extremely high.

But in this world before her, what was once a Legendary privilege had become the daily norm for every ordinary person.

...

"What on earth do you usually think about in that head of yours..."

Dyres’s black demonic wings beat erratically, her heart-shaped tail hanging listlessly in mid-air.

The Succubus Queen gazed at the world beyond the doorway, at the splendid Sea of Stars, and for a moment, was so astonished she was at a loss for words.

As a protegée of the Dreamscape Dragon, the Spirituality she expended weaving dreams could be replenished by the ancient dragon who governed the realm of fantasy within the Astral Realm.

Therefore, she was able to materialize such complex and richly detailed true dreams.

Despite this, Dyres was shocked, completely baffled as to how Shiayar’s mind worked.

Others’ dreams are just about simple pleasures; why are even your daydreams so ridiculously elaborate?

Shiayar ignored Dyres’s sarcastic remark.

He merely watched the world outside the doorway in silence, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

"’A civilization with highly advanced magictech technology, and no disparity in rank,’ he began, his voice calm.

’Everyone can learn knowledge equally, free from worries about sustenance or poverty.

’Even an ordinary person, with no fighting ability whatsoever, can travel among the stars and explore the worlds within the Sea of Stars as they please...

’Don’t you find it beautiful?’"

Dyres also recovered from her shock.

The succubus girl gazed at the distant Sea of Stars.

After a long time, she gently nodded her head.

"’It is indeed wonderful,’ Dyres acknowledged. ’But it’s so wonderful it feels... too illusory...’ A hint of regret flickered in her pink demonic eyes.

’If it were possible,’ she continued, ’we too would want to establish more academies, lower enrollment thresholds, and even distribute books on a large scale. Then, we would reclaim the privilege of becoming a Beastmaster—of stepping into the extraordinary—and the right to knowledge from the hands of the few elite classes, making it accessible to more people.

’However, this is ultimately just a fantasy.

’Cultivating a single Beastmaster, enabling them to complete their Soul Pact, requires a tremendous amount of money... And to disseminate knowledge to every commoner in the Empire... that would require investing countless resources.

’As for these fantasies of yours... towers allowing mortals to ascend to the heavens, Floating Cities amidst the Sea of Stars... Realizing any single one of these would likely drain the treasuries of the Empire, and indeed, all the major powers on the Western Continent... and perhaps even that wouldn’t be enough.’"

Dyres’s black wings fluttered lightly. A few feathers brushed against Shiayar’s arm, creating a slight tickling sensation.

Resource scarcity. That is the original sin.

That is why the protracted wars on the Western Continent will never cease. Resources are finite, but ambition is limitless.

Every nation and every power desires development, but the resources required for it are limited, inevitably leading to conflict.

The utopia in Shiayar’s mind—

Was ultimately nothing more than an ephemeral, rootless dream.

Before the Succubus Queen could finish her regret-tinged words, she heard a soft laugh beside her.

"’So, the root cause and crux of all strife—’"

Shiayar’s voice resounded next to Dyres’s ear.

"’Is nothing more than a shortage of resources.’"

At the same time, transmitted through the communication channels of the Astral Realm, it echoed in the ears of Isadella and Fioran.

"’But—’ he continued, ’the energy that numerous kingdoms and great powers have fought over for so long, at the cost of countless lives and bloodshed... in the vastness of the Sea of Stars, is clearly less than a drop in the ocean.’"

...

The light screen flickered, and the perspective pulled back.

The once-azure planet instantly shrank to a tiny speck.

In its place, a crimson sphere radiating light and flame filled most of the light screen.

Beyond these two spheres lay a nearly pitch-black region, where occasional faint starlight twinkled, illuminating the profound darkness.

Everyone watching the dream recognized this dazzling celestial body—the Sun.

Only, this was different from the blazing sun Dyres and the others knew.

Encasing this burning celestial body was a sphere constructed from countless, interlocking dark metal rings, one after another, engulfing it completely.

Around the crimson star, rings of radiant flame rose and fell as if it were breathing.

With each rise and fall, the dark metallic rings also expanded and contracted.

Then, they absorbed all the overflowing light and heat from the sun’s surface.

On the light screen before Isadella and Fioran, text conceptualizing this structure slowly materialized once more—

’Dyson Sphere’