It turns out that blowing yourself up from a volcano wasn't the smoothest ride of Rory's life.

"Fuckkkkk!" Rory felt like he was being stretched like taffy, carried upon a twister of lava and terawa as it bore through space-time.

Don't puke, Rory. Don't puke.

It wasn't just the sensation of being pulled apart, stretched about, and glued back together that was disorienting him. It was the fact that he was damn close to having an epileptic seizure, the world around him constantly flashing different vistas like he was dropping in and out of real physical space, and the void in between spaces.

Don't puke. Oh god, I'm going to be sick.

As much as Rory had put on an air of confidence to Zoey, the reality was that he was working on an extremely limited time frame, and if the prior teleportation utilizing the horizon mirror had been a bit scuffed, this time it was held together by bubble gum, a paperclip, and some shoelaces.

As awful as he felt, both physically and mentally, as his brain was overloaded with sensory input, one thing was becoming clear.

He felt good. Not his body or mind, obviously, but it felt as if he had just downed an energy drink and chased it back with pre-workout.

I'm buzzing. But uck, nope, still feel like puking.

Doing his best not to puke, Rory finally dropped out of the void space for the last time, his eyes blinking as the disorientation and nausea rapidly faded, the buzzing feeling winning out.

Hot damn, I feel incredible.

Flying within the fiery twister, he was moving fast, hundreds of miles per second. Far below was a sight for sore eyes, orange trees for as far as the eye could see.

Or, at least for a few seconds, as Ehkorrus finally came into view.

What the hell?

Rory was taken aback as the village, large enough for fifty or so people, had ballooned. It was now large enough to house at least a few thousand people; the walls had likewise been pushed outward. Even the forest had changed for at least a hundred miles in any direction; the Sol's Glory that Rory associated with the Ehkorrian forest had now fully mutated into Star Blood Willows, which had begun appearing shortly before he'd left so many decades ago. Gone was the orange environment always so reminiscent of an autumn afternoon; now the surrounding forest was clad in hues of black, red, silver, and even purple.

Ignoring the physical environmental changes, the next thing Rory noticed was the air. It was rich with a tangy, almost citrus-like flavor, spiced oranges, pineapple, and-

Chi? Not exactly, but honestly, not a terrible description.

With the rather potent tang, the pneuma itself had changed. It was far less dense than what he had grown accustomed to, but it made up for it with the fact that, as far as he could sense, it was as if he could feel a faint spark of himself.

Weird.

Finally, there was the elephant in the room.

Monsters, and a lot of them. Ehkorrus had clearly been under some heavy siege, tens of thousands of monsters littering the ground. They had done a damned good job on their own of holding them back.

But the cost hadn't been cheap. From what Rory could make out, the death toll must have been at least a hundred, maybe even two or three.

Shit.

It was an odd feeling. Rory wasn't too emotionally distraught. Without a recognizable face to put to the body, it was just a number. If the loss of their entire universe hadn't broken him—a key factor in his selection as a Founder—a few hundred citizens wouldn't either.

But.

But they were his people, and that thought felt like a nagging itch, and the more he 'itched' at it, the more it began to piss him off.

His journey finally neared its end as the fiery twist aimed downward, the 'signature' he had used as the 'lock' for the ritual just below.

Apostolos?

His former apprentice was beaten and battered, which itself was a bad sign, as he couldn't physically be hurt unless his Radiant Embers had all been expended.

A short distance from him was what was clearly the boss of the wave. Mentally adding up the timeframe, Rory frowned.

Weird. That seems a little beyond what a wave boss should be at this point. Also, why are some of those monsters holding people? Wait, is that Marcie, Violet, and, uh, a random dude?

It had taken a moment to recognize the two of them, random person aside, as when he had left, they had only been in their early twenties.

Now, they had the sort of 'ageless' look of someone who was clearly older than their twenties, yet had done a good job of taking care of themselves, not a single wrinkle or blemish on otherwise matured faces.

Which made sense, given they were both in their eighties by now.

In fairness, I'm over a hundred by now… Shit, I'm old.

Putting aside the stray thought, Rory remembered a very important promise as he was moments from impact.

"So, do me one favor?" Zoey said, eyes strangely wide like a child asking Santa for a prized present.

"What's that?"

"Superhero landing. You've got to do a superhero landing."

"Sure, sure," Rory snorted, rolling his eyes. "Sounds fun."

Superhero landing time. Three…Two…One.

Crashing upon the ground, a surprisingly less explosive landing than should have occurred given how fast he'd been moving, Rory landed with his knee down and fist to the earth.

Purposely holding the pose, he waited for the dust to clear.

As it did, he saw the visible unease within the monsters; even if they weren't truly intelligent, they were smart enough to recognize a bad sign.

God damn, I'm cool.

"Superhero landing, just like promised," Rory muttered to himself as he rose to his feet, dusting himself off.

Not thinking much of the monsters, Rory was momentarily surprised when the lead monster stepped forward, voice booming.

"Announce yourself."

Well, I don't like that attitude.

Eyeing the monster, Rory wasn't disappointed per se, more just… unimpressed. Level seventy-six, it wasn't even an Alpha Variant. More than that, something just seemed… off about it. Combined with just how good Rory felt, buzzing with energy, his mouth opened of its own accord, speaking without thinking.

"To some, I'm known as Precursor," He began, glaring at the monster. Developed as his mind was, cold fury was able to co-exist with the range of emotions he felt, cordoned off into their own neat little sections of his split mental threads. Deciding to make an impression, Rory let the angry side take the wheel. "To others, Founder. To others still, the Architect. But really? The name's Rory, and you're attacking my god damn home."

Continuing to make a show of it, he raised his hand, purposely calling down a strike of lightning in the exact moment he summoned his war staff from his inventory. To the observer, it would have looked like the lightning itself had become his staff.

Showy? Sure, but over the years, Rory had found himself enjoying the theatrics.

Holding his staff, Rory conjured a magic circle. Considering the pneuma's vacuous nature and its apparent reaction to him as if it were an extension of himself, Rory was only slightly shocked when the magic circle expanded hundreds of meters with no resistance or effort.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Nifty.

"You know, I wanted to take some time, rest, and rejuvenate. Lord knows I just spent the last few decades on quite the expedition after all," Rory said, his mind thinking back to the years spent on the final floor of the Deep Chambers or how not long ago the tier eight Queen was beating them within an inch of their lives even after being weakened by the Oblivion Chain. "But no, I have to clean up pests."

He wasn't merely putting up a front either. Aside from the level seventy-six wave boss, the rest of the monsters pretty much capped out at level seventy-three. At best, they were monsters they could have found hanging out on the early rungs of his mountain workshop, much less the Deep Chambers.

I really don't feel like wasting my time.

Utilizing Earth Soul in tandem with his projection magic, from the ground spires began to rise. The spires themselves were made of ordinary earth elements, but the red crystals that capped them off were formed of his projection magic.

"Attack!" The wave boss ordered, the horde of fodder charging him.

Perfect opportunity to give this a test.

The spires weren't just basic spires. In fact, he had specifically targeted a particular type of material as the basis of them.

Conductive materials.

Crackling with electrical charge and magical energy, they worked exactly as Rory hoped, thunderclouds appearing overhead.

Good, because that would have taken longer than I'd have liked to draw the pneuma together the regular way, with how light it feels.

"Illapa…. Narukami…. Chaac and Indra." Rory quickly recited the chant under his breath. His intent focused within the chant, the energy overhead built and redoubled, held back only by his control.

Watching the horde of fodder monsters charging him, Rory rolled his eyes.

Honestly, this is overkill.

But he'd already started the chant, and not wanting to deal with the backlash of aborting, he raised his hand before clutching it into a tight fist.

"Descend, Empyrean Fulmination!"

The world went white as the lightning equivalent of Dragon's Fall crashed down upon the earth, obliterating the monsters with ease.

When the wall of lightning faded, all that remained was an empty, smoldering field.

Yeah, definitely overkill.

Aside from how overkill it had been, Rory was certain of something else.

He was being empowered.

Oh, that wasn't to say he would have been struggling, but the energy he'd called upon hadn't even felt like it had drained him, and he wasn't drawing from the reserves of Ehkorrus either; doing so wouldn't be wise when he didn't even know how much reserves they currently had.

No, instead, the power came from that odd buzzing feeling, which, oddly enough, was growing more intense.

Rory had one idea, but for the time being, he put it to the side, something he could investigate later.

Still, it's a bit convenient that I can feel a swell of power while I'm-

"What sorcery did you enact to transport my army?

Really, right when I'm in the middle of brainstorming?

"Transport?" Rory clicked his tongue, shaking his head at the stupidity.

Alright, perhaps I'm letting my annoyance color my thoughts.

"I didn't transport them anywhere, unless you count the afterlife. They're dead."

"Lies. I can sense your aura. You stand near the top of the seventh realm, but you are still of the seventh realm."

Alright, this is getting tiresome.

"Well then, if you don't believe me, try me," Rory said, rolling his eyes as he dismissed the staff and golden circle beneath.

The wave boss seemed to contemplate for a moment before stepping forward, glancing at the monster holding Marcie.

"I have your people. Lay down your-"

Really? That's the angle you want to try?

Annoyed, Rory wouldn't deny he was feeling childish. Pursing his lips together, he made a buzzing sound as he channeled his aura and sense of self into his words.

If you want to keep acting all high and mighty, I can do that, too.

"Bzzz," Rory buzzed his lips, before scowling. "Wrong."

Snapping his fingers, chains appeared, lunging forward like striking vipers and killing the monsters flanking the wave boss, the 'hostages' dropped to the earth with a thud.

Oh, uh, whoops. Ehh, they're all tier sevens, they're fine.

Not wanting to linger on how he had just let the 'hostages' smack down on the hard ground, Rory infused his voice.

"Come. Here."

The chains that had just murdered the monsters flanking the wave boss instantly ensnared it as well, dragging it forward before Rory, who stared down at it.

Alright, no more voice infusion, it tickles my throat.

"I will admit, I'm not always the most responsible," Rory said, resisting the urge to scratch at his throat, which still felt itchy from infusing his voice. "And sometimes I can be forgetful. But you attacked my home."

Releasing the chains, Rory let the monster rise to its feet.

"What games do-"

Not letting it finish its sentence, Rory slugged the monster in the stomach-

Thorax? Abdomen? Whatever you'd call it on a monster.

The monster, steeped in an aura of pestilence or the like, was one that Rory knew precisely how to counter easily. Lightning was great for ignoring durability, but the heavenly element seemed to be a natural anathema to all things rot and pestilence, while still retaining some level of durability nullification, though less than base lightning.

Either way, when his fist struck the monster, it bent over, the impact of the heavenly infused fist striking beyond just the physical. Glaring down at the prone monster, his fists continued to crackle with heavenly infusion.

"No games. Just need to vent."

And vent he did. Uppercutting the monster, he began to systematically beat down the monster with brutal efficiency.

Stupid damn monster. Stupid damn wave. Yeah, sure, probably shouldn't have been gone this long, but really!

Venting his righteous fury, a rage born purely of his home being attacked-

I really wanted to finish everything with the Hidden Depths, but nooo, right when we defeat the boss, I'm stuck doing this!

…. Never mind.

Regardless of the reason for his annoyance and anger with the monster —whether it was defending his home or being pulled away from more interesting things— it didn't change the beating it received. Within the first few punches, though, when it became evident that it was little more than an extended execution, Rory found himself puzzled.

For a level seventy-six, why does it feel like it's made of tofu?

Curiosity getting the better of him, Rory paused his beating of the monster to ask the question on his mind.

"Why do you feel so…. Flimsy? Is your level a lie?"

Curious if it was just that the monster was in fact an offensive powerhouse, Rory purposely looked away, staring off into the distance as if he were lost in thought.

Alright, I know this is a bit obvious, but c'mon, you've got to take advantage of this big of an opening.

Thankfully, the monster didn't disappoint, lashing out with its clawed hand as three noxious magical claw marks slashed through the air toward him. Doing his best Zoey impression, Rory let the attack slam into it.

Where it proceeded to break upon his hauberk like waves upon a cliff.

Huh. So, not just defensively, it's lacking offensively as well. Why, though? It's level seventy-six; it seems a bit extreme to be this weak. It's like when you've got a manager who was hired right out of college with a bunch of credentials but no experience: just for show.

Eyes widening, Rory snapped his fingers.

"You know, that might be it. Your foundation is weak. Like an astronaut in low gravity, except instead of low gravity, it's low pneuma. God, like eighty percent of the monsters we dealt with over the last few years, would have eaten you up for breakfast."

Not wanting to deal with the monster for a moment, Rory re-chained it as he began to mumble to himself.

Does staying in an environment with weaker pneuma lower your overall strength? Or is that just monsters? No, that doesn't make sense. If it were just monsters, then Ehkorrus should have been able to hold out just fine, so maybe it's something that applies to everything with a level. Oh, but what about-

"Rory?" A voice called out, drawing Rory from his thoughts as he glanced back toward Apostolos.

"Yo, what's up?" Rory asked. Seeing Apostolos again felt so natural that he slipped into his usual demeanor as if it had only been a week since he'd last seen him.

"Six decades, and you act like it's been a week!" Apostolos snapped at him, a vein bulging in his forehead, before it eased up.

Whoa, alright, maybe a bit too casual, my bad.

While for Rory the last six decades hadn't felt that long, he supposed he could understand how that might not exactly be a universal feeling, especially if you spent those six decades in charge of a growing city.

"Is now the time to get distracted?" Apostolos asked, the flare in his temper already smoothed over.

"Oh, right," Rory said, nodding.

Right, right, probably not the time to get absorbed in my own thoughts when there is an entire city to consider.

"You're in the middle of a wave, aren't ya?"

Too casual. God, six decades, and the social skills go out the window.

Pointing a finger gun at the monster, Rory charged up a blast of electricity. It was at that very moment that the buzz of energy that had made him feel like he was at 120% exhausted itself. Wincing, Rory didn't let it disrupt his control. Without the fresh feeling that came from that buzz, the slog of battling the Queen caught back up to him, having concluded less than an hour ago.

Oof, yeah, no point to drag this out. I need a nap, and stat.

Cocking his thumb back, a blast of lightning with trace elements of heavenly concepts ripped through the monster's head as it dropped to the ground, dead, moments later.

Easy enough.

Marking the end of the wave, a notification appeared in front of Rory.

Wave Cleared.

In the past, this would have been where Rory congratulated himself and then began planning how to use the ascension energy rewarded and any other goodies from the wave.

Except this time, he had only swooped in at the end, and he wasn't the one in charge of planning the city's direction anymore.

Turning to look at Apostolos, Rory opened his mouth to speak, only to stop as a moment later, as a new notification appeared.

The Third Faction has formed.

Oh, well, talk about timing.

The Fourth Faction has formed.

Alright, what are the chances of that?

Finally, a third notification appeared, the last one as Rory felt his eyebrow twitch.

Huh. Well, that's alarming.

Planetary Event: Fight for the Flag

Requirements: Formation of 3(+) Founder Factions

Reward: Planetary Claim

Those who came before were no figures of meek personality or low aspirations. Between such legates of change and discovery, ambitions shall clash. With battle lines drawn, the time for discretion is past. Defeat thy opponents, claim their flag, and claim the rights of the planet.

"Well," Rory sighed. "I think things just got more interesting."

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