Chapter 287 – Degrade / Preparations

Alice shot to attention. 

She had been lazing around with Dream, something she didn't mind doing for days or months at a time. Everything was peaceful, though she had been stressed over Dream's decision to take crazy risks. 

And now, her fears had come true. 

Dream's body exploded with chaotic energy. The orderly energy within him was tamed by Dust. But he didn't have any Ash to tame the chaos. It resulted in the surroundings being obliterated. 

Death seemed to overtake both the living and the inanimate. The metal spire he resided in melted away unnaturally. The souls in Dream's inventory seemed to escape, searching the living realm for the vitality of its denizens. 

Annihilation ran rampant as it tore everything apart. The only reason Alice hadn't died was because she was immortal, courtesy of her new God Core. Even then, she still took immense damage. 

Tersa appeared below the spire than began to crumble, activating the planetary cage and surrounding megastructures to lock down space. But even this had limited effect as those powers ate away at the dimension itself. 

"Dream!"

Alice was panicked. Suddenly, the power of Death actually escaped her body too. She used her comprehensions of the concept of Death to contain Dream's rampant energy. 

He opened his eyes as she did so. Half his body was withered and crumbling to ash, but it seemed like it had nothing to do with him as he smiled at Alice. 

"I knew it. Why didn't you tell me you were comprehending Death?"

"Because I thought you might worry. I only wanted to tell you when I got more powerful."

"And then you have the mind to worry about me? Not that I mind, but that's rather hypocritical."

Dream snickered as more of his body decayed. It was thankfully slowed by Alice's power, but it still continued under Annihilation.

She shook her head. 

"Enough of that. What's going on?!"

"Hm, call Luna here first."

"Luna!"

Alice quickly shouted, beckoning Luna through their soul bond. The woman instantly appeared, shocked by Dream's state. 

"What happened?!"

"I'll handle the power of Annihilation for a while. Luna, I need you to contact your sister."

"Why?"

"I need souls."

Dream spoke simply.

"I have plenty of Dust and souls of Dust. Now I need Ash. Iris also needs to come over here, and working with you, needs to infuse my Divine Sea of Ash and Dust with those respective materials. I obviously can't do it myself. Hopefully that will allow me to extend my life long enough to do what I need."

"..."

Luna was silent. She was a bit apprehensive about contacting Iris. They had become different, an inevitability due to their paths down the opposing Order and Chaos. 

But this time, she really didn't have a choice. 

"Fine. I'll go. Just keep yourself alive, please."

"I'll do my best."

Dream said as his body continued to decay. He smiled at her with half a face, prompting her to instantly teleport across the universe. 

Luna shuttled. She didn't even have to follow her soul bond. Her connection with Iris was even deeper than that with Dream. They had obviously noticed their odd situation, that of occupying a singular existence.

She made her way to Iris as if already being there herself. 

Iris also detected this, and she smiled sinisterly. Before long, they appeared above a random desolate planet. 

Iris snickered at Luna. 

"What is it, sister? Finally became a goddess? Took you long enough."

"I'm not here for you. Dream is dying."

"..."

Iris' smile turned low, her face scrunching up. 

"Why?"

"He needs Ash from chaotic souls. He needs you and me to infuse his soul with equal amounts of Dust and Ash."

"..."

Iris was quiet, as if deciding whether or not to believe her. Not long after though, her face went incredulous.

"Dream?"

She spoke outwardly, yet her awareness was turned toward conceptual space. 

In the concept of Annihilation, she saw a familiar figure. In that endless land of ruin and destruction, a land nobody could walk without having their very soul subject to the universal forces of entropy and decay, Dream tread. 

His body corroded and turned to ash under the powers of the concept. Yet, he approached her casually. 

"Hello, Iris."

"Y-you... Why?"

"Don't go running away, now."

He smiled at her who became uncharacteristically timid. Inwardly he sighed. He didn't think that even after they were married, she would still worry about his image of her. 

But that was something he could only handle later. 

"I need your help. I'll need lots of Ash, an amount equal to around 700 class 6's of a certain standard. You're the only one who can get me that before my soul crumbles."

"...You're crazy."

She almost scoffed. Dream had actually thrown himself into a concept he was actively being destroyed by. It was insanity at its finest. 

Dream just chuckled. 

"I've heard demons are crazier."

"No. Not quite. They at least seek to preserve their lives. You're not even doing that."

"Well, I am coming to you for help, right?"

"...Fine."

She nodded. 

"But I'm only doing this for you, not Luna."

"That's alright."

"Then I'll come to you soon. Give me... two minutes."

Iris' awareness switched as she said that. Without a word, she disappeared from Luna's sight. 

Then, she reappeared above a certain world in Hell's territories. This was her world, a primary world that replaced the position of the fallen Asmodeus. 

Her senses swept the entire planet, falling upon 700 of her finest class 6 demon warriors. These demons were loyal to her, willing to throw their lives away in battle. 

Without warning though, all of them suddenly felt their souls escape their bodies. They screamed from unfathomable pain as they were eaten by Iris whole. The trillions of demons upon her world watched her eat her own people without remorse or hesitation. 

That wasn't all though, as Iris suddenly attacked 5 of her demigods. She killed them easily, snatching their souls and disappearing from the world soon after. 

Iris followed Luna who had gone back to Dream. They both appeared in the ruined spire. Iris didn't spare Luna a glance, gazing upon Dream's eroding body. 

With a wave of the hand, Iris brought out all the Ash from her sacrificed people. The Ash formed a pure ball of chaos above her palm. 

Luna glanced at her before doing the same. A golden source of radiance and vitality appeared above her hand after she extracted the millions of souls in Dream's inventory. Anybody who gazed upon it would believe it to be water from the fountain of eternal youth, waters that could grant one immortality. 

These opposing energies clashed upon appearing in the universe. They wanted to destroy each other, attracting the other only to annihilate them.

"Go ahead, you two. I'd do it myself, but I can't even handle my own soul completely."

"Don't worry."

Iris knelt down, grabbing Dream's hand. The ball of Ash in her hand shrunk down, turning into a stream that entered his soul. 

"...We'll take care of you."

She looked back at Luna, who stepped forward as well. 

The two may not like each other anymore, but for Dream, they could temporarily reconcile. 

Both of their powers entered his body, targeting his Divine Seas. Dream didn't hide anything, not that he could. 

"Follow my conceptual existence. Tie those energies to my soul."

He mumbled as the two sisters worked in unison. The Dust and Ash was infused into his soul, their clash being mediated by Dream's Gray Mist. 

While this happened, Dream utilized the fullest extend of his Divine Light, reinforcing the Divine Seas of Dust and Ash so they could contain the power.  The Divine Sea of Gray Mist was also strengthened so as to accommodate the power necessary to prevent the opposing energies from annihilating each other. 

Like this, a delicate balance was reached in Dream's body as Luna and Iris infused more and more energy. They didn't stop until the rampant powers of the concepts were tamed. 

An equilibrium was reached, and they stopped. Beyond what even Dream though, both of them had infused Dust and Ash worth several thousand class 6's. Iris was glad she sacrificed some of her demigods as well. 

At that time, the two backed off. Dream's body was no longer radiating pure chaos. However, his withered form didn't get better. Half his body was still crumbled and ruined. 

Faintly, they could sense his soul continuously getting worse despite him having the necessary power to contain the energies. 

"What's going on? Why aren't you healing?"

"I'm right in the center of Life, Death, Creation, and Annihilation. The reconciliation between all these concepts won't come immediately, even with the sheer power."

Dream mumbled, his body slumped against his chair. 

He now had the sheer infinite power that could even fight gods, but his conceptual existence that was tied to his soul was split between four of the highest concepts in the universe, all of which were vastly different from the other. Sheer power alone could not sustain such a burden.

"It'll be alright though."

He smiled a bit. He was in a sorry state, but he couldn't care less. Even in this moment, he was indulging in the concepts.

"Give me time. I'll figure this out once and for all. The foundation of the universe. The smallest yet biggest secret. I'm gonna find it. This is the only way."

He laughed and closed his eyes. At that moment, Luna, Iris, and Alice thought he had died. But it was like he was hibernating. They all could sense him within the concepts, and his was infusing his existence into these unfathomable worlds. 

Even as his soul continued to degrade, he focused fully on finding what he needed. 

At some point, Iris narrowed her eyes. She looked toward Dream's soul, specifically at Sophia's Divine Sea. 

Sophia was completely unresponsive, and her Divine Sea had tapped into the Seas of Dust, Ash, and Gray Mist. She was doing something. 

"We need to be careful."

Luna suddenly spoke, causing Iris to shoot her a glare.

"Dream needs to be protected. Heaven's armies are already moving toward the Asura territories. The gods haven't mobilized yet, but it won't be long before they do. The Asura worlds will become a warzone."

"My demons are more than ready to eat some angels."

Iris snickered.

"I've also directed my generals. We've set up portals to the worlds most likely to become battlefields. We can launch at any point in time."

"Just stick to yourself. If I see any angels, even yours, I'm going to eat them. I'll also start attacking Heaven's territories. I hear they have some tasty primary worlds."

Iris disappeared with those words, causing Luna to frown. Eventually she shook her head and turned to Alice.

"I'll need your help. There are some demigods and gods in the way of Heaven's schism. With them gone, we can acquire more influence. We've pulled several gods to our side, but it's not enough. We need more."

"I shouldn't leave Dream."

"Go on, Alice."

Dream spoke with a raspy voice. A smile continued to hang on his decaying body. 

"I'll be fine."

"...Fine."

She stroked his face, gazing into his dead eyes before turning and following Luna. They two disappeared through a portal, beginning another conquest in Heaven's territories. 

Dream was left alone within that towering spire that had been rebuilt twice now. Inside that large, empty room and on that single chair, he continued to sustain his body, evading the clutches of death that gradually rose from the abyss to grasp his soul. 

............

The war had begun. 

Heaven split, with the highest powers dividing between protecting the universal anomaly and cutting it out. 

At the core of this split was Luna. She took control of a primary world controlling almost a quarter of Heaven's military might. Worse yet, every soldier and general under her expressed their loyalty to her alone. 

She became the core of the Seeker faction, that which wished to protect the broken law. And when she became a goddess, it only solidified her rule over the faction. 

Demigods and gods alike gathered under here banner, pledging themselves to protect the Seeker that brought about revolutionary change.

Some did it because they were greedy, wishing for a new way to attain power and take it from others. 

Some came because they were loyal to Luna.

Some came because, like Vursoid the spear god, they sought a new way. They saw the broken law as a new path of enlightenment .

No matter what, everyone knew one thing. 

The Seeker must be protected. 

The man himself didn't know just how catastrophic his actions were. Dream hadn't been concerned for anything other than comprehending the secrets of the universe. Though indulging in study was what he liked to do best, he also knew that it was the only thing he could do. He had lost his power that could place him on the level of his wives. He couldn't even kill a powerful class 4. What was he supposed to do against immortal gods?

But he didn't worry. If anything, he stood in awe of the oddly violent reaction to his power. 

No matter what Dream did with the concepts, he couldn't understand why the entire universe would be thrown into chaos. Why did demigods and gods, who had no direct confirmation of what happened, so easily pick their sides? Why didn't they just take this event as a rumor or baseless story?

Dream was led to believe something, or someone, was artificially pushing for this frenzied and blind response. 

Though, such a thing would imply this being had power so unfathomable that they could affect the subconscious of even gods. Nobody in the universe would be safe. But, if this person were so adamant about Dream's demise, why wouldn't they handle him themselves?

Maybe they wanted his power too. Maybe he needed to grow before he became valuable. 

It was the only thing Dream could think of. At least he was safe, for now. 

Either way, all trains of thought led to him doing a single thing: comprehending the four highest concepts in the universe. 

While he did so, the asura god clans assembled their armies under Luna's order. The demigods gathered, taking control of the vast legions of asuras. 

All the clans of all the secondary worlds were summoned to fight, sending their finest warriors and offering tribute for the cause. Trillions were transported using Dream's infrastructure that spanned every secondary world in the asura territories. Billions were moved through Tersa Prime every hour, and it became the central nexus by which all asura operations stemmed. 

Not only that, but all of Dream's bots that were sold and spanned the asura territory were, for the first time, fully activated. Every bot from the butlers to the soldiers had their abilities unlocked, their intelligences running at full capacity. They instantly became lethal killers capable of killing several others at their own level. This was entirely unbeknownst to their masters. The bots merely awaited Luna's command. 

Luna herself was now appreciating Dream's work more than ever. He had armed every corner of the asura territories, nearly every asura owning at least one bot. These bots were a hidden standing army, a lethal card if used right. Dream obviously retained the ability to control them at any point in time. Luna was just tapping into this back door. 

Along with her preparations in Heaven's territories, the new universal faction that sought to protect the Seeker had fully sharpened themselves for war. The asura territories became a death trap teeming with bots, and gods banned together under Luna's call. 

By the time the pieces had taken their places on the board, two years had passed since Dream's identity reveal. 

Dream continued to degrade, and Iris made stormed her way into Heaven's territories, wreaking some chaos as an appetizer for the universal war. 

At some point though, a new variable introduced itself. 

The Wanderer Faction made its move.