First encounter

Cracks range off in series, each echoed in Xasha and Ari's chest like the tome of a death bell. Their eyes glossed over, the fear gripping their bodies had stolen their ability to move or speak. The two stared lifelessly at the cracks. The cracks expanded on the surface of the egg.

A piece of the shell made of crystalized Imperium fell loosely from the egg and splintered out after hitting the floor. That sound was the alarm that woke the two up. Ari grabbed her father's hand. A moment later, the two were on the hillside where the others had a camp set up.

"The fantasia is waking up. We need to leave, now!" Ari's words were like the catalyst. A moment later, the last of the after images had faded, and a quiet breeze blew over the camp.

"Why are we running deeper into the basin? Why don't we head back? Who knows what dangers are ahead of-"

"You idiot," Lisa berated Xero from Alexi's strike team. "We don't know if that thing will chase us, and if it does, we can't lead it towards our friends and family."

The sand on the ground parted like waves on the ocean as the group sped through at top speed. Xasha was constantly glancing over his shoulders as he went along, being sure to extend his perception as far as it could go. Paying attention to every little detail, he'd noticed the dust had turned golden in this region.

He had no time to care about this, as the fear for his life had even overwhelmed his curiosity. The group sped along with all their might, but suddenly Xasha, who was leading the pack, stopped.

Everyone stopped with him with confused expressions. Before anyone could ask, he sped up again, even faster than he was retreating before. The people looked at each other, but seeing everyone was as clueless as the last, they sped off behind him.

It did not take long to catch up, as Xasha had stopped again, but this time none of them was confused as to why he did. Before them was a body of water stretching as far as the eye could see. The water was clear as day everyone could see right down to the floor.

Xero scrunched his nose. "This... smells like the ocean. Is this an ocean?"

"That is what jumped out at you? This ocean is made of Imperium and lots of it. From here I can tell it's way denser than the mana rain from the Storm Dragons," Shay glanced at Alexi as she spoke.

"This is strange and also bad. More bad than strange," Alexi spoke in concern.

"What's wrong?" Dila, the leader of Alexi's strike team, asked.

"There are no living beings around. A place packed with Imperium like this would be a nest for energy beast and whoever else. It is an excellent cultivation ground for whoever can take control of it. Yet, there's no one around. What do you think caused that?" He turned to the crowd and asked.

"If I had to take a guess, I'd say that I'm the reason for that." A voice that seemed to come from every direction sounded.

"Who?" Xasha, Ari, Alexi, and their strike teams had already drawn their weapons, and the defensive etchings on their armors lit up brightly.

"I must say I love what you have done with the place. That light up there has shown its true beauty. I did not know such strange techniques existed, but my grandfather said the cultivation world is as deep as it is bottomless and long as it is endless. I have truly seen that today." An older man dressed in shorts and a loose dress shirt walked into view a few hundred feet away.

Xasha was shocked as it seemed the man was hiding in the void right by them. He shuddered at the thought. Despite his heightened perception, he had not sensed his presence at all. The man could have stayed hidden and launched a sneak attack on his group, and he would have been caught totally off guard.

Xasha looked at the light-skinned man with his long blue hair and the casual smile on his face, despite outnumbering the old man. He felt an alarm going off as goosebumps filled his skin.

"That was not very smart, was it?" Xasha spoke in a confident and arrogant tone, even electing to put his weapon away. He landed on the ground, took out a beach chair and an umbrella they casually laid on it as he poured himself a drink.

The others did not know what he was up to but followed his lead. The earth cultivators built a pit, and the flame cultivators tossed a few flames inside. Bloom had taken out well seasoned Ember Bull meat and tossed it on the metal grill made by Lisa.

The man saw their actions and his eyes twitched. "What do you mean?" He also kept his calm and arrogant exterior.

"You had the upper hand. You could have attacked from the shadows, increased your chances of winning," Xasha replied from under his umbrella.

"I don't need such petty tricks to beat down a few weaklings. I can tell you're bluffing right now. With your cultivation, you are nothing but rats running around in a Dragon's den."

He was met with a burst of ridiculing laughter from the group. They had already broken out drinks and were toasting and chatting amongst themselves. Not even paying attention to the newcomer. He gritted his teeth for a second but showed a confident smile soon after.