Chapter 210: You Need To Be A Little Crazy To Thrive In This Mad World

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Riven saw the memories of a lost world unfold before him like a living tapestry. The further he looked, the more it seemed to resemble almost a parallel version of Earth. Yet the deeper he delved into those fragmented recollections, the less familiar it became. It was an odd and unsettling experience, one that left a heavy weight pressing against his chest.

Beyond the sprawling big cities filled with towering structures of glass and steel, there stretched endless wastelands choked by thick layers of pollution. Giant monstrous rats and cockroaches the size of cars scurried through the ruins. All sorts of strange, aberrant technology pulsed and writhed, merged with a living flesh virus that consumed everything it touched. This world was a warped parallel of Earth known as "Blue Star." Long ago it had been the home of a vast colony of human-like beings who were deeply attuned to technology, their entire civilization built upon circuits, machines, and artificial intelligence.

Massive skyscrapers had risen higher and higher as they continued their relentless development, yet their planet slowly began to deteriorate beneath their feet. When the Gates finally arrived, those people fought with every piece of advanced technology they possessed. Still, they proved unable to overcome the invading forces. Worse yet, they were not even capable of adapting to Mana. They died en masse, their bodies collapsing in the streets while their machines sparked and failed around them. The last fragment of their world that survived was an abandoned subway station. Then something massive, an endless black abyss, consumed everything that remained.

The Abyssal Gaze.

Riven gasped aloud as the vision showed the Cosmic Monarch consuming the entire planet. Thousands of black portals opened across the sky and ground, devouring Blue Star from every possible angle until nothing was left but darkness.

The final surviving piece, a tiny fragment of the planet itself, faded away and was somehow "teleported" into this world. It joined its parallel counterpart, anchoring itself to a subway station that looked exactly the same as the one Riven now stood inside. Along with that fragment came the "monsters" born from that humanity’s foolishness: Mutant Rats, Giant Cockroaches, and that massive, monstrous train filled with aberrant flesh and writhing tentacles.

This was Blue Star’s Last Legacy. The realization felt both deeply ironic and profoundly saddening.

"So there was an Earth out there even worse than ours," Riven sighed, his voice low and heavy with the weight of what he had witnessed. "From these memories, we need to learn not to fall for the same mistakes they committed... The Mana and Spirit Reactors might be constantly tearing apart the revitalized nature of our own planet after the Gates appeared... We’re really just ripping apart any chance the planet has left to survive, huh?"

"..." Vladimir had felt something strange within the core as well. Although he did not see the same memories, he seemed to grasp the meaning behind Riven’s words. "You saw the memories of this dungeon? Or of the world it originated from?"

"Yeah," Riven nodded slowly, still staring at the pulsing Dungeon Core floating in front of him. "It’s a sad tale of humanity’s foolishness. We should not repeat their same mistakes. We need to learn from what happened to them."

"Hah! That’s easy to say. That will never happen!" Vladimir laughed, the sound sharp and mocking. "Humanity is a stubborn piece of shit, Riven. You’re a little too naïve, aren’t you? Thinking such things are even possible... You’re downright delusional if you believe you can convince humanity to change. We’re all going down together! There’s no other way around it, and no way to change that fate!"

"..." Riven remained silent for several long seconds after hearing Vladimir’s provocative words. Then a small, cold smile formed on his lips. "You’re... completely right."

"Eh?" Vladimir took an involuntary step back, confusion flickering across his face.

"Humanity is indeed foolish and will not change from one day to another, let alone in just three years..." Riven’s aura surged with rising power. The Dungeon Core pulsed in response, the dark energy within it recognizing him as its new master and becoming his property. "I don’t believe in humanity at all either... You’ve said nothing wrong. You’re very right, Vladimir. We can agree on that much. Humanity is truly hopeless."

"???" Vladimir was visibly shaken. He had fully expected Riven to argue and fight him on the point, yet the man had simply... agreed. "What? Then why..."

"Why am I still fighting?" Riven wondered aloud, his gaze fixed on the glowing core. "Because I love my wife, and... I appreciate the people I’ve gathered around me. There’s also a lot of great individuals out there who still deserve a chance. I don’t want to give up only because I know humanity as a whole has no hope left. It doesn’t matter, really. I will use my strength, and the strength of everyone else I recruit, to change humanity by force if necessary. I don’t care if I’m eventually called a villain. I don’t care if one day I am known as a tyrant or feared by all... We will force them all to change. We will take down those who have been hoarding everything for themselves, and humanity will rise whether it wants to or not. And if they refuse to do it themselves, then we’ll force them to rise."

In that moment Vladimir finally realized Riven’s true intentions.

Riven was not going to waste time trying to inspire the masses. He had no interest in becoming some shining hero who would rally people and somehow convince them through speeches and hope.

In only three years? That path was hopelessly impossible. Only the stupidest man alive would believe something like that could ever work.

No. Riven’s plan was far less moral and far more direct. He intended to use power against power, fire against fire, and force those entrenched tyrants to bow down before a new order.

An order that would save humanity no matter how high the cost became.

"I don’t give a fuck about what humanity thinks about what I’m about to do," Riven declared, his voice steady and absolute. "Everyone will grow stronger. Everyone will work together. And those who oppose my plan will go down without mercy. Starting with my own family, the Claymores... then Frostbane, and every other rotten group like them. All these bastards... I will make them regret ever thinking they could get away with all the shit they’ve done to ordinary people and to this planet. Vladimir, you seem to have misunderstood me from the beginning. I am not a man who likes to negotiate. No. I will seize everything."

The Dungeon Core pulsed brighter in response, as if the fragment of that dead world itself had accepted its new master’s ruthless resolve.

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