Chapter 311: The Multiverse of Bounded Hearts

After Akasha’s words, he began moving around to establish a few minor things.

He wasn’t creating Worlds, Star Systems, or other things that would typically fill a Universe. Instead, he created a few doors.

After so many years, it was well known that much about Akasha had changed.

However, now that he was no longer rushing to establish the foundation of his Pantheon, the things he had previously put on the back burner now seemed perfect to tackle.

When he first became the God of Lucid Dreams, Dream Land had several functions, including serving as a battlefield that could be customized into specific areas.

He had never had time to shape it to his desires, simply because he was always on the go.

Now, however, he began using that function differently.

Although Dream Land was technically gone, he could still use its design to create specific rooms or areas for certain purposes.

At the edge of the vast plains, which were no larger than a courtyard, there were currently four doors.

Three of these doors led to entirely different areas within the current Multiverse Akasha inhabited.

These were the places where Harlan established the Academy of Dreams, while Nara and Amaterasu established their new Pantheons as well.

The fourth door led to the first subspace that would function as a Prison.

This prison was, in every sense, a form of mind control, as anyone placed inside would become absolutely bound to Akasha, even if they were of a higher rank than him.

The higher a person’s rank was above his, the longer the transformation would take, but it would never exceed a month, regardless of their rank.

After the last of the doors was set, Akasha sat cross-legged at the edge of the pond with Sage in his lap, Luna on one side, Yume on the other, Akashi a little behind his right shoulder, and the four door frames standing at the edge.

The white door led to the prison, the purple one to Harlan’s Academy of Dreams. The green door belonged to Nara, and the red door to Amaterasu.

Behind them, the Universal Tree of Want held Kalpa in her pink-and-white cocoon of wood, and the pitch-black universe stayed empty on purpose.

As mentioned before, Akasha had never intended to create a star system full of people with whom he had no connection.

In fact, this universe served only two purposes.

First, it would be a place that operated in plain sight while the true Pantheon of Infinite Dreams stayed hidden away in the Land of Elsewhere.

Second, it would be where he brought anyone who wished to visit him, keeping them here rather than allowing them into the Land of Elsewhere, unless they were members.

"Well," Akasha said as he watched the still pond before them, "I guess it’s time to let the others out of those cocoons."

Although he still had a few tasks left, like setting up a new Divine Barrier and creating the universes that would lie beyond the doors, his circumstances gave him enough time to accomplish those while releasing the others and briefing them on the situation.

"And that means it’s time we got back to the real you," Akashi said with a nod and a light laugh.

"No offense, Master," Yume added as she leaned in, her blue-gray hair slipping off her shoulder, gesturing up and down at his body with a casual wave of her hand.

"But we’d much rather spend time with the actual you, not... whatever this is."

While Akasha wasn’t exactly a clone at this moment, he was definitely not his true self.

Unlike before, when his physique was tailored to Dreams, he had two separate forms: one was his "true" self, which always resided within Dream Land.

At that time, his other version was simply something that followed his orders and nothing else... well, except making it difficult to kill him truly.

However, after gaining the same physique as Melvin, he lost those two distinct forms, which had been closer to having a clone than to who he was now.

Due to his racial traits, he now permanently existed inside the Land of Elsewhere. At this moment, he was nothing more than a physical projection of himself—what could be described as the "surface" level of his being.

His mind remained unchanged across both versions, but for those bound to him, like his women, his presence felt noticeably incomplete.

Aside from that, little else had changed; his mind was still connected, allowing him to control both forms simultaneously, and his power remained the same.

Yet, he could not be fully harmed or killed through purely physical attacks.

So, hearing their words, he realized he would be without them for most of his travels around Pantheos, as he had no intention of ever bringing his true body outside the Land of Elsewhere.

"Scram then," Akasha said as he shrugged with a faint smile. He didn’t blame them at all; not only that, he knew Luna and Yume were not exactly preparing to sit around in Elsewhere either.

They laughed as they vanished, the three of them leaving the field in the same breath, and suddenly the pond was just him, the lynx, and the four colored doors.

"Let’s get these universes created," he said.

He sat in the quiet for a moment, thumb brushing through Sage’s fur, then rose, settled her against his shoulder, and headed toward the purple door.

The universe stayed unchanged... until it suddenly wasn’t.

In that instant, a familiar woman appeared as if she had always been there.

Her long black hair framed pale skin, and her galaxy-like eyes were fixed on the empty space where Akasha had stood.

She sighed in that same weary exasperation she had worn in the Land of Elsewhere; she opened the book against her palm and wrote without looking at the pen.

"Entry 13

In Era 1501, the convergence has resumed its movement.

The Third has at last... has begun the inception of end."

After writing her vague words, she closed the cover and held it to her chest.

Her eyes lifted, not to the tree, nor the dark stretch of the universe, but toward somewhere—someone—far beyond Pantheos’ first layer.

"You’re strong enough," she said, her voice carrying both awe and confusion, her throat tightening briefly before she continued.

"You stopped the last apocalypse before it destroyed Pantheos, so why are you letting the convergence..."

HUMMMM!!!!

She hesitated, unable to finish her sentence, and before she could even try, the void surrounding the universe grew darker.

The Universal Tree of Want lost its bright white glow, the pink leaves faded away, and even the pond seemed to transform into a bottomless hole.

In that instant, the vast emptiness of the Universe ripped apart as if it were nothing more than fragile paper.

Within that opening stood a man whose presence made Akasha’s beauty seem merely ordinary in comparison.

He wore a long-sleeved black shirt and loose sweatpants, his bare feet touching the void.

His hair, falling to his neck, was a striking blend of white and black, intertwined.

He had light-brown skin and a white-and-black infinity symbol beneath his left eye.

And... his eyes never stayed still—shifting from pure white to pure black, to swirling universes, to soldiers locked in battle, then back to white again—never settling on one image long enough to be named.

"Oh, Surveyor," he said with a smile, tilting his head.

Yet, when he spoke, it didn’t sound like just one person—it was like the amalgamation of everything and nothing speaking at once, and somehow, it all flowed like music to the ears.

"I let you live in my verse because you make it just a bit more interesting."

Upon seeing the man, the Surveyor’s grip on the notebook tightened until her knuckles whitened.

She held her position without retreating and remained silent, offering no response.

"But... Don’t question why I do what I do," the man said as he slipped into the gap, flicking two fingers for her to follow.

She swallowed hard enough that it showed in her throat, then went after him, galaxies in her eyes lowered to the bare heels in front of her.

"Besides," he said with a harmonious laugh, "I already told you—whatever this convergence brings, I’m sure it’s going to be fun."

The moment his words fell, they were gone in the same manner they had arrived, and the Universe returned to its previous state as if nothing had ever happened.