Published at 5th of July 2026 7:25 am

Chapter 4284: Changing World

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RUMBLE

The powerful world serpent, once drowned in the depths of the Great Nam Ocean now revolved around Gaia as a new heavenly body. The sheer sight of the serpent exerted pressure on all those who beheld it from afar. It was a pressure that was almost of the caliber of the absolute dominance that they had experienced in the presence of the Divine Mother.

The sheer amount of destructive power that the serpent possessed was unlike that of any other organic or even artificial lifeform that they were aware of. This was a creature that could single-handedly protect Gaia Prime more than any other technological apparatus could ever hope to.

"...Sometimes you forget it isn’t a myth." Runark couldn’t help but gulp nervously. "It’s like something out of a fairy tale."

The others couldn’t help but concur.

The stream of spaceships that traveled to and from Gaia Prime carefully stayed thousands of kilometers away from the world serpent, unwilling to do anything that could awaken the slumbering beast.

The space shuttle they traveled in joined a long line of civilian travel ships that sought to enter or depart from the planet. The space station that surrounded Gaia Prime was larger than any other in human civilization, but not even it could prevent a long wait before they would finally have the opportunity to head down to human civilization.

And yet, despite the long wait, the sense of anticipation did not fade. The closer they got to Gaia, the more enthusiastic Runark, Sternon, and Silisica grew, like children excited on a field trip. Misha maintained an interested composure, while Ria’s expression was mixed.

She was conflicted between the best and worst memories of her life. Conflicted between her desire to stay as far away from Gaia and her desire to return to learn more about the truth.

Her eyes returned to Planet Gaia Prime. It’s vast blue-green waters, the titanically massive landmasses that stretched for extraordinary distances. It was only when she had visited other planets in human civilization that she understood just how vast Gaia Prime was.

It was absurdly massive compared to other planets in the solar system. The six continents were larger than many other regular planets put together. Even among infected worlds, the birthplace of human civilization was special.

It towered over her field of vision like a titanic matron, its heavy gravity pulling upon everything that it could get its hands on.

It wasn’t too long before their shuttle had boarded at the space station. A bridge extended from a landing dock, connecting to the gates of the space shuttle, securing a fastened harness, ensuring it was airtight.

DING

"We have arrived at Gaia Prime," that pleasant voice of an artificial intelligence announced to all of them. "Please gather your belongings and prepare for deboarding."

"Let’s go," Runark got up the quickest, followed by the others.

It wasn’t long before they got off the plane, entered the space station, and quickly boarded one of the many floating carriers that zoomed about. Ria grew wary as she covered her face with her Water Integument suit, employing its helmet feature.

Although from a very young age, she had done everything in her power, including appearing in public, her face was still known in Gaia. She knew that Sage Sayfeel was likely very nearby and would prevent her identity from being noticed with his shadows, but it was still better to take precautions.

The others surrounded her like they had planned while they silently made their way to the teleportation transit system.

People weren’t allowed to simply dive towards Planet Gaia Prime the way they could in the less regulated frontier in places like the Jakarthar Federation. The planet was too important, and the security risks were simply too high. Thus, despite the costs, a teleportation transit system allowed passengers to be directly transported to and from the planet.

"Name, ID, tickets, passport, and visa, please."

Ria gulped as she handed over the documents. "Ria Falken."

Since the alias had been prepared for her by her father, she was certain that it would be airtight, but she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

"Please take off your mask, madam," the Martial Sage guard narrowed his eyes. "Please come this way for a neural inlay verification."

FSSS

She adhered to his command as he took a good look at her face, flipping back and forth, before nodding. "Clear, please pass."

She had to control, heaving a deep breath of relief, lest she look suspicious. She passed through the security scans, which were so invasive that they were actually painful.

It was only after they made their way through the scans that she could finally relax, heading towards an endless terminal of teleportation chambers bringing people to and from the planet.

"See? I told you that it would be fine, just like last time," Runark patted her on the shoulder.

"I know, but I can’t help but get nervous each and every time," she heaved an exasperated sigh. "It’s so nerve-wracking, and..."

Her eyes shifted towards the teleportation chamber. "We have one more layer to the past."

WHOOSH

They teleported, arriving at the Kandrian Terrestrial Station.

CLACK

The teleportation chamber was opened while a woman wearing formal attire smiled pleasantly. "Welcome to the Kandrian Empire, Miss Ria Falken."

Ria smiled nervously. "Er, thanks."

She put her head down, shuffling past the official hurriedly, restoring her helmet, before turning towards the others. "Come on, let’s get going quickly. The risks only get worse from this point on."

The five of them emerged from the station, arriving before a vast and expansive landscape of towering skyscrapers that seemed to stretch out into outer space.

The infrastructure of the nation seemed to come alive, connecting with each other at numerous levels, forming its own strata above the city. Floating vehicles hovered at heightened elevations, moving back and forth between a completely aerial layer of traffic that was disconnected from the activity on the ground.

Yet, despite their massive height, they didn’t interfere with the sunlight that spread across the entire nation, creating overlapping images of a regular morning in the Kandrian Empire and that of an extraordinarily high-technology city.

"I’m back home," Ria couldn’t help but remark as a flood of nostalgia washed over her.

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