We drop back into the Upper Realm after another 25 billion years have passed, then again after another 75 billion.
Gradually, every single A-Tier Civilization goes dark, and many of the outer layers of the only two remaining S-Tier mega ports have their energy stores used up. Only the very contained cores of each civilization connected directly to the ether pathways stay running, on a power-efficient mode using only a handful of white stars for sustenance.
The remaining life in the Lower Realm is entirely surveillance and maintenance teams.
Even the artificial dungeon realms made of low-quality ether, mana, and yellow divine threads have become too costly to be used. The fabric of the Origin Plane is much less predictable and stable than the artificial and consolidated bent space in the Upper Realm.
It is far more energy-efficient to make the trip up and live out the rest of a race's existence within a single floor of the Cyan Zone.
Even the Green Zone's infrastructure and population have become almost entirely maintenance workers, ancient glyphs and arrays from billions of years ago holding the pathways together, and crowded housing that fills the entire compact zone, echoing with the legacies of ancient races left behind.
Instead of demolishing and rebuilding many of the ancient towers, a large amount of the Green Zone's infrastructure has been preserved with long-term arrays similar to the Fortress. There are tombs and scriptures left behind in each one, with the ancestral records of every faction or clan that lived there.
This has begun to occur because a gradual extinction of many races naturally takes place.
With no mysterious explorations or grand aspirations for future generations to achieve, the birth rate and even the average strength of many citizens in the lower zones start to drop.
Many races live within their simulated worlds and let the elders of their races decide whether or not to tell the younger generations that there is an entire Upper Realm outside. The clans that do so tend to last longer, as they have created a purpose to live on. Yet even they slowly use up their remaining energy as time continues on. Each race reaches a point where they cannot even afford the lowest density of mana-based constructs, and their kin barely reach level 100 in their lifetimes. This significantly lowers their life expectancy as generations pass by.
Every few billion years, the population is drastically slashed.
By the time I return, there are no more than 500 quintillion life forms left in this galaxy.
I already know what has occurred, as the sheer amount of snapping soul ties and the surge of pure, flawless-grade ether directly into my soul have pushed my level past [Lv. 9,500,000]. However, looking at it through the eyes of the small humanoid shell I used to walk this realm with feels different.
Abby opens her eyes to look up at us, and she has noticeable wrinkles on her face as the heavy clouds of stagnant green and white fog are filtered out of her chamber.
When she stands up, a flash of light-blue water magic fluctuates next to her in the room.
An old man with blue hair and sharp eyes looks at me with a kind smile, and they both bow their heads ever so slightly.
Abby raises her head and speaks first. "It will soon be our time to become one with our creation. You have allowed for life to prosper a hundred billion years longer than it ever would have, and we are honored to have watched and lent a hand."
Seraphel looks me in the eyes next. "It has always been an honor to serve the Emperor. The bonded race of the Fallen One, he who elevated my race to become a greater part of history. We will sacrifice our remaining power just as you have for us. May life prosper on in the Upper Realm, and forever longer after the Great Cycle."
When the Last Blue Wyvern and the Immortal Healer hold hands, I watch the laws fluctuating around their bodies and realize that they have truly lived beyond their mortal limits.
The fluctuating laws do not only resonate in their tiny human forms but instead through the entire Ancient Primordial Tree that has indented itself into the fabric of the Origin Plane as the longest Overseer's Era has passed.
They have no reason or desire to relinquish their ties with the system and become ascended avatars. Instead, the two ancient lifeforms disappear from this cultivation chamber, and all of the ether pathways and features left behind by the pair undergo a final reconfiguration. These two High Royal Vibrations wielding Advanced Primordial Aura beings are leaving behind a final Legacy.
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Author's Note:
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There's custom chapter art for every new daily upload too!
Thanks for reading:)
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