The Record of Unusual Creatures

The sky was roiling under the influence of an unknown power.

From afar, the azure sky became a shining sea turned upside down as countless ripples covered its surface. The torn clouds became the spindrift of the sea as they traveled afar with the ripples. As time passed, the mysterious ripples increased and covered the entire horizon, and with that dimension pulse, a series of bizarre scenes started to take form.

It was not a simple teleportation, scale or information value wise. It was an awe-inspiring, terrifying tear in the fabric of reality. It involved the connection between two worlds, and the receding world barrier had torn a massive gap in the wall of reality. That unmeasurable rift, which could not be mathematically quantified, finally opened on Earth.

The day had arrived; the refugees from the Plane of Dreams were entering this world.

Atop the already lush hilltop, Hao Ren sat and observed the change in the sky afar. Even though he had opened his eyes, he still sat as still as a rock. A few naïve creatures leaped around him, not even realizing that the “rock statue”, which had been seated there for many years, had already “come back to life”.

It seemed like it was time to get up.

Hao Ren took a deep breath before he slowly exhaled. A few blinks and head shakes later, he lifted his hands from his knee and snapped a few fragile plant life in the process. The small creatures that had settled in the area finally realized something was amiss. They ran away after a few sharp shrieks, as though trying to avoid some impending catastrophe.

The plasma spear had already been entangled in the plants, and moss had already grown on its shaft. Hao Ren did not mind it and simply pulled the spear out of the ground before he activated it. A crisp whir later, the blade popped out as per usual.

Okay, perhaps with age, came a few issues. But they were immaterial. Some maintenance later would help it be as good as new.

A thunderclap rang from the torn clouds as the azure sky darkened. Energy ripples started to appear on the massive dimensional folds as blinding bluish-white lightning leaped around within the rift. It seemed to be indicating the coming of Armageddon.

Hao Ren got up and dirt, as well as plants, fell off his body. He looked at his appearance and silently chanted Raven 12345’s name. He was bathed in a ray of light, and within the light, all traces of time were wiped out. Soon, the dust and dirt on his body disappeared.

With his body blessed, he was beyond dust and dirt. He had been too lazy or unbothered most of the time, and he usually did not have the chance to use it either.

The changes in the sky continued as the skyline was set ablaze with energy flares. It was like a sea of lightning, constantly roiling and thundering. Many animals exited their lairs and nests, running for their lives towards the hills. They hoped to avoid the impending disaster, which was beyond their understanding. Amongst the animals were escaping humans too. They were clutching beast hides and grass while running and yelling at the sky. Perhaps they were challenging the heavens, or were indicating their fear to the angry “sky gods”.

Hao Ren walked towards the plain beneath the hill. He approached the area encompassed by the unnatural phenomenon. Next to him were beasts, running in the opposite direction as strong gales blew up pebbles and sand. But that did not concern Hao Ren. He deployed his shield and blocked out the wind and dust as he walked resolutely towards the plain. He even had some spare time to observe the situation within the dimensional folds.

There were changes within the rifts, and massive energy flares were slowly coalescing into a stable revolving structure. The sky had turned into a mirror, and the image of another world was reflected on it.

A massive, almost endless structure appeared first amongst the energy flares, and as it broke through the rift, it got much bigger, encompassing the entire skyline. Its shape reminded one of a piece of land, strung and held together by vines but a billion times larger. The structure’s “frame” looked like some kind of plant life that could hold a world. The vine-like things expanded freely across the dimension, and in between the vines was a shining, beating tumor-like organ. Bright runes were streamed around the organ and vines like a shining coat. The frame had nine great continents on it—perhaps wrapped in a different dimensional bubble—and a distorted light surrounded the entire structure, which made up of those nine great realms and the world tree. This was the very distortion within the dimension.

Yggdrasil, the hyperspace fortress that was launched by the goddess of creation had crossed the border between two universes. Its tendrils were approaching Earth and linking with this primordial planet.

Hao Ren did not stop to admire the view or rush ahead. He just went on as leisurely as he could, looking at the sky at times, or smashing an incoming boulder to the side with his spear.

A fearsome thunder rumbled in the sky, and the atmosphere, unable to withstand such a disturbance, swirled into a storm. Simultaneously, massive energy spikes were released from the cracks of the dimensional rift and formed into awesome lightning. Some of the lightning tendrils brushed against the land as they swept across the sky.

A forest in the distance caught fire and many fearful animals ran helter-skelter towards safety. Some of them were on fire, and the intense radiation tore their bodies apart as they ran. A good number fell lifelessly on the ground, reduced to ash.

The birds in the sky lost their bearings too and tried to escape the epicenter as fast as they could. However, the rift had already expanded to a few hundred kilometers wide and was still expanding rapidly. No matter how fast they flapped their wings, the birds simply could not match the rate of the rift’s growth. Soon, many fell like rain as their brains were fried by the radiation. Their carcasses were blackened like charcoal.

Hao Ren looked up and saw the universe beyond Yggdrasil’s tendrils and the nine great realms. Catastrophe was raging in the universe beyond, and at that very moment, the apocalypse brought by fall of the goddess had ravaged the entire Plane of Dreams.

Yet, her divine doppelganger had already crossed the wall of reality 48 hours ago, and her first stop was Purgatory. She split for the first time there. But Purgatory was not within the sandbox system’s records, and what happened in those 48 hours could not be projected.

Hao Ren could only look up and wait for the other part of the split, Vivian Ancestor, to arrive on Earth.

He did not know the exact time, but his instincts were tingling, and he knew that he would be sure when the time came…

The rift slowly stabilized and the material transference portal opened. Part of Yggdrasil’s tendrils had come through the rift as it writhed about. Shortly after, more and more tendrils made contact with the mountains, as though unconsciously connecting the forest to the clouds. She had determined that this was a place suitable for the survivors in the ark, or at least a good number of them. As such, she started to disgorge her cargo.

A golden vessel was shot out from the World Tree, and it struggled to maintain flight on the foreign planet. Its trajectory was perilous, and it skidded across the skyline, flying in Egypt’s direction.

A series of mountains shot out of the void between Vanaheim and Jotunheim. They were covered in a massive forcefield as they flew across the sky. The cloaking effect caused a dimensional distortion that slowly made them transparent before they disappeared totally from sight.

A disc-shaped ship was the third thing to be spat out, and Hao Ren recognized it. It looked like a stack of clams with an azure dome, and beneath the dome was clean seawater—the seawater of Io.

Nasaton flew towards the Pacific in a parabolic curve in the sky.

Following pre-programmed orders, many “escape vessels” began to appear around Yggdrasil’s tendrils, and these shattered world fragments that were kept by Yggdrasil shot out from the mothership. They blasted across the sky in a predetermined arc into the distance, and Hao Ren could recognize some of them from his previous journeys back in time. But many more were not recognizable.

The discharged “escape vessels” came in many sizes; some were mountains within a dimensional fragment, some were derelict spaceships, some were the odd fortress, while others were living beings in dimensional bubble pockets. The goddess of creation did not have time to plan things out, and she collected what she could in a hurry. Additionally, only a few of these “seeds” would go on to survive on this foreign planet.

The “gods” had descended upon Earth… as refugees.

Hao Ren had lost interest in what was going on in the sky, and he turned around as his instincts dictated. Somewhere amongst the massive frame of Yggdrasil, he saw another distortion. It was a different distortion, which one could not easily view directly.

There was a unique ripple amid the massive sea of noise, and under normal circumstances, that would have been impossible. But Hao Ren’s instincts guided him and allowed him to notice that angle.

He saw a new hole appear in the sky, and the scene of the Otherworld flashed by before a red comet flew out and headed straight to the ground.

She fell a few hundred meters away from Hao Ren. If he had not noticed the unique trajectory, he would have thought that she had entered this universe with Yggdrasil.

Hao Ren traveled towards the landing point and saw a steaming crater with crimson mist all over it. At the bottom of the crater, a long-haired woman was clumsily trying to get up.

Her eyes met with Hao Ren’s, and a flicker of curiosity appeared.

Hao Ren simply smiled. “Long time no see.”