Within a beautiful scape, a place that existed between the boundary of reality and the ethereal plane...

A garden sat — this was the place Seth had visited recently: Eden.

Beautiful colored birds twittered and sang, perching on lush plants and trees.

Numerous animals roamed peacefully through the lush paradise.

There were no trees that didn’t bear plump, nutritious fruits. Leaves shimmered with a beautiful emerald sheen, letting out glints as transparent dew drops rested on their veined surfaces, reflecting sunlight.

In a vast clearing where two grand trees stood, their branches stretched out like encompassing canopies that seemed to bloat the skies.

Beneath these two trees sat a naked man and woman.

Adam and Eve...

A grin suddenly grew on Adam’s face as he raised his head to stare at the skies.

His gaze seemingly pierced through the encompassing canopy the trees provided.

A sliver of ethereal aura descended, as a revitalizing chill spread through Adam’s cells. He closed his eyes, basking in the feeling.

Eve stepped closer to him, a bright beam of a smile illuminating her beautiful features.

"My love, he did it!"

Adam nodded. "Yes, he did. And it seems he wasn’t greedy. Here I was worrying for nothing, hahaha."

Eve’s gaze flickered. "Those pesky remnant races won’t sit still and watch humanity prosper. They’ll want to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. So what’s our next move?"

Adam’s expression chilled, his gaze cold. "Humanity gaining the racial lamp so early wasn’t accounted for — not by me or anyone. I’m sure they didn’t anticipate it happening so soon either..."

His gaze flashed as he stared across the horizon. "First we visit the true Olympus, rally up Zeus and the others. Then we set for Asgard, and every other realm situated in the in-between.

A war is coming — one humanity has been preparing for a long time. And losing isn’t an option."

Eve nodded gently. She waved her hands, garments made of furry hides embracing their naked frames.

Adam took her hand as they both started walking into the distance steadily...

...

[Integration process: 100%] 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

[Humanity has fully integrated with their fortune. The age of prosperity is set!]

The glowing screen pulsed brightly in Seth’s vision.

"At least I didn’t die. I can’t believe I was so scared for nothing..." Seth chuckled, but remembering the pain he went through to get here, he shivered.

He stared at his hands and noticed his frame had begun to flicker. But he didn’t panic — he knew what was happening.

’I’m being sent back...’ This wasn’t his true body after all, and he couldn’t remain like this forever.

He stared at the ancient lamp one last time, remembering the torture he went through. He swore:

’I’m never coming back here!’

With that, his figure vanished, leaving the turbulent core of the Earth once again empty.

As for whether he would be coming back — that was left for fate to decide.

Seth’s mind went blank. His body was in a coma, as his will was still in its recovery phase.

His body struggled to suck in the boundless vitality existing in the atmosphere.

Even the permanent damage to his body was being healed — hence why he had to be unconscious.

Sanders stared at Seth’s peacefully sleeping figure, a complicated light flashing in his eyes. He sighed.

Right now they were aboard a stealth chopper flying at high altitudes, heading straight for the safe zones presided over by the Duskreavers, which encompassed a fifth of the California state region.

’The family won’t be happy about this,’ he mused.

Everyone was apprehensive of this boy. A few years ago, this nephew of his had shown his edge — so sharp that even his ever-unfazed father, Seth’s grandfather, reacted.

He remembered the deep disappointment in his father’s face when it was later confirmed that this boy was just an illegitimate, unable to ever be a true member of the Duskreavers.

For some reason, their family was strict on bloodline and lineage. And it wasn’t until the apocalypse began that they finally grasped why.

The ancestors of the Duskreavers had put such a rule in place to preserve the Gene Lineage of the Asura King they held in their blood for as long as possible.

And now, if the family discovered that this child was among the people who cleared the first corruption zone, Sanders was uncertain how they would react.

One thing was for sure, though — he had to make sure he delivered the boy to his father. Only then would he have fulfilled his promise to his brother.

And the favor of back then could be considered repaid.

Then his headset cracked, as the voice of the pilot rang in his ears.

"Approaching destination. Do I land at the city square or the Duskreavers estate?"

Sanders didn’t hesitate to reply. "Head for the estate."

The pilot nodded and pushed on the navigation lever even more.

The chopper whisked forward. Beneath, one could see an invisible line drawn through the city below.

One half was in ruins, smoke drifting upwards. Mutants and corrupted creatures could even be seen roaming about.

And in the further distance, one could see the rest of the city remaining untouched. Humans went about their day — though everywhere seemed more crowded, it was at least not carnage.

Creeee!

Suddenly, a rotting hawk with an absurdly large wingspan flew toward the chopper.

"Incoming!" The pilot warned as he flipped open a latch, revealing a red button.

He didn’t waste time pressing it...

Hummmm!

Metal buzzed as two missile launchers protruded from the sides of the chopper.

Taking aim and locking the target, the pilot fired!

Boom!

The launchers ignited, letting loose two grey missiles, drawing orange streaks in the air as they whisked toward their target.

With a devastating bang, the mutant was reduced to a rain of meat and blood.

But unfortunately, the corrupted creature wasn’t alone. Rotting crows of varying size and speed blitzed through the air toward the chopper.

"Fuck! Now that’s too much for me to handle! Sir Sanders, I’ll leave this to you!" the pilot yelled as he focused on evading the feral beasts.

Sanders undid his seat buckle, pushing open the door of the chopper beside him.

You see, the primary transport of the Special Ops squad "The Cleaners" was by air. So naturally, they had ways to resist flying corrupted and other abominable horrors that sought to bring them down.

One of the ways was by letting specially designated agents called Gliders deal with them.

Gliders were actually normal Evolvers like the rest, but they had one distinguishing factor: they had items that could either let them fly or tread the air for short intervals.

And Sanders was precisely a Glider.

His boots shimmered as mini wings jutted out from the sides.

This was a Leader-grade item of the Shackled Rank called Wind Threader.

Its function was just as the name implied — it allowed the user to tread the wind. Though it had a cooldown period: one could only activate the function for three minutes before the skill shut down, and it needed a ten-minute cooldown.

But as an Evolver who had awakened the prestigious Gene Lineage of the Asura King and the Noble-grade skill "Rending Fist," three minutes was enough to deal with these beasts.

Sanders’ frame flared red, his Asura body being revealed and his strength bolstering.

He stepped through the air, his boots shining as the wind carried his weight as though solid ground.

With a cold expression, he burst forward, his gene skill igniting as hi

s Rending Fists wrought hell in the sky.

By the time he returned, the sky was clear, and they had crossed safely through the corruption zone...