Despite the lower-tiered civilizations losing their energy sources and dying out in the Lower Realm, the Upper Realm has become far more lively. In fact, the population of living links of loyalty has risen to over 50 septillion.
The majority of life resides in the Cyan, Blue, and Purple Zones, where there is abundant space and relatively cheap energy for those that desire to live within spatial constructs.
The dungeon technology has become so advanced that every single room within the enormous blue and cyan towers has been altered into its own vast world, the size of entire solar systems down in the Lower Realm.
Many of the storage towers that held ancient races' energy stores of pure mana and ether are slowly beginning to be drained, as hundreds of thousands of generations of life pass by and consume the legacies left behind.
Even the domains in the Outer Settlements of the Purple Zone are completely altered, turning into privately owned constructs with far more space within them than there is within the Upper Realm. Each one creates pockets of space identical to high-tech dungeons, allowing for lower-strength life forms to live within them.
Each Purple Zone domain can be separated into smaller mana constructs to comply with red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, and blue-cored lifeforms. There are even settings to allow for life without divine threads, or pure ether constructs for extended storage or special training.
Within the compacted and bent space of the Purple Zone, housing this technology is very simple. Yet, it uses up immense amounts of flawless-grade ether in the long run.
Almost a full billion years pass by the time I return with Maria to explore again.
By now, all of the 4th Grade orange suns and C-Tier Civilizations are completely cold and dead. The majority of lower B-Tier civilizations have faced the same fate. The less powerful yellow stars of 3rd Grade worlds have been artificially consumed, and even some of the 2nd Grade worlds and stars that have been overextended have begun to run dry too.
The only megaports that continue to shine bright in the Lower Realm are the Ancient A-Tier Civilizations tethered to the strongest ether pathways up to the Upper Realm.
For the first time since the beginning of this golden era, the overall population of lifeforms connected to the system has become stagnant. It topped out and plateaued a few hundred million years ago at 400 septillion links of loyalty.
This is because all of the independent clans, races, and factions have been pushed up into the Upper Realm to live within simulated worlds.
At first, they prospered and grew within the confines of a new, growing technological era.
There are still trading systems that mutated and linked each of these artificial worlds together. Glyph-based teleportation arrays allow simulated copies of information or even full lifeforms to traverse between each of these constructs.
Reality as it was in the Lower Realm is gone, and a new era of virtual trading has begun.
Information, higher-quality ether arrays, and the transfer of general energy control techniques are the most sought-after currencies.
The vast distances between the zones are no longer necessary to travel with the old Primordial Tree's ether pathways.
A brand new system has been introduced, one that took a full year off Abby and Seraphel's lifespan to create when they came out of isolation to build it over 800 million years prior.
All lifeforms are more connected than they have ever been, and the flow of energy between them is a constant. Abby's energy control has rapidly increased, but Maria and I are the only lifeforms capable of admiring or understanding her efforts.
Many of the legacy systems left behind by Alveron are still being used.
The loyal monster has faded away and spread ethereal dust into the Lower Realm long ago.
A majority of it has been farmed by the A-Tier Civilizations' automatic exploration arrays, while some reconnected with the Primordial Tree's roots. In the end, it all filters through living beings, and fragments of it are lost upon their deaths.
Enormous white clouds of flawless-grade ether pour out of this construct and into the membrane, making their way into our Immortal Bodies as they always do.
My level surges past [Lv. 8,000,000] and then even ticks past [Lv. 8,500,000], as the amount of experience I'm gaining from the sextillions of deaths every year is adding up fast.
All of the Admins, Knights, Commanders, Warlords, and Loyalists during the Demonic Era have completely faded away back into the membrane. Their legacies are inscribed many times over in unbreakable stone and flawless-grade glyphs deep within the Ravine, and at the cores of the S-Tier Galactic Ports.
Even Arie, Raven, and Ava, the generals that ascended long ago, have fallen to less than 1% of their peak strength.
Their wills are far stronger than any others in this galaxy, but even they, after a billion years of watching their galaxy move on, must succumb to the relentless passage of time.
Abby, Seraphel, Maria, and I see them off in person. It is a relief for all involved to watch their indomitable grip on reality finally be let loose into the vastness of space. I feel their refined flawless-grade ether trickle back into the membrane and become one with our Emperor's Forms.
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Author's Note:
If you're enjoying Dungeon Diver and want to follow Jay on his journey ahead of schedule, check out the Patreon link in my profile bio.
There's custom chapter art for every new daily upload too!
Thanks for reading:)
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