(Drake's POV)
The Dream ended, as we all were left even more speechless…
"Y-Yggdrasil?! He named it like our world?!" Asked Emerald. "W-What the hell does that even means?!"
"Was that tiny tree our Yggdrasil Tree?" Tyrannus come to the most basic conclusion.
"There's no real way to confirm that right now…" Benladann said. "But… it does feels like a very strange coincidence. But… this feels weird, I thought Yggdrasil… This is confusing."
"Sniff… He died…" Benladra started weeping.
"But the tree went to the stars, so he accomplished what he wanted." Kate said, caressing her big sister's head. "It's fine…!"
["Professor…"]
The System suddenly spoke, with a voice filled with nostalgia and… sorrow.
"You remember him?" I asked her. "System… Or should I say, Andromeda?"
["Ah…!"]
She felt completely shocked from hearing that name, as if it truly belonged to her. However, she remained in silence, until she spoke again.
["It's strange… Why does it feel this way when I have no clear memories of this?"] She wondered. ["Why does it feels like I was once in that world, yet I am now here? What… What am I?"]
"Honestly, I have no idea either…" I said. "But there must be some connection, your voices were the same too…"
["I wish I could remember more… I wish I could know…"] She sighed. ["I don't know if I should take that name with me, but right now, it might remain within me for a while… Until I can sort out my thoughts and find an answer over this sorrow I feel… after seeing that man die so gruesomely."]
"It's not like you're the only one that felt that way…" I sighed, looking at the crystals moving in front of us. "Everyone here is quite devastated about what they saw…"
["I guess…"] She sighed. ["For now, it would be better to keep on moving… We cannot stand still thinking about this, time is tickling."]
"You're right… Everyone, let's let out some steam with these guys." I said, confronting the Crystal Beasts that started emerging everywhere.
The Crystal Beasts didn't change at all, they were the exact number, and their core was in the same place as well, a perfect copy of our previous fight.
They were still dangerous to touch and interact with, so we made our best effort on confronting them from afar, without risking ourselves too much.
Because of my recklessness at fighting, I got a bit infected by them, but once I cut down the infected areas, I was just fine… At the end of the day, these crystals weren't the same as the ones in the dream.
They were just a recreation of them, but at the end, they were still just Dream Manifestations… I suppose.
Ding!
[You've completed the Trial successfully! You will be rewarded Special Rewards for your efforts.]
[You received: [Technomancy Divinity Fragment] x5 [Dungeon Divinity Fragment] x5 [Divine Treasure Chest (S+++ Grade)] x1 [Staircase Building Materials (2/2)] x1]
[You gained +150.000.000 Divine Power.]
"We're done here, let's go." I said, leading our party to the broken staircase.
The materials, which were contained within silver-colored boxes, flew into the destroyed staircase and quickly divided into many pieces, combining one another and then quickly rebuilding everything.
FLAASH!
Ding!
[The Staircase leading to Level 3 has been opened.]
[You may now proceed.]
"Well, looks like it's done." I said. "Let's go."
"Level 3… Is this the very last one?" Tyrannus wondered, tightening the hold of his weapon. "We're getting closer to the monster that took our people away… My wife…"
"Let's keep moving forwards!"
"Perseveration is the key!"
"Oooh!"
"I wonder why I feel so strong out of nowhere?"
The Warriors, including Tyrant, had received a tremendous buff to their strength with each reward of Divine Power. Although I was always the one that got most of it, even if they got a dozen million, that was still enough for their bodies and souls to continue evolving.
Their Divine Cores were now pretty strong, they had hit the wall of Rank 7 by now and might remain at that because to advance further they need hundreds of millions, and I doubt they'll be able to get as much.
Nonetheless, they have become surprisingly powerful… I guess I should had brought more people now that I think about…
Also, I wonder if making all these people into Gods will shake the power balance of this side of the continent?
Well, Muspelheim is not as organized as Jotunheim, so I doubt that, if there's any god out there hiding, they'll ever care that much.
"Level 3…! I want to beat that big plant already!" Benladra was more than ready.
"Let's do it!" Kate said. "Rematch time!"
"I guess you two suddenly got all pumped up, huh?" Benladann giggled a bit. "I suppose you really wanted to have a rematch after that thing ran away…"
"Hmm, it still strange. I wonder what connection that thing has to all of this?" Asked Miranda.
"We might soon find out." I said. "Also, before we even entered the Dream Dungeon, that laboratory we found destroyed… I think it might have something to do with that thing, perhaps."
"You're right, maybe…" Benladann said.
As we walked to the end of the stairs, we reached a different area, Level 3.
This time, aside from the ruined atmosphere and the colorful crystals growing everywhere, there were also vines, strange plants, and tree roots and branches growing everywhere.
The place had been beautifully decorated with all matter of plant life, most of them looking alien, some even ferocious, as if they were about to open their petals and reveal countless fangs to devour us whole.
However, they seemed inoffensive, and the crystals, were much calmer too, as if somehow synchronizing with the plants.
"Unlike previous Levels that seemed like one big part of the same building, this place seems different, and sort of disconnected…" Miranda analyzed.
"Doesn't it remind you of how the laboratory right before the Dream Dungeon's entrance looked like?" Benladann wondered.
"Y-Yeah, it looks just like that! And… I feel something really strong at the other side of that door!" Emerald pointed at the distance.
"Then let's proceed- Huh?!"
FLUOOOSH!
However, before we could move further, another Memory Fragment emerged, engulfing us within its scenario.
