The bunkers that had been designed for exceptional safety – some of the most advanced pieces of technology ever created – suddenly began to heat up to levels beyond the ability of humans to withstand.
At first, the bunkers were able to stand strong. They had been designed for the most extreme circumstances… Whether it be severe negative temperatures, or ones as high as the Earth's core, it could withstand them all.
Unfortunately, the matters of the martial world were far beyond their abilities to calculate. While they had accounted for the Earth's core, the body heat of the entity was on a completely unprecedented level.
One level of heat could exist along with the Earth… While the other could burn it to ash!
Hours passed in these conditions.
The leaders didn't know what to do… They had already sacrificed so many by closing the doors early, now it seemed that their sacrifice would mean nothing as they slowly roasted to death…
Many diverted all of their energy into protecting the food supplies, placing them in the safest places… However, this diversion of resources only made the deaths pile up quicker…
The old and weak were the first to die, as a population that had already fallen to ten million dwindled by hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands…
The bitter reality began to set in for many as what they had come to know started to crumble in upon them.
The food and water supplies burnt to a crisp soon after as many realized there was no point in having food if they were going to die anyway…
Many began to tremble in helplessness. Maybe the worst part was that they were too hot to even find comfort in those beside them…
Their throats were sore, their lips were cracked and dry, and even their hair began to fray, evaporating into what looked like nothing more than straw livestock would eat.
The animals and crops were the next to go, causing everyone to despair all the more. Even if by some miracle the heat stopped rising, how would it matter if they couldn't sustain themselves afterward?
Some fell into such despair that they begged the soldiers keeping order to shoot them dead…
As the hours passed, some soldiers even turned their guns on themselves… In bunkers where this happened, mass suicide was the tragic ending…
It was then, when seemingly all hope was lost, that Dyon finally won his battle, releasing the mortals of their chains…
However, it seemed almost too late… A population that already stood at a pitiful ten million had dwindled to barely four million… And it didn't seem like the strife would end there…
Still, where there was darkness, there was light.
The moment Dyon unsealed the mortal world, three babies were born, two baby girls and a single baby boy.
As the first babies born from the native race of their universe with their cultivations completely unsealed, to say that the talent of these babies was overwhelming was a major understatement. The momentums of their births were so fierce that it sent waves for tens of thousands of miles outward.
It could be said that if it wasn't for these three babies, the human race would have been doomed.
One had to understand that even with the seal undone, the energy density of Dyon's home universe was so scarce that the time it would have taken for the energies to appropriately spread, and thus repair the atmospheric array, would have made it too late for any decent number of individuals to survive…
However, the birth of such geniuses gained the acknowledgement of the universe, causing it to send a flood of energy toward Earth that sped up this process by hundreds of times!
The body heat of the entity was conducted away at blinding speeds, immediately reducing the temperature of the bunkers at a noticeable rate.
Still, major problems remained. Many were suffering from large scale first and second degree burns that, if not treated, would lead to death. However, even worse, the food that was meant to last them years was destroyed by the heat.
Just as one problem was solved, another more daunting issue seemed to arise…
The Earth was now completely barren… There was no usable soil… No seeds to plant even if they had them… The animals were obviously all killed… And, even if they had the mind to travel to the martial world, how could they travel millions of miles on foot? That was impossible!
Doomed. They were absolutely doomed.
But, that was when the heavens decided to smile down upon them once more…
The catacombs began to tremble, being drenched in an energy it hadn't felt in millennia.
At that moment, a dozen legacy worlds opened at the corners of the world, immediately alerting the leaders around the world… Although they didn't know what these portals to another world were, they knew that it was their last hope…
Of course, these dozen legacy worlds were incredibly low level. After all, if one thinks back to Dyon's time at Focus Academy, they spent centuries trying to funnel enough energy into their treasures to open up the Demon Sage's Legacy World. In fact, they even sacrificed the lives of their own disciples to that end!
Knowing this, how could the scarce energy of Earth open up any powerful legacy worlds? They wouldn't have even opened at all if it hadn't been for the birth of those three children.
However… This seemingly bad thing was actually very good. Because the legacy worlds were so weak, the dangers within weren't so overwhelming that they couldn't be handled by mortal world technology that, at its best, could match meridian formation experts.
The legacy worlds didn't just provide an opportunity for the mortals to learn small tidbits about cultivation, but, most importantly, provided them with lands they could farm, beasts they could hunt, and water they could drink!
In this transition period, loss of life was inevitable. During a 17 year period, the population had fallen to just below two million… It was only now that the mortals finally regained their footing thanks to the birth of numerous geniuses over the years.
So, the question was, if after 17 years of suffering, of living with your life on the edge, you suddenly heard the projection of music from an instrument that no one had played in almost two decades, how would you react? What if that instrument was also playing music you knew only existed in your mortal world, how would you react then? And what if the projection of the music was so powerful, that it seemed like a completely insurmountable mountain?...
The older generation of the surviving mortals looked up into the skies on their legacy worlds, tears falling down their cheeks for reasons even they couldn't explain.
"Chopin's Ballade No. 4…" Many of them muttered beneath their breaths.
At that moment, they felt like their mortal race had a chance to survive… If there was someone among them who was so powerful, their days of endless nightmares might finally come to an end…
Ironically, as Dyon was trying to find out himself whether there was any beauty to be found in Chaos, millions of his fellow clansman held their hands to their chest, listening to his chaotic tune with hope blooming in their hearts.
As the wills of those millions reached out, Dyon's dao heart suddenly trembled.
Dyon's eyes sharpened. He didn't understand what was happening, but he could feel that his dao heart was responding to something… Its mere particle-like remnants became agitated at the touch of one… then the touch of ten… then a hundred…
'Beauty in Chaos?...'
Dyon's hands involuntarily sped up in response, gliding between the keys with an expert flare.
His eyes glowed with a fiercer light. He didn't understand just what path he was embarking on, but it felt… Good… An emotion Dyon hadn't felt in more than three months now…
The crumbled remnants of his dao heart trembled as a pulse was sent through them, but it settled down once more.
Still, the speed of his fingers only increased, as though he was running from… no, running toward something.
For the first time, Planet Earth trembled not because of mighty cultivators that could level mountains with a finger… But because of mortals… Fiendishly persistent in their will to survive.
