Another six months passed by in the blink of an eye.
The Manor became quite cheerful after Nina and Ash started living with them.
Freya and Sylvia absolutely adored the cute little boy, who was quite a mischievous kid, always up to something, and they were always more than happy to play with him.
Ash reminded Freya a lot of her own little brother, so she was quite protective of him as well, and Sylvia never had a brother of her own, but she considered him one now.
How quickly and happily her child had been accepted by everyone at the Manor relieved his mother of a lot of her worries. And something interesting happened to her as well.
The day Nina met Remus for the first time, the two of them subconsciously imprinted on each other. She knew instantly that he was a Werewolf. She could smell it on him, feel it in his presence, and it made her feel safe. It wasn't something she had expected to happen, but the bond was undeniable.
The moment their eyes met, something ancient and instinctual stirred inside them both. It wasn't long before they found themselves drawn to one another. There was little hesitation, no confusion, and just a primal instinct. The pull of the bond was far too strong to resist. Their union happened swiftly, and with it came an overwhelming sense of comfort, like returning home after a long and weary journey.
They had been inseparable since, their connection deepening with every passing day. Amon and Meredith were aware of their bond almost immediately but did not interfere. They were glad, in fact. Nina's loyalty was now doubly anchored by her growing devotion to Remus, who had always been fiercely loyal to House Rayne.
They could trust their butler with their lives.
So when Remus and Nina approached Amon to formally seek approval for their relationship, he gave it without hesitation.
There was another important event that took place in those three months.
Meredith had a chat with Freya and came clean, not hiding anything from her. She did it the day her daughter woke up from her deep sleep after coming in contact with the strange rain.
As she had expected, her child was extremely upset. Freya's eyes and words had turned very cold, and she refused to speak to her for the next several weeks.
It was only after Amon had a private conversation with her that she spoke to Meredith again, and she was very clear about the decision she had reached.
Freya told her that she would not accept her relationship with Amon if there were any hopes in her heart about marrying him. She needed to know her mother understood that Amon would only have one spouse.
To Meredith's horror, her daughter seemed to have awakened some powers where she could read the thoughts of people, and her telepathic powers had also grown slightly stronger, now covering a larger range.
There was nothing she could hide from her, and she felt sad when Freya presented her with those conditions, knowing well how much they made her heart ache.
However, Freya never said she would stop seeing her as her mother. In fact, that was the one bond she wanted to preserve more than anything.
She loved her too much to lose her.
So they made a pact. Meredith would never ask to be Amon's wife, never try to interfere in the bond between him and Freya. In return, they would rebuild what had been strained between them.
Things smoothed out a lot between them after they set things straight, and now both were laughing together and hugging each other again.
The days at the Manor remained peaceful despite more and more strange creatures appearing in the skies and on the land.
On Friday, January 18th, 2 NW, a new panel on the Satellite Feed appeared.
Amon gathered everyone inside his study, including little Ash, which made the boy happy for no reason at all.
Perhaps he was just happy because he had been invited to a meeting for the first time.
Remus showed them the new panel, and instantly a suffocating silence descended in the room.
There was a countdown with less than a day left, and when it would end, access to satellites, which was already limited only to the Satellite Feed, would be completely cut off.
Displayed across the feed were images of 111 strange towers, shimmering like pillars of obsidian and scattered across the continents. Each one pulsed faintly, a heartbeat waiting to be claimed. A quiet but urgent message accompanied the feed, promising rewards to Aeons who managed to reach the towers before anyone else.
Whoever claimed a tower first would receive a reward, and then the tower would vanish, only to reappear somewhere else in the world. They would never return to the same place twice.
In total, 10,000,000 towers would appear before the phenomenon ended.
The first 10,000 Aeons to reach them were promised advanced technological equipment, tools designed to help them survive and adapt in the New World.
The feed ended with a stark number. It was the current Aeon population of the world, around 600 million, steadily dropping by two or three with every passing second.
Over 15 billion had died with the end of the Old World, and now, those that replaced them were monsters that bred faster than the people of the Old World ever could.
Amon quickly enlarged one of the images of the towers and narrowed his eyes when he saw a familiar mountain and landscape around it.
He then glanced at another image and frowned.
"There are 9 towers in the Kingdom of Pentoria right now. 3 in the Dukedom of Winterheim. One of them is near Mount Gold, 107 kilometres away. The other is near Franklin City, 480 kilometres away from Mount Gold. The last one is next to Lake Elsa, 1067 kilometres away from Franklin City."
"I will come with you," Meredith said as soon as he finished speaking, understanding what he intended to do.
However, Amon stayed quiet and glanced at Freya, who was frowning at her mother's decision.
"You will stay here. I will go alone," he said lightly and stood up.
"Amon..."
"Your presence here is required to ensure the safety of our home." He glanced at her and then at everyone else. "I will try to be back within a couple of weeks, but if I am late, do not panic."
"You do not have to go for all three of them, Uncle," Freya gently said to him, and he smiled.
"I know, but if I can, then I will."
His words had not even finished when the tower next to Lake Elsa and a couple of other towers disappeared from the feed, and new images appeared.
Three towers had already been claimed.
Without wasting any time, he picked up the compass from the drawer, the second satellite phone from the safe, the Red Rain from Sylvia's hands, and rushed out.
Not holding anything back, he pushed himself to his limits, and his body from time to time seemed to explode in dark smoke as he covered over 400 metres in a second.
Even at that speed, there were no sonic booms and his movement was very quiet.
In less than 10 minutes since he left the Manor, he found himself facing the hundreds of metres tall black tower, and without wasting any time, he charged straight into the water-like curtain that was constantly rippling.
His body ached a little given how hard he had pushed himself, and he was tired as well. However, he was glad he had made it.
Now, he found himself in a dimly lit room with a golden hue, and he found a black chest waiting for him on a black marble pedestal.
The curtain behind him had closed, which meant that no one else was allowed to enter the tower now.
Amon took a couple of minutes to catch his breath and allow his muscles to recover.
Once he felt better, he walked over to the pedestal and opened the chest.
He subconsciously raised his brow when he saw a stylish black waist bag, which was made out of some strange metallic cloth, quite soft to the touch.
There was nothing else in the chest, which made him frown, but right when he was about to open the waist bag, the things around him started to disintegrate.
Amon quickly wore the waist bag, fastened it, and then rushed out as the wall in front of him revealed a way out.
His senses were on high alert, and he relaxed a few minutes later when he sensed there was no one he needed to worry about.
Taking a moment to stop, he first took out the satellite phone and checked where a new tower had appeared.
To his surprise, it was exactly the same distance away as the one near Franklin City, but in the opposite direction.
After debating for a few seconds, he rushed to the north of the Dukedom where the new tower had appeared.
The other one was close to a city, but this one was away from civilisation and in very challenging mountainous terrain. So, the chances of other Aeons being around were lower.
As much as Amon wanted to look inside the waist bag he was now wearing, he kept his curiosity at bay and focused on the more important thing.
He needed to claim the second tower.
Just like he had done earlier, he again pushed himself to his limits, managing to cover the distance in less than an hour, and charged into the rippling curtain and dropped to his knees.
Sprawling on the floor, he stared into the darkness above him and caught his breath.
It took him well over an hour to recover this time, and he truly wanted to get some sleep. Taking a gamble, he did exactly that.
However, the moment he fell asleep, the rippling curtain opened again, and in a vision, he saw it happen.
He instantly shot up to his feet, watched the curtain disappear again, and heard his heart racing in his chest.
You could not sleep inside the tower.
Amon glanced at the chest on the pedestal, but before moving to it, he opened the waist bag and took a look inside.
There was nothing but a bunch of rings, thirteen of them, and they made him frown.
Picking up the one that was black and had red veins on it, he wore it on his right ring finger and was amazed at how it adjusted to his size.
Even as he clenched his fist again and again, he did not feel any discomfort, but he could feel its slightly cold touch, which he liked a little.
However, the next instant, he heard a sharp ping in his head.
Amon paused as a soft red light flickered above his hand. A holographic panel projected itself from the ring, displaying sleek lines of data. He studied it closely.
[Name: Amon Elvius Octavius Rayne
Age: 22
Lifespan: Not Limited
Race: Veylarian Vampire
Class: Ultra
Aeon Level: 33
Aeon Class: Ultra Mystic
Threat Level: High Tier-3 (Ultra Emergent)
World Rank: 197]
His eyes narrowed. It wasn't just a status readout. It was real-time. Responsive.
[Special Abilities: Bloodbirth (20/20), Psionic Control (8/20), Bloodsense (8/20), Blood Frenzy (8/20), Telepathy (8/20), Phantom Step (8/20), Clairvoyance (8/20), Regeneration (8/20), Domineer (8/20), Blood Control (Unawakened), Shadow Control (Unawakened)]
[Physical Attributes: Strength (8/20), Speed (8/20), Endurance (8/20), Agility (8/20), Durability (8/20), Coordination (8/20), Perception (8/20)]
[Weapon: Red Rain]
[Type: Sword]
[Rank: Mystic]
[Special Abilities: Blood Devour (8/20), Blood Frenzy (8/20), Blood Pulse (8/20)]
[World Rank: 17]
He only glanced at the names of Special Abilities to realise which of his powers they belonged to. He already knew what he could do. However, the Blood and Shadow Control Abilities did surprise him.
"There are 196 Aeons stronger than me in the world?" he asked himself quietly, feeling a weight pressing on his heart.
[Yes.]
The sudden answer that appeared in his mind in the form of text surprised him. Did the Ring just answer his question?
"Is this… an AI?"
[Yes.]
He kept still for a moment, watching the glowing text. His mind was already calculating possibilities.
"Is the gap between me and the one at World Rank 100 insurmountable?"
[No.]
He nodded slowly.
Simple answers. Direct. Efficient.
Amon exhaled and lowered his hand. So the ring came with a built-in AI. That made things easier. And far more interesting.
He turned toward the pedestal again.
[Novice Treasure Chest: 147/10,000]
Inside, he found a large backpack of the same material.
The chamber began to disintegrate.
He slung it on, used Phantom Step, and emerged hundreds of metres away.
Checking the phone, he saw the tower near Franklin City was gone.
Another had appeared near the Winter Manor.
Before he could consider returning home, that tower disappeared too.
He frowned, but he was certain that Meredith had claimed it.
A new tower had appeared in the cold desert, 1,500 kilometres away.
He did not rush this time. Instead, he observed tower patterns and studied his ring's other functions.
However, he was soon distracted because he saw something colossal.
[Name: Mountain Troll]
[Level: 30]
[Monster Rank: Alpha]
[Threat Level: Low Tier-3 (Emergent)]
His Bloodsense told him that he could take on this creature, and he grew a little excited as he observed it.
The Mountain Troll towered at nearly six metres tall, a mass of rugged muscle and jagged stone-like skin. Its breath was foul, its eyes burning with primal rage. In one massive hand, it gripped a club the size of a tree trunk, lined with jagged black spikes.
Amon didn't hesitate. He wanted to see what kind of Core this creature would drop.
He lunged forward, Red Rain flashing crimson in the light. The Troll roared and swung, the club ripping through the air with terrifying speed. For a creature of its size, its movements were unnervingly quick.
Amon barely slipped past the first blow, the rush of wind brushing his cheek. He vanished and reappeared behind it using Phantom Step, targeting the creature's hamstring. Red Rain carved a deep line into the thick hide, glowing red as it drank blood.
The beast bellowed and spun, swinging wide. Amon ducked under the attack, then rolled to the side as the club smashed into the ground where he had just landed. Earth shattered beneath the impact. The Troll was strong, monstrously strong.
Despite his precision and speed, Amon felt it. The ache in his limbs, the growing drag of fatigue. He had pushed himself far beyond his limits to reach those two towers. His perception, usually razor-sharp, was a little sluggish right now.
He misjudged the next swing. The spiked club slammed into his shoulder, the force launching him off his feet and crashing him into a boulder.
Agony tore through his side. He coughed and forced himself upright, blood dripping from his mouth. The Troll charged, but Amon was already moving. With gritted teeth and narrowed eyes, he blinked again with Phantom Step, dodging another crushing blow and reappearing just behind its left shoulder.
He plunged Red Rain deep between the plates of thick muscle. The Troll roared and twisted, trying to catch him, but Amon clung on, letting the Red Rain do its work.
The beast eventually stumbled and its knees buckled. Amon leapt off its back and landed nimbly, panting, his crimson eyes fixed on the reeling behemoth whose skin had gone pale.
With one final surge of strength, he darted in and drove Red Rain straight into its chest, piercing the heart that he could hear beating. The blade pulsed with power as the Troll gave a choked howl and crumpled, falling back on the stony ground.
Its corpse shuddered, twitched once, and then crumbled into ash, leaving behind a radiant green crystal core.
Amon stepped forward, wiping blood from his mouth, and examined it as the ring displayed its identity.
[Strength Attribute Core – Level 7]
He reached for it, but the core faded into the storage of his waist bag, tagged and labelled automatically.
His brows furrowed when another panel appeared.
[Your Strength is already at Level 8. Only Six Level 9 Strength Attribute Cores can help you level up your strength. You must use them all at once.]
Amon exhaled and rested his hands on his knees. "So even monsters like that can not help me grow?"
[You are not a Normal Aeon. Your Race is classified as an Ultra Class. Your Physical Attributes already far surpass those of most races.]
"So, this inconvenience is only for the Physical Attributes. Right?" He hopefully asked.
[Yes.]
He gave a tired chuckle, but was truly relieved in his heart.
"What class of race are Werewolves?"
[It depends on their Inherent Abilities. Race Classes can be upgraded, but the more powerful you are, the harder it is to upgrade your Race Class.]
"And how hard is it for me?"
[Extremely difficult.]
He smirked.
"I take it that the Ultra Class is special."
[Yes. It only sits below the Eternum Class.]
"I see." He took a deep breath and stared at the sky, closed his eyes and let the Purple Rain fall on his face. "Let's find some place to rest."