Shrouded Seascape

Charles stared quietly at the V12 Containment Site shrouded in the distinct pitch-black darkness of the Subterranean Sea. He was back in his own plane.

From the outside, V12 appeared as an oval-shaped building that had the same color as the ground around it. The previous Foundation had divided the buildings into many floors, and exiting those floors would lead one to another plane.

In other words, Lily's world could be considered to be a planar teleporter.

Charles raised his hands slowly, and the island beneath him instantly became a sprawling sea of flesh and blood. Tentacles made from bizarre appendages and amorphous organs sprang up from under the island and swept toward the V12 Containment Site as if it were a tidal wave of gore.

The tentacles increased in numbers as they approached the V12 Containment Site.

In no time, the V12 Containment Site was engulfed, but the tentacles weren't done yet and proliferated across the ground.

"Daddy, what are you doing?" Sparkle asked, looking a bit puzzled.

"This thing is useful to me. Since it's useful, I can't just let it stay here. I should carry it around."

Charles raised his hands again, and those tentacles burrowed into the V12 Containment Site, frantically destroying everything that could be destroyed before transforming it into deformed lumps of flesh.

When the tentacles had pervaded the deepest recesses of the containment site, Charles soon found himself inside the room that connected this plane to another plane.

A myriad of eyes were all over the flesh tentacles, and Charles saw through them that there were similar-looking tentacles on the other side. Clearly, the teenage Charles had also decided to move the V12 Containment Site on his end to somewhere else.

Everything happened quickly, and the V12 Containment Site now looked like a squirming mountain of grotesque flesh.

Charles' tentacles retracted, and he pulled the mountain of flesh to himself. Soon, the tentacles vanished, and Charles was now sporting a towering mountain on the eastern side of his colossal form.

There was supposed to be dense forest on that side, but the tall mountain had replaced it.

Charles was now carrying the V12 Containment Site at all times, so he could go to the other side at any time he wished, but He was not satisfied with something so basic.

A myriad of amorphous organs that could never be found inside a human body proliferated in an instant within the "mountain." Charles then observed the true nature of the V12 Containment Site using those eyes.

Having become a god, mastering the ability to traverse planes through the V12 Containment Site's special ability wasn't a difficult task for Charles.

Once he had mastered that ability, he could easily visit other planes to find the other versions of himself. That was Charles' immediate goal, as he had to gather enough Charleses before thinking about the next step of his plan.

Regardless of the true nature of Fhtagn and the other gods, Charles had already made his move, so there was no turning back. He was prepared for failure, but he was not going to stop trying as long as there was a chance.

As a god, Charles could easily obtain every information he needed about the other planes from V12, but he didn't want to do that.

Nowadays, he sometimes had to discard some of the boundless knowledge that would come naturally to him to avoid learning too much and accelerating the erosion of his humanity.

As Charles sank slowly into the water, the ink-green waters of the Subterranean Sea rolled violently, churning into a filthy white foam. The seawater submerged the heads of both Charles and Sparkle as they sank into the pitch-black depths.

However, neither Sparkle nor Charles had any reaction, as if the seawater around them did not exist.

"Daddy, I think this is very dangerous as well," Sparkle remarked. A few tiny bubbles escaped from her mouth as she explained, "I went to the Hope Island on the other side and looked around. There are many differences between that side and our side.

"Those differences are the reason why you and that Charles over there have fabricated different human forms and have vastly different personalities."

"That makes sense. He doesn't have Lily, and he hasn't come into contact with Anna. Of course, we're not going to be alike. We had different options when it comes to making choices, after all," Charles said, raising his right hand.

Sparkle held Charles' hand and supported him as they walked toward the seaside villa in the distance.

"Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to say. The Charleses from different planes have different experiences, so how can we say for sure that the thoughts and ideas of those Charleses are the same as yours?

"What if there are some Charleses out there who have been driven to madness by their circumstances and are wishing for the destruction of the surface world or perhaps the death of Earth itself?

"And that's not all. Who knows what they've experienced and what they've become? What are we going to do at that point? Won't things get worse by then?"

"I know what you're trying to say, but we can't say that all apples are bad just because you found one apple with a worm inside of it."

There were more reasons behind Charles' haste, and he did not disclose it to Sparkle. It was the fact that he no longer had time. His humanity was eroding at a rate faster than he had imagined.

In as little as five years, his humanity could erode completely, transforming him into a true god.

Once he was a true god, all of his emotions would become unnecessary features in his memories. He'd no longer regard Sparkle as his daughter but as a separate, independent creature.

Charles had no intentions of letting Sparkle know about that, as he knew that the latter would become extremely worried about him.

Charles had considered making Sparkle leave his side, but he realized that Sparkle's one and only home was by his side. Where could he send her to?

"Daddy, don't worry too much about it. My childhood phase is ending, and I'm about to become an adult. I know it, and I can feel it. My strength is increasing at a rate faster than ever. I will be able to help you soon."

Charles turned to stare at Sparkle's nearly perfect face, and a faint smile tugged at his lips. Regardless of what was going to happen to Sparkle once she became an adult, Charles had already made up his mind—he would send Sparkle away by then.

He could give up everything for his goal because it was his own goal. Sparkle was uninvolved; she was free, and there was no need for her to make any sacrifices for his goal. If mankind ended up going extinct, Sparkle was strong enough to survive by herself.

Sparkle assisted Charles all the way into his room. Upon arriving in the room, Charles immediately sprawled out on the sofa and fused with it. Charles' eyes soon became blank, and even the school of fish swimming into the room through the window didn't attract Charles' attention.

Charles had just temporarily abandoned his human "organ," and his attention was now entirely on the towering mountain of flesh.

Sparkle sat next to Charles and stared quietly at him, seemingly reminiscing about something.

After a while, she opened her arms and squeezed herself into Charles' arms. Then, she laid her head down on Charles' chest and mused, "If Mother were here, she'd persuade you to stop, wouldn't she?

"I know her enough to tell that she'd definitely do that. I wonder how she's doing on the surface world. Is she doing well?

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll try my best to keep up with Father. If he deviates, I'll go all-out and pull him back on track."

Every single memory related to Anna had disappeared from everyone's memories, except for Sparkle's memories. She could still remember that fierce mother of hers and everything about her, including the bond and emotions that they shared.

The reason she hadn't told Charles anything about it was that she didn't want him to feel sad. As their daughter, she was keenly aware of how painful was the fact that they would never see each other again.

Moreover, Charles himself had made the decision to send Anna away to the surface world, and it was too late to alter that decision. Since it could no longer be changed, it was better for him not to know about it

At the very least, he wouldn't suffer that anguish.

Just then, a violent tremor ran across Charles' figure, and light returned to his dull, blank eyes. He raised his steel hand and stroked Sparkle's waist-length hair. "Sparkle, this is strange, but there's a ship looking for me on the sea surface."