Chapter 828: The Witnesses

Chapter 828: The Witnesses

“A gate?” Shane was confused. He didn’t know anything about the gates.

“We were taken… months ago,” He said. “Used as food. Used as workers to build their tunnels… Every day, they drained some of us. Every week, someone was taken to their Lord’s chamber and… never came back.”

The man’s voice cracked after remembering what had happened in the past. This time, another man continued.

“I also heard they were preparing something beneath the city. It’s most likely a ritual, as we heard it from other Vampires. But it’s something that required not only our blood but another source of energy… They said it was meant to open a gate.”

Shane frowned as he had no idea about the gate that Statham was opening.

‘Is it related to another Apocalypse?’

If that were the case, then Shane would just accept it.

However, what if Statham wasn’t just planning to visit another Apocalypse in a different world? What if he was building toward something larger?

And if this was tied to the Realm Invaders like him… then this might be more dangerous than I thought.

‘Is there another Apocalypse I’m not aware of?’ Shane couldn’t help but sigh as he reached this thought.

When Shane selected the Zombie Infestation, he initially thought that there were only eight Apocalypses…

The A.I. Rebellion, Alien Invasion, Demon Invasion, Dragon Awakening, Fairy Realm Collision, Magic War, Ragnarok, and Zombie Infestation.

However, he later learned that there was another Apocalypse, the Vampire’s Rise, where Statham was able to clear, and because of that, he had invaded the Zombie Infestation Apocalypse where he was currently at.

At this time, Shane had already returned to his command deck.

He leaned back against the wall, staring at the dim glow of the system interface still hanging before his eyes.

“How many more are out there…?” he muttered and glanced at the wristwatch interface. “Cloud, how many more Apocalypses do you think exist? Besides the nine I’ve already encountered?”

[ Insufficient Data. Records are incomplete. ]

“Figures…” Shane sighed. “What about speculation? If I had to guess, what kind of Apocalypses might exist?”

[ Running Simulation… ]

In just a few moments, Cloud started presenting silhouettes of hypothetical scenarios.

Shadow Convergence: An Apocalypse where endless darkness swallows worlds, ruled by entities that thrive in the void and shadow.

Plague Genesis: A biological Apocalypse centered on parasitic evolution and viral dominion. Worse than the zombies as organisms mutating endlessly.

Oceanic Abyss: The rise of deep-sea entities, where humanity is hunted by colossal leviathans from beneath the waves.

Clockwork Colony: A timeline Apocalypse where corrupted timekeepers and mechanical aberrations twist reality itself.

Celestial Warfall: The descent of gods, not to save, but to conquer the world. Possible divine beings waging war over mortal realms.

“Damn…” Shane muttered as he skimmed through Cloud’s projections. “Those sound even worse than what I’ve seen already.”

[ Note: These are speculative constructs… But it was all based on the gathered information of the Anima Civilization in various galaxies. ]

Indeed, Cloud’s speculation may seem random but it was definitely through the help of the Anima Civilization’s large database.

Furthermore, he could also see where it came from.

Darkness… Plague… especially the Ocean-themed Apocalypse. They were definitely quite possible to happen.

However, the Clockwork and the Celestials must be Anima Civilization’s experience, so it suggested that.

“Yeah. Thank you, Cloud. Even speculation helps. If Vampires can invade this Apocalypse, what’s stopping these other types from doing the same?”

Well, Shane was only asking these things in order to pass the time and perhaps, consider what Statham was thinking about invading this realm and opening a mysterious gate.

He exhaled slowly. “One way or another, I need to prepare for the possibility that the Zombie Infestation isn’t the only front I’ll be fighting on.”

Shane sighed.

‘If Statham’s ritual was really meant to open a gate, then maybe he was trying to bring one of these other Apocalypses here…’

A shiver crawled down his spine at the thought.

But the moment passed. The Fortress had already stabilized.

The survivors were safe and the Vampires were gone.

It was time to return.

The massive Floating Fortress shifted course…

Soon, its engines hummed as it began the long drift back toward the Eclipse Domain.

Shane decided not to place it elsewhere. Instead, he planned to let it hover most of the time above his Shelter, a sentinel in the sky.

From now on, Eclipse Domain would be his central land.

It would have a fortress above it, ready to rain destruction on any who dared to threaten them.

***

In the meantime, both Regional Chat and World Chat, messages scrolled faster than most could even read…

There was already panic, awe, jealousy, and excitement mixed into one chaotic stream.

[ Regional Chat ]

[Sebastian: The Floating Island… or Flying Fortress… or maybe that castle in the sky is somewhere in Sector 20! Awesome sight! ]

[ Charlie: No way! That’s cool. Then it must be the Rank 1 Survivor, Lord Shane! So cool! Shane, if you’re reading this, please recruit me. ]

[ Herman: Rank 1 Survivor and his Clan, Eclipse Revenant, is also Rank 1. He must be super rich. ]

[ Frank: I want to be a member of his Clan and become an employee in that Flying Fortress! It must be the safest place to hide from zombies! I have Invisible Talent! Please consider me, Lord Shane! ]

[ Julia: Hah! Keep dreaming. He probably doesn’t accept random weaklings. ]

[ Karl: Even if I have to work as a janitor, I’ll still join! Imagine sleeping in a super safe place in the sky. That would be the best sleep. These days, I’m worried that the Lurker Zombies were following me. ]

[ Mitchell: Didn’t he also kill the most Zombie King… or Zombie Lord? This man’s Shelter is untouchable… ]

[ Dave: Bro… if he can fly a fortress, then the rest of us are just insects. ]

[ Arvin: I swear I saw his cannons blow up an entire city… I think he just eliminated a whole bunch of Vampires. Even the ground was shaking miles away! If not for one of my Eyes near the area, I wouldn’t know what was happening. ]