Chapter 276: Gaia.

’Since I know where to get the life spark, I guess I should start with that.’ Lee thought to himself.Although centuries had passed since he met the shroom elemental lord, his best bet was to hope no one had gotten to the guy during this time. Lunax was long done, and if he hadn’t organized expeditions to Verdaria Prime, there was a reasonable chance no one had.

The universe was vast and in the grand scheme of things a few centuries was no that much – that was what Lee kept telling himself while flipping through the Van Graff family’s encyclopedia.

Frivolia ... size – large, climate – moderate, civilization advancement – medium, cultivation level – low, beasts – regular, plant life – regular ...

Sigma seven ... size – small, climate – hot, civilization advancement – low, cultivation level – none, beasts – none, plant life – rich ...

Krovimperium ... size – medium, climate – moderate, civilization advancement – medium, cultivation level – low, beasts – ferocious with occasional sparks, plant life – rich ...

Once again he came to the conclusion that the encyclopedia was a treasure trove. Members of the family that had solely focused on cultivating the spatial element had visited hundreds of worlds and compiled relatively detailed data that could serve as a tourist guide for a peaceful traveler or list of targets for an invader.

The only complication was the possibility that Van Graafs knew Verdaria Prime by another name, besides the fact that they might’ve never visited it, of course. That made Lee carefully check every entry, but it was a fun exercise. For a while he felt like a kid who had discovered the vastness of the world and the only thing he wanted was to explore it.

’... climate – moderate, civilization – none, beasts – none ... Oh?! Is this it?’ For a split moment Lee’s eyes lit up, only for the next part spoil the mood, ’... plant life – poor ... Alright, next! ... climate – cold ... Next!’

After spending first half of the day reading, Lee joined Dante for lunch. In the afternoon they hung out, talking about random stuff while putting up hides on drying racks. In the evening Lee was forced to spend telling stories about his adventures to the youngest generation and it all ended with him introducing the Five Elements Discovery technique to the local kids.

After meditating through the night, he went back to reading the encyclopedia again, and the very first entry made his heart skip a beat.

Gaia ... size – small, climate – moderate, civilization advancement – medium/high, cultivation level – none, beasts – regular, plant life – regular ...

Although the name felt familiar, he would’ve ignored the entry since it clearly wasn’t Verdaria prime, but his eyes froze at the part that gave more detailed description ... six continents, three oceans, over two thirds covered with water ... myriad of cultures and languages ... perfect for leisure and fun, useless for cultivation experience ...

’This is ... Earth! Gaia ... right! That’s how ancient Greeks called it!’ Lee forced himself to remain sitting, ’There were only three main oceans and six continents if Europe and Asia were considered one ... everything regular, useless for cultivation ... but when did they visit it? Advancement – medium/high? What does that mean? If over seven hundred years had passed since I was last born there ... oh, no!’

Suddenly Lee remembered Seris’s words – Everyone is incarnated in the world they died. What if he couldn’t incarnate because there wasn’t anyone left to give him birth? The development of weapons was incredibly advanced and if ...

Lee paled at the ominous premonition. When exactly did one of Van Graaf’s visit Earth? Was it before or after he was born? But did it actually matter?

Everyone is incarnated in the world they die ... but ... he hadn’t! He wasn’t arrogant enough to straight away claim that Seris was wrong, but if she wasn’t, there was only one explanation that made sense.

Lee wasn’t particularly attached to anything – places, items or people. But after all this time, no matter what wonders he had witnessed, the Earth was still his favorite world. Maybe it was because it was the first one he lived in, or maybe because he traveled it together with Lisa. Either way, for some reason the thought of it being void of life terrified him.

To not let his foul mood transfer to villagers, Lee said goodbyes and abruptly left. While fixing his condition was the priority, it could wait a bit. He was certain he wouldn’t be capable of calmly cultivating before seeing what was up with Gaia and if it was actually Earth. To use Simone Lamart just for that was improper, but Lee promised to make up to the man as soon as he was strong enough.

***

After hearing Lee’s request, Simone took the coordinates and sat cross-legged without asking any questions. He didn’t open a rift right away though.

His expression got more serious the more time passed, until he said, his eyes still closed, "I’m not sure you want to go there."

"Sorry to trouble you." Lee said with a sigh, "I kind of have to."

"Alright! But the environment there ... I suggest you don’t stay there for long." Simone said.

"I’m not sure how detailed you can see the world, but if its possible, could you open the rift somewhere east of the tallest mountain range you can find?" Lee asked.

"You’re kidding, right?" Simone mumbled, but after a while opened a rift. Then he said, "Ten days. No, eight. In eight days I’ll open a rift back."

"Thank you!" Lee said and stepped through, and immediately understood why Simone acted the way he did.

The cold and dry wind that cut into Lee’s face was the least of his worries. And so was the sight of the terrain below.

Simone did open the rift on a mountain slope, but this time Lee wasn’t met with the view of an ocean and lush jungle. Instead, he saw endless fields of jagged rock formations, as if he had arrived on an irregular asteroid hurling through space, except here was a gray sky above, with visibly heavy clouds threatening to rain down anything but water droplets.

He was certain there were no such places on earth, and so wasn’t the air that he inhaled. It wasn’t only cold and dry, Lee felt his lungs burn and eyes water the moment he arrived, and the water spark switched to work in overdrive to heal the damage his cells were taking.

This place was not suited for any living being.

’I really hope I’m mistaken!’ Lee said to himself, and rushed down the slope, each step over ten yards wide. After living and training in larger worlds, he felt like he had arrived to Ashland again, except everything around him was even more depressing.

The eight days Simone gave him was probably too much. In fact, the correct choice would’ve been to go back right away, but Lee wanted to verify whether he could find something familiar. It was an illogical desire, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

With every next step getting more confident, soon Lee almost flew over the terrain. Taking heavy steps every dozen yards, he raised clouds of dirt and snow, crushing smaller rocks below his feet.

Because of the water spark constantly fixing him, to balance out the elements, Lee was forced to discharge large amounts of elemental particles. Obviously, the reasonable way to go was to do that while increasing his speed, in hopes he could last the whole eight days this way.

Lee remembered learning in school about the nuclear winter, the aftereffect of a nuclear war, but never took it seriously. No one did. Who in their right mind could’ve imagined that the humankind was so retarded that they decided to destroy themselves after many millennia of advancement and growth.

The existential questions weren’t on Lee’s mind, though. He rushed east from Himalayan mountain range to see what was left of his home city. He didn’t have hopes or illusions, he only wanted to see.