The Rise of the Black Plain

After leaving Kilburn, Minos' party traveled for a few weeks without any major problems.

Strin had helped them a lot with some very precise instructions on this first part of their journey to Examire. Following the ant's advice, they would have two to three months of peace on their journey, as the area they would pass through during that time would be relatively quieter than the rest of the journey, while Strin knew all the important points.

The party knew what to avoid and where to go, what times of day they could travel, and where best to stop to rest, gather wild resources, or even venture out to explore the area.

Following Strin's recommendations for the first few days of their journey, the group found exactly what this ant had told them they would find. As a result, they didn't get involved in battles like the one against the level 100 parasitic root, let alone harass the creatures in the area they passed.

They had also avoided a few traps during this time and had reached the current point where they were already approaching the end of the area Strin had led them deeper into.

They hadn't stopped in a city similar to Kilburn during this time, as that would have been more dangerous than camping in the woods. According to Strin, the only reason they had no problems in Kilburn was because they were not only stronger than the average locals but also because he accompanied them. But they could quickly get into trouble in a place where no one would escort them and where there might be Sovereigns in the area.

Some beings would take advantage of them and commit crimes and then blame those crimes on the space explorers who were notorious for such acts.

If they encountered such a situation on their own, they would already be in so much trouble that they might not be able to achieve their goal of reaching Examire!

So the group remained cautious until that day, traveling quickly through this area so that they knew exactly what dangers lay ahead.

...

It was night in the region Minos' party was traveling through, but the sky wasn't as dark as it was in the Spiritual World's nights.

The night in Zocarro was 'only' a 20-hour period in which the brightness decreased by 50% to 60%. On the other hand, the day lasted 30 hours and was characterized by a bright pink sky with a luminosity about 100% of that of the Spiritual World.

Maximillian stood up from where he was and looked at the egg with interest as a golden glow emerged from inside it, escaping through the ever-widening cracks in its now thin shell.

As everyone raised their guards and circulated their energies, ready to act if anyone undesirable appeared because of the egg, they all saw the egg's shell explode.

A white mist spread out from the inside of the item, while a golden glow from it became more and more intense as a terrifying sensation emanated from it.

"What is that?" One of the level 99 Demigods in the group asked as he felt like a God was standing right in front of their group.

Even Minos and Maximillian looked at the thing hidden under the glow and the nearby mist, and both sensed an impressive power emanating from it.

But neither of them was surprised. That was an egg of Panvuter, from the same era as the giant skeletons scattered throughout the Spiritual World.

Even the ancient Gods of the Spiritual World had many unknowns about these things, so they already expected that whatever happened to this egg would not be normal.

They both looked at it expectantly, but as soon as the mist around the strange thing disappeared, the group saw what looked like a golden insect flying at high speed toward Minos.

"Shit!" He tried to swerve, but the thing was too fast.

In an instant, the insect-like thing crashed into the middle of Minos' back while Ruth and the robots there flew closer to him, worried.

Maximillian frowned but was soon even more surprised to see the creature suddenly integrate itself into Minos' spine and then make large golden wings emerge from the man's back.

"Aaaaagh!" Minos screamed in agony as his arms spread wide, the giant golden wings on his back moving more or less in the same way as his arms.

"That..." Maximillian wondered, trying to understand how something like this could happen and, more importantly, what it meant.