501 Last Trial Part 1

After seven days, they finally arrived at the coast before continuing above the sea. After another three days where Alex thought they were out of nowhere, another Naga suddenly appeared from the ocean and greeted them.

He then led them to the city of Atlantis.

At first, Alex was confused, recalling how much pressure at the bottom of the sea. He was worried they would be crushed to death or something. As for the cold, it would not bother him anyway and he could use his flame to take care of Anya.

Surprisingly, the Naga came out of the water and opened up a water bubble for them. He was controlling the water bubble the whole time, moving like a submarine.

Alex furrowed his eyebrows, feeling like their lives were in the hand of this person. He tried to ask Stina with a thought transmission. "Are we going to be alright with this? I mean, if this bubble pops..."

"Don't worry. The pressure under the sea is not as powerful as you thought. A Martial King should be enough to withstand the pressure."

"Oh…" Alex nodded. If they would be alright for a while, he could teleport the others to escape. He could use his Spiritual Energy to make an air bubble like this, but it would take a huge amount of energy, so he was a bit worried.

And it turned out his worry was not needed as they arrived after diving for about two kilometers (1.2 miles). It was not too deep, so he thought it would be fine.

Sherry was looking around inside the bubble, enjoying the beauty of the sea. As for Alex, he did not find enjoyment in watching these fishes. He had seen a giant aquarium for attraction from the internet but found it boring, so he just closed his eyes for the entire time.

In the middle of their journey, the sea slowly turned dark as the light could not pierce through this layer.

As one would expect from a fantasy world, not long after the darkness, they could see a giant light from afar before realizing it was a town.

The light was coming from lanterns that contained glowing fishes. The principal was the same as using fireflies.

It was a fascinating sight and would last forever in one's memory.

They entered the city as the Nagas around immediately bowed their heads as soon as their figures appeared.

After a few more minutes, they arrived at a huge castle. The castle looked very similar to Phoenix's castle except for the patterns in their pillars.

He remembered that Earth originally came from this universe and with a power level that managed to kill many Gods and Goddesses, he felt Atlantis might not only be a myth but a real place.

Maybe they just had a Special Realm or something that let them vanish from everyone's sight. With how many Gods and Goddesses died in that place, Earth might hold more mysteries than he thought.

He had a side thought, thinking if he should visit Earth after becoming a God or not, albeit it was only for later.

He shook his head as he entered the castle, specifically the Throne Room. It seemed to meet Alex, they used an array to create a huge bubble so they could talk normally.

The one who led them immediately released his barrier as he stretched his hand, asking Alex and the others to come in. "Please."

Alex nodded and walked inside, looking at the Naga he saw a few days ago and greeted him. "Human, Alexander Sirius, greets Your Majesty."

"This… will be the second time we meet, right?" The Neptune introduced himself. "Anyway, I should also introduce myself. Neptune, Eikha. I welcome you to this humble palace.

"Firstly, I want to thank you for that flash of the golden sky that you have made, letting me advance to 8-Star."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Alex just played ignorance.

The Neptune also understood the reason why Alex wanted to play like this. He smiled, "Haha… Truly, it was a jest. I was hoping to lighten up the mood.

"However… I still want to know your take about the portal to another world." His expression turned serious. "Seeing you are a person from another world, I want to know if we are going to open the gate and step inside the other world, what will our fate be?"

"You!" Stina could not help but surprise. The others also tensed up as they could not believe their king would ask something like that.

The Neptune continued, "I have investigated your background and I would love to hear your honest input."

Alex furrowed his eyebrows, wondering if he should answer this question. After a while, he sighed. "To put it simply, you might be able to be free for a while, but if a war should occur, you will certainly lose… one-sidedly."

"!!!" They were surprised by his view. One of them stood up and wanted to retort back, but Alex continued, "If you really wish to go to another world, you will face Tier 7 or even Tier 8. And if they somehow manage to get into this world, the tragedy will repeat…

"Naga Race would become a fish inside a pond that would entertain them. Phoenixes will be exploited for their fires. Dragons would become their pet or materials… I should stop myself since I am sure the great Neptune should already know about the conscience himself…"

"Indeed…" He nodded, closing his eyes in reminisce. "Around five thousand years ago, a great army led by outsiders brought a calamity to this world. Although it was my father who experienced that calamity, there has been one thing that I have always believed in. That a thoroughly sickening amount of blood has already been shed on this world and become an enigma that plagues the whole world.

"This world is tired of tragedy… that is why if you are able to open the portal, I wish you would return the crystals to us as to prevent anyone from discovering this world." The Neptune requested politely.

"..." Alex furrowed his eyebrows, confused. He thought the crystals would be in their possession after opening the portal, but it seemed it was not.

Unfortunately, there was no other race that knew exactly how the portal works, even for Stina.

The Neptune explained, "According to the investigation, I heard you are a Space Element Rune Master, so I am sure you will understand the principle on the portal as soon as you see it.

"Still, I need to explain the mechanism to you as per tradition. If you are able to go through, the six crystals would also teleport together with you as it was the catalyst for the portal.

"Because of that, I request you throw the crystals back and destroy the portal on the other side."

Alex nodded his head. Although he had yet to see the portal, he could imagine what kind of mechanism the portal would have from his explanation. "However, by doing so, no one could travel between worlds again after me."

"You are half right." Neptune shook his head.

"Half right?"

"Yes. We might not be able to make a portal again, but teleporting one person is still possible. Actually, this request came from the Supreme a few thousand years ago, which was passed to me from my father.

"He said, 'If there is a day when a person, who possesses a Human Crystal, comes here, please ask his goal. If he wants to lead the entire world to another world, all races shall bow down to him and heed his command.

'However, if he does not have this ambition, please destroy the portal so there would be no tragedy in this world anymore. By destroying the portal, you can only send a person at a time. So, if someone really wants to go to another world after this person, they would be a genius that wants to struggle to fight their fate. The road will be huge but dangerous for them, and if they are able to cross the world safely, the blood of our world will eventually spread in another world.' This was his message."

"One person…" Alex closed his eyes, thinking of something in his mind. It took him a minute before he opened his eyes again. "I see. So it is like that…"

"Like that?"

"No. I just understood the concept of the portal. I don't know about this Supreme, but if the person after me comes, then he/she will be the same as me. They have some kind of goal they want to achieve and this place certainly could not fulfill that goal. That's why rather than having them here, which might cause potential chaos, it would be better to send them to the other world."

"Your words… I have gratefully accepted." The Neptune thanked him. "Anyway, I think it is time for you to challenge our trial."

His retainers had so many mood swings because of their conversations, so when they heard this, they felt relieved. The talk finally progressed.

"I, Alexander Sirius, challenge the trial of Naga Race." Alex chanted the usual words as the two crystals appeared.

The crystal from Naga Race had blue color, creating a blue and purple light together with Alex's crystal.

Alex closed his eyes again, entering the space for the last time. This time, he was walking toward him instead of speaking until he arrived in front of Alex and kneeled.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. This subordinate is useless and might trouble you again… I wish if Your Majesty can go to the Strength Plateau as my request is there. After finishing the test, your majesty might request for the two keys I have left in their hand."

"Your Majesty? What do you mean?" Alex tilted his head in confusion. Firstly, he did not know this person who suddenly called him like he was his king. Secondly, he did not really want to take on a request from a stranger.

Unexpectedly, this time the system suddenly said,

[Host, it will be better for you to accept his request.]

"System, do you know something? Come on, tell me."

[I can't say anything other than your previous life. He is related to your previous life. Unfortunately, because this is a special place, you can't see the thread from your Gacha Sovereign Title. If you go to Strength Plateau, I am sure you can see it.]

"..." Alex was still hesitant in accepting the request due to his careful nature.

[Host can trust me on this. Besides, you will get more benefits than you can wish if I am not wrong.]

"I don't particularly like this… but can you answer me one question? Who am I in the previous life… No, I am sure you would not answer that so that I will change my question. Am I a king in my previous life?" Alex asked.

[Something similar.]

"Something similar? But it is related to a ruler, right?" Alex asked. Sadly, the system did not answer him again, making him sigh.

Alex pondered for a moment before nodding his head. "Alright. I will go to the Strength Plateau… but because I want the benefit, not because of this promise."

After getting the answer, the half-dragon half-phoenix finally disappeared, teleporting him again to reality.

He slowly opened his eyes and sighed, leaving the others in confusion.

"Is there something wrong, Alexander Sirius?" The Neptune asked.

"No… Nothing is wrong." Alex smiled. "That's right… If I am not wrong, I would need to ask the keys that the Supreme has entrusted to the Sea Race."

"!!!" The Neptune rose with a shocked expression. "How do you know? This is the secret that only the rule can know… No, I suppose I should say as expected of you. That's right, I will give you the keys after you finish the trial."

His retainers, Stina and the others were confused, but they did not say anything, respecting the secret about Supreme.

"I would sincerely ask all of you to remain in this room since I don't think this will take a long time." He asked. The others could only nod their heads as the Neptune turned to Alex, "Then, shall we?"

Alex nodded and followed him.