Aurora

In truth, one of the reasons Jayde was confident in his movements in the water was that, unlike on land, the ocean was filled with shadows.

They constantly reached out to him, guiding him and telling him where it was safe. But now, all of a sudden, he could feel all the shadows in the surroundings trembling. He could feel their dread and terror. They weren't scared of the shadows of the three killer dolphins—no, far from it. They were never bothered when the dolphins appeared in the first place. What they were scared of was something very vast and sinister, an abyssal swirling mass of sinister shadows looming in from the distance. It seemed the creatures in the surroundings were none the wiser. If Jayde couldn't sense shadows, he wouldn't have noticed either.

The dreadful, nightmarish beast loomed in from the distance. The shadows around him trembled in terror. That's when it happened unexpectedly—he could cast inspect through his shadow sense.

[Megatron (???)]

[????????]

There is absolutely only one way to avoid or block an inspection, and that is by having a higher and stronger mental intent. This monster, which he couldn't see anything about, was leagues above his current level. It must be a beast from ancient times. Sensing the size of the beast's shadow, Jayde had never felt so minuscule before.

He was nothing but an ant in front of such a monstrosity. All of a sudden, it reacted, sensing Jayde's probe. It opened its two gigantic eyes, which were like two moons in the sky, their gaze directed at none other than Jayde.

Actually, the human body is filled with wonders, especially when the emotion of fear is involved. Right now, it was a comical sight, as Jayde was sweating while still at the bottom of the sea. His muscles tensed in apprehension of what he sensed next—the beast cast inspect back on him! Such intelligence! This was most definitely an ancient beast. Its stats were probably very high. With their enormous size and body, how powerful would they be when enhanced with one circle? Not to mention the fact that all its stats were probably beyond the fifth circle.

Such a monster wasn't one Jayde could face anytime soon. Thankfully, it seemed that it wasn't interested in Jayde's stats, as it closed its eyes and continued drifting away. Even with the beast's actions, Jayde still froze in his position. The killer dolphins had long scuttled away when they sensed the beast's gaze. Jayde froze, even when he started running out of oxygen. He stayed still, not wanting to make further movements lest he anger the beast.

Even when he started showing signs of hyperventilation, he stayed still until finally the shadow dissipated on the horizon.

The surrounding shadows sighed, expressing their relief. Jayde immediately went into action. Since he stayed still, he had been sinking for the past four minutes or so. Though he was still disoriented, he could still differentiate up from down, as he lurched into motion, swimming fiercely to the surface. A few minutes later, he made it, bursting through the surface and gasping, breathing in large chunks of air.

When he was finally steady, he thought of the problem at hand. Due to the rapid sinking he experienced when the monster passed, though he could retain the orientation to tell up from down, every other thing was a different matter. Right now, he was lost. He didn't know which direction to follow, and the moonless and starless sky of the night didn't help. He could only choose a random direction and move with great speed, hoping to come across a landmark and find his way home.

Days passed like this. Due to his constant connection with the ocean's shadows, his comprehension deepened. He was now able to conceal his aura and drift in the shadows, concealing his presence from various predators. Slowly but surely, on the fourth day, he started having odd reactions from his body. His constant submersion in salt water seemed to be affecting his body, changing his buoyancy.

Not only that, but there was food around as fish were everywhere, but no water, as the ocean water was too salty. He had hardly come across any rain, and it was only on the second night that he managed to get a few drops of fresh water before the rain ended. If he continued in such a state, it wouldn't be long before he died awakened or not for now he still needed food.

This continued for two more days when, on that fateful evening, he was drifting with the shadows as usual when he sensed it. The shadows in the surroundings communicated to him. He let out a tired smile; it seemed there was land ahead. He estimated that at his current pace, he would arrive in a day's time.

So he continued to drift with the new goal in sight. Finally, the following evening, he stepped on land. He just floated and let the waves carry him until he landed on the shore, after which he lost consciousness.

After what seemed to be hours, Jayde finally regained consciousness. He was met with the view of a sunrise, it seemed he was facing the east of the island. Jayde stood up to look around. If he could identify which island this was, he could use it as a reference to know the direction of his own island and return quickly.

He couldn't tell from his current view, so he decided to move to the mountains to get a better view. After resting and drinking dew drops until he was satisfied, Jayde started his journey to gain higher ground. He was careful. On like his island, where he went to great lengths to eradicate all creatures that dwelled on it. The same couldn't be said for this island; he couldn't be sure what type of predators lay within.

As he advanced carefully, it soon came to his notice that there were no creatures around, which was both a relief and also strange. Was someone living here? He doubted it, though, as he trusted his information network. Such a thing would never escape his notice. Anyway, he still progressed with caution. He threaded the dense foliage of the forest until dark. It seemed this night was a good one, as there were no clouds blocking the sky. The stars and the moon were in full display, casting their light onto the forest as Jayde finally reached the mountain. The gorgeous sight of the forest and the radiant night sky lay before him.

Jayde was initially in awe of this sight until he caught sight of something in the distance. He finally identified which island he was on—it was the Stonehenge Island. If he was fast enough, from here to his island should not be more than a two-day journey.

He would have actually loved to rest, but he had to go back quickly. What was the guarantee that the Minoan didn't attack his mansion? Even then, the protection he gave Elior would only last for one week. He had to return on time. He even had nine guests who had yet to give him an answer. All these things weighed on him as he hurried to the gigantic Stonehenge in the distance.

Finally, after sprinting for a few minutes, he arrived, but what he saw shocked him. His face was aghast.

[Aurora Land (Gate)]

It was a portal to another land! Obviously, this was a mythical civilization's homeland!