[You have activated skill: Advanced Dash!]

[You have activated skill: Supersonic Speed!]

Once Sebastian was ready, he no longer hesitated about it as he activated his 2 speed skills before shooting off like a rocket towards the top.

Sebastian left with only his main Megalodon body after making some plans.

Apart from giving his subjects specific orders on how they were supposed to manage the Empire in his absence, Sebastian also did well to hide all his living doppelgangers in specific locations.

Sebastian did not know how long his quest to tame the consciousness of the cosmic-grade weapon would be, but he had to be prepared for the worst.

The worst-case scenario was the war starting when he was not back yet. Though Sebastian had not seen any invaders yet, the spiking reaction of his intuition already told him that there would be an invasion sooner or later.

Sebastian gave his subjects specific orders on how to develop in his absence and prepare for the war, he also gave them orders on how to fight and improvise in his absence if the war started sooner than expected.

This was also the reason why he hid his 50 living doppelgangers. If possible and the need called for it, they would be the backup plan for his soldiers.

Apart from giving them orders, Sebastian also elected a stand-in leader who would take care of the unified Oceania Empire in his absence.

After evaluating all the candidates, Sebastian easily arrived at his decision. His stand-in leader was Ouroboros, the Great Traveler of Atlantis.

After the war, Sebastian’s feud with the Atlantis Empire came to an end, his only real enemy was the Atlantian Queen.

This was why he was not biased. In terms of knowledge and strength to lead the Empire, the Great Traveler was the best option in every category.

Sebastian made some tests before electing him as the stand-in leader.

Once Sebastian made all these plans in place, he took off to his destination.

Sebastian did not look back, he just kept on swimming higher and higher till he got to a point where the water temperature started getting colder.

The water got so cold that even a cold-blooded beast like Sebastian’s main body started freezing up. Despite how inconveniencing this was, Sebastian persevered through it all and continued swimming upwards.

Sebastian relied completely on his intuition as he swam.

After getting his 10th mark of Oceania, he established a type of symbiosis relationship with the consciousness of this cosmic grade weapon that enabled him to sense and have a vague idea of where it was.

By this time, Sebastian had already forgotten his perception of time but all he knew was that at some point, he finally left the cold region.

What followed was hot, Sebastian felt like he was just thrown out of the cold arctic straight into a raging fire. The temperature change was so extreme that for a few seconds, he was petrified as he felt sick.

The temperature here was so extreme that he felt like he was being roasted but still Sebastian persevered through it all, this was when he got to his destination.

The first thing that Sebastian heard was the sound of whirring machinery.

Before he could imagine what exactly it was, with a pop sound, he seemed to finally cross a boundary as he left Oceania.

The more accurate term was that he left Oceania’s body as he finally made his way to the brain and machinery behind this massive planet.

Sebastian arrived inside the brain of this cosmic-grade weapon.

Sebastian felt like he just arrived in a massive city as machinery filled his vision from every side. He saw giant rotating jacks and pulleys, all the mechanical processes happening here were what powered the giant magic planet called Oceania.

Apart from the mechanical part, Sebastian also saw another part where a massive glowing orb of light hovered. Without needing any explanation, Sebastian easily made the connection that this was the source of the primordial origin magic.

This giant space which was the brain of Oceania was also filled with water.

Instinctively, Sebastian started swimming in the direction of the glowing orb of light. His intuition told him that this was where the consciousness was.

As Sebastian swam closer, he started experiencing a faint pressure against his consciousness which only got stronger with time.

Before he got close enough to touch the glowing orb, Sebastian was literally already sweating bullets as all his body ached from the exertion.

Despite the stress and strain, what mattered was that Sebastian persevered and was now within touching distance. Without hesitation, Sebastian extended one of his giant fins to touch the glowing orb.

Bzzz!

The next moment, Sebastian’s consciousness was forcefully dragged out of his body as he appeared in a familiar white world.

The world was massive but vacant, apart from Sebastian, only one other soul occupied this world, a giant humanoid baby.

This giant baby who with one stump of his feet could stomp Sebastian to death was currently sucking at his thumb.

The next moment, the baby spoke.

"Eyah!" "Eyah!"

The baby only made some insensible sounds but the meaning was conveyed to Sebastian. "Eyah! (I’m looking for my daddy!)"

"Eyah! (Do you know where my daddy is?)"

Sebastian kept quiet at first but on seeing this baby’s attention turn towards him, he was spooked as he had no choice but to reply. "Umm..., no?"

The baby sucked faster on his thumb on hearing that as he seemed about to cry. On seeing that, instinct kicked in as Sebastian reflexively spoke out to comfort him exactly the same way that he did to his niece back in his days on earth.

This little gesture worked like magic as the baby was easily comforted. A bright smile returned to the baby’s face as he spoke again.

"Eyah! (You’re just like my daddy, I like you.)"

"Eyah! (Answer my riddles and you can become my daddy.)" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The baby spoke with such vibrancy in his voice filled with anticipation that he didn’t even wait for Sebastian’s reply before he started.

"Eyah! (What word starts with E and ends with E but only has one letter in it?)"

"Eyah! (You only have 30 seconds.)

Sebastian was dumbfounded as his brain instinctively geared into overdrive.

"Damn..., wait, wait!"

"Ender? No, wait, Envelope?"

"Eyah!!! (Yeah, daddy got it!)"

"Eyah! (Another one.)"

"Eyah! (It’s shorter than the rest, but when you’re happy, you raise it like it’s the best. What is it?)"

Once again, Sebastian was stupefied as the restriction of only 30 seconds put him under pressure but on seeing the baby’s natural actions of sucking his thumb, he was stunned.

"A thumb?"

"Eyah!!! (Daddy got it!)"

"Eyah! "Another one.)"

"Oh boy!"

...

While the Emperor answered riddles in a part of this world that no one else had been to, preparations for war continued in Oceania.

The Great Traveler proved his competence after the Emperor was gone. He didn’t make new policies, he just worked according to the framework that was already made by the Emperor as preparations continued at full speed.

Every single beast and variant human in Oceania was motivated to work for the Emperor and also for their survival as they gave their all for their goal.

As ordered by the leader, even as they made weapons for every warrior fit for battle, they also constructed siege weapons for siege battles.

They didn’t know the reason for this but the Emperor knew best, their only job was to fulfill his orders and they would do their best to fulfill them.

In this highly motivated and hardworking state, 3 months quickly passed with the Emperor still nowhere to be found.

In this time, the Great Traveler literally already rebuilt Oceania and they were now ready for war. Though they still had some tiny details to take care of, they no longer had the time since the prophecy of the Emperor finally came to pass.

After biding their time, the invaders finally arrived.

The invasion started!