Chapter 328: The Grand Collection of Nethar

"What kind of God or Constellation are you?" Tina asked as they walked along the red road, surrounded by countless beings.

"Maybe... you can read minds or something?"

Tina knew that neither Akasha nor anyone else in the group outranked her, since they were all perfectly visible without any hazy outlines.

Still, it puzzled her that Akasha seemed to know something she had never once spoken about in her life, especially if he couldn’t freely read her mind, as would be possible if she were of a lower rank.

"No," Akasha said as he took another glance at her, "Let’s just say... I’m a God of Dreams, hence the name... Lord of Dreams."

Tina watched his back on the red road while traffic moved around them, people and artifacts going by, sharing the road as the far district loomed ahead.

"Why?" She questioned, "Why would you randomly help me achieve my goal?"

"Because I can," Akasha said. "And... it is what I do."

Tina shook her head and picked up her pace until she was walking beside him instead of behind him, her blue eyes narrowed at the side of his face.

"Well... Lord Dream," she said flatly, crossing her arms again. "That’s not a real answer. Tell me, why choose me, if you could help anyone?"

’Oh,’ Akasha thought, smiling but not responding right away.

From her demeanor, he knew she was blunt, but seeing it firsthand—her not just going along with things but also not putting up a guard around him—was different.

’She’s quite refreshing,’ he mused as they continued walking.

As the silence took over their small group, Melvin himself had completely zoned out of their previous conversation.

His eyes were on the things around him, watching strangers pass as if he couldn’t decide what a person was supposed to feel in a place this loud and this ordinary after everything else.

In that moment, he came to a mild but almost unsettling realization.

’This... is my first time not... fighting or needing to,’ he thought.

Looking back, it was clear that Melvin had never truly lived as part of society.

Following his brief childhood, his existence had been consumed entirely by the pursuit of power and the drive for revenge.

Now, having attained a measure of power—perhaps insufficient to achieve his ultimate ambition, yet enough to provide comfort—and having completed his quest for vengeance, he found himself strangely disconnected from reality.

Calyx watched him from the side and kept her mouth shut, diamond-black gaze ticking from his profile to the traffic and back.

"Consider yourself lucky," Akasha said, breaking the silence after a moment.

"Anyone in that room would’ve gotten the same offer. I would have named their deepest dream and laid it right on the table."

Since Tina wanted it straight, without any sugarcoating, Akasha didn’t hold back—she wasn’t special at all.

But that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, because she became special the second he walked in and saw her.

Tina nodded, taking no offense.

"You’re ridiculous."

----

Eventually, they arrived at the end, where the red road led to a hazy wall, manned by dozens of workers in crisp coats adorned with pins, hands neatly folded, bearing the demeanor of those accustomed to hosting Gods and Constellations.

"Welcome to the Grand Collection of Nethar."

A child greeted them as he approached, flying with a tray of drinks and small food, and stopped in front of them as if they were expected.

"We hope you’ve arrived with a creative and open mind, or perhaps bringing your own collections to share, because this is a warm and welcoming space for all Gods and Constellations across the Multiverse."

Akasha grabbed a glass, while Tina picked a small piece from the tray.

Calyx grabbed a drink and took a sip, but Melvin stood with his hands at his sides, staring at the child as if the tray were some test he hadn’t prepared for.

"Melvin," Akasha said, giving a slight shake of his head.

"It’s fine. You need to relax."

Melvin gave one last glance, nodded slowly, picked up the glass, and took a slow sip.

The child gave them a warm smile and gestured them ahead.

----

As they stepped through the blurry wall, they found themselves in a hall so long that its far end was just more of a hall.

The floor glowed with a slow wash of nebula colors, while the walls shimmered with a starfield instead of paint.

Couches and low tables broke up the space, where Gods and Constellations lounged with drinks, books, and quiet conversation.

Picture frames lined both walls at even intervals, and inside those frames there were no paintings.

Objects sat still in deep glass: remains, relics, pieces taken from places that no longer had owners, each lit so a person could stand before it and look without touching.

Akasha put his hands in his pockets and walked, sipping a red liquid, and the four of them said little.

They took the hall at an easy pace, nebula moving slowly under their feet.

A woman already standing at a case looked up as Akasha passed and did not look away fast enough.

"Is that—"

"Don’t," the man beside her said, catching her sleeve. "We need to focus on the history of this relic."

Farther down, two Constellations tracked him over the rims of their drinks.

"Hmm... who is he?"

"I’m not sure... but he’s quite handsome."

After passing through countless exhibits, the four stopped at a random frame.

Inside, a black hand sat in the glass, cupping a pile of ash, and neither the hand nor the ash moved.

The plaque beside it read:

[The final remains of the Hearthborn Civilization. Collected three days before their fall.]

----

Akasha, Melvin, Calyx, and Tina looked at the hand and stepped out of the group gathering around the exhibit, following the hall until the next frame stopped them.

Inside it, a bronze coin hung in the middle of a flip and stayed there, one face catching the starlight from the wall, the other still hidden.

The plaque under the glass read:

[The coin of the first Primavus to venture beyond Originat Universe]

’The Original Universe?’ Akasha mused, instantly intrigued, as it was one realm or structure in the lower worlds he had never learned about from the Hub of Knowledge.

"I wonder... if Mother knows something," he thought as they resumed moving, though he doubted she knew anything about it.

If she did, he would already know it.

"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Tina asked, growing weary of the seemingly aimless wandering.

Unlike the others, she had visited this place countless times, and it no longer held the same charm.

Melvin chimed in right after.

"Right. Master, nothing here seems all that special."