A few days later, at night, Ben finally felt the incoming group just a few minutes away.

Opening his eyes, he looked at the clear sky. Cloudless nights became all they got lately, so he could see the stars any day he wanted.

And oh, he did. Ben often woke up to stare at the sky. And what he liked seeing the most was the dots becoming even brighter when undergoing the supernova phase. Because, sometimes, those went as far as competing with the full moon as the brightest object in the sky.

'Why are we so chained?'

"But the end of the world is beautiful~" Ben began to sing a folklore song going around Hope City.

He then stood up for the first time since he arrived at this place.

His intention was clear, so the place reacted accordingly. The ground began to hum, and the air flowed in a spiral pattern due to losing its fixed anchor.

The populace expected a big event to happen with the new faces arriving, but noticing the rooted Elder standing up sent them into a frenzy.

They felt the floor becoming unstable as their heart skipped a bit. But Ben's intention was so clear that it affected the surrounding atmosphere. Therefore, instead of panicking, the people became overly excited.

By the time Ben had walked out of the central plaza and into a narrow alley, inquisitive eyes followed him everywhere as a wave of gossip flowed through the city at an incredible speed.

As a result, the public tried to follow Ben. However, the border could only fit so many people. So, when Ben stepped outside the city's limits, a crowd waited, yet people were still trying to push their way forward.

Everyone could feel this growing expectation. 'What was different this time?' Many of them whispered.

Yet, despite not understanding it, they all waited patiently. Causing trouble due to the wild instability of the city's system didn't even cross their mind.

"A bit late, perhaps," Ben smiled.

While he waited the last minute, Ben glanced at the stars again as he felt the space and time around quaking.

Ben knew who was coming. There were enough traces in their methodology for him to identify them. It was Eloise's relatives, the Volcano Clan.

"I thought they had decided to die with their ancestry's ground. Or maybe some did, but someone didn't like such a choice. Someone with more weight. Someone that came a bit too late."

The crowd became anxious due to this weird feeling that something was arriving dangerously, but they saw nothing in sight.

On the other hand, Ben only stared at the sky for a whole minute before finally turning his eyes to the dim-lit wasteland in front of them.

"Yes, this is it. You've arrived." Ben whispered.

But there was still no sight of the incoming group.

The only sight the curious crowd saw was Ben lifting his arm and grasping at the space in front of him.

But soon, tiny runes began to flow out of Ben's arm, sprouting like flowers, building a long string to the ground.

The crowd looked at Ben in astonishment. It was as if they had forgotten his mastery due to the triviality of him sitting under the tree.

So, they stared open-mouthed while the runes flowed out of Ben's arm and formed two pillars a dozen steps away from the city's limits.

Then, once the formation stopped, Ben finally released his grasp.

The two structures collapsed into a firework-like show, the runes melting and blending with the space surrounding them.

What followed made the crowd even more speechless as an entourage appeared out of thin air.

Hope's population kept blinking and rubbing their eyes, trying to understand what had happened.

They were staring at the disappearing shimmers, and a group solidified instantly.

"Another bright star," Ben said, taking a few steps forward. With those, he passed the limit of what was considered thoroughly safe.

And as he did, the crowd felt the air thinning due to the bubble expanding further. For the first time in their lives, they had a reality check.

And as Ben kept walking closer to the newcomers, a desire to yell, "don't go," began to boil inside them.

But Ben was quick, so before that desire culminated into something, he arrived in front of the woman leading the Volcano Clan.

Despite being somewhat far, Hope's residents could still see how the woman was likely dead.

Yet, despite being dry and lifeless, her body still tried to move forward.

Moreover, she wasn't the only one. Dozens of humans and creatures pulled the lines of carriages. But their situation was worse, as they didn't see any movement from them.

The only motion was from that woman. The rest of the entourage had an eerie silence.

"It seems I'm not that uniquely insane," Ben whispered.

"You've arrived," after taking a deep breath, Ben spoke loudly.

His voice had an enchanting charm to it. So the whole crowd felt this second-hand sense of accomplishment.

And as if responding, the lifeless body finally stopped moving.

After a short time, roots began to grow from the wasteland's ground and enveloped the dried bodies while Ben remained silent.

Briefly, the soil gained a new texture, a stark contrast from the dead ground present everywhere else on the wasteland.

However, it didn't last long. As soon as the roots completely encased the body, they began to wither, leaving behind just a couple of make-shifted coffins.

Meanwhile, Ben remained silent. Even as the energy surrounding the entourage became unstable, he merely stood there.

Yet, it became clear he was waiting for something when the intent of the deceased began to expand wildly.

Once the bodies found themselves aimless, their cultured energy went berserk. As a result, an astounding amount of power began to fill this voided area surrounding them. It enveloped the Elder and expanded into a massive bubble that hit against the city's border.

Fortunately, Hope's unstable system held well against the unintentional attack. But not before causing the crowd to step back in fear as the whole city trembled.

"I don't mind welcoming the living, but you, go decay somewhere else."

After the power completely went wild, Ben moved again.

Tiny runes flew out of his body as he moved his arms up. As a consequence, the fierce bubble calmed down.

Next, Ben pointed at the sky as if ordering. And the cultured energy began flying up as a result.

The populace's hearts also calmed down once Hope's bubble became free from the unexpected fierce strain.

"I'm sure you intended to be helpful, but it's not tasty. If I concluded anything else, I wouldn't be here," Ben spoke once the air thinned again.

However, before the dead intention completely dissipated, Ben changed the position of his finger again as he pointed at the carriages.

Subsequently, the pattern of the wild energy adjusted accordingly and flew toward the entourage.

It had thinned down, but it was by no means a small amount of power. Yet, despite its seemingly stormy nature, it precisely cut every carriage in half.

The movement carefully cut open the sealed entourage, revealing the survivors of Volcano Clan inside it.

And they were as shocked as everyone else due to being suddenly awoken again. Nevertheless, every single creature showed signs of being alive.

"A miracle," various agreeing whispers came from the crowd behind Ben.

The wastelands were merciless, and surviving them was extremely difficult. So, having just dozens of an entourage dead, it was unheard of even since Hope became isolated.

Ben took a long look around before finally turning around.

He then stared at a specific group within the crowd. And understanding it, they began to move. Their job was to have the newcomers within the city perimeter as soon as possible. Their leader was also dealing with the logistics of having such a big group of immigrants.

"Well, the rest is up to you," Ben clearly said as some people passed through him towards the entourage, his voice soothing.

Next, Ben stopped by the town chief, who waited and listened carefully.

"Have the bodies buried as residents."

"Yes, my Lord."

"I'll slumber for a while. I leave the rest for you."

After speaking those short sentences, Ben once again began slowly walking toward the central plaza.

The curious eyes of the residents saw their Elder eyes unfocusing. Yet, he kept moving forward and only stopped and closed his eyes once he was under the old and trivial-looking tree.

---

The Planet Spirit was no more.

Even the remaining Ring crumbled apart.

Only a few bubbles of life above millions of years of sturdy foundations remained, that which was built slowly with the work of all those generations.

Yet, even those slowly decayed.

However, it was no overnight catastrophe. Instead, the cities would only gradually shrink as the surrounding resource dwindled.

In addition, as the world became smaller, the culture adapted, so those small groups stayed somewhat stable.

After so long, the vast lands and complicated worldwide systems became legends. Yet, despite the steady decaying world, people kept living with their ever-so-adapting routines. Well, they could keep on doing so, at least until the end line was too explicit.