The Final Piece

It was as if, in the blink of an eye, he had arrived in another world.

The shimmering waters, the blue sea and sky of the past, had all vanished.

There was only a gray-black ocean, a gray-black vault of sky, and gray-black smoke billowing up from the spreading lava like pillars supporting the heavens. Beside it, chimneys of every size roared as they released streaks of black that linked earth and sky.

At the far edge of the sea surface, gray-black and azure were sharply divided, separated by clusters of white flowers resembling aquatic plants that marked the boundary. Under the blockade of the Crown of Isis, the entire Puna Bantu had become a genuine vision of hell.

Smelters, processing plants, final assembly centers, and component Assembly lines... gathered around the geothermal energy unleashed by the volcano, steel structures and islands spreading like mold.

Beyond the elevated roads and railways, six massive Airships hung high in the sky. Their interconnected hooks and pulling cables supported a three-dimensional transport network, while huge containers constantly rose and fell, scattering sparks.

Countless spider-like constructs moved between them. Most had six slender legs and stood hundreds of meters tall, bizarre structures maintaining the integrity of the buildings and projects.

Others resembled giant tortoises, carrying commuting mechanical kitties back and forth...

It was bustling and clamorous, busy beyond measure.

Yet it was no longer suitable for human habitation in the slightest.

The enormous quantity of wastewater discharged into the ocean had successfully turned the waters within the blockade into a chemical solution pool that required carefully regulated acid-base balance. The waste gas spreading from countless factories, along with poisonous gases and Dust particles from volcanic eruptions, had turned the air into Deadly poison—one breath left you half-paralyzed, two sent you off to your next