Unchosen Champion-Chapter 302: Sweet Dreams

The serene harmonies of gentle winds flowing off the sea soothed Coop down to his core. Outstretched palm fronds swayed in the light ocean breeze, reacting to oscillations in the ephemeral currents, and bathed the island with a musical salve that fully immersed his mind in tranquility.

Coop was in a state of consciousness somewhere between dreams and reality, enjoying the natural wind chimes and subtle bustle of his tropical home while all of the stresses of his life completely washed away. He needed what was essentially a full reboot after being confined to the oppressive and stagnant underground layer for over a month. Weeks of fighting, sporadically interrupted by days of traveling in the magical equivalent of solitary confinement had done a number on his state of mind. It would be hard to overstate how much he missed his home.

With the conclusion of the Underlayer Event, Coop returned to Ghost Reef and recounted his journey for all of his advisors. It felt like a rare occasion to have everyone together and the Town Hall became a hive of activity, filled with welcoming faces. The end of the event had reunited all of the residents for the first time in almost 100 days and Coop hadn’t been the only one with information to share.

Coop made sure to provide every detail, whether relevant or not, of his interactions with strangers across the planet, knowing that he had barely scratched the surface on his own. While Neon Park’s alliance was a known entity, the European Emergency Community had only made contact as a result of sending scouts to Ghost Reef after meeting Coop. Then there was the Assembly of Settlements in Africa, who no one had really met, though Coop had forced his way into networking with their champions, the Grand Horde, who sought a much closer connection with Ghost Reef after meeting the Avatar of the System, and their hostile, alien influenced counterparts in the Abundant Grasp.

Coop also told his advisors about the individual settlements that either had no presence in the Underlayer and were not a part of one of the known major alliances, like Zahamena and Wakatobi, and the ones that had forces who encountered Coop in the underground, such as Can Gio, Gangcheon, and Shinjuku Gardens. There was a whole assortment for his advisors to sift through, and that only included the ones he had personally visited.

The armies of Ghost Reef had done their own networking, connecting with the Twin Settlements of the Navajo and Apache, the larger alliance of the Pacific Republic which was centered around Silvervalley and protected the west coast from Mexico to Canada, the 20 individual settlements in South America with various levels of presence in the underground, and finally the lone powerhouse of a settlement in New Zealand.

Adding on the existence of forces like the Jaguar Sun in Central America, or even Bobby Jon and the Swamp Lord in the Everglades, and the collective population of humans painted a picture of survivors spread thinly across the entirety of the planet. Coop wasn’t sure how they would fare with connecting them all, but if anyone could get the ball rolling, it was Ghost Reef’s assortment of advisors and residents.

They listened carefully to Coop’s recollections before they made their own assessments, and in the end their principal suggestion for the next step had been for Coop to take a break while they reorganized. He had already accepted that he wasn’t someone who would ignore good advice, so he took the opportunity to relax without argument.

There were more than two weeks before the admittedly flexible date of the meeting between coastal alliances in Kansas as they prepared to subjugate the Fallen Zone. With access to the Underlayer, what would have been a long and potentially dangerous trip to the Heartland would be majorly simplified for all parties. Ghost Reef had time to make preparations and get their own affairs settled before departing.

The chance to take a break finally released the tension that had been behind Coop’s forward motion, and once he stopped, he was done. It felt like he was decompressing after a deep dive in the ocean, such was the thickness of the mana within the ley lines and the pressure that he had been under. He had been cramped, despite the expansive caverns that he wandered through, thanks to the crushing weight of responsibilities he accepted for the event. As soon as he returned to Ghost Reef he experienced a sense of relief that couldn’t be properly described. He was exhausted and could finally wind down. The next time he had the bright idea of trying to save the entire world, he’d remember to think twice about his ambitions.

The simple fact that he had solid ground beneath his feet, rather than the soft dirt, was a delightful change that instantly elevated his mood. After having his thoughts cluttered with worries, he finally found a sense of peace outside of chasing the grind, with Ghost Reef acting like an anchor for his mental state. The salt in the air was a balm for his soul. The tropical sun purified his spirit. The steady waves provided a peaceful chorus of solace. It was good to be home, no matter how brief.

Sunny found him as soon as he was free of any ‘official’ duties and was absolutely determined to make up for all of the lost time that should have been spent rubbing his ears. Coop obliged, sitting on a bench outside of the civilization shard’s citadel after applying the event’s settlement award. The next thing he knew, he was gradually waking up from what he assumed was a short and well-deserved nap.

Subtle pressure on his chest kept him in place, purring too quietly to be fully audible, but vibrating enough to be soothing. Coop wasn’t ready to get back to work anyway, so he stayed still, resting his eyes while the rest of his body slowly powered on.

People came and went, conducting their business, exploring the shop-lined avenues, or finding their own places to enjoy the quiet ambiance. Coop felt like this was when Ghost Reef was at its best. With nothing urgently demanding action, the natural vacation destination was allowed to really shine. He dozed in contentment with the pleasant thought.

“Hey, who’s that?” A curious voice wondered, pausing a pair of kids on a trip to the coffee shop while Coop’s consciousness gradually returned to him.

“Shh! Don’t wake him.” The second child warned in a hushed tone after a brief pause as they investigated their friend’s question. “That’s the real, actual Champion of Ghost Reef.”

“Huh? Him?” The first kid questioned skeptically. “Why’s he sleeping on a bench? There’s so much room on our level… he’s not homeless is he?” They openly asked.

“When I was on the tour with mom, they said he just does that kind of thing sometimes and not to worry about it.” The second kid whispered, trying to get their companion to lower their voice. “Give him a break. Remember the Event scores?”

The first child hummed as if they were appraising something. “Hmm… I only saw a mess of craters he made in one of his battles. It made it seem like the surface of the moon.” He giggled under his breath. “I thought he’d be bigger.”

“Watch it! The cat is really protective. She won’t let anyone get too close.” The second hissed as the first sought to assess Coop a little closer.

“He’s got a guard cat? That’s so cool.”

“They say she’s the biggest powerhouse on the island. I wouldn’t mess with her…”

Coop took a deep breath, as his consciousness fully returned. He realized that it was about time he got up since it seemed like he was making a scene by taking a nap in the southern courtyard.

According to what he had heard from Jones, there were a lot of new people populating Ghost Reef. He probably shouldn’t laze about in public and give them a bad impression before they got to know his habits a little better.

He slowly stretched his arms over the edge of the bench and let a groan escape as his stiff shoulders extended.

The second kid gasped when Coop moved. “Eep! You woke him up!” She exclaimed, still whispering.

“Hey!” The first voice sputtered in surprise. “Why are you running?” He shouted, pausing to quickly apologize to Coop before chasing after the footsteps of his companion.

Coop glanced at their retreating forms before they angled down one of the garden-filled alleys and fled out of sight into the block’s interior park. He chuckled, shaking his head before gazing up at the red-tinged sky, wondering what time it was.

When he sat up, he shifted Jett, cradling her on his shoulder and yawned dramatically. “Is it dusk or dawn?” He wondered, searching for clues in the sky through watery eyes. Jett had no reaction aside from one uninterrupted purr.

He rotated his neck before rubbing the sleep from his eyes and nodding to himself. “I needed that.” He admitted, feeling a lot better after resting for a bit.

A notification was flashing in his peripheral, indicating that his Dedication would begin diminishing due to inactivity. He grunted, surprised that such a message about an individual skill was even a feature, though the threat was enough to get him moving again. Sethrak's Abyss was so demanding: always hungry.

“Speaking of which…” Coop responded as his stomach growled.

There was no one in his immediate vicinity, seemingly out of some unspoken respect for his nap. He thought that was considerate of them, but someone probably should have just woken him up. Sunny was off making friends elsewhere, despite being the one that had chosen the spot in the first place.

He glanced back up at the sky, noting that the bulbous clouds were an unusually deep crimson, a color that was slightly different compared to the numerous scenes he had appreciated in the past. Eventually, he confirmed that night was approaching and it was a rare ruby sunset by finding a hint of the setting sun reflected off the top floor of the library.

“Damn.” He muttered. “How long was I out?” He was pretty sure it was morning when he first took a rest. Had he slept all day?

He stroked Jett’s coat and wandered toward the Clumsy Shark just as the street lamps magically flickered on. The Cleary Brothers’ fairy lights had been used to connect each of the elevated lamps, criss-crossing above the main street and giving the whole strip an additional soft glow that reflected off the detailed stone on the ground while highlighting the facades of the numerous shops.

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Coop took another deep breath and soaked in the sights, glancing at the illuminated dome of the Town Hall on one end of the fort all the way to the main gate on the opposite side. The palm trees that lined the canal helped carry the tiny lights from the main bridge to either side of the settlement, where the outer circle was equally brightened. Still, the golden hues weren’t enough to drown out the stars.

People were off on sunset strolls, and Coop spotted phantoms casually sitting on the tops of the outer walls, feet hanging off the edges, while other people took in the elevated views as if it was their first time. It still seemed like a quiet town, but the actual ratio of humans to phantoms had changed in a perceivable way. There were many new faces visiting the stalls and streaming in and out of the venues established along the canal streets. Comparatively, the ghosts were few and far between.

Physically, Ghost Reef hadn’t changed too much, but it was gradually getting taller. The single storey shops were now multiple floors, some even matching the tavern in terms of volume. It seemed like the alien residents, now that they had put down roots, were really committing to the settlement.

It was a good thing too, because according to his advisors, Coop had really outdone himself in terms of recruiting new residents. While his networking was intended to leave a mere impression on all those he interacted with, for the purpose of giving his diplomats as much leverage as possible in the future, his invitations to seek safety at Ghost Reef had been more effective than anticipated.

The first people to arrive were actually from Neon Park. Small groups and families had come to Ghost Reef more out of curiosity than necessity, but not all of them intended to simply be tourists. They were easy enough for Jones to individually assist with only a few aides.

Next, the first large group of true refugees came. Almost 3,000 Icelanders, more than half of the total number remaining on the surface without a civilization shard, trekked through the Underlayer, carrying all the belongings they could strap to themselves, and guiding a whole generation of lost pufflings that were too young to be tossed off any cliffs. The entire journey had been long, thanks to their undeveloped connection from the surface to the Underlayer, but once they started traveling through the underground, they were assisted by Neon Park and eventually the armies of Ghost Reef’s subordinate settlements, which by that point, had secured the already claimed objectives of Neptune’s Bridge and Empress City.

Derek about had a fit, terrified that Ghost Reef would be taken over by vikings while the vast majority of the local human residents were off fighting alien invaders. Only a few hundred had stayed at the base of the giant pillar, slowly developing better construction methods for the underground, but luckily, Marcus had already established clear methods for processing influxes of people in the months before the Underlayer Event. The residents of Ghost Reef were well-prepared and they worked together to get the Icelanders settled in.

Still, if not for the presence of the 10,000 phantoms, 5,000 wraiths maintaining the settlement, and a portion of the naval crews, they would have lacked the manpower to accommodate so many at once, creating a logjam of people waiting for permission to visit Ghost Reef from the Underlayer. They followed the same processes they had with the cruise ship full of refugees from Empress City, making sure that anyone with the intent to stay understood what Ghost Reef was about while filtering anyone who might seek to do harm. The Icelanders were already used to the demands of survival being high, having been struggling without a shard at all, so volunteering for jobs that would help secure their new home was not an arduous request in their eyes, especially when they were offered so much support.

After the large influx from Iceland, for a brief period, Ghost Reef only had a steady stream of individuals and small groups coming from Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and the Amazonas Brazilian state. People who had wandered into the Underlayer regardless of their situation on the surface and met the armies of Ghost Reef received similar invitations to those that Coop was freely extending. Though they were mostly just in pairs or similar parties, altogether, the numbers were adding up.

Later, delegations from the European Emergency Community and the Twin Navajo and Apache settlements arrived. By that point, the fortress around the base of the pillar was taking shape, but the mirrors they would use to form the mechanism that would define the underground lighthouse hadn’t been installed just yet.

It wasn’t until the army led by Shane’s party returned that the seven-pointed star fort was completed and the main light feature was introduced by the Cleary brothers. By then, Ghost Reef’s admittedly small human population had already quadrupled.

Thanks to the planned expansion into the pearlescent chambers, there were no issues with housing or space in general. The most ambitious merchants on the surface were already organizing franchises, hiring newcomers to be their representatives on lower levels. However, the settlement’s mana was already becoming a problem. Construction was forced to slow, relying instead on the individual efforts of Balor, Jones, and the other citizens that happened to specialize in stone-shaping related classes or professions.

The residents of Ghost Reef were never completely idle, and thanks to being trapped within their territory by the mana dome, they were focused on physical development of their home for the time being. Those who couldn’t use the magically granted abilities used simple physical labor to help, and found plenty to do while introducing the newcomers to the island, fighting monsters in the darkness of the underground to clear the way, or adding the personal touches that gave Ghost Reef its character.

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The second layer of Ghost Reef was reserved for the expansion of their surface plan, which was becoming a rough template for other levels to follow. It would be the first of many additional underground communal areas, spaced evenly between what could end up being hundreds of layers, occupied by new residents. As a result, the stonemasons were transforming the unused space in the pearlescent chambers into a version of the gardens and parks on the surface, feeling like they had something to prove regarding the natural beauty of the underground.

As Coop understood it, the chasm, with its extensive mana flow, was able to sustain all sorts of plants, but the first level was being filled with vegetation that was tolerant to limited natural light, just in case. Peace lilies, snake plants, and an extraordinary variety of ferns were already flourishing around the glowing pillars while philodendrons, spider plants, and english ivies were secured along terraced ceilings that once hid the swarms of ambushing Ruin Excavators.

Dripping water features formed calm stone-lined ponds and fed into flowing rivulets among the spreading plants, where, unbeknownst to the project managers, hidden animals found their own sanctuaries. Reef creatures that were tolerant to fresh and brackish waters discovered private hidden grottos, and hermit crabs, various invertebrates including snails and baby octopus, horseshoe crabs, young puffer fish, fiddler crabs, and tiny peninsula cooter hatchlings could already be spotted in the crystal clear stone pools between the wide leaf-lined boulevards.

The main roads had been laid out in the same spoke and wheel patterns as the surface, except they were roughly three times as wide to make sure the layer still felt spacious. With the many different species already moving in, it was becoming a wildlife sanctuary before any kind of merchant expansion. The few shops that were popping up catered to the visitor’s experience, offering refreshments, snacks, tours, and souvenirs. The new residents were already using the second level for casual wilderness hikes without leaving the absolute safety of the fortress, subconsciously afraid of losing the sense of comfort provided by being within Ghost Reef.

The entire sixth level was generously offered to the Icelanders, despite their absolute inability to fill it. They already had a leader who volunteered to essentially become a governor for the four pearlescent chambers on their level.

The single layer could comfortably house one or two million people, more if absolutely necessary, so they had plenty of space to spare with only a few thousand residents. Their own specialty shops and services were popping up while others were being coordinated with the ones on the surface. The artisanal stonemasons responsible for the second level had even begun forming the equivalent of hot springs, by popular request of the newest residents.

Thanks to the efforts of the original residents, the Icelanders were already sending their Pathfinders back to Iceland to bring news of their treatment in Ghost Reef, inviting those who had stayed behind to make the trek to safety, since it was turning out better than they could have possibly expected. Word was spreading throughout the underground as more people celebrated the merits of the island settlement.

Meanwhile, Jones was preemptively organizing many more levels. His intent was to be ready to house literally the entire surviving population of Earth, in the off chance that Coop had somehow convinced them all to show up at their proverbial doorstep.

Multiple wide ramps circled the chasm, stopping at a landing in each of the four chambers on every level. Even if no one used them to traverse the entire network of levels, they would establish a physical connection to the neighboring floors that the runed teleportation circles lacked. Since they were building communities, each level would develop their own unique characteristics and reasons to visit, and walking up or down a few rungs would be no problem for any of the residents.

The underground levels were coming along nicely, delving deep, but the limitations of mana was slowing down the construction of standard buildings. Excavating was another job humans could do on their own, so they were working their way down with diligence, ahead of the main projects, while experimenting with their own aptitudes for construction.

With the return of half the residents that had left, processing all the people who came to Ghost Reef looking for protection was as smooth as anyone could hope for it to be. Ghost Reef was growing by more than its original population every day, on average, with various upticks representing specifically organized groups that formed caravans and arrived all at once. It was barely three weeks after the first groups arrived and they were approaching a quarter of a million people.

By the time Coop returned with the settlement reward from the event, Ghost Reef was officially over 20 levels deep, with three times as many floors prepped and ready with stairs and runed portals. Each floor was cleared of monsters, and a mana pylon was being used for insurance, but constructing them was an additional expense they were struggling to keep up with before Coop arrived.

The Mana Funnel upgrade they had earned with their first place result in the Underlayer Event completely solved any potential bottlenecks with mana. It was perfect timing, since, while the steady stream of refugees had continued throughout the event, Coop brought a huge influx of approximately a million people from Shinjuku Gardens all at once, with potentially more trailing behind from all the other places he visited.

Coop chuckled to himself at the memory. The parade through the underground had just sort of formed naturally. As he opened the door to the tavern, he was thinking he should probably apologize for giving so much work to Jones and the others without any advanced warning.

“Our Champion returns!” Maeve exclaimed a greeting that put all eyes on him just as he crossed the threshold. She was hauling a set of seven mugs, three in each hand and one raised in her normally hidden tail. The acceptance of the human residents had given her the confidence to let go of her simple disguise.

“Well, it’s about time!” Balor shouted, slamming his own empty mug down on the bar before approaching Coop, growing rather serious as others raised their own drinks toward him. “You should know lad, dormancy is the same thing as death for the ageless. I know you did a lot, but be aware of inertia.” He suggested, raising his stone hand to pat him on the arm. “Don’t want to end up like a stone at the bottom of a hill.”

Coop smiled at his first alien friend. “Were you worried? It was just a little nap.”

“A little nap?” Maeve interjected after serving the drinks. “It’s been almost a week!”

Coop played along, smiling away until he realized she was serious. “Wait, really?” He asked, his smile wiped off his face.

“Everyone’s been busy, running all over the place to get things organized. They left us with a message for you, knowing you’d want to eat after you woke up.” Maeve continued. “Once you’re ready, stop by Neptune’s Bridge to make sure they are holding up before meeting Marcus and Shane in the Heartland. Ask Jones for directions before you leave so you don’t get lost.”

“Wow, still doubting my pathfinding ability after I circumnavigated the entire globe?” Coop mumbled. “Such little faith.”

Maeve glanced over at Desmond, who was cleaning a mug with a white towel, to have him back her claim. He responded without taking his attention away from his task. “You have 9 days. That should be plenty of time. Have a seat and eat first.”

Coop shook his head, shaking off the surprise. “I actually slept through my entire break?”

“Hah! You sure did!” Balor exclaimed, leading him to the bar where Jett had a spot already prepared. “Like a rock, I’m telling you.”