Waking World

Reveal

“	Our world... is a very special place, even among the rest of the Divine Realms. War God might be dead, but the laws she set for her own Realm are still intact. She was the patron deity of humanity, after all, as well as of intellect, technology, and progress. Therefore, her Realm was always a shelter for humans, and only humans, as well as a place where logic and reason were much firmer and more reliable than anywhere else.	”
― Ki Song's explanation of Earth's laws, Chapter 2188 Flowers of Betrayal

Earth was distinct among the Divine Realms due to its patron deity, War God, who embodied humanity, intellect, technology, and progress. The laws she set for her own Realm are still intact and because of these laws, Earth was historically free from true sorcery, Awakened beings, and mythical creatures. It was also the last realm to be infected by the Nightmare Spell and would be the last to fall.^[3]

Earth's laws were designed to be mundane, preventing Awakening and sorcery. When the Nightmare Spell invaded, humans began the Path of Ascension, which caused a conflict with these laws. The higher one climb on the path to divinity, the more they are repelled by the laws governing the realm and feels like the world itself is rejecting them.^[4]

This force of rejection is not yet felt by Saints, since they exist halfway between the Dream Realm and Earth, but it becomes a significant struggle for Supremes, making it difficult for them to return to Earth. It is almost certain that a Sacred human won't be able to set foot on Earth at all.^[4]

Individuals originating from the War Realm are unable to complete natural Apotheosis within their own realm and are therefore forced to attempt the process in the Dream Realm instead, though this carries inherent danger, as the Dream Realm is already filled with darkness and corrupted laws, and anyone attempting to fuse their soul with its laws risks being consumed by it; thus, attempting Apotheosis without understanding its secrets leads to failure and succumbing instead to Corruption.^[5]

The people of Earth were less knowledgeable about the past than the people of the other realms. Some of which were connected, some apart, some considered mortal realm, others divine.^[6][7]

A few decades ago before Nightmare Spell appeared, the planet was just starting to recover from a series of devastating natural disasters and subsequent resource wars.^[8] The planet was not in a good shape, compared to the past. Many are dying of hunger and poor living conditions just because of what humans have done to Earth.^[9]

Before the Dark Times, Antarctica was covered in ice. The melting of all its ice contributed to the Dark Times.^[10]

Globally, sea levels surged, drowning numerous cities and forcing billions of people to relocate. Despite the fact that only a small portion of the landmass was submerged by water, many of the civilization centers were located near the coasts. The world's infrastructure crumbled as billions of refugees sought shelter after they were all gone.^[10]

Endless natural disasters, global infrastructure destruction, and resource scarcity fueled an escalating series of wars. Orbital kinetic strikes, nuclear warfare, chemical warfare, biowarfare, everything was used. In the end, the population finally stabilized to some extent, at which point the Nightmare Spell appeared.^[10]

With the descent of the Nightmare Spell, humanity was separated into two distinct groups: those who had been chosen by the Spell, and those whom it ignored.^[11]

The Awakened are empowered with mystical abilities and undergo deadly trials to prove their worth, earning greater privileges and status. However, one maniacal leader takes things too far, believing that being chosen by the Spell signifies divine will, making the Awakened the rightful rulers of Earth. He views the Unawakened as mere beasts, devoid of true emotions or rational thought, and justifies treating them as livestock or disposing of them when no longer useful.^[11]

Back then, millions of people were suddenly thrust into the First Nightmares and died, resulting in millions of Nightmare Creatures entering the real world. Almost all of them were only of the Dormant rank, but that turned out to be too much for the armies of the already reeling humanity to handle. Whole nations were destroyed, and the planet was submerged into absolute chaos.^[12]

In the end, it was the Awakened — those who survived the first trials of the Spell and came back alive — who put a stop to its rampage. Armed with miraculous abilities earned in their Nightmares, they restored peace and created a semblance of a new order.^[8]

During the chaotic period after the Spell first descended, numerous powerful powers competed for the right to shape the world as they saw fit. Some are more terrible than others. The current system consists of the government and Legacy Clans maintaining world order. The current regime was established after several other fringe factions had been defeated by the first Legacies. The Great Clans were built by those who inherited the Divine Lineages.

Since the Nightmare Spell's descent, containment zones have accumulated in human-populated areas, including NQSC. The situation worsened after the Chain of Nightmares, with Awakened cohorts challenging Second Nightmares and closing Gates. Closing a Category Three Gate was harder, as only Masters could survive the Third Nightmare. Despite a tenfold increase in Masters, the number of higher-category Gates was increasing faster, highlighting the need for government forces to be spread thin.^[13]

All carriers of the Nightmare Spell must surrender themselves to the authorities.^[8]

Main article: Government

The government is responsible for issuing government-issued citizenship chips, maintaining order in the real world, and keeping track of every Awakened in the world.^[14][15]

A few centuries ago, there were around twelve billion people living on Earth and few million found their way to the moon. Now, there's barely three billion humans living on Earth.^[10]

Note: In Chapter 990, it is apparent that all quadrants had their own local outskirts.

Most of the surface of the planet is either uninhabitable or overrun by Nightmare Creatures. Megacities are the most convenient way to sustain a large population but they are unable to support everyone, even with the aid of spelltech and modern science. So, about 20% of the city's entire population is sent to the outskirts, where they can slowly exterminate themselves away from the rest of humanity.^[10]

After the Nightmare Spell appeared, seas and oceans became infested by terrifying Nightmare Creatures.^[21] The majority of Earth's water is infested with terrifying Nightmare Creatures because most Gates open underwater.^[22]

There are people who live outside the planet.^[10] They are located in moon settlements.^[23] According to Jet, Space is rife with its own dangers, and getting to the orbit requires considerable resource commitment which they desperately lack.^[22]

Soul shards in the waking world only came from two sources:^[24]

• Brought back by Ascended and Transcendent from their journeys into the Dream Realm.^[24]
• Scavenged from the corpses of the Nightmare Creatures that had invaded reality through a Gate.^[24]

See also: Brilliant Emporium

Used to exchange information.^[25] It can show what time of day it was, up to the exact nanosecond.^[26] It can also be used for call or video calls and to access the network.^[25][27][28]

Main article: Dreamscape

Main article: SpellTech

Public terminals are similar to public computer where anyone can connect to the network without personal communicator, which can leave digital trail behind.^[8][29]

Equivalent to money. It is the currency used to purchase goods and services like the usage of public terminals. It costs credits.^[29]

Main article: Synthpaste

• It is the War God's Realm.^[30]
• In Chapter 3207, it was mentioned that the Eastern Quadrant faced horrors emerging from the ocean, the Western Quadrant was being consumed by the Dream Realm, and the Northern Quadrant was becoming humanity's last bastion.