Ch. 721..730

Chapter 721

"Huh?!" Wollice laughed, dashing forward to take Jack head-on. "What kind of half-baked nonsense are you spitting now?"

Woltin led his vines forward as well, becoming the perfect support to his twin brother. Together, the twins tore through the few constructs standing between them and Jack.

Jack, on the other hand, was unfazed by the twins and their actions. He teleported toward the back of the room where more than a hundred untouched constructs waited their turn to attack. But those constructs suddenly began to fall through the floor, which had been replaced by a giant spatial rift.

To the twin’s surprise, those hundred or so constructs were now falling on top of them through a rift that had opened overhead. Now, they were effectively surrounded by all of the room’s constructs.

"A bit more than two hundred left..." Jack mumbled to himself as he looked over the surrounding horde of constructs. A childish grin then appeared on Jack’s face. "I wonder what I’ll get for this..."

Teleporting again, Jack appeared directly into the center of the swarm. He now stood in between the twins, only a few meters away from each of them.

"Are you--"

"Yes, I’ve been called insane all my life," Jack laughed as the twins momentarily focused on getting situated at the horde’s center. "And I’ll be called crazy for however long I live!"

While Jack laughed and cackled gleefully, the twins noticed something strange about him.

Jack had dropped his transformation and reverted to his human form. Also, Jack’s apparel was completely different. His dark, mysterious cloak was gone, as was Jack’s typical garb. Apart from a plain shirt and pants, all Jack was wearing now was a set of crudely crafted plates of metal affixed to his torso and limbs. Neither Woltin nor Wollice would ever call such an atrocity of metal armor, but Jack wore it proudly as if all of his worries were now gone.

"What--" Both twins shouted at Jack, now able to attack him after creating a bit of wiggle room inside the construct horde. However, Jack’s sudden, nonsensical shout drowned out their voices.

"LEEEEEEEEERRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYY JEEEEEEEENNNNKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNSSSSS!!!!!"

The atrocious armor on Jack’s body instantly turned pale white and decomposed into pure energy. That energy seemed irritable and about to burst outward, yet it first sank into Jack’s body. Only then did that energy explode with violent passion, along with the entirety of Jack’s energy reserves and the latent energy within Jack’s entire being. All within a fraction of a split-second.

A pure white explosion forced its way through the room with no person and no construct able to react or put up a proper defense. The wild, raw cosmic energy consumed everything and shook the walls that tried their best to contain it. Being in an enclosed space only made it worse, causing some of the shockwave to reverberate back through the room.

Nothing was left. No remains were found anywhere, only hundreds of silver cores lying on the ground and signs of energy corrosion along the roxite walls.

At the same time, two figures suddenly appeared inside the waiting chamber. The appearance of those two, in particular, set off an alarming conversation among the dozens of cosmicians who had failed to at least remain in the keep, regardless of how many treasures they had claimed.

Before one of those two men could speak due to their own confusion, the plain-looking man standing on the platform spoke for everyone to hear, "You two have lost the challenge."

"WHAT?!" Wollice shouted. "But why were we--"

"Calm down..." stated the man, patiently waiting for the Sicabor son to silence himself. "Are you listening now? You two were pulled from the competition due to necessity. Given your circ.u.mstances, your loss was undeniable and your revival would be entirely uncertain. There’s a great chance that we could’ve never revived you, which would have made you two the first permanent casualties of Glacier Keep. And we refuse to tarnish our reputation. Do you have a dispute with my logic?"

"N... No..." Wollice sighed.

Placing a hand on his brother’s back, Woltin chuckled in disbelief, "Jack really did that... He really killed himself..."

"Not exactly," commented the man, startling the crowd and the twins especially. "All will be explained later."

Everyone in the waiting chamber began to recount the last time they saw Jack and the twins on the illusory screens. Both were last seen in that small treasure room, the one that the twins had raided and where Jack had opened a passage no one knew about. But there had never been a screen for that hidden room, leaving everyone in the dark as to what the twins and Jack had just experienced.

The Sicabor twins were hounded with questions, many from their closest aides that had joined them for the challenge. But the twins refused to answer any of them. They were anxious to ask their own questions to Jack, the man who had supposed defeated them while giving up his life yet wasn’t anywhere to be found in the waiting chamber or counted as a permanent casualty of Glacier Keep. Their interest in Jack had reach levels they had never imagined, making them all the more proud to have participated in this round of Glacier Keep’s challenge.

That plain-looking man walked to the back of the platform, acting aloof and solemn so that no one dared approach him without a good reason. He was busy holding a black crystal, the same crystal that allowed him to see all of Glacier Keep and monitor even that hidden room.

Despite his appearance, the man was utterly astonished but what he had just witnessed. More so than when Halmut forced a pitifully unstable ascension through faux-ore. More so than when Skaryn finally chose to stop forcefully-delaying his ascension. More so than learning about Oli’s creating a small black hole to neutralize a four-star self-destruction.

Jack’s self-destruction defied logic. It was nothing like a late one-star self-destruction should have been and it had come from a man that Daruun had raised personally.

All that man knew about Jack was his relationship with Daruun, and his knowledge of Kartonia as a whole was even more limited. He knew nothing about Jack’s abundant energy reserves, the same energy reserves that more than ninety percent of one-stars could never imagine having before ascending to the next star. The man was clueless about Jack’s armor and that such a suicidal thing existed outside of forced torture tactics. He could sense that Jack’s armor had acted like a catalyst to amplify the explosion as a complete set, but he hadn’t anticipated the ensuing explosion to almost rival a median two-star self-destruction.

But what stumped the man mot of all was what came the moment the explosion subsided. When he could sense Jack’s energy starting to regather at the origin of the explosion.

 

Chapter 722

While the hidden room was eerily quiet, a flash of purple energy appeared. Another man had returned to the scene of his own crime, smiling at what was left of the place.

Jack’s double chuckled and retrieved the key card from their shared pocket dimension. He sighed at the unchanged number on the display but shrugged and moved on. Not getting any keys from the twins was inevitable in order to protect the card from the incredible explosion.

Now, an ethereal, humanoid was beginning to take shape not-to-far from Jack’s double. That quickly started to gain a physical body once again, proving to be the man of the hour and Jack’s other half.

Jack’s double immediately stepped forward to cast revivification. The speed at which Jack’s body began to reform sped up slightly. Sadly, that increased speed didn’t last for even a second, proof that using such a tactic recklessly would likely cause terrible consequences.

Putting the aside, Jack’s double scanned over the hundreds of silvery cores lying on the ground. He took his time walking across the room while flicking small spectral flares. The cores were all destroyed in the flames, letting Jack watch his key count skyrocket. Soon, he reached the purple barrier at the end of the room, smiling in satisfaction.

Five hundred keys were necessary to open that slim, purple barrier. And thanks to the annihilation of more than two hundred high-level constructs, Jack had just enough to claim his prize.

But he waited. With a shared mind, Jack’s double walked back to his other half to at least be able to walk. Considering the visible speed of his recovery, Jack assumed it wouldn’t take too long. After fifteen minutes of silent thought and reflection, Jack’s double approached his newly-formed self with a half-smile.

Though Jack’s body had finished reforming, there was no way it was going to be moving on its own any time soon.

Remembering how revivification did so little, Jack tried something different. His double cast mana share, divvying up his remaining energy between his two bodies. What Jack didn’t expect was how much mana was wasted in that effort. Jack’s second body still had about two-thirds of his mana left due to only teleporting and keeping Wollice on his toes. But using mana share robbed his second body of nearly all energy, leaving him on the brink of mana depletion. That was also how much energy Jack’s revived body now had, apparently dumping the rest of that unused mana into Jack’s dormant body.

Taking a deep breath, Jack’s revived body was now able to move with only some soreness. But there was no way that the revived body would be joining any battles for a time period that was likely much longer than Jack would like.

Able to stand, Jack took back his card and his two bodies walked to the purple barrier. Anxiously, Jack dumped nearly all of his newly gained keys to open the final barrier standing between him and his newest, event-based achievement. But Jack was sad to see that his expected achievement hadn’t been earned.

Jack then gripped the final purple core and noticed something new about it. There was a faint white light at the center. When Jack turned the core in his fingers, the light would never diminish or change, staying constant and firm.

As the core was crushed, Jack watched his card change color as well. It had become purely purple and there were no longer any numbers displayed.

While Jack received a notification from his system, a verbal announcement played throughout the room.

"Congratulations!"

Suddenly, spatial energy enveloped both Jack and his double. They were forcibly pulled out of Glacier Keep and into the waiting area. To their surprise, they weren’t the only ones forced out of the challenge.

CLAP!

Everyone’s attention shifted to the man standing on the platform, who immediately spotted Jack among the crowd. "This challenge is over! Thank you for--"

"HEY!!"

In the middle of the man’s announcement, a familiar voice shouted as a raging wind blade was snuffed out. Jack’s double had immediately equipped a basic roxite helmet but both he and his double found Skaryn from his angry shout.

The Dark God had slashed through a plethora of wind blades while he stood atop the amputee Halmut, which left Jack stunned with a single glance. But he was startled again as Tralbok appeared at Halmut’s side with the aide of time magic. Tralbok then used his amulet to teleport away, narrowly avoiding Skaryn’s counterattack and carrying Halmut to somewhere that should be safer for them.

"GET BACK HERE!" Moranti shouted, placing a hand on Skaryn’s shoulder. Both then teleported away, following after their runaway foes.

"Don’t mind them," commented the plain-looking man, demanding everyone’s attention. "I’m sure they’ll handle their disputes, but we must first congratulate the first-ever winner of Glacier Keep. Jack Accrutya!"

Jack was taken aback at how casual the man handled the sudden attack in the waiting area while also realizing that Oli was no longer in the room. Had Oli been there, Jack was sure that Tralbok would never have managed to escape. Then again, Jack didn’t doubt the dynamic duo of Skaryn and Moranti who would never allow Tralbok and Halmut to escape, even if Halmut had all of his limbs.

But Jack then realized that something else more surprising had occurred. As the plain-looking man pointed at Jack in the crowd, everyone around Jack was speechless while they locked their gazes on Jack like he was a rare, endangered species that might vanish without a trace. It only made sense when someone finally shouted out everyone’s shared thoughts.

"No wonder!" Woltin was the first to rush to Jack, holding out his hand with pride.

Wollice wasn’t far behind, grabbing Jack’s other hand. "You’re related to the district leader?! Of course, you’re not interested in working for us!"

"Yeah... I’m not exactly trying to--"

"It was an honor to lose to you, given how spectacular our fight was!" Woltin added, jumping to Jack’s side and throwing an arm around him. He then whispered, "Don’t worry, you’re secret’s safe with us."

Sighing, Jack threw an arm around each twin and laughed, "So, I take we can be friends?"

 

Chapter 723

A holy beam of light fell from the sky. Two figures landed atop a tall mountain in shock at what they found.

"I... I’m abandoned..." Halmut’s lip quivered. His worst fear had become reality, something he came to realize during the physical and mental torture that Skaryn gave him in Glacier Keep.

"Halmut, where’s 12-13--"

"COWARDS!"

Moranti’s voice didn’t catch Tralbok off guard, who was sure that they would be followed. What he didn’t expect was to find Olympic Chateau in ruin and for 12-13 to be nowhere in sight.

"HALMUT!" Tralbok shouted in desperation, "WHERE-- waaahh, wah..."

Before Tralbok could shout and try to bring the broken Halmut back to his senses, Tralbok felt his body be lifted in the air. His feet dangled as a choking pressure covered his throat.

"I’d surrender peacefully... I’m not in the mood to negotiate..."

"Staaffaaaan..." Tralbok mumbled as the Assassin God come into view, standing before Tralbok and gripping Tralbok by the throat.

The God of Time immediately prepared a wind blade at point-blank with one hand and retrieved his staff with the other. Tralbok’s immediate action got Moranti to move but Skaryn stopped Moranti with a curious grin.

Sterfen’s skin was covered in dry sweat and his clothes were still damp. Given how his past twenty-four hours had been, Sterfen was in the worst mood he had ever been. It was a rare moment where Sterfen didn’t care about being cautious or playing out the scenario to his best possible advantage. All Sterfen cared about was ending Tralbok’s life as quickly and as painfully as possible.

As Tralbok was about to throw the wind blade into Sterfen’s chest, a large dagger appeared in Sterfen’s left hand.

"AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHhhhh!!!!"

In less than a second and in one swift motion, Sterfen had countered Tralbok completely. That large dagger was plunged into Tralbok’s forearm, placed precisely between his ulna and radius bones. For not even a moment, Sterfen loosened his grip on the knife and switched to an underhanded grip of the knife’s hilt. Then, Sterfen turned his hand back to how it was prior, jerking Tralbok’s in a one-eighty and nearly dislocating Tralbok’s shoulder. But before Sterfen ended the counterattack, Sterfen jerked his wrist and tore the dagger ninety degrees through Tralbok’s flesh, snapping both bones in Tralbok’s forearm with ease.

"Oooohh..." Moranti groaned in encouragement, happily imagining the pain that Tralbok was experiencing.

Skaryn was silent but smiling from ear-to-ear. Nothin made him more proud than seeing his brother and pupil overachieving.

"Behind you!" Halmut shouted, with fear filling his eyes.

But Tralbok had no chance to react properly. Tralbok’s other hand wielding the staff had already gathered a follow-up wind blade that ripped into Sterfen. However, that image of Sterfen faded out of existence along with the wind blade.

The God of Time had begun to fall forward as he felt a tight grasp around the top of his forehead. Not only was he knocked off balance, but Tralbok was being brutally pushed into the hard ground by a foot on his back. And as Tralbok shifted his focus to readying time magic around his body, he neared the ground while a knee was driven into the back of Tralbok’s neck.

CRAAACK!

Tralbok’s head was pulled upward as Sterfen’s knee forced Tralbok’s into the broken floor of Olympic Chateau. A tiny crater was formed from the impact, cruelly snapping Tralbok’s upper vertebrae.

Both Moranti and Skaryn winced from the sound alone, let alone the sight of Tralbok’s limp body. Blood trickled out of Tralbok’s open mouth, Pain was stained into Tralbok’s motionless, bloodshot eyes, and Tralbok’s vertebrae were jutting out of his skin where Sterfen lifted his knee.

But Sterfen kept Tralbok pinned as reviving energy surrounded Tralbok’s body, healing his spine but failing to stop his internal bleeding completely.

"You know..." Sterfen sighed in satisfaction as he pressed his knee back against Tralbok’s neck. "I have a theory... After a hundred or so deaths, will you then accept it peacefully?"

Tralbok said nothing, still shaken as he revived only to be put back under immediate threat.

"Mind if I handle the first fifty?" Skaryn added with a chuckle. "I’m sure Tralbok has plenty to repay me..."

"S-Skaryn... Please... You should under--"

Shutting him up, Skaryn lunged forward and smashed Tralbok’s face into the rubble beneath him. "Mind saying that again? I didn’t hear you properly?"

Quivering, Tralbok kept his tongue tied. There was no longer anything or anyone that he could sway to save him.

"What happened to 12-13!" Halmut roared, showing his frightened fury. "Once he returns, you’ll all--"

"He’s dead!"

That shouted immediately shut up Halmut and forced Tralbok into a deeper mental pit of despair. They both recognized that voice despite how recently they were introduced to it.

The group looked to the side and found a man slowly walking towards them. His steps didn’t seem too firm and the man gave off no intimidating energy, but his presence alone was enough for everyone to give him their attention.

Laughing, Oli stated, "Consider 12-13 a casualty of the war he started. Anyone that dares was with the Resolute Enterprise could consider a similar death their luckiest outcome..."

"Who’s--"

"I’ll explain later..." Sterfen sighed, keeping Moranti from asking questions.

"Nah, I’m sure Daruun and I will explain more once he arrives," commented Oli, sending Halmut into an endless depression. "Now that Jewel’s influence on Kartonia is gone, Daruun can finally change things. He’ll have plenty to explain, so just wait."

"Alright... What happened in the keep?" Sterfen changed the subject glancing back and forth between Halmut and Skaryn. "Since when did Halmut become a plaything and why are you back already?"

"Thank your son for that one! He even got that runt’s poor excuses for contract destroyed, letting me have my way with him..." Skaryn replied, approaching Halmut with loud, obvious steps. "Come to think of it... This runt still owes me a few more millennia’s worth of torture... I’m sure Dad won’t mind me breaking him some more before the runt’s mind is scoured for any useful information."

As Skaryn imagined what next he could do to Halmut, Sterfen lined the entirety of Tralbok’s neck with more than a dozen marks of the reaper. With both captives in complete control, Oli enjoyed the show as he and the others waited for Daruun’s imminent arrival.

Chapter 724

In the waiting chamber, plenty of cosmicians wanted to meet and properly greet Jack but were turned away. The Sicabor twins worked as a social buffer, keeping those with lower social status from imposing their conversation with Jack which took place in a barrier of silence.

Jack was very interested in speaking with the twins and their offer to visit their homeworld, but Jack was too invested in his system’s newest notifications. He assumed he could glance through them and clear them away but suddenly gasped in shock.

[Combining of significant achievements completed in unison: completed]

[Combining of significant achievements with event achievement in unison: completed]

[All for one, none for all: completed]

Momentarily ignoring the questioning gazes of the twins, Jack selected his newly updated achievement and lost control of his jaw. It limply fell as his eyelids lost the ability to blink.

[All for one, none for all: completed]

[Defeat and obliterate more than two hundred late one-star foes by using yourself as bait and sacrifice, then self-reviving to claim everything as your own along with the key to Glacier Keep’s nexus. Event reward: 25,000 skill points. Two-star reward: 50,000 skill points. Would you like to claim this reward?]

"Hello? Jack? What’s wrong?!" Woltin chuckled as he shook Jack’s motionless body.

"Uh, umm..." Jack shook his head, coming back to reality. "Sorry... I just got caught up in thought, is all..."

While Jack immediately claimed his greatest reward to date, Wollice repeated his question, "So... what was the true treasure?"

"I’m... I’m not sure. You didn’t miss much. After the explosion, I claimed the keys and opened the barrier for the third purple core. Now my card is like this." Holding up his card, Jack added, "Apart from that, I’m not even sure what this is for."

*****

Beyond the Kartonian atmosphere, the vastness of space hid none of its beauty or splendor. However, that natural scenery was abruptly interrupted by a shockwave of green energy. A large spacecraft had finally arrived at its destination.

That ship was almost two kilometers long and at least one hundred meters wide. The pitch-black metal allowed it to blend in well with the surrounding space and faint glowing lights would occasionally glimmer around the ship’s exterior. There were two open balconies, one on each side, and three open decks at the front, center, and rear of the vessel. With dozens of floors streamlined windows on every floor, the ship gargantuan and powerful yet aloof and agile. Flexible engines at the front and back allowed for the ship to travel at speeds unfathomable to most cosmicians and stop without a second thought, with no need to coast or drift in space.

The moment the ship stopped, a man hurriedly walked onto the front deck. In his pure white robe, the man stroked his small beard while gazing over Kartonia. Hopping off the deck to float above the atmosphere, he commented, "It seems things are under control now... I’ll have to increase Oli’s pay for this..."

"Thanks for the show, Daruun. It somewhat relieved my boredom..."

Without hesitation, white energy gathered around Daruun and dozens more of him came to life. More than one hundred Daruuns now surrounded what appeared to be empty space, but from that empty space came a calm laugh.

Daruun remained on edge as the potential invader gave away his position after giving away his presence already. A veil of darkness was lifted as a black figure came into view. He wore all black with few accents of white lining the pockets of his coat, shirt, and pants. It looked like a man but didn’t appear entirely human. His head was humanoid but lacked hair over his scalp, as well as ears, eye sockets, nose, or mouth. Darkness forever swirled over what could be described as chilled skin stretched over the entirety of the man’s body, with no hair, fingernails, toenails, or any descriptive feature. Apart from his black and white attire, had only his unusual complexion for the world to recognize him.

"Why are you here?!" Daruun shouted in question, ready to attack the moment the man made a move.

"Relax, Daruun... I was only enjoying the show. I’ve got to give you credit, I like what you’ve done with Jack... I’ll most definitely remember him..."

"You--"

"Want to fight, Daruun?" As Daruun immediately stopped speaking, the man laughed harder. "Though I wouldn’t call your trivial interference of my show a fight, I suppose it would be more exciting than watching their happy ending..."

"What if I get involved?"

"Oh... That might change things..." the shadowy man chuckled, turning his head toward the front deck of the ship. "To think that a prominent district leader would openly hire such a menacing rogue... Daruun, how cautious can you be?"

Standing on the front deck, a man leaned over the edge with a mischievous smile. Compared to mortals, he appeared to be in his early thirties though his hairless face had been well known for millennia. His hair blacker than the spatial scenery had streaks of silver throughout, but not by way of aging. And his eyes had no iris, at least they didn’t appear to have irises due to their pitch-black color.

"Who said I was under contract?" snickered the man. "Sadly, I’m at a disadvantage. You know me better than most yet I know so little about you... How about we get to know each other a bit better?"

"As fun as that would be, I don’t think I have the time to deal with you, Darlok..." the dark man sighed in disappointment. "Besides... If I have my way with you two, Silas would only seek retribution all the faster. Though I’d love to play with him again, I can’t fit him into my schedule at the moment. Perhaps I’ll come back when I’ve got more time on my hands..."

Darkness engulfed the man yet again, but this time his body seemingly dwindled away along with the dispersing darkness. Moments later, Daruun’s many copies heaved sighs of relief in unison before they faded away.

 

Chapter 725

"Thank you, Garlok..." Daruun sighed, looking back to the man on the ship.

Already turned around and waving goodbye, Garlok chuckled, "Thank Silas. Otherwise, I would be under contract and you’d be coughing up blood from my price alone..."

The moment the man reentered the ship, the thrusters at the ship’s front turned slightly. After a moment of adjusting trajectory, the night-black ship rocketed away as quickly as it had arrived.

Daruun was left alone above his mand-crafted world. A sense of fulfillment and satisfaction washed over him. Finally, after millennia of patiently sticking to his plans and readjusting everything time and time again, Daruun had managed to accomplish his greatest, most-recent goal. The district leader smiled as he rushed through the turbulent energy surrounding the planet, which couldn’t even tickle his six-star body.

"Dad!"

Although Oli was the first to notice the incoming cosmician, Skaryn was the first to shout to the man. "It’s about time! We’ve already done all the hard work, so you can rest easy."

Chuckling, Daruun showed a tender smile at his long-lost son. Seeing Skaryn and Sterfen together again brought back many pleasant memories while seeing Tralbok and Halmut in their current conditions created new pleasant memories. Daruun stepped up and hugged Skaryn, getting a hug in return. "I’m glad you’re finally back..."

"This means we can finally open Kartonia, right?" Skaryn asked, grinning like an overly-excited child.

With a nod, Daruun replied, "Yes... but I’ll talk with Jack about that first. Unlike you, he managed to beat Duorda first-try."

"But he wouldn’t have gotten past Halmut so easily in Glacier Keep without me..." argued Skaryn.

"And who unsealed you and set you up to ambush Halmut in the first place?" reasoned Daruun, getting a half-hearted chuckle from Skaryn and laughter from the others. "Without Jack, you would still be trapped in that seal, though your plan to escape it would’ve eventually worked. But it would’ve been far too late to stop Halmut and Gem, let alone save Kylon."

"Fair... I’ll admit to that. I’m not sure I can thank Jack enough for that..." Skaryn humbly sighed, admitting to his greatest weakness.

Daruun smiled and shook his head. "Don’t be mad. I’m glad you’ve retained your compassion after all this time. That’s something many cosmicians loose throughout their long lives. And congratulations are in order! You’re the first Kartonian to reach two-star!"

"I’m still unstable, so don’t hold me to it just yet. But I’ll admit, it was fun watching Halmut ruin himself with those stimulants. In a way, I have to thank him. Had he trained properly, he wouldn’t have destroyed his potential and might’ve beaten me to the punch. So, thank you, Halmut!" Stomping on Halmut, Skaryn chuckled some more.

"Hmm... No wonder he always hid when I visited... But this makes sense now that the ISA’s involvement is confirmed," Daruun sighed, overlooking the amputee dragon.

Oli laughed and added, "He had to be ISA, likely from the intelligence division. As a late four-star, killing him would’ve been much harder if he was from any other division."

"Late four-star, huh... Then you must be a median four-star, right?" Skaryn asked with a raised eyebrow. "Or were you good enough to take him out as an initial four-star?"

"Who said I’m a four-star?" Oli laughed some more, walking weakly and slowly toward Daruun. "Mind sending me back? I’ve got to--"

"We’ll all go back," stated Daruun, surprising everyone. "I want to thank Jack personally, and I might as well meet the others. If we’re opening Kartonia, Jack may want to celebrate with everyone back in Gilga. That would be a good moment to explain everything... And Oli, there’s no need to tease them. They’ll likely be working with you in the future."

As Oli laughed and Skaryn tried to pry more information out of him, Daruun telepathically contacted the man overseeing Glacier Keep. One second later, a spatial rift opened up for them all to see.

Showing no hesitation, Skaryn threw back his leg to launch Halmut through the rift with a painful kick. Sterfen, on the other hand, simply dragged his captive as Tralbok had no means of countering the countless deaths they could force upon him.

On the other side of the rift, everyone inside the waiting chamber was baffled at what was happening. The moment Oli followed the four contestants who had fled, they realized that something beyond any expectation was occurring. When Daruun walked through the rift, all of the cosmicians lost control of themselves.

"Th-that..." Wollice mumbled, unprepared to meet such a figure.

"Gramps!" Jack shouted, dashing toward Daruun. Everyone was further startled at the sight as Jack approached Daruun with a wide grin. "I need to talk with you! What is--"

"Congratulations, Jack!" Daruun yelled for all to hear. "You’re the first true victor of Glacier Keep, something to be extremely proud of!"

"Yeah, but--"

"Why not celebrate?!" Daruun added, getting everyone to subconsciously cheer on the idea.

"Gramps, can’t we--"

"Just talk?" Daruun chuckled, interrupting Jack yet again.

"YES!"

Only then did Jack realize that there was no more sound from the crowd. Looking around, Jack noticed that nearly everyone was frozen in place.

"Follow me." Daruun grinned and motioned as he led the way.

Jack moved to follow but was suddenly grabbed from behind. He didn’t know what to think but soon let out a sigh of relief.

"You did it, Son!" Sterfen shouted, proudly embracing Jack. "You actually did it..."

Skaryn and Oli walked past the two of them, surprising Jack all the more. But Jack quickly adjusted and walked together with Sterfen to catch up with his second body at the rear. They now stood at the top of the raised platform and stared at the wall.

"Jack, go ahead and use your card. I’ve got something that you all will wish to see."

Doing as Daruun said, Jack came forward and took out his card. He walked toward the wall until a certain portion of the wall turned illusory. It was near the corner and only created a small opening, perfectly sized for Jack’s card.

 

Chapter 726

Jack inserted the card and nothing happened, for a moment. Then, the roxite walls trembled slightly. A giant archway suddenly emerged from the wall, instinctively getting Jack to step back. Spatial energy flickered inside the arch until a steady stream of energy to form a giant spatial gate.

"Go ahead, Jack. You can go first," commented Daruun, nudging Jack along.

With a mix of excitement and anxiousness, Jack took his next step. The sensation of traversing a spatial rift and a spatial gate wasn’t unknown to Jack, nor was it unusual. Yet Jack suddenly felt overwhelmed and burdened the moment he stepped through this particular gate.

Coming through to the other side, Jack almost dropped to his knees. His body was already exhausted from his regrowth after self-destruction, so the tremendous pressure of this new space was practically unbearable. But a layer of energy soon enveloped Jack and the others emerging through the gate, thanks to Daruun.

Now relaxed, Jack took in his surroundings and was left speechless.

The chamber was larger than all of Gilga by a wide margin. Jack wanted to assume that he could fit mountains and more inside as well, but the open area was so vast that it was hard to fully comprehend. It was entirely open with only a balcony extending out of the wall with no railing, which wrapped around the entire circular space. And what discombobulated everyone the most was the unfathomably enormous sphere of rampant energy floating in the center of the chamber.

"This is my nexus," Daruun stated, not using a barrier to protect himself. Beside him was Oli, who also lacked a barrier but was unable to hide the strain he felt when moving. Daruun then chuckled, adding, "Or shall I say, this is Jack’s nexus?"

"WHAT?!" Oli shouted, being the only one able to comprehend the meaning of that statement.

Daruun ignored Oli for a moment, explaining, "This is a nexus, or better put, an ancient structure built long before any recorded history of the void. It’s this that allowed me to create a world as complex and powerful as Kartonia, and it was with this that I managed to make a breakthrough, becoming a six-star cosmician and eventual district leader.

"But I’ve already learned most of what I can from it, though it still contains more mysteries than I can deduce... Put simply, nexuses attract cosmic energy like a magnet attracts certain types of metals. They’ve always been sought after as one of the greatest training resources throughout the void. However, Kartonia was the first-ever planet to be built using a nexus as its core. This allows Kartonia to produce two-star cosmicians naturally and gives me the ability to manipulate the world, like I am now to meet with you while the others are stilled at the present moment."

"Are... they always this big?" Jack asked.

"No... If I’m not mistaken, this is the largest nexus on record, or should I say off record..." Chuckling Daruun mentioned, "This nexus was purchased and delivered without the knowledge and consent of the former district leader, as well as the district council. Many of the district leaders have likely realized that there’s a nexus in Kartonia’s core, but they likely don’t know how large."

"But... How?" questioned Jack. "How could you get this thing here without everyone--"

"Dominus." Catching the others off guard, Oli answered for Daruun. "Long ago, they made a deal where Dominus personally delivered this thing in order to keep it a secret. As for where this came from... I still don’t know that..."

"Let’s just say that my old business in making soul constructs was quite profitable..." Daruun shrugged. "As the leading soul scientist, I was getting orders from across the void, including the core districts. After more millennia than I wanted to count, I had enough to purchase this before it ever reached an auction house."

"Then, you bought in on the black market?"

Smiling back at Jack, Daruun stated, "Sometimes, you’ve just got to do what’s necessary, right? If I hadn’t gotten this, none of you would exist and my seventh body wouldn’t be possible to create, along with both of Jack’s bodies.

"Either way, this nexus is how I ascended to who I am today. And given that I’ve felt too restricted to ascend further for quite some time, I decided to put it to better use. Now, Jack will eventually be able to use it and claim ownership of Kartonia."

"No fair! You promised to--"

"Oli, calm down. I’m sure Jack would be willing to work out a deal with you, one that’s mutually beneficial."

Turning to Jack, Oli put both of his hands on Jack’s shoulders. The friendly ferocity in his eyes almost frightened Jack. "I can use this, right? Thanks! I’ll--"

"Wait!" Daruun stopped Oli, who nearly jumped off of the edge in excitement. "Just give Jack a moment. I know he’s got something in mind."

"Uhhh..." Oli groaned, impatient with the nexus finally in front of his eyes.

"I’m... already the owner?" Jack asked, turning the purple card around in his fingers. "Then... Oli, you said you weren’t a human earlier. Does that mean you’re a beast, perhaps?"

"What if I am?"

"Well... Would you mind if we formed something called a mutual seal? It wouldn’t do anything other than connect us mentally."

"If that’s all it does, then why would you consider that equivalent to letting me use the nexus for training?" questioned Oli, not falling for any tricks or misunderstandings.

"On Kartonia, it shares our earned energy. But since you’re not from here and we won’t be doing anything on Kartonia, that’s really all it would do," explained Jack.

"Then why the seal? Does that seal have something to do with your different transformations?"

"Yeah... It does..."

"I don’t mind, but I doubt you’ll get what you want," laughed Oli, cutting to the chase.

"What do you mean?" Jack blinked, looking at Oli who was now pointing back to Daruun.

Sighing, Daruun mentioned, "Well, I never managed to reproduce Oli’s bloodline... His gravity affinity was too rare and complex for anything I managed to create. Like Dominus, I never managed to replicate the mutation in Oli’s bloodline that made him unique. I managed to succeed in recreating the Spectral Dragon race but I failed to replicate Oli’s rather unique bloodline. And since his original race isn’t wiped out, I saw no reason to replicate it on Kartonia."

There was only one part of that explanation that stuck with Jack. "Oli... has gravity affinity?!"

 

Chapter 727

"Oli... has gravity affinity?!"

"Yeah, so what? Want to see what it feels like? Why not ask Skaryn?" Oli added, smiling proudly.

"But... Why can’t--"

"Jack," Daruun interjected, "your body has already been enhanced with more affinities than a cosmician could ask for, so many that training normally would be nigh impossible. Adding something gravity affinity to your body would never work."

"Come on, Gramps?! Don’t tell me you gave up! You’re the greatest--"

"Jack, I may sometimes be considered a miracle worker but that doesn’t mean I can bend all energies to my whim. If I could do that, how come I haven’t given myself all energy types like yourself?" reasoned Daruun.

"But... But..."

"Accept it, Jack. There will be attacks and energies that you won’t be able to gain for yourself.. I could possibly add gravity affinity to your--"

"Then why haven’t you?!"

"For the same reason that you can’t wield sound magic..." Daruun explained, "Once you make Perchet a demigod, you’ll see for yourself. I was only able to give you a single complex energy type, which was space. Space cosmicians are already incredibly rare and extremely versatile. With that--"

"But that’s not gravity!" Jack groaned in disappointment. "If you were sending me here, why not give me a survey first? I would’ve chosen gravity every time!"

"Jack... Had I given you gravity, you’d only get one more affinity." Having successfully stunned Jack into shutting up, Daruun continued, "Gravity is arguably one of the rarest energy types and the most complex. Also, there’s a limit to any construct I could build with gravity affinity. They would eventually break themselves under their self-generated pressure. Right now, I’d be lucky to build a construct that survives past five or six-star, and that’s being generous."

"... How do you know?" Forced to give up, Jack sought out some form of proof.

"Because I’ve made one already, and I’ve had to fix him far too often. He’s only a four-star right now, but he’s nearly killed himself more than a dozen times. The burden of gravity energy is more than a construct can bear at the higher realms of power..." sighed Daruun. "And that’s using priceless materials equivalent to your current body, Jack, so don’t think I wasn’t testing properly. Testing a construct with gravity affinity any other way would result in their self-destruction as a one-star.

"But there’s no reason to feel down on yourself!" Daruun added.

Still laughing, Oli threw an arm around Jack. "Jack, as you are now, you’ve already got a leg up an more than ninety percent fo cosmicians. Did you really think you could just leave Kartonia and conquer the void without facing stiff competition? I may only have three affinities, but I’m sure I’d beat you while we’re at the same realm."

"How do you know that?" Jack teasingly sighed.

Suddenly, Jack felt his entire body shaking. A new force came over him that left him in awe. It felt like gravity but it wasn’t pulling him toward the floor. Jack felt his entire body being tugged toward Oli’s open hand, where a minuscule black orb was starting to take form. But that black orb never fully took shape and faded as Jack’s body almost dropped to the ground in relief.

"The void is a treacherous place. Never assume you’re the strongest or most capable. That’s how you’ll get slaughtered, if you’re lucky."

"Enough scaring, Oli. Let Jack breathe a little," Daruun spoke up, convincing Oli to let go of Jack. "But I am serious about you two cutting a deal. I think you’ll get along great and might even become partners in the far future."

"Really?" Eyeing Daruun, Oli sighed. "I don’t mind making a deal, but it’ll have to mutual. Your seal is too lopsided for my tastes, giving you access to my strength while I’m left with nothing. Try again, Jack."

"Well... What about a pact? That would share our skills. You’d get half the potency of all my passive skills, like energy regeneration and such, while I’d gain the ability to eventually learn your skills that aren’t gravity-based..." reasoned Jack. "Sound fair, considering you’d also be allowed to used the nexus whenever you’d like?"

"Deal!"

They immediately shook on it but Jack still felt a tinge of disillusionment from his lack of gravity affinity.

"Then, let me say one last thing," Daruun continued. "Jack, as the new owner of Kartonia you have the decision to open the world to the rest of the void. Eventually, once you’re strong enough, we’ll reset the nexus with you as the owner. But for now, you’re still able to decide policies."

"Oh? And what about Gem or Jewel?"

"Don’t worry much about them," Oli spoke up. "The reason Halmut was able to get so far was thanks to the ISA’s partnership with Jewel, but that won’t be a problem now."

"What’s--"

"I’ll explain the ISA when you’re strong enough to confront them and it’s necessary. For now, just know that you’re able to focus on growing your influence and strength within the Fate District without worry," Daruun stated. "It’s likely that Jewel has already backed out of Gem, leaving its husk behind to take the fall for what’s happened here."

"Fine..." Jack sighed, trying to take in so much new information all at once.

"Then let’s go congratulate the other competitors. If you’d like, you’re now allowed to invite them to the guild and celebrate. Such a celebration would surprise the entire district, putting you in the spotlight for the first time."

Nodding, Jack shrugged. "I guess a party’s not a bad place to start... But you’ll be hosting, right Gramps?"

"Sure, why not. We’ll secretly consider it my last event as the owner of Kartonia," replied Daruun. "Also, I’m sure we’ll get some influential visitors that are eager to meet you and the others from Kartonia... Now move along, it’s time we told the others of the good news. They’ll be honored to be Kartonia’s first-ever, honorary guests."

As they were all shuffled back through the spatial gate, Oli sighed and glanced at the nexus with a giant grin. He was the last person that Daruun had to force through the gate, dispersing the spatial energy the next moment.

Chapter 728

Back in the waiting chamber, a loud clap from Daruun shined light throughout the room. Those that had visited the nexus were now back where they once stood as everyone watched Daruun give a round of applause. "As a token of appreciation and congratulations, I believe it’s time we do something that’s yet to be done. Jack, would you mind?"

Sighing and looking back over the unsuspecting crowd of challengers, Jack nodded. "Yeah... why not? Let’s head back to Gilga and party properly!"

"Umm... Where’s Gilga?" asked Woltin, assuming Jack’s response with excitement.

"EVERYONE!" Jack shouted, getting Daruun to place his hand on Jack’s shoulder. "Would you like to celebrate with us at Kartonia’s capital?"

Wollice smiled and immediately responded, "As honorary guests? It would be an honor!"

Both twins bowed respectfully to Jack and Daruun, now recognizing Jack as the challenge winner and as a member of their district leader’s family. An invitation coming from a man of that status was more than they could wish for. It offered them a chance to mingle with someone with a district-level of fame, not just someone from one of the twelve hundred or so zones. That was an opportunity they could never purchase or acquire through normal means.

"Then I’ll give you a moment to contact your homes and warn them it’ll be another day," added Jack. "After that, we’ll head to the capital and begin preparations for a feast and festivities!"

Cheering and shouts filled the room as everyone took out some sort of communication item. Many used crystals similar to Kartonia’s contact crystals, only they were a blend of deep purple and bright green. Some used items that were similar to the phones of Jack’s homie world but without a keyboard and only the ability to make calls.

While everyone reached out to their homeworlds, Jack contacted his wives, party members, and the guild leaders. They immediately began making preparations and readied the largest banquet hall to become a lounging area while the food and festivities were being finished.

Once all calls were made, Moranti opened a giant rift.

The moment all the former challengers of Glacier Keep stepped through, they were welcomed with an array of butlers and waitresses at their sides. More than five hundred foreign cosmicians had officially stepped foot on Kartonian soil as the first-ever guests of the closed-off world. Unofficially, each of those cosmicians understood the meaning of such a banquet, that Kartonia would no longer be closed to the rest of the void.

There was nearly one waiter or waitress for every cosmician. They showed them the wide variety of seats, ranging from couches to bean-bag chairs and rustic recliners to soft floor mats.

Everyone was seated as the first round of food was brought out. It was an appetizer, a flower carved from half a potato and fried, served with both a tangy tomato sauce or a creamy white sauce. Vixus came out as well, introducing himself as the vice guild leader under Jack and as the man managing the festivities.

Jack was gladly sitting at the center as the focus of the room. But many of his party members were nowhere to be found. They had stepped out momentarily while Jack began to drink and chat with Woltin, Wollice, and a few of their party members that were descendants of prominent figures within the Emerald Zone. Daruun was also with Jack, drinking with them but only offering a few words when given an appropriate opportunity to speak. He made no moves to commandeer Jack’s party as his own.

While the rest of Kartonia hadn’t learned of the incredible party inside the Leisure Guild, all guild members were anxiously engaged in some sort of labor to make the celebration move along smoothly. Most were working in the kitchen, accepted the temporary job as waiters, or were preparing some form of entertainment for the crowd of people mighty enough to be gods. Doing anything to join the celebration was worth the effort, no matter how they were somehow taking part.

But the gods of Kartonia were nowhere to be found, neither were the most prominent guild members. They were all gathered in the former strategy room turned conference room undergoing a surprise celebration of their own.

"Skaryn!" Alcahain wasn’t the first to greet the long-gone god, but he was the first to greet the Dark God with a fistful of earth and lightning energy.

Effortlessly, Skaryn chuckled and repositioned himself. Using Alcahain’s momentum, Skaryn turned and threw Alcahain into one of the cushions at the side of the room. "Not now, Alcahain. We’ve got stuff to talk about and things to discuss... Hadurt? Is that you? With the Hell-flame Fox bloodline?!"

As Skaryn dropped the pretense of his long absence and shared some small talk with everybody, the door soon opened and Jack walked in with his wives at his side. Being the last to enter Jack got their discussion started. "So, are we ready to discuss everything?"

Everyone present either shouted in excitement, nodded in anticipation, or sighed in anxiousness.

"First off, I think I should make something clear for the soon-to-be members of the leisure gods. We understand that you’ve been our enemies but that doesn’t mean we hate each of you or that you won’t be treated fairly upon joining us. As the only remaining godly faction, why should we turn you all away?"

"But what about Skaryn?" asked Sillo, raising his hand to speak. "He’s back and able to head his faction again."

"No... I see no point in keeping factions," admitted Skaryn, shocking some and not surprising others. "I think staying one faction is best considering how some of us will be leaving shortly."

"What do you mean?"

"Let me explain." Jack waited a moment for all eyes to turn to him. "The reason behind maintaining different godly factions was to control Halmut and the people who Halmut was controlling. Isn’t that right, runt?"

Jack gave a smug smile to the back of the room. There, two figures were either chained up or left abandoned in a corner, gagged and muzzled.

Chapter 729

Tralbok didn’t dare speak since he had already given up after receiving falling under Sterfen’s control. Halmut would grunt and fail to utter anything as two fresh nubs on his back tried to instinctively flap, which came after Skaryn forcibly amputated the Sun Dragon’s wings for safe measure. Both were left in the corner, helpless to do anything or deny any harsh treatment offered to them.

"May I ask something?"

A bit surprised, Jack nodded and let Tyres speak. The Sword God nervously bowed to Jack, asking, "May I officially join you as a leisure god? I understand that I’ve been brutal towards you and others, but... I’m willing to change."

"In other words, you’re afraid you’ll end up like those two by the end of tonight and are offering yourself in hopes of avoiding that?" Jack assumed, questioning Tyres. "And be honest or I might not consider your offer."

"I... Yes... Compared to those beside me now, my former actions were more in line with what those two wished to accomplish and I admit that."

"Then allow me to decline."

"Jack, please--"

"But," Jack continued, "though I won’t allow you to work under me, I believe there is a god here willing to take you under his wing, as he did in the past."

"Really?!" It wasn’t Tyres but Jin who shouted, laughing as he looked back to his former apprentice.

Tyres sighed, "Jack... Please--"

"It’s either you accept him as your master or we may include you in our plans for those two. Which would you prefer? I’m being honest with you since you were honest with me."

"I..."

"Agree to abandon your false title and train properly under my instruction, then I’ll accept my long-defiant pupil once again!" Jin stated proudly, declaring his terms out the gate. "Or has your will and desire become so shaky that you’ve forgotten who I am? Are you the first of my student who tried to kill me in an attempt to claim fame beyond your station? No! So stop whining and moping!"

"Jin... We’ve been--"

"We’ll hold a proper match, just the two of us. If you win, I’ll side with you and help convince Jack that you’re worthy of working under him. But when I claim victory, I’ll kill you and your sins so that you can be resurrected as my next pupil. Only now, you’ve got a rival that may surpass you if your laziness isn’t replaced with diligence," explained Jin, motioning toward his demigod pupil among Jack’s long-time party members. "That should help clear your heart of regret and make it easier to accept your new position, right?"

"Th-that can’t--"

"I agree with Jin’s proposal," Jack added. "If you beat him, then I’ll help you ascend. But when you lose, it will be up to Jin if you remain dead or come back. It’s only fair."

"... Jin... We’ve been trying to kill each other for millennia now and we’ve been equals for--"

"You’ve never been my equal!" Jin barked, refusing to let Tyres continue uttering nonsense. "Never have you bested me in a proper duel, apart from our match after your ascension while I was still a mortal. But even then you failed to kill me, proving your lack of discipline! Either accept my terms or I kill you now without the promise of resurrection!"

Two swords appeared in Jin’s hands, ready to attack. The fiery passion in the samurai’s eyes proved his unabashed willingness to fight on the spot, despite the atmosphere and setting.

"Jin, I--"

"Three! Two!"

"Alright!" Tyres shouted, turning to Jin and bowing his head. He hid his eyes as Tyres mumbled, "Jin... I’ll accept you... as my master..."

"Save it for after your defeat," scoffed Jin, putting his katanas away. "Then you’ll be offered mercy and a second chance."

"But I think we can all agree that Tyres will need a temporary slave seal," Skaryn spoke up, putting a frown on Tyres’s already disappointed face. "I can come up with one that’s removable upon Jin’s command. Considering Jin is the only reason we having slain Tyres by now, I think that’s fair."

"What?" Tyres questioned, looking up at Skaryn and Jack.

Jack sighed, stating, "Tyres, I’ll be honest. I don’t care if you live or die. Looking back at recent history, I see no reason to keep you alive when there are already so many others willing to work alongside us without question or notorious background. Jin’s the only reason I haven’t decapitated you for EXP. I promised him that he decides your fate, whether you live or die. So be lucky you’re offered this much unless you’d like to join our guests of honor at the back of the room..."

"Then... I agree to the terms..." Tyres reluctantly sighed, forced to accept the fate of past actions.

"Then you two will be the main event of the party," Jack chuckled. "Your duel will happen after the food has been served for all the cosmicians to witness. That should also let them better understand how things word on Kartonia and help them feel more welcomed here."

"Finally!" Jin clenched his fists as his eyes widened in excitement.

"But back to other matters... Daruun said--"

’Make room.’ Daruun’s voice played through the minds of those linked via Jack’s pact, startling them all.

"You heard him. Make room." Jack motioned for one corner of the room to be cleared.

Everyone did as Jack said, assuming that Daruun was about to make another appearance and explain more of his identity. What they weren’t expecting was a spatial rift to suddenly appear, one made of both dark purple and neon green energy. The density of the energy was incredible, startling everyone able to recognize how incapable they were in comparison.

Through that rift stepped a man unfamiliar to those of Kartonia, but one man lounging at the back of the room with a drink in his hand wasn’t from Kartonia. Oli put his drink down and leaped toward the portal. "Dominus!"

 

Chapter 730

"Dominus!"

As Oli greeted his old friend, the gods of Kartonia were left speechless. Many had no clue who that was while the original leisure gods all tuned into Moranti’s reaction. Moranti dropped his jaw and didn’t bother picking it up, dumbstruck at the man in front of him who seemed not a day older than the Kartonian gods.

With a head of medium-length, flawlessly white hair, the new arrival greeted Oli with a smiling nod. His eyes also white, with only the outer edge of Dominus’s irises and his pupil helping everyone understand where Dominus was looking. Adorned in white robes with gold embroideries, Dominus then looked back at the man he was most eager to meet.

But Dominus said nothing yet, allowing another person to cross the rift and steal most everyone’s attention.

That man seemed to be less noble by default as he positioned himself one step behind Dominus on his right-hand side. His cloak looked to be stitched together from shadows and covered his entire body. Only his face was uncovered and that was because his hood was currently down.

While that man shared a bow with Oli, another figure entered the room via the rift. He was wearing a cerulean jacket adorned with silver buttons and accents. His button-down shirt was white with an open collar and his long, loose-fitting pants were a shade darker than his sky-blue jacket. The man was half-smiling as he looked over the crowd of people and stood on the side opposite Dominus, showing off the two dangling silver earrings in his left ear, the light brown hair on his head, and the man’s cerulean eyes.

Finally, two men walked through the rift before it closed.

One was recognizable to everyone in his all-white apparel. He was greeted first by everyone as they were all familiar with Daruun to some extent.

The last man, however, was only recognizable by two of the Kartonian gods. Duorda was bowing nonstop to each of the entering figures but the reverence he showed the last man was all the more clear. Of course, Jack was the only other god who had once met the vizor-wearing, one-armed man now standing beside Daruun in a casual shirt and pants.

"Allow me to introduce my friends and coworkers," Daruun stated, silencing everyone without question. "This is Dominus, leader of the Mirror District, and his long-time assistant Eeole. This is Gradsdum, leader of the Azure District. And this is Silas, the man who brought us district leaders together under a cause worth fighting for... You may speak now."

Each of the gods struggled to think of something to say. Most of them still had a less-than-rudimentary knowledge of what a district was, let alone the significance of meeting such influential figures face-to-face.

Taking the lead, Dominus spoke first and smiled back toward the man still staring at him. "You’re Moranti, right?"

"Yes... And you’re..." Moranti paused, bowing properly to the white-haired man. "It’s an honor to meet my most powerful ancestor!"

Karronteel gasped and immediately bowed as well. "It’s an honor!"

"Oh... there are two of you? Daruun, why didn’t you mention the other one? Were you trying to keep one from yourself?" joked Dominus. "Moranti, and... What is your name?"

"K-Karronteel!"

"Moranti and Karronteel... From now on, you will be under my wing and receive training from me personally!" Dominus proudly announced, stepping forward and embracing them both by surprise. "To see others of my race again... It’s a wonderful thing that I’ve been patient to see. You won’t go back on our deal, right Daruun?"

"Of course not." Chuckling, Daruun waved a hand innocently. "As agreed, they’ll train under you and the first seven of your race will be under your command while the next three will work for me while keeping ties with you."

"Then now we only need to find you two--"

"Excuse me..."

"Yes?" Dominus blinked, surprised to see another god step forward. "Go ahead, you may speak."

Nodding, Dragas grabbed Moranti’s hand and bowed as he had earlier. "My name is Dragas and I’m his wife."

"His wife? But you two may not--"

"Actually, Dominus, she’s known as the Dryad Goddess of Kartonia. Her race is known for control of nature and other support skills, as well as their unnaturally high fertility," added Daruun, helping Dragas in her moment of need.

"Really? In that case, I’m glad to hear that Moranti has found himself such a wonderful mate." Nodding politely, Dominus asked, "How many of you are there?"

"Umm..."

"The race was nearly wiped from existence by him," Jack spoke up, pointing to the crippled Sun Dragon in the far corner of the room. "But Moranti was already too strong for him to kill at the time and I believe there may be more Spectral Dragons or even Sun Dragons sealed away in ancient items hidden across Kartonia. We’ll make sure to scour the entire planet and not miss a single one."

"Thank you, Jack." Dominus bowed his head formally, showing his genuine appreciation before glaring intensely at the far corner. "But that’s the man responsible... Mind if I--"

"Sorry, Dominus, but I can’t let you have him," Daruun chimed in. "I’ll need to do my best to extract the mind bead inside his head before examining his memories for intel. And though it’s likely we’ll lose most of those memories, extracting his mind bead will help me verify the proper protocol to remove hers."

"Thanks, Dad..." Skaryn bowed his head and embraced Kylon again. "See, you’ll be fine."

"So this is the assistant you’ve been blathering about? Mind if I try him out?"

"Gradsdum, you’re not allowed to break him or beat him. Just because you’re the only one lacking an assistant doesn’t give you the right to bully ours."

"Relax, Dar-seven. I’ll be careful to--"

"Sorry, Gradsdum, but no can do."

"But Silas--"

Shaking his head, Silas mentioned, "I’ve taken a liking to Jack. From what I’ve heard about his challenge on Glacier Keep and everything Daruun’s explained to me, I’m sure Jack’s got the potential to work for the enterprise."