When the flying ship ca out of that world, Darian imdiately activated his power to sense the surroundings, but there weren’t any Risen nearby. That place was completely cut off from the outside world, and neither the Risen nor Celestia Academy would know anyti soon what had happened.
There were still at least a few weeks left before the date when, in theory, that world would close. When those who went in didn’t co out, that would be the mont when those two powers would notice the anomaly and investigate, eventually finding out that the world no longer existed.
That’s why these days were crucial for Darian to take advantage of. After all, the Risen had placed parts of the World Tree in the three mber planets of the galaxy’s inscription, certain that if Darian tried to invade the core, they’d find out and stop him.
But now, with the owner of those things right there with them, they could invade easily.
Another spatial artifact was used, and the flying ship shot back toward the Shadows of Heaven Academy.
When they arrived, the few Mannaz who had stayed on the planet ran over, thrilled. Living there were a few children and weak Mannaz who had been rescued.
"Rest and get ready for twelve hours. Everyone needs to be at 100%. We’re going to attack the three planets at the sa ti, so there’s no risk of the Risen Lords realizing one was taken."
Darian announced, then turned to the twins with a serious look.
"Lucy and Lucius will lead the other two strikes. Now that you can use your powers to cloak allies, you should be able to sneak in perfectly, just like I did before. Both places will probably have many powerful Risen you won’t be able to fight. The smallest mistake, and no one will be able to save you. Are you confident?"
The two quickly answered in sync, "We’ll do it, don’t worry."
After so much training and fighting, Darian trusted them a lot. As their power grew, he saw the chance to split tasks with them, making everything easier.
Darian and Niara calmly went into a room while everyone else recovered and prepared.
Niara lay down on the bed without letting Darian leave, falling asleep softly while hugging him. He, on the other hand, focused on sensing the changes in his soul.
He searched his wrist carefully for the white ring... but found nothing, not even a trace.
At the sa ti, his whole soul seed to radiate black power, as if his entire existence had been corrupted and rged with it.
Darian couldn’t accept that loss and examined everything carefully. After a few hours, he turned his attention to the lone black ring on his wrist and finally noticed sothing different inside it.
"!"
His eyes widened. He felt a very unique kind of energy inside that ring — sothing very specific he had sensed not long ago.
"This... this is Heaven’s Will’s blessing!"
Darian said in shock, studying it carefully. How had that ended up there? He focused on the rings on his forehead, but the blessing’s power he had received still felt the sa there.
"The Master didn’t say anything about this... so is it a unique variation of my power? How the...!"
He rembered the mont he woke up, consud by fury. He had used an abnormal power on Clekul, which made her soul lt and vanish in a way completely different from how a Spiritual Guardian dies.
That black fla was sothing that used black power, but it wasn’t sothing created by ru. The heart demon had used black power mixed with his soul’s power and the ring’s power; that’s what created the black fla.
Darian focused as much as he could, moving the three energies...
*Whoosh*
A small black fla appeared in front of him. It wasn’t hot, but it sent a deep chill through the soul of anyone close to it.
"This... my soul is different from normal, like its power has been corrupted. If I had a normal soul, I wouldn’t be able to create this. So, this whole change made this weird thing possible."
Darian studied it, carefully thinking over the possibilities.
"Maybe this fla can burn everything from the enemy except Heaven’s Will’s power. Then, that power would be left without an owner... and co to ... like it was the Power of rit."
Darian’s eyes shone. If this was what he thought, then... he had finally found a way to truly kill a Spiritual Guardian for good.
Ever since the first ti he ca to this universe and killed a traitor, he had always felt that just killing soone, only for them to wake up in their own body without mories, was way too easy for them.
When Spiritual Guardians ca to this universe, they weren’t too afraid of the consequences, because they knew they wouldn’t actually die. Even waking without mories, no one was naive enough not to realize they had once been a Spiritual Guardian. On top of that, they’d still have plenty of money and resources from back then, and could live very well for a long ti.
It was painful to beco soone without power and without mories, but nothing truly desperate. Maybe keeping the mories of what you lost and of what you once were would be a much worse punishnt. But Heaven’s Will had created that system to encourage people to take risks without fear and help the other universe... which, clearly, ended up having the opposite effect.
But now... on that powerful planet, that talented woman wouldn’t be waking up — she had truly died. That would change everything, creating a new kind of fear in people.
And also... he now had that Heaven’s Will blessing to use!
But ru had already given him the maximum he could handle with his current power. He couldn’t absorb any more of it for now and didn’t want to just let it sit there uselessly.
Niara woke up. Seeing that, Darian took out an emblem and sent a ssage to Irana.
She didn’t have the blessing and was soone reliable and talented. There were other options, like his cousin Amara, but Irana had direct ties with that demon who protected him. Giving this to her would increase her value to him.
In just a few minutes, a golden fox walked into the room. Seeing Darian and Niara, she ca closer calmly, but with her head a little lowered.
Darian noticed her expression change when she saw the two of them and, finally, was surprised to realize sothing he had completely missed.
He rembered how Irana had acted differently when she was near him after his victory in the tournant, feeling it was sothing Niara had quietly done, but he had never really understood the real reasons... in fact, he couldn’t have, since he didn’t even understand much about that himself.
He turned toward Niara. She looked back and huffed, sensing that he had finally figured out the weird situation he was in.
’Crap, what a problem... since when am I popular? I’ve barely talked to her since we t...’ Darian thought, surprised.
He needed to settle that once and for all with Irana. The twins had once told him that she had asked to be treated like a close friend, since she wasn’t much older than them. In other words, Irana was still quite young, and as the daughter of the planet’s leader and soone extrely talented, she had lived in isolation, focused only on training.
She had never had much ti to interact with others or relate equally with the opposite gender. Darian was the first one she felt was on her level and, later, above it. On top of that, he wasn’t stupidly arrogant and treated her well. That was fatal for soone so inexperienced.
He took a deep breath and thought about what to say.
He couldn’t reciprocate that in any way. Then he rembered a passage from that book — sothing written by ru’s mother, reflecting on the love she felt living alongside that person.
Darian turned to Irana with a serious look. "Do you know what it ans to love?"
"What does it an?" her gaze lifted, confused.
He nodded slowly, choosing his words carefully.
"Loving soone is like a bird that, even though it can fly, chooses to willingly lock itself in a cage. It’s like a wild wolf chaining itself, or a dragon allowing its scales to be ripped away."
Irana listened in silence.
"Loving soone," he continued slowly, "is giving that person the power to hurt you when you lower your guard. It’s breaking your own wings and giving up the ability to run. And, at the sa ti... it’s having the will to protect, care for, and give yourself completely, without expecting anything in return."
He took a deep breath, searching for the gentlest way to go on.
"Love isn’t just a feeling, it’s an irrational, completely illogical state of mind. It’s not as simple as liking soone. You change completely. That’s why... don’t mistake love for passion or admiration. I’m just a man, full of flaws and still learning about life. You barely know anything about . What you feel is a creation of your mind, about a person I’m not and will never be able to be for you."
Niara, who had been listening in silence, was inwardly surprised. But it was true: she knew Darian deeply, despite the short ti they had spent together — after all, neither could hide anything from the other. She knew his flaws, but for so reason, liked him even more because of them. The young woman in front of them, however... had definitely built up a completely imaginary man in her mind.
Darian waited, giving Irana ti to process his words. The girl stayed quiet, thinking.
"Don’t fall in passion so easily," Darian concluded, his voice softer. "One day, you’ll et soone who will make you feel real love, and your ntal state will change completely. As for , you can treat like an older brother, a friend you can trust with anything. I believe that will make it easier for us to get along."
He repeated what he had read in the book, but it also served as reflection for himself, making him think more about what he really felt for another woman.
Darian needed to cut off those feelings in her before they grew and hurt her, forcing her to pull away. As for Niara... just imagining saying sothing like that to her... he felt it would be a huge lie, sothing that would cause her an imasurable pain.
Fortunately, Irana’s feelings for him were still vague and undefined. When she heard the suggestion to have him as an older brother, she felt relieved.
She finally understood that what she felt was just admiration. Having Darian as soone familiar she could trust was a much more sensible and safe choice for her heart.
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