"Darian!"
Niara's voice echoed, and that was the last thing Darian managed to hear before his consciousness shut down completely. It wasn't a simple faint, but a total blackout, sothing no one else would ever wake up from.
His body staggered forward, but Niara grabbed him firmly before he could fall.
Her expression was extrely tense, but she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing completely.
Everyone else rushed closer as well. Runar, for his part, beat his wings and flew toward a specific spot at the edge of the crater.
Everyone saw Niara touch Darian's forehead; then they felt sothing flowing from her into him, but they couldn't understand what it was.
Seconds later, she opened her eyes, but her face was clearly pale.
She breathed heavily, then turned and spoke in a trembling voice: "Lucius... you're in charge of everything... I need to go with Darian right now."
He nodded imdiately. Darian had already arranged everything with everyone, for every possible action, in case sothing went wrong.
The Convention ended, and the final prize...
Alear turned toward a corner. "HEY! That doesn't belong to you!"
At that mont, a Wyvern took off. Hearing the young woman's voice, it snorted dryly. Still, it turned toward her and made a gesture with its claws; then, a black pearl the size of a fist floated forward.
Alear jumped and grabbed it quickly. It was the ultimate prize of that Convention.
"He won." Runar's dry voice echoed.
He said nothing else, only cast one last serious look at the half-dead Darian. With everything he had received, Runar knew Darian was special. Because of that, he was certain he would see that missionary again in the future.
Runar turned, beat his wings, and disappeared into the void.
Alear approached Niara with the Devil Pearl in hand. Niara nodded, and Alear put it away for now. Then she picked up Darian's three daggers, which were close to him. The three inside were in a deep sleep, completely exhausted.
Niara looked back at Darian with an expression full of emotion. He never disappointed; in fact, his performance had been even more shocking than anyone could have imagined. Darian not only defeated Vanh but killed the other missionary as well, claiming the final prize.
Darian couldn't let the Devil Pearl stay with Runar no matter what, or the entire Rank S mission would fail. That was why he made one final, massive effort. His current condition was temporarily stable, but it wouldn't last long; Niara felt she had to hurry.
Niara could barely stand, but forced herself up while holding Darian tightly against her chest.
Without wasting ti, she took a deep breath, and a light shone on her forehead. In the next second, a spatial portal condensed in front of her.
That led to the Divine Protection Universe. She could open a channel there from anywhere she was, but to go to the Universe of Heaven's Will, she still needed to connect to Darian.
Without even looking back, Niara stepped in with Darian, and the two disappeared as the portal closed.
Silence.
Lucius took a deep breath, focusing himself. Now, he was responsible for commanding the entire army.
He looked around, then rembered sothing, and his eyes lit up. "There are still a few hours left until the Convention officially ends. I don't think this place will collapse before that."
He turned to Lucy; she nodded, feeling the sa. She was the one who understood spatial power the most, and everything was still very stable.
"Let's collect all the treasures quickly, then we'll return to the universe," Lucius ordered.
At the start of this final phase, after Darian killed all those people, the second battle began very quickly, and right after that ca Vanh's sneak attack. Because of that, Darian didn't even have ti to think about collecting the treasures scattered across the scarlet web.
But now, after Darian completely destroyed the cocoon and the missionary, everything collapsed. As a result, all the treasures were thrown to the ground, and the protections around them disappeared.
No one noticed this until Lucius spoke. Without wasting ti, the entire army spread out in all directions, collecting thousands of the most powerful items. Those were the legacies left behind by the dead from the Great War of the past.
They weren't just weapons and strange objects; there were many spatial rings filled with other treasures, including Jade Slips with possible knowledge or techniques that might have been lost long ago or never revealed at all.
anwhile, Lucy and Veyle focused on Vanh's body. They used pills and inscriptions to completely seal that body, preserving the extra spiritual root he had. Since it was implanted, it wasn't exactly in the soul, like other people's spiritual roots.
Darian, Lucy, and Lucius had studied the thod commonly used for this in depth. That way, they were certain that after the complete death of soone with it, the extra spiritual root would remain trapped inside the body.
In less than an hour, they searched the entire crater and collected everything, certain that nothing was left behind.
With that, Lucius ordered the return to the universe, following the sa route used to arrive.
Possibly, with the destruction of the missionary and the entire chanism he had created, that channel wouldn't last long, disappearing forever after a short ti. That way, the two universes would be completely separated again, as they should be.
Upon returning to the universe, as expected, all the Spiritual Guardians felt a force connect to them. It was as if, inside their rings, sothing that hadn't existed before had been placed there.
That was a sensation everyone there had experienced many tis; it appeared when an extrely high-ranking mission was completed perfectly.
From that point on, for another seven days, everyone could remain in that universe. Or they could activate that thing inside their rings and be taken back permanently.
Back in the Universe of Heaven's Will, the channel at the Celestial Altar that led to that universe was now open for anyone to cross.
Seven days was the bonus period that Spiritual Guardians received to collect artifacts and treasures in a universe when a mission was successfully completed.
After everyone left that channel, Lucius ordered everyone to return to the planet of the Rainbow Cranes. This was a previous order from Darian; they were to wait those seven days.
Even the other two races returned with them in secret, hidden inside the flying boats.
Everyone was temporarily accepted on that planet after explaining the events to the Emperor.
The other two races did nothing and didn't even realize they had left together with the Rainbow Cranes. The reason was simple: there was no way for them to have any information about what really happened at the Convention.
The army returned shortly before the official end. The other races waited for everyone's return, and only when ti ran out did it beco clear that everyone had died. They imdiately sent requests for an explanation to the Emperor of the Rainbow Cranes, since they were the only ones who could clarify anything.
But the answer was only one: to wait seven days.
***
In another universe.
Within the galaxy of the Shadows of Heaven Academy, Niara appeared above a blue planet, bathed in the light of a newly born sun.
During the years Darian spent training for the mission, he also created a dozen other suns in that galaxy, choosing strategic locations where nearby planets would be captured, thus forming a solar system.
That particular planet was special.
It strongly resembled Earth, but on a smaller scale. It was a small, pure, untouched world, left to flourish without the interference of any form of life beyond nature itself. It was a natural sanctuary where ti seed to stand still.
There was no point in moving races to populate that small place now, since there were other, much better and larger locations. The population wasn't very large. In the future, when people multiply greatly and more space is needed, they could be sent there.
So, after that planet's Gaia was born, nature was allowed to grow there naturally, free from people or any kind of interference. After a few thousand years with no one there to degrade anything, the place would beco sothing sacred and high-level.
As she crossed the atmosphere, Niara landed at the heart of the main continent.
The scenery was surreal. There were no dense forests of dark trees, but vibrant vegetation in shades of blue and violet. It was like gigantic flowers covering the plains, emitting a soft glow that seed to pulse in sync with the world.
The air was sweet, filled with the scent of petals and the sll of damp soil. The only sounds were the waters of a nearby river and the rustling of leaves under the warm wind.
It was the most life-filled and peaceful place in the universe. A cruel contrast to the state of the man Niara carried on her back.
She moved quickly, but with extre delicacy, approaching a small earthen structure.
It was a small house, built by Tir during one of their visits to this planet, back when Alear was still just a child. It was a refuge of simple, warm mories they had shared there.
Niara crossed the doorway.
As she stepped into the dim interior of the house, the silence of the outside world was replaced by the rapid sound of her own heartbeat.
Nervousness hit her like a wave. She took a deep breath, feeling the weight of responsibility and determination driving her forward.
But there was no more ti for doubt.
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