1354 A Hope

Varian knew what his choice would be if push came to shove. But he wanted to avoid sacrifice as much as possible.

The warm winds blowing over the ocean soothed his anxiety a bit. The water waves pressed thrashed against his soles and the sounds of the great water body was somehow pleasant.

Oob and Boo followed him. Oob was sensible enough to read the mood and maintained silence.

But Boo…Boo began to chatter.

"Boo wants some special guns for the ship. Boo wants to hunt down space pirates! Master, master! How about we start our own pirate gang? The name would be Ghost pirates!"

Varian didn't respond.

He stared blankly at the ocean ahead and wondered what else could he do at this point.

Sooner or later, the second assassin would come.

If he didn't move to Pala and remain under 'protection', he'd stand out more. But if he did it without securing solar system, humanity would likely go extinct.

"-id ghost! Can't you read the mood? Master is just trying to relax!"

"Stupid? Boo is not stupid! Boo can win prize money even from suspicious messages!"

"That's because you hack the scammers' back accounts!"

"Winning is winning! You are the stupid one! Boo did so many thing with master well and you had only one task. You couldn't do even that one task properly!"

"What are you saying, you cheeky ghost?! I fused the suns perfectly!"

"Boo's database says 0.001% mass was lost! You failed! Stupid wings! Chicken fried wings are better than you!"

"Arghh! That mass is just energy used up for adjustment purposes!" 

Perhaps because 'Boo' had a 'soul' now, its words got better. So did its insults.

Varian who was trying to figure out a solution to his current predicament froze for a moment before grabbing Boo abruptly. "Say that again!"

"M-Master?"

"Say that again!" Varian said with a serious expression.

"C-Chicken fried wings are better than…Boo is sorry," Boo lowered its head, its childish sweet voice going quieter. "That was rude of Boo."

"Sun fusion?" Oob chirped.

"Yes!" Varian punched his palm. "I'll just fucking fuse all planets, cut out unnecessary land masses and create a stronger internal space. A bit of a burden but won't affect my strength much."

"Th-That—" Oob stuttered, its wings halted in mid-air.

"I saw it in that guy's memories but every kingdom apparently has places like that. Lands that stretch for tens of millions of miles, spaces so strong that even rank 7s have trouble cracking them. A high-quality place. A Prime World."

"But it's a secret reserved by only a few, is it not? If other kingdoms want them, they can only request those few." Oob circled around him.

Varian nodded. "Pala happens to be one of the few who knows the secret."

"Then I wish you good luck on your journey, master!"

*** *** *** ***

"Are you serious?" Isadora crossed her arms as they walked down a beautiful garden.

"It's not as hard as you're making it out to be, is it? I just have to infiltrate, get that piece and get out."

"If things go well," Isadora said and looked at him with a cynical gaze. "If things go well."

"They will…probably." Varian said with an awkward laugh and turned the topic. "So what do you need anyway?" 

"Your seed." Isadora said with a serious expression.

"Huh? Woah, woah!" Varian took a few steps back instinctively.

"No, not that, you pervert!" The Princess blushed furiously and glared. "That tower seed you showed me a few days ago."

"Oh," Varian tossed her the < Broken Seed > from the tower.

"Maybe don't be so vague next time."

"Maybe don't be so dirty minded next time."

"…"

"…"

The description of the item was short but memorable.

[ < Broken Seed > is still an excellent gatherer of aura. Will improve aura concentration of the region when planted. ]

"Yeah. I just had to confirm. This thing has divinity. Bits and pieces. Very, very incomplete, but it gets the job done." Isadora nodded to herself and started pouring wisps of aura into the seed.

"Divinity?"

"The previous World Tree of that tower died when it's used to control the Spirals of Harmony. This seed, let's just say it was a failed attempt of that divine tree in rebirth. A very successful failure, but a failure nonetheless."

Varian didn't understand the intricacies of what she was referring to. But he didn't care.

"So it works?"

"It does." Isadora nodded and looked him in the eye. "But are you really trusting me now? I did say I'll give you a safe place in Pala. But the seal will be useless by then. I could just backstab you anytime and take the slivers for myself."

Varian didn't even react to those words and waved his hand. "Alright, I'll meet up with Sonya. I have to ask her about that place."

"Hey, I'm an alumni too…though I didn't really stay there much! But wait, what about my words earlier? Are you really trusting me? I can betray, no, I will betray you for sure!" Isadora's words rang in the garden.

It was a weird situation from just a while ago.

Looking at his disappearing back, Isadora stomped her feet and left to her training quarters with a frustrated expression. "That annoying man!"

A few hours later, a pillar of concentrated aura hit the skies and darkness enveloped the world.

Sarah stopped her training and looked up with a smile.

'I wouldn't like it in normal times. But now, any strength is welcome.'

Isadora had to take a big toll on herself to forcibly stop Sia and Enigma during her fight with Varian. It caused a setback and slowed down her recovery.

But now that the injury was completely healed, she'd reach her former peak much faster.

And if her words were anything to go by, she was not sitting by in the past 500 years despite her so-called sleep.

Isadora wasn't just aiming for rank 9. That's a peak she long surpassed.

Now, she's aiming for divinity.