1621 The Obvious

Aphosis rarely felt troubled by something. The man, well, the boy was a master of not worrying about things out of control.

But in this particular moment, even the mostly emotionless powerhouse had an urge to slap Varian in the face.

'Why do you have to oppose Yami every goddamn time? Can't you see she's an egoistical woman with pride heavier than milky way? It's absolutely irrational to push her into a state of hostility from the position of weakness without considering the outcomes of such confrontation thoroughly, which as of now, are only against...'

The 'thoughts' in Aphosis mind for this one ocassion could probably fill a typical book due to how structured and detailed they were.

Alas, every page, para and line pointed to the same conclusion.

'Varian is an idiot! And the alliance is probably doomed for trusting this brickhead with such an important task. The worst hit would be Nexus. We'll definitely get wiped out for promoting such wayward genius.'

"...Hehehe." Sensing his gaze, Varian turned to Aphosis with a sheepish smile, as if he's some innocent lad. "Thanks for your help, Lord Aphosis. Or else, I couldn't have killed Immortal."

"..."

Aphosis turned his neck stiffly and saw Yami glaring at him.

'You ungrateful son of a bitch!'

The powerhouse ended up spewing vulgar words inside his mind even though he remained perfectly emotionless outside except his eyes twitching violently.

"...Do you understand what you've done, Aphosis? As the representative of Nexus, your actions are an act of treason against the entire alli--"

"Just a second, my lady." Varian interrupted Yami's rant with an elegant gesture, like a nobleman stopping a conflict in a ball. "As the mastermind of that plan, I am eligible for the questions."

Yami shook her head, a disbelieving smile mixed with anger on her face. "I've never seen someone as arrogant as you. Just one snap is enough to end you and everyone you love but you keep acting as if you're the boss here."

"You didn't snap." Varian smiled. "Let's be realistic here. You don't really have an option other than me."

"Do you think alliance bends to such cheap threats from someone who can't even win a duel?" Keman interrupted, his sharp words in contrast to his largely neutral gaze.

'Huh? Is he trying to support me?'

"It's not about bending or breaking. The goal had always been to chose the most suitable candidate. Fair duel? It's just a mechanism to get that candidate.

But the duel was never fair. So, I cheated to balance it out.

Immortal was crushed by me a thousand years ago. He surpassed me significantly by living a thousand more years. And I almost caught up to him in just two decades."

Keman smiled lightly, patting Asherah on the head like she's a good puppy while the latter enjoyed with a melted expression.

Yami, on the other hand, was simultaneously conflicted and pissed.

"You now know my age, the number of years I spent on my divine paths and slivers. It's a fraction of Immortal's lifespan. And I'm still deemed worthy for a duel with him. Unless you are retarded, you can tell who's the better choice for a distant future.

But your egos didn't allow you to admit such a basic fact and you had to come up with a stupid duel.

The winner of the duel is just that, the winner. He has more strength today and doesn't promise anything about the future.

Like come on, are you stupid or are you stupid?"

Aphosis was sweating profusely as he watched Yami's chest heave up and down, her nails digging into her flesh while she gnashed her teeth like she'd rip apart Varian's throat.

But thankfully, the situation did not turn violent.

"It's indeed a mistake on our part." Keman spoke in a slightly softer tone. "As you said, maybe we were trying to find a reason to not accept you. Luckily for the alliance, the correct person won."

Yami turned to Keman with a glare before crossing her arms and exhaling deeply. "Yeah, it was an inappropriate move for someone like myself. I guess interacting with the living has contaminated my perfection."

Varian shrugged with a carefree smile. "Must be like that. I don't think the lady of death would make a mistake like that otherwise."

Yami was surprised and then showed a friendly smile. "Our opinions regarding the undead seem more similar."

'He mocked you. And you can't even tell.' Sia covered her face and Sarah lowered her head to hide her twitching lips nearly breaking into a smile.

Aridam stood up from his seat and clapped loudly. "Now that everything is wrapped up, let's end this event here. We all have our duties to attend."

Keman nodded and his form began to fade. "Varian, you will be declared as a honorary member of the Vita tribe, a being we carried out after infusing you with the power of life sliver.

This identity will give you the necessary privileges and justify your special treatment.

It also stops Jai Empire from seeing you as an existential threat. The unknown is the most dangerous after all."

Varian nodded, completely in agreement. He did need an identity for help.

"Do not worry, there have been several beings like that before you and more than a sixth of them survived over a hundred years independently."

"…"

"I'll see you after you step into the divine. We have to talk. A lot."

Yami nodded at him and disappeared. She didn't seem to know how to treat him now that he's the inevitable.

Asherah was also about to leave when Varian called her out. "Excuse me."

"Y-Yes?"

"Give her back. She is family."

"Ah…Ahahahah…haha…" Asherah clenched her fists but relented.

She couldn't kill Varian and hope to survive. She couldn't offend him now and hope to survive in the future.

Alas…

A cage materialized and a yawning Aurora looked at everyone with sleepy eyes as the chains on her disintegrated.

Spotting Varian, her eyes widened and she jumped at him like a falling comet.

"Brother-in-law!"

Varian would've been blasted off due to her momentum if he wasn't strong enough.

"Are you really alive?" She slapped his shoulders and arms, before examining his face with a serious gaze. "No, this could just be a carefully constructed body by my mother to deceive me."

Varian rolled his eyes

Aurora grabbed his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Strip first, I'll have to check you prop—ouch!"

Miss Calamity clutched her forehead and glared at him with teary eyes. "It's really you!"

Varian turned to Asherah. "You know what? I don't really need this crazy woman, take her ba—"

"Brother-in-law!" Miss Calamity grabbed his hand and looked at him with a pitiful gaze. "Are you really going to abandon me? Me?"

"…"

Varian was just joking but Aurora was so good at acting that he started feeling a bit guilty.

"Little fox, get your hands off him!"

Isadora appeared between Varian and Aurora.

"S-Senior Si—"

"All Mother, take her away! We don't need her!" Isadora turned to the woman and declared.

Asherah looked between Varian and Isadora before letting out a nervous chuckle. "Ah, right! I have an urgent task! Creating a race of laughing flowers! Ah, ahahahaha, see you! See you all later!"

The lady ran away. The two undead with Yami had long left.

Now, there's only Varian's camp and Nexus trio.

Aphosis looked at Varian with an indifferent expression and thought back to the times when he nearly had a heartstroke.

"Aphosis, you knew about Hortus but allowed it! I knew you're a brother the moment I saw you! Brother don't snitc—"

"Get out! Get out of here!" Aphosis waved his hand and all of them were thrown into Hortus without resistance.

The lively space turned empty and the man at the helm of Nexus turned to his peers with a tired gaze.

"Did I make a mistake by allowing that idiot to win?"

Equilus snorted, the space around him rippling with silvery white waves of power. "Varian is bad. Immortal is worse. The ideal way is to grab the slivers and give it to someone we create ourselves."

"We're not going into that debate again." Aridam shrugged. "Logos has the power to choose."

"A mere sliv—"

"A pair of slivers, well, a fusion of slivers." Aphosis corrected. "Logos picked him right. Anyone else would've been dead in a few days after their dangers spike so much.

Varian not only survived the dangers, he also managed to capitalize on the corresponding opportunities and come this far."

"And you think he stands a chance against the God Emperor? Even with two more slivers?" Equilius said with an uninterested expression.

"He won't die in the first blow. That's the only thing I'm sure of."