Time passed very quickly, in an incomparable calm.
It was the beginning of the day, in a forest filled with radiant colors. The air was saturated with an unmatched energy, and every inch of anything that existed in that place would be considered the most incredible treasure in the world for mortals from any universe.
Darian was inside a simple house, surrounded by a bamboo forest. He was sitting in a lotus position, in deep meditation for several hours. Then, a muffled sound echoed from his body.
The space-time around him distorted. From his body, countless multicolored points flowed out and spun, like stars orbiting the core of a galaxy.
He opened his eyes; a multicolored light lit up in his pupils. As he took a deep breath and clenched his fists, an extreme and almost unbelievable power could be felt flowing through his body.
"You did it, amazing!"
A cheerful voice sounded, and Darian met Niara's eyes in front of him.
"It's time. He must be really eager, waiting for you," she said with a faint smile.
Darian nodded and stood up. Niara stepped closer and held his hand; together, the two of them left the house. With a leap, they shot into the sky.
A short while later, they stopped near a river and landed.
"Master!"
From inside the river, an excited girl wearing a flashy blue feather dress jumped out.
Eleri floated closer. Around her, an aura with such incredible elemental power β enough to easily destroy an entire universe β flowed gently.
At the same instant, a gust of wind was felt, and Darian turned.
Awel also appeared, and her control over the wind element was so high that Darian and Niara only noticed her presence when she was already a meter behind them.
"Tir and Ailik are already ready. We have to say goodbye to him." Darian said lightly, and both of them nodded. Soon, they shone and took the form of two daggers, returning to the inventory.
Niara and Darian took off again, leaving the forest and arriving at a mountainous region. At the center of that region, there was a massive dome-shaped runic inscription, glowing in multiple colors.
They landed nearby, and several figures turned toward them.
"Father, Mother, Sister," Darian nodded to the three who were waiting, then turned to the others.
"Uncle Almin, Aunt Rehvka, Master," Niara said, nodding to those three nearby as well. Yinou was using a humanoid form. "Where did he go?"
"He said he was nearby...?" Almin was answering when he stopped and turned.
Running toward them came a young man, only 15 years old. Darian and Niara's eyes shifted in surprise.
Meru murmured softly: "The brat really has talent for creating artifacts. My husband was pretty excited, and he's been taught a lot these past few days. Arion actually managed to complete and create the primordial outfit with his own hands."
Meru's husband was a terrifying and unique figure. In one life, he was the God of the Forge, and after reincarnating without memories, he became the God of Artifacts.
Right after his birth, Arion was brought back to where Darian grew up, together with Niara. That way, he had the same upbringing as Darian, growing up surrounded by absurd individuals. He didn't disappoint and showed himself to be just as curious as Darian once was, quickly starting to learn everything he could.
But he definitely showed a greater talent and interest in artifacts. Since Darian would only allow him to cultivate at 15, Arion dedicated himself to his studies and prepared properly.
He was only allowed to take something he had made himself. Since he had no cultivation and could only manipulate simple materials, that wouldn't cause too many problems in the universe.
So, he took inspiration from the technique his father Darian used, the primordial physique, and created an artifact in the form of clothing, with seven connected cores. He worked day and night until completing it on this special day.
In a few seconds, he stopped in front of everyone, slightly out of breath.
Niara looked at her son, full of emotion. His face looked very similar to his father's. But he inherited the color of her hair, as well as eyes as deep and bright as amber gems. He was already taller than her, and his gaze carried a sharpness, like an unmatched weapon hidden in its sheath.
Even very young, he carried the air of a calm and elegant scholar. His posture was refined and serene, without the slightest trace of roughness or brutality, his physique showing balance and grace rather than raw strength.
He wore a sumptuous robe in midnight blue and white tones, adorned with intricate golden embroidery. On his chest and waist, large prismatic gems with multifaceted brilliance stood out.
It was an artifact outfit with a design created by his aunt Meru, but everything else was made by him. It had the power to accumulate elemental energy and release it all in a power similar to Darian's elemental domain, along with a very high defensive capability. Best of all, he could improve and evolve everything as he grew stronger.
All of that, combined with his Celestial bloodline and everything he had been taught... this young man was an anomaly among anomalies.
"Mom, Dad..." he bowed and greeted everyone there politely.
"Remember, you can't tell anyone where you came from. And also, don't try to compare yourself to your father, or do anything chasing something beyond what you truly want." The voice of the round, gigantic figure sounded calm.
"Yes, Grandpa," Arion replied excitedly.
Today was his 15th birthday, and the day he would begin walking his own path in the world of cultivation.
"My little one..." Niara murmured with tears in her eyes. Then her tone turned serious. "Don't let some gold-digging girl seduce you over nothing. You need to choose well and stay away from trashy girls. The pretty ones are the most dangerous, remember that."
Everyone there sighed internally. Niara was a very possessive mother, and she definitely wouldn't easily accept just any woman as her daughter-in-law.
Arion nodded. "Don't worry, Mom. I'd never accept someone beneath you. Finding someone more beautiful will be almost impossible, but one day I'll find someone who's right and talented."
He said exactly what Niara wanted to hear, since he was smart and knew her well. Seeing that, she sighed in relief and nodded in satisfaction.
At that moment, four figures came out of Darian's inventory.
Tir, Eleri, Awel, and Ailik ran up to him, all with sad expressions. Darian's son was like a little brother to those four, and Arion also saw them as older siblings. He grew up playing with them.
"Sisters, brother, I'll be fine. It'll just be a few years," he said softly, trying to comfort them.
They all nodded, wishing him good luck.
Then Darian spoke calmly: "Go. No need for long goodbyes, after all, everyone here will be watching you day and night. Just be careful, don't show more of your abilities than necessary to people you don't trust."
Arion nodded, his eyes shining. To him, his father was definitely his greatest inspiration. He had already heard many stories about him from his mother and admired him deeply.
Without delay, Arion took a deep breath and turned toward the runic dome ahead.
That was the channel to the universe of ordinary people, where Darian had stayed for only 10 years. He waved to everyone one last time, then took slow steps, crossed it, and disappeared completely.
Everyone stood there in silence for a few seconds.
Those 15 years had passed very, very quickly. Now Arion would live his own life and destiny.
Niara took a deep breath, then said without any shame: "Ok... now we should make another one."
Everyone turned to her and smiled faintly. Only Ruri nodded, with a look of satisfaction and agreement in her eyes.
She and Niara understood each other very well and had become great friends over the years, almost like sisters.
"Oh? Darian, you reached the third level, too." Meru said lightly, with clear surprise on her face.
He nodded, and everyone was a bit impressed. The Immortal Realm was like a conventional cultivation realm and had 9 levels, along with the initial elemental level.
Niara had reached the third level more than a year ago, and that was already absurdly fast. Before coming to this universe, she was still at the Immortal elemental level, just like Darian.
But she was a relatively ordinary immortal. Compared to Darian, he had ten times more difficulty breaking through; at the same time, he had an equivalently greater individual power.
Even so, the difference in their speed wasn't that big. It took Darian exactly 5 years for each level. That was extremely, extremely fast, especially because everyone knew the level of power Darian possessed.
After that was said... suddenly, Darian felt something strange in the atmosphere.
Meru and Ruri's expressions completely changed. It was as if before, they had been suppressing and hiding something. But now, it couldn't stay a secret anymore.
Niara also noticed something was wrong. In fact, she had felt it a long time ago and told Darian; that was why he rushed to cultivate faster, almost desperately, because he was sure they weren't telling him something, since he was still too weak.
Darian turned to his father, looking him in the eyes.
That immense figure let out a dry snort. Then he spoke in a deep tone:
"I'll be straight with you. You're still very weak, even though you cultivate at a shocking speed. But... if I don't tell you this now, you'll blame me later."
