Niara and Darian turned to Alear with expressions full of pain. For Niara, it had been a forced separation since they were born in different universes and didn't have the power to meet. As for Darian… it was death that separated them.
Alear stared at Darian, and even if Niara wasn't standing beside him comfortably, making it obvious who he was, she would've figured it out on her own immediately.
"Bro!!"
A sharp cry, carrying years of pent-up agony, tore through the air like thunder. From the heart of the castle, a beam of white light shot out at an absurd speed.
Darian didn't have time to think. The impact against his chest was so violent it forced him to step back several times, his feet carving into the ground. He didn't raise his guard or use any power; he just relaxed his muscles as he felt the familiar warmth and the uncontrollable trembling of his little sister.
Lucy was an emotional wreck. Her hands clutched his robe as if, if she let go, he would turn to ashes again.
"You… how could you… you idiot…" she muttered between sobs, her voice wavering between divine joy and blind fury.
Darian felt pain deep in his soul. For the three siblings, they were everything to each other. They had always been close, and that bond was only pushed to its limit when their mother died.
Darian gently stroked her head. "Forgive me… I didn't—"
"I know!" Lucy cut him off, her face buried in his chest, muffling her cry. "I know you did your best! But… Lucius and I… we failed you. We can't forgive ourselves for not being by your side in that fight. We ended up leaving the whole burden on your shoulders…"
Niara clenched her fists tightly. She felt the same way inside. In the end, Darian had to carry everything alone, and to win, he had to sacrifice himself. For a long time, she blamed herself for his death.
Darian took a deep breath, the air around him seeming to vibrate with his calm.
"Unfortunately, that was my path. I had to face that enemy, and the room I had to grow was always insufficient for victory. That's why…"
He paused deliberately. Lucy lifted her tear-stained face. Alear, who until then seemed frozen, slowly approached, her eyes fixed on every detail of him.
"My death was actually like going through a metamorphosis. I was reborn and gained a thousand times more than I had before. Everything I built in that life was a crop I chose to plant. And now, I've harvested all the fruits. So… forgive me for making you cry and suffer; I know it's selfish, but I had to go through all of this."
Silence returned, but this time it was a silence of observation.
The two of them analyzed the "new" Darian. The man before them still had the features they loved, but his essence was different. Before, Darian had a dark kind of beauty, the aura of a "bad boy" who kept secrets and acted in the shadows.
Now, he radiated something transcendental. It was a mix of absolute beauty, overwhelming strength, and a mystery that made the very space around him seem reverent. He was like a radiant beacon, and his presence demanded to be noticed wherever he went. Even if Darian tried to act like before, trying not to draw attention, it would be almost impossible without heavily disguising himself.
Lucy finally loosened her grip, still processing the change. When she pulled back a little… it was the signal Alear needed.
The woman the world knew as cold, powerful, and ruthless vanished in an instant. Alear ran forward and threw herself into Darian's arms, breaking down into loud, unrestrained sobs. There, in front of him, the powerful sovereign gave way to the spoiled little girl who just wanted her father's embrace again.
Darian wrapped her tightly, closing the cycle of pain. He was back, and this time, no one would have the power to separate them.
After a while, Alear asked in a confused tone, "Did papa become an immortal? But… why is he so different?"
Darian nodded. "I'll explain everything to all of you. We don't have much time left. In seven days, the final Boss will be completely healed."
Hearing that, Alear and Lucy turned serious. He had barely returned, and they were already going to jump into another life-or-death battle.
A short time later, in the Universe of Heaven's Will, all the most powerful Spiritual Guardians, across every planet, received a highest-level summons. Not knowing what was happening, they all rushed to the Altar and entered the training universe.
---
This new training universe was called the Universe of Immaculate Light. It was a very different place from the old training universe. After all, there, every form of life that existed was an enemy.
In that universe, there were no Summoners. All new Spiritual Guardians appeared inside a planet isolated by Heaven's Will within the universe, where no one could enter, and there they received a Trial mission to become Spiritual Guardians.
After that, they had to form their bodies on their own, following a set of techniques. In the end, those who passed would leave for a universe where everyone, aside from the Spiritual Guardians, was their enemy.
Their mission was simple: eliminate the Sacred Immortal Byon and all of his followers from the universe.
When they first arrived, Lucy, Lucius, and all of Darian's allies organized thousands of defensive lines. They also created academies for the new Spiritual Guardians to train and fight.
That way, with every victory or advance against the main enemies of the universe, they gained power through merit.
From nine rings onward, everyone could come to this universe with their physical body and fight for real in the great battles.
---
About two hours later, billions of Spiritual Guardians had gathered on the central planet.
Among them, there were nearly 10 million immortals and 107 Spiritual Sovereigns, as well as almost 9 million with nine rings. During that time, Darian's allies had worked hard to build a powerful and united army. But this time, they used all races and all Spiritual Guardians in the universe.
Not only that.
All the Spiritual Sovereigns, upon merging with their universes, were given the mission of training the cultivators and the greatest powers of their respective universes. Because of that, the army's numbers were multiplied tenfold.
Adding in the treasures, techniques, and everything Darian had left behind, along with competent and organized leadership, even though the enemy Sacred Generals were more powerful immortals than their main leaders, they were still gradually suppressed and forced to retreat in several battles.
Thus, as the years passed, the final Boss ended up suffering and losing a lot of ground, until reaching the present day.
Back to the present. At that moment, inside the great castle of the Spiritual Guardians, in the main hall, a commotion filled with tears was taking place.
Everyone closest to Darian reunited with him there and broke down.
Darian didn't hold back when talking to everyone, apologizing over and over. But, to his surprise, absolutely no one was angry, nor did anyone really think he wouldn't come back. Everyone believed, with an almost irrational conviction, that he would stand by their side again at some point not too far away.
To Darian's first surprise, his cousin Amara and his blacksmith Haruto had gotten married. After that, he was shocked when he was introduced to a pair of twins, who claimed to be half-demons but had green hair and red eyes, and otherwise looked like ordinary humans from Earth.
They were technically his great-uncle and great-aunt. The mother… was his great-grandmother Camille. And their father was Beleth.
Since the new training universe allowed immortals to enter, the former Immortal Keepers abandoned that title and joined the army of immortals. That's how those two grew close.
Darian was initially surprised, but soon felt genuinely happy for Camille. She deserved that fresh start, finding someone new to love. As for Beleth, he was someone Darian trusted.
Alear and Alirio were officially together, but Alear refused to get married without Darian and Niara being present.
Under pressure from Lucius, so she could actually live and enjoy part of her life, Lucy ended up marrying Leander during that time. But she, Lucius, and Veyle were still the main commanders of everything and dedicated their lives entirely to their duties, certain that Darian would return and that everything needed to be ready.
Because of that, none of them, nor the others closest to Darian, wanted to have more children for now.
After becoming immortals, the chances of having descendants were extremely low, but none of them would ever become infertile. If they truly wanted and focused on it, with all the time in the world, they would eventually succeed. So there was no reason to rush right now.
After everyone calmed down, Darian took a deep breath. Niara, standing beside him, puffed out her chest, pride shining in her eyes.
"Well… just so you know, I took a few extra years to come back because… Niara ended up getting pregnant. Arion is 15 now and is being taken care of by my parents and older sister. After everything's over, I can take you guys to that special place."
Lucy, Lucius, and Alear were the most shaken when they heard that. It felt like they had taken a heavy blow. They had missed the birth and growth of someone very important.
Niara smiled. "Don't worry. Our boy knows he has another family and wants to meet you. He's a really good kid, and you'll all connect with him perfectly."
Everyone sighed and nodded.
After a brief pause, Darian finally spoke. "Let's get to the point…"
He explained why the immortals in that universe seemed much stronger than them, talking about levels and Natural Immortals. He also explained about the final enemy and just how powerful he was.
Darian's plan was to prepare everyone and attack on the sixth day. That way, Byon would be at around 70% of his strength, and they could actually hope for victory.
For that, Darian planned to send all the immortals to Niara's universe, where time flowed differently. But there was a big catch.
"At the immortal levels, you need to convert your immortal power into Birth Power. But for that supreme power to be born in your bodies, you also need to use the power of the world's laws. This is something subtle, something that naturally accumulates in the bodies of immortals. It's not something easily noticeable, and you can't use it directly in combat. Even your immortal senses, if you don't know it exists or how to work with it, could go on forever without ever realizing it's inside you."
Everyone listened to Darian and widened their eyes. They had, in fact, never noticed anything accumulating inside them.
"In a universe where time flows much more slowly compared to the Celestial universe, which is where Heaven's Will built the core of the world, the world's laws are weaker, and you accumulate less of this. In short, staying in that universe for thousands of years won't help you advance at all," Darian explained calmly.
"But since you spent so long stuck at the elemental level, your bodies have naturally accumulated a lot of the power of the world's laws. So you can go to that universe and still take advantage of the time difference to use what you already have. I believe most regular immortals can reach level 2. As for the Spiritual Sovereigns, since they have a universe connected to them, they get a bonus in accumulating the power of the world's laws in their bodies. It's a natural advantage that makes leveling up much easier. In the end, they should be able to reach level 3 with a bit of luck."
Everyone grew excited. Darian had already explained that the Sacred General from before was at level 3. Sacred Generals were very close to each other in power and were the strongest below the final Boss. That meant that, since they could already fight them head-on at the elemental level, after reaching levels 2 and 3, they would be able to win with ease.
"On top of that…" Darian said slowly, turning to Rhea, who was present.
"The technique I created for the Shadow Heroes, Shadow Soldiers, and Shadow Lords to use has been greatly improved by me. I'll give you everything, and all the Shadow Heroes who were once alive… will finally be able to become living beings again. With that, everything will change for you."
Hearing that, Rhea nearly jumped. She, like countless others, had lived for a long time as a spirit that refused to pass on. Naturally, they all dreamed of one day having a body and life again.
Now, Darian was promising them exactly what they wanted most.
...
After explaining everything to everyone, Darian finally left the meeting room and went to see the billions gathered outside.
He immediately announced who he was. Many there had never seen him, only heard about him. Others looked at him with eyes full of emotion, seeing him alive again.
Then Darian explained the seriousness of the situation and that, in six days in this universe's time, the final battle would take place. Because of that, everyone had to follow the plans and new methods he brought, without wasting even a single second.
And so, the preparation for the decisive battle began.
***
The days passed, filled with sweat and effort from everyone.
Then, finally, the day arrived.
