CHAPTER 439: AREN’T THEY AFRAID?

Darian was rushed to the room where Niara was in seconds.

When he entered, he saw that the violet dragon was lying on the bed, breathing so faintly it really looked like she was about to die. Beside the bed were several crystals giving off intense life energy.

"I tried everything! But she’s rejecting the external life energy! If this keeps up, she’s going to die!" Painita said hurriedly, "Morion said she reacted when you talked to her. Tell her to accept the external energy, quick!"

Darian heard that and sighed. Then he walked to the bed and examined her calmly.

In seconds, everything became clear. Niara had absorbed all the life energy from her body into her draconic core, and she was now burning it all for power. In a few days, it would be over.

But after that full evolution, the amount of life energy she’d need to keep growing would be enormous. She’d drain the body again and still not reach even 1% of what she needed, because this body was incompatible — it wasn’t her original body.

So it no longer made sense for her to stay in that body. She knew Darian was nearby to take her away. That’s why she rejected the life energy and decided to abandon it, letting herself die.

Darian let out a deep snort and turned to Painita. Looking into her eyes, he saw genuine worry and felt relieved.

"You don’t need to worry..."

Painita sighed. "Good... that stupid brat stopped listening to me... fine, use this on her body, quick."

Darian shook his head. "Not necessary. That body must die."

"WHAT?! Are you crazy, damn it?!"

Darian half-smiled. "You noticed, didn’t you? Her soul isn’t compatible with that body."

Painita narrowed her eyes. "Don’t be stupid. That seems like the case, but there could be other reasons. Her illness is very rare and little is known about it — maybe, besides burning Yang, it also consumes life..."

"No, she is indeed incompatible," Darian interrupted quickly. "That’s because I’m the one who put her into that current body."

Darian took a deep breath and calmly began to explain the origin of that body, saying it came from the training universe. That wasn’t strange — bringing eggs from other universes was common. But when he explained the experiments that clan from Earth had done with the eggs, Painita’s expression darkened.

"Damn humans..." She clenched her fists in anger.

"Yes. It turns out that the body couldn’t host a soul. But... I brought Niara from the Divine Protection Universe. She actually has a true body there. She’s a Mannaz from that place — and she’s my partner."

"WHAT?! That’s impossible!" Painita exclaimed, stunned.

Her reaction was obvious — no one could bring anything out of that universe, and even across other universes, moving souls was considered impossible.

"It’s a bit complicated to explain. But... you know the Summoners’ techniques from that place, right?" Darian said calmly, and she nodded.

"You know, one of the basic techniques makes the Summoner connect their partner’s soul to their own body, right? Well... I have a special blessing. It’s complicated, but what you need to know is I can use the Summoners’ techniques, and I found a different way to connect Niara to me, bringing her into our universe."

Painita fell silent, utterly incredulous.

But... after everything she’d already seen Darian do — and because she felt nothing in his soul — she was sure he was a Missionary. He couldn’t be judged by normal standards, and if anyone could do what he said, it would be a Missionary.

Darian snorted. "It’s true, Niara is my partner, and I had to be away for a long time... but she found a way to get stronger at the cost of that sick body of hers. Now it’s not worth keeping. So she’s going to abandon it and come with me."

"Y-you... you’re going to take her back to her universe?" Painita asked in a trembling voice.

Darian smiled. "Yes. That’s where her true body is. Now, thanks to you, she’ll be able to grow indefinitely."

Painita clenched her fists, trying to hold back emotion. Returning to her true body in another universe meant she wouldn’t come back — there’d be no other body here. For an immortal like Painita, that meant she might never see Niara again.

"As I said, don’t worry," Darian said calmly. "I came here to marry her properly because I didn’t want you to be separated from her. I have some ideas. If all goes well, I’ll bring her back — this time, as the real Niara."

Painita stared at Darian with extreme seriousness. After a few seconds, she sighed. "You can only marry her formally here, on my planet. Do you hear me? You... have to bring her back to my home. If you marry her far away... I swear I’ll find out and come after you when you return."

Darian nodded sarcastically, but then he noticed something in her words.

"Wait... why won’t you go after me in that other universe? Come to think of it, I’ve never heard rumors about the seven Spiritual Sovereigns in that universe."

Painita let out a deep sigh. "That’s because, after we become full Spiritual Sovereigns, we lose the ability to go to that place... and also to other universes through the power of Heaven’s Will."

"What?" Darian was surprised for a few seconds by that information. But now, everything made sense. That was why Meru had told him to first defeat the enemy from that place — it would be easier training, after all, since there were no other immortals there to help him.

He took a deep breath and spoke seriously, "Let’s be honest here. I know about the Immortal Chaos Essence, and how you all have to destroy a universe’s core to become full immortals."

Darian spoke bluntly, and Painita’s eyes changed as she heard that.

"In the past, I stopped two demons from achieving that — and that’s why all the demons made me their top target, years ago. So, how exactly does that work? Why can’t you all go back to that place again?"

She sighed. "The reason’s pretty simple: the karma we create. There are two ways to become a Spiritual Sovereign. You only know the easier one, which is what most people use — basically devouring everything and destroying the universe. That creates karma with the laws of that absurd world, preventing them from using Heaven’s Will’s power to travel between universes. But... there’s a second option, less sinister..."

Darian narrowed his eyes. "If there’s a better way, why didn’t Beleth and the other Immortal Keepers choose it?"

Painita nodded. "Because with that second option, the chances of surviving and succeeding are less than 1%. After breaking through the nine rings, everyone becomes immortal in terms of lifespan, but their power becomes fragile and chaotic. That’s why most people either go for the sinister method or just live as regular immortals inside the universe."

"I’ve met a few hundred immortals who tried to do it the proper way — and they all died. Actually... among the seven complete Spiritual Sovereigns in the universe, only me and Aurix from planet Dharma succeeded."

Darian was stunned. "You mentioned karma... what exactly is that method?"

"It’s actually pretty simple. Instead of devouring and destroying the universe’s Immortal Chaos Essence, we have to merge with it peacefully and completely connect ourselves to that universe forever. Our karma and its karma become one, and we become responsible for that universe. It’s like Heaven’s Will grants that place to us, to guard as its eternal protectors."

"But... the collective consciousness of the souls and the universe’s karma have to accept us. That’s why almost everyone fails. You have to find a universe that matches you and be accepted by it. I’ve seen everyone try everything, but there’s no formula. There are too many complex and random factors. In the end, you only get one shot — and failure means death."

"When the process is complete, everything we do and all the karma of that universe become part of us. We have to care for and protect that place, which technically becomes our weakness. Also... I can go to my universe and return freely. But I can’t go anywhere else."

Darian muttered, "So... the same thing applies to the others. But since they devoured and destroyed their universe’s core, theirs is dead — and so, they have no weakness to protect. But... the karma they created still exists. Aren’t they afraid?"

"Afraid? Karma is a curse from the laws of the world that only affects mortals directly. Those bastards are above the laws of the universe, and only Heaven’s Will could do something about it... but it can’t break the laws and intervene directly... wait..."

She suddenly froze, then looked at Darian and swallowed hard.

"You... you’re the Missionary of Heaven’s Will. So... you came to... make them pay for what they’ve done?"

"Exactly." Darian smiled. It was good to talk to smart people.

"Thanks for the information. About Niara — I’ll remove her from that body now, okay? But she’ll need to keep sleeping for a few days. When she wakes up, I’ll head back home and then to your universe."

Painita took a deep breath and nodded, still processing everything — until an idea came to her.

"It’ll take a few days, right? I know. Why don’t you visit my universe with my children? The same universe where planet Vadise got the Primordial Dragon Bloodline became my universe. The Trial, where we earned everything, still exists there. From time to time, I send people to bring more bloodlines and to nurture our own. I’m sure you’ll find something useful there. Consider it... my wedding gift."