After giving instructions to the palace maids, I returned to Earth, worn out both physically and mentally. I still had a meeting tonight with the empire's war strategists, so I didn't have much time to spend here either.

If one day on Earth is a week in Valefor, one hour on Earth is about 7 hours in Valefor.

When I left Solinthar, it was already 10 a.m. This meant I barely had more than one hour to spend here before heading back.

The thought of having such little time for myself was exhausting. This once again made me wonder how other Gatekeepers handled multiple realms.

[A Gatekeeper has no home or identity. You exist everywhere but belong nowhere. You don't build a life in worlds. You don't build connections. You just rule and unite.]

"Take that shit and shove it up your holy ass!" I cursed, wishing there was a switch-off button for the system.

It's been less than a year, but I'm already tired of its rubbish. However, this reminded me of the Abyss's words about the universe and the role we play.

"Join a side, stay a side, or you will die."

Those words echoed in my head like a bell.

Without hesitation, I picked up my phone and headed straight for the dressing room.

As soon as I entered, I found a number of damaged and dirty clothes slowly piling up, all because no one was allowed to disturb me during this period. But I can't have people in ancient kingdoms wash my clothes with expensive fabric.

They may end up ruining it.

But that was the least of my problems. I soon noticed 98% of my clothes were black. This left me wondering when I joined an occultic group.

"Once this war is over, do the laundry and get more colorful clothes… Got it."

With little time to waste, I took off my clothes and tossed them into the dirty pile. Pulling out a towel, I wrapped it around my waist along with a new pair of clothes—this time with a normal black leather jacket.

Stepping out of the dressing room, I couldn't help but notice someone sitting on my bed from the corner of my eyes.

"Lee Bai…" I let out a heavy sigh before ignoring him and walking over to the sofa.

"Hello!" He smiled at me like he just met an old friend, and I rolled my eyes.

Gently, I dropped my clothes on the armrest of the sofa and sat down. Only then did I give Lee Bai a good look.

The man was dressed in a similar black kimono robe worn in ancient China. This time, his hair was tied back into a ponytail, and his eyes were pinned on me like he could see through my soul.

Slowly, his smile faded, replaced with a deep frown.

"You are leaning towards the darkness?" he asked, and I scoffed.

"Power is power. I do not discriminate." I shrugged. "I will not be controlled by it."

Lee Bai let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.

"Do you think the darkness just forces people under its control in a single day?" Lee Bai asked. "Some took years, some decades—and someone I knew struggled for a century before succumbing.

It breaks your mind, your will, and feeds off your desire. It's not something you can struggle against…"

"I was forced to relive the most horrifying moments of my life ninety-nine times, and ninety-nine times the heavens punished me for resisting and succumbing to their will. That is how I ended up here." I cut off Lee Bai.

"You have no reason to worry about my will. I will not be shaken easily, and even the Abyss knows this." I added, but this only made his frown deepen.

Sigh!

Lee Bai let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. But he didn't argue any further.

"As long as you don't lose control, you are a Gatekeeper—and that's alright with me," he said. "But when you do…"

"Kill me," I said before he could complete those words. "If I ever lose myself to the darkness, end my life. I would rather die than submit to another being."

Hearing this, Lee Bai's rigid expression softened, and he nodded.

"But I'm curious," he said while rubbing his smooth chin. "What could have pushed you to use dark talents?"

"Another Gatekeeper, of course. Apparently, she had my territory in her sights, and we fought for it." I responded sharply, purposefully leaving out the Divinity of Chaos.

"Ooh?" Lee Bai looked intrigued.

"What type of Gatekeeper was she?" he asked, instinctively leaning in.

"A little bit of both. Her inability to focus on one path is the reason she lost to me, even after being a Gatekeeper for over fifty years." I said.

"Ooh…"

This time, Lee Bai's response lacked enthusiasm and he leaned back. It seems he's looking for warrior Gatekeepers like myself.

"What about you?" I asked, and Lee Bai's brows furrowed.

My nose twisted at the smell of fresh blood which was coming from him. He was hurt, but he had been acting tough all this while.

"Me what?" he tried to sound surprised, but I'm not buying that shit.

"I can smell blood on you… Something or someone hurt you." I tapped my nose with a small smile, and he gave me a look before whispering a curse I couldn't hear.

Adjusting his seating position, his eyes danced around my room in search of a reason to change the topic, but he found none and let out a defeated sigh.

"The Abyss is gaining ground in one of my worlds, and this is a world I intend to protect. With no other choice, I stepped into the battlefield myself." He explained. "I led a campaign to retake stolen territories and I ended up coming across Mallory, the Dark Keeper sent to consume that world. Let's just agree the battle ended in a draw with both sides retreating."

"You lost," I blurted out.

"Didn't you hear we both retreated? How can that be counted as a loss on my part?!" Lee Bai snapped, and I laughed out loud.

Watching him crash out reinforced my belief that he lost—but also delivered a critical blow to the enemy, and that's why both sides retreated.

It was really fun talking to someone who was passing through the same pains and suffering as myself.

It made me feel like I wasn't alone in a world of crumbling realms and Gatekeepers.